I never write reviews but this was unbelievable Horrible customer service. Avoid if possible. The lady behind the counter (she had a Jamaican accent) acted as if I was not even standing there. She was talking to coworkers and gossiping and not acknowledging my presence. Avis, spend some time to train your staff as they are the face of the company. read more

The worst experience ever! Sharon, Avis's representatives, is the rudest person ever! The manager Carly is not competent at all. Avoid this place, don't waste your time and don't give your money to this company! read more

As a preferred member, I received excellent service at check in from Nareg. He found me the exactly what I was looking for and had me ready to go within minutes. At return, I was warmly greeted by Reggie and Johnny who checked in my car and provided my receipt along with some humor, much to my amazement. Thank you Avis. read more

Terrible service, attendant was very rude, and didn't honor upgrade coupons telling us that they have no available upgrades, while there are 100 cars they could upgrade you to sitting in the parking lot. Attendant was also very dismissive and didn't seem to care about concerns, simply replying with the carport number and ignoring complaints. This isn't the kind of bullshit an Avis preferred member expects to put up with. read more

Don't rent from Avis or Budget - they are currently running a scam where the charge you for "pet hair" removal. I don't own a pet and in over 40 years of travel I have never traveled with a pet yet they won't rescind the charge - if your company forces you to use Avis or Budget take pictures inside and out a keep them - they hit me with charges 3 weeks after I traveled- employees might be getting kickbacks from detailing services read more

Horrible service. More than 20 waiting in line but only 2 representatives. Waited in line for more than 40 min with a reservation. Payless next door had no waiting. Big mistake choosing Avis. Never again! Besides the long lane, the service rep named Baldeo at the counter has a horrendous attitude. When I told him Avis should have more people at the counter to move the line faster, he threatened not to process my rental reservation and serve the next person. When I pointed out he should have a better attitude towards his customer, he said, "move over and complaint to my supervisor. He is right there." I filed an official complaint of him with Avis Corporate Office after this incident. I hope he no longer works there but if he still does, watch out people. read more

Avis - Car Rental Near Me - Jamaica, New York

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Really if I could leave zero stars I would. This place is a joke. When I arrived the man who started processing my order seemed very competent. It seemed like everything was going smoothly until I walked outside to assess the car I was assigned. From afar the Chevy Malibu looked clean and in good shape. Upon a closer inspection, there were dents all over it, but there was an especially BIG dent above the right tire. As most people would do I asked if there was another vehicle available that was not damaged. The same man who gave me the first vehicle, assigned again what seemed to be a good looking, in shape Dodge Charger. To my surprise this one had an EVEN WORSE DENT ABOVE THE LEFT TIRE. I was honestly willing to let it go and start my trip until I realized this new vehicle lacked an EZPass, something that I had specifically asked about at the counter. I go back to the main desk to try again for an undamaged vehicle with an EZPass. While I'm inside my boyfriend is outside in the parking lot waiting for me. When I go out to assess the newly assigned and hopefully last vehicle he tells me that one of the Avis employees was driving a rental vehicle erratically and hit another rental next to the Charger my bf was sitting in. Several employees outside watched this and they all LAUGHED. Unbelievable. Finally ended up with a decent Toyota Camry with everything I needed after being there for 30min. This place truly deserves every low rating its received if this is how it operates on a daily basis. Save your money and try a more reputable rental company because this ain't it. read more

Avis car rental at the JFK airport was a pretty good experience. Other then waiting for a while, they hooked it up with a nice little Hyundai SUV and waived the gas fee when we returned it. The bill was about $300 something which isn't too bad. read more

Never rent a car here!!! I was informed last weekend that they have lack of cars so they will provide them to customers who made a reservation far in advance. Lady at the counter was so rude, so as Carly - manager on duty - who was actually look like a guy who wash cars. So rude, so unfriendly, NEVER RENT HERE!! Don't try to save couple bucks by using their service, you will have just problems. read more

This place is the worst. Any other word other than words that I could use I would first off they charged my debit card and told me that I'm not allowed to use a debit card if I do not have a ticket coming into JFK I am. I live here I will be traveling in the area the agent said ok however when I went to pick up my car I was told I can't use the debit card and I would have to cancel reservations and pay $100 to switch it over to my boyfriends name. I called customer service they switched it over they waive the fee however at the place to pick up the car they said they do not see my reservations for the same amount that customer service had given it to me for discounted rate cannot be applied to I call customer service back they said its in the system the rude guy at the counter says they did not see it long story short I payed Extra $35 not bad however that was money I wasn't looking to spend. Ok that's how it started I have my own easy pass started to drive to Jersey for some reason my pass was not being read from their vehicle it wanted me to use there easy pass not my own. Another fee I wasn't looking to pay. Upon returning the vehicle the guy that nasty rude guy asked my boyfriend if he had exchanged the car we didn't quite frankly know what he meant by that we said no not sure what. Do you mean by that the guy says "do you not know what the word exchange means" rude he was talking to the wrong person first of all We said we change reservation names he said there's a fee for that what why didn't you tell us that when we received the vehicle I call customer service again they said there's no fee for that he then tells us we are late with the car. My boyfriend tells them no we're not we wanted to pick up the car at 830 however that wasn't available for us we did not get the car until 10 as he wrote on his receipt return at 10 because we couldn't get it at our time the rude guy says o ok no apology no nothing no late fee charge. this place if I could give it a zero like the other person said I would never again will I ever! save your money spend a couple of dollars someplace else this is the worst place ever and the crazy part is that you see all these comments do you think maybe it will be better for you on top of that you do not see Avis responding to any of these comments HORRIBLE read more

Bad experience and very bad customer service A couple days ago i made a reservation through your app and before i make it I called the customer service to male sure they take debit cards at JFK avis location and they told me yes we do take debit cards and then i made it When i went to pick up the car the refused to take it and they said you need to have two majors credit card I called again the customer service and explained everything about the what happened The customer service representative looked up a different location that accepts debit cards and she told me go they waiting for you Which is new hyde ride rd in queens I got there and the guy don't know nothing about it I called the customer service again and they treat me very bad And I didn't get car That's totally an inconvenience Plus $170 uber that i paid to go back and fourth between this locations That's extremely horrible And bad experience read more

The customer service at this location is lousy. They have signs telling preferred members to proceed to the car assigned on the electronic board and paperwork will be printed out at the gate. Unfortunately, half of the time a non-Avis employee rent-a-cop is at the gate and sends you back to the office for paperwork. The people at the counter are slow and very unfriendly, as if you are interrupting their day and they have more important things to do. I'm sorry...you're here at the counter to help me, a customer, which is the entire point of the business. Easily 50-75% of their cars have been smoked in, so be very careful there. They use enough air freshener so that you get about 5 miles down the road into traffic before you discover it. Basic rule, if you smell the faintest hint of smoke in the car, get another...and even then at this location they might give you another car that has been smoked in even worse. The only saving grace about this location is the returns people. They are generally efficient and always friendly. I've been to less busy locations where they are much slower and for as much churn as there is at this location, they are pretty quick. It is rare that you have to wait more than one car in front of you and if you are a business traveler and gathering your things from the car, you really don't even notice. In this part of the country there are tolls everywhere, so either have cash with you or make sure that they put one of those toll transponders in the car an be prepared to pay the fees with it. Sometimes they don't put one in the car, yet another negative about making sure they are doing their jobs correctly. As a preferred member, upgrades are hit or miss here. I have gotten upgrades when there are no cars on the lot and not gotten them when the lot is full. The policy is supposed to be "when available," and that would lead me to believe that a higher likelihood of an upgrade would be when there are lots of cars available, but just not true. read more

the worst car rent service there is, took over an hour to give me the car when we had already filled out the paperwork online to just pick it up. 2 weeks after they called me because there was an "outstanding balance".. yet when i called costumer service they did not explain, did not have a reason NOTHING. but at no point when i picked up or dropped off the car did they say I had to pay an extra amount. you will have more luck and better service with a different company for sure read more

I previously voiced how unhappy I was with the company's refusal to accept my organization' s sale tax exemption. The company wrote back through socialinfo@avis.com stating they have their own in-house rules on how they grant the sales tax exemptions on a case by case basis. This is why I requested that the New York State do a sales tax audit to ensure those monies they collect from exempt organizations are being handed over to the State. read more

Pick up is incredibly inefficient. Preferred member and book well in advance. Car has never been ready and on the board. Always need to stop by the counter. Waste of time again and again. Drop off is fine. read more

First off I got an SUV that I really liked that was similar to the car that I drive back home which is always helpful. On my return traveling with an infant and not looking forward to unpacking and having to take the train back to the terminal, the guy who checked out my car then asked if I needed assistance to my terminal? I said that would be wonderful! and LARRY then drove me to my terminal so I did not have to unpack everything and take the train very helpful great experience thank you! read more

It's a tale of two cities. When I picked up the car in Lebanon, New Hampshire, service was great. Very pleasant and helpful with no waiting. However, JFK was a different story. Very long wait to return the car with only one employee there for the whole parking lot. I guess, the lesson learned is to check Yelp for both the pick up and drop off locations before renting a car. read more

I take a dim view of dishonest people trying to squeeze extra dollars out of travelers. I declined the insurance but was charged for it anyway. If you rent from Avis at JFK, after your rental is finished, make a point of scrutinizing your credit card statement. read more

Worse rental car experience I could possibly have. I wish zero stars was an option. Employees were rude. The first ASSIGNED SUV wasn't cleaned (I thought Avis Preferred Plus members get to choose their vehicle from available options). On top of that the first SUV had a technical issue. Once you turn the car on; the screen consistently malfunctioned. I went back inside and the rude employees ASSIGNED me another filthy car. There was a sticker stating sanitized though the car clearly wasn't and this is during the covid pandemic. My wife sat on the passenger side only to find the seat was wet with who knows what. So unfortunately my wife had to deal with wet pants fresh off a flight. We wiped the car down to see the white clorox wipe turned black. And there was dust everywhere. Furthermore the car wasn't cleaned outside either. The car was already pre-paid for and at nearly $1000 I didn't want to take the loss. Lastly I went back in to see if maybe I upgraded the rental I may get a better cleaned SUV, without checking the system the employee shouted across another customer it would cost me $20-$50 more per day which is a big range on a 10day rental. Needless to say even as a new Preferred Plus Member I will never use Avis again. Stick with Hertz, Alamo, or Enterprise. I hope someone from Avis corporate reads this and addresses poor customer experiences. read more

Absolutely horrible service and very nasty employees with disgusting attitudes. Iesha or whatever her name is should be fired. I tried to get the supervisor or manager name and she kept telling me they're busy. I called for two weeks straight and still busy. I will never rent a car from this location again. They charged my card for the car keys I dropped in the red box when I returned the vehicle I rented for one day and now they're saying they can't find the keys after saying they were going to erase the charge off my card. Scam artists! read more

We were late for a flight after a 2.5 hour drive from Manhattan only 16 miles away. The attendant jumped in the rental car and drove us as like a bat out of hell to the Virgin America terminal just in the time for the flight. I suggest a tip be offered in order to get this kind of door-to-door service. Thank you Avis. And thank you New York!!!! read more

We received great service at the Avis Rent a Car location at JFK Airport. To say it had been a long day would have been an understatement, we traveled from San Juan into JFK to find that our connecting flight to Maine had been canceled due to weather. JFK was absolutely crazy with all the flights being grounded and canceled and Delta informed us that we would not be able to get on another flight for 2 days! So, needless to say we decided to drive home to Maine. After waiting for nearly 2 hours for our luggage to be found, and it being almost midnight, we took the air-train to Federal Circle and after a terrible experience with Hertz trying to rip us off, we went over to Avis. We told the young man that assisted us what had happened and he was understanding and showed compassion as we were traveling with our 3 kids. He said, "let's get you a car so we can get you out of here and on your way" and was quick, efficient and friendly while finding us a vehicle that would fit our family and luggage. Processing was fast and efficient and we were on our way inside of 20 minutes. The car we received was clean and nicely maintained and we had absolutely no problems with it at all. When we arrived in Maine to drop the car off, we were met at the Portland Jetport Avis return garage by a gentleman who came right out and asked if we were returning, we simply handed him our paperwork, he scanned the car and off we went, again, good customer service! read more

If I could give this place a negative star I would. The customer Service is horrific, staff is incredibly rude. Me making a car reservation was a joke, got there and was told there are no cars available and they didn't know when there would be one available so I would have to wait. Was told those people you called over the phone they don't know our inventory, like who says that. Obviously they hate their job and it shows. Avis you really need to do something about your staff there, not good for business. Would never GO BACK. read more

Hands down the worst Avis ever. I travel a lot for work and this Avis was terrible- disrespectful staff, slow, understaffed. 2 thumbs down!

The staff was rude and not service oriented at all. One of the worst experiences to have after coming off of a flight.

I actually want to rate them 0 star if I could, worst rent service have ever experienced. The people in the counter will tell you nothing and just trying to mislead you to rent a higher rate vehicles that is not fit for you. Especially, if you are a foreigner with not fluently English, please pay more attention and do not fall into their trap. And the worst part is their extremely unprofessional customer service, their attitude towards customers could not be worse, that woman I was talking to was so rude and impatient, even had said some bad language to me and that rude woman hanged up my phone first without solve my any problems and trying to insult me instead. I could not believe and shocked how can a top car rent company treat their customers like this, rude, impolite, and impatient. To sum up, I had extremely bad rent experience in there. And I swear I will not going to use their services any more. Really disappointed by so called top auto rent company. Shame on you Avis!!!!! Stay away from the Avis in JFK unless you do not want to get basic respect. read more

The worst customer service I ever encountered, the staff thinks customers are a problem. I was told the easy pass charge was the actual cost of the toll. However they added on $20 for a convience fee. Never use them again. read more

This is the worst rental car experience I've ever had . When I checked yelp on the reviews and saw that it was one and half stars, I was not surprised. We waited 2.5 hours not even a line of people to get the wrong car. Staff is very inefficient in getting the job done and needs more training. Would never rent here again. read more

Worst experience ever. Will never use again. Took forever very busy Saturday only 3 people working. Took sooooo long to get my car

Avis car rental at Federal Circle is a disaster! Extremely poorly managed. I'm a preferred member for 10+ years and the service there sucks. My car is rarely avaiable in the preferred lot outside and I end up waiting on long lines at the understaffed ticket counter to get my car. Customer service is non-existant at this location. Who ever is running this place should be fired! We waited for over an hour to get our car that was supposed to be in a space outside according the the email we received. I dont recommend renting from avis at this location. read more

I could complain about the car not being the cleanest or the exorbitant fees for renting a car in NY, but that's a given. The excellent, friendly service provided by Felice made the experience much better than expected. She even apologized for the mandatory toll pass expense. The car was adequate and Avis' price was surprisingly the best out of all of the rest. read more

AVIS = The only place to rent at JFK. Onsite and they bring your car to you and pop the trunk. Hertz charges the same but the cars are crappier per category and you gotta hike . Alamo/Thrifty are in a trailer park way off site with an infrequent bus. The rest not so nice either. read more

Old slow people with nasty customer service working the counter. Very long wait.. have been standing on line for 40 minutes. Absolutely ridiculous.. never again read more

Been waiting on line for 40 minutes. Looks like I'll be here for at least another 40 minutes. Unacceptable!!! I've rented from various other rental companies and am in and out the door in less than 10 minutes. Save yourself the time and frustration and go to one of the many other rental car companies in the airport. I will never ever rent from here again. read more

-5 Stars!!!! Do not rent from here ever coming from a preferred customer that rents all over the US, Europe and Mexico. We have never been treated with such disrespect from a company as this JFK location. And on top of that from a "Manager". Told I was a liar and only wanted free upgrades. I rent cars all the time why would I want a free upgrade they are given to me. Cars are ran to the grown just in one night a car with dog hair everywhere, a car with both bumpers hanging off, another with a door off the hinge when I opened it up then finally settled for a car after an hour of being yelled at by the manager about how he will not allow me back because of my request for a decent car. Last car filled with smoke and trash. This is no way to treat the people that help put a roof over your head and food on your table to provide you with a check! I'll be taking my business to enterprise or take the train before I go back there. read more

Unfortunately I can not assign any stars for this specific location as they should not operate under the guise of AVIS. I will be writing the better business bureau as well as the CEO of Avis. I have included pictures as well. I usually stick with companies and will continue to rent but NOT AT THE JFK location. This is not the first time that this has happened but it will be the last. The vehicles at this location are not cleaned thoroughly (especially inside), most are inoperable or not street worthy. I went through 4 vehicles until I SETTLED for one that was dirty and had the smell of smoke and weed which was extremely difficult to air out. I only settle because my flight was late and I was jet lagged to say the least. The first vehicle had cat hair throughout (of which I am allergic) and the rims were bent in several directions. The second vehicle was as filthy as the first and the bumpers where not Secured correctly, then I was downgraded to a 2 plus 2 vehicle where there was no back seat and the passenger door's hinge was not secured. The last vehicle was the one I settled for but was not happy about and was an expensive upgrade. After excepting the last vehicle I was told by Mathew, whom I later found out was a supervisor that he personally inspects the vehicles and that all I was attempting to achieve was a free upgrade although this was certainly not my intention as I am a preferred member and can obtain upgrades at any time for no additional cost. Mathew berated me for being a concerned customer and attempted to intimidate me into taking a vehicle that was not safe for driving. This behavior is unacceptable and should not be tolerated by any customer. I was also told that he would make sure that I never rent from that location again by adding a ridiculous remark to the record that I had a pet ( which btw is a service animal and always kept in the carrier!!) I have called customer service and I do have a complaint on file but will still go to the CEO as this Supervisor is a disgrace to AVIS' image as well as the vehicles that they are providing to customers. Please BEWARE of this location. read more

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Alright, I'm reading all the other reviews of this Avis Rent a car @JFK airport, and I get it. Clearly, these guys aren't doing so well in the popularity department here on yelp. While I've never before left a yelp rating....or online rating / review of any product or service in a public forum, I felt the importance of sharing my experience with the rental company for your benefit. Okay, we're going back about a month and a half now. It was late Saturday night/evening. I booked a reservation on priceline and headed to jfk to pick up the car for an early morning trip Sunday. I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you folks. I walk in, and already there's a customer raising his voice at this rental agent on the other side of the counter. It was unclear from all the shouting why he was being charged additional fees upon returning his rental, but one thing's for sure. He was loud, and upset. Meanwhile, a line of customers is developing behind him. Now, I'm a local New Yorker coming in for a rental bc priceline sent me there. Other customers looked like they just came off an international flight...tired, in large groups, doing the ever-famous 'luggage-balancing-act' we all do when waiting at the airport with our bags.......they're hoping to pick up their rentals, and leave within minutes....but it's past 12am on a saturday night, and things were moving so slow for all of us.........Also, 'Yelling Guy' up front was making this process seem more hopeless....idk, i never have luck renting cars flawlessly...there's always something. And then, my turn comes. The rental agent, "M" calls me up to the counter. I give her my confirmation number......so far, so good......and i explain I need a car with bluetooth for the gps....she did a quick search, gave me an option of a few makes and models....and if I remember correctly, I was given a chevy malibu. Okay guys, the moment we're all waiting for. I give the card, and it turns out the one I gave was't a credit card, and Avis had a policy that they only take debit card rentals if you come from out of town.......thus, continues my unlucky car-renting streak. I was exhausted, it was so late already.....but I couldn't imagine how the rental agent on the other side of the counter still managed a smile at 12 something in the morning with all these groggy, tired customers who wanted to be sleeping in a bed.....but she smiled, and was courteous, and looked genuinely sad for my predicament-- not being able to rent a car with a Debit card....they swiped one card after another.....none of them worked :\ Fast forward, the Manager "S" is called over....they're trying to come up with all solutions to be accommodating....but policy is policy. When they said "we're so sorry, we wish we can make this work for you" it was almost 1am........and you know what, I believed them, and thanked them kindly for at the very least TRYING TO HELP. At the last moment, I came up with one more possible fix here. I had a Paypal card w a line of credit.......It was a debit card, but I figured the line of credit might do something for my predicament. 'M' and 'S' said we don't think it will work, but let's try and see..........It worked :) SUCCESS :))))) I write to you today because I don't know if you've ever worked as a rental agent at a car rental place....I know I haven't. But I can only imagine how much strength it takes to help impatient NY'ers and exhausted groups who just came off of a long flight.........who ALL want for nothing more than to be in bed sleeping..........The beauty here was that @ such a late hour, with a line of ppl behind us, The agent and manager could've just said, "Sorry, it's not our problem that you didn't understand policy, please leave the line so other ppl who are waiting can step up the line and get their cars" but they didn't do that......I saw it in their eyes that these 2 individuals actually cared enough about my situation.......that they didn't throw me off line, and actually were patient enough trying to figure out a solution. Sure....what rental car company is flawless? Perfect cars, perfect customer svc, perfect everything? I wouldn't be able to tell you. But to all those who doubt the existance of listening caring employees at this particular JFK location.....take it from me, if you're in a bind for whatever reason when renting a car.......this is where you'll want to be....bc they care about YOU....not just about your reservation... read more

I rented a car at the counter at Avis JFK airport. I asked the price for 4 days and was quoted $350. The estimate came out $414. OK. I was then rushed through the process...never asked to decline insurance (which I guess was on the screen that I could not read), then handed a GPS which I said I did not want (who needs those with a smart phone?) and was ignored. I figured it wasn't that expensive. When I dropped the car 4 days later I was charged over $1500. Asked why and the attendant shrugged his shoulders and pointed to customer service, which of course was empty. Finally a trainee (!!!) took my paper work to a supervisor who said that I had been quoted a one day rental, not 4 days (which I had clarified multiple times). So I called corporate and was told that they understood and would happily credit me one day of the GPS (c. $25). I said no thanks and wanted a supervisor. The deal quickly shot up to $50. No thanks. So I was told someone would get back to me. Not holding my breath. Be very wary about renting from this company and read everything. All I wanted was a compromise. The agent at JFK was extremely misleading. I can admit I can be absent minded...and he took full advantage. Is Avis that desperate as a company to be purposefully vague to customers, especially at 6am ? read more

Good Afternoon, I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction following recent interactions with several AVIS staff while on our family vacation. My family and I (7 members in all) booked a 12 seater passenger van to transport us from JFK on 7/4/18 to Baltimore. Shortly before leaving for our trip on June 20th, a modification was made by AVIS on 6/18 without our consultation. It is important to note however that this change was not realized by us until June 28th, and while we were already out of the country: While out of the country, a call was made by my husband, to AVIS' JFK location to resolve this matter. Unfortunately, we spoke with 2 very rude and unhelpful staff, Vanessa and Luis, who insisted that we were the ones that called to modify our reservation. Our inital reservation, indicated our need for a 12 passenger car due to the number of individuals needing transporation from JFK to Baltimore. This included 7 individuals, each with 2 pieces of luggage. We tried in vain to explain that we would never modify the reservation for a smaller vehicle, as this would leave several of our family members, along with their luggage stranded, and hours away from our final destination. We also requested of Luis and Vanessa to please confirm who they may have spoken with concerning the modification, however, no names could be produced by either of them. My family and I had never rented from AVIS before, and we never will again. There was no committment, integrity or responsibility by AVIS to rectify this situation, as the represenatives remained content with us having to essentially scramble to make alternative arrangements despite their company's mistakes. An honest admission of error for AVIS renting our previously reserved vehicle to another person would have at least been more palbable than the outright claim that we had modified our own reservation for a smaller vehicle, despite knowing that this would not accomodate all of our family and luggage. The latter was insulting and incredibly inconveniencing for us, since it not only resulted in more stress but additional expenses, which we did not previosuly account for. As a result of AVIS' poor practices and customer service, we were forced to impose on 2 friends to pick us up at JFK at 7am to Baltimore on 7/4. We incured double costs for gas and tolls, and essentially interrupted the early preparation for both individual's July 4th festivities. The latter part of our vacation was ruined as we stressed, problem-solved and called on others to help with our transportation home---a responsibility we initially thought had been handled when we entrusted it to AVIS. I wanted to shed light on this terrible ordeal, in the hopes that another individual or family wouldn't have to experience the level of stress and disappointment we endured. read more

The WORST rental experience at this center!!! We arrived at 8:15 AM on a Saturday and by the time we got our car was 9:45 AM (after 1.5 Hour). Once we were assigned a car, the rep said the car would be pulled upfront and no one came for almost 15 minutes. We had to ask a person who was working in the car cleaning section and he mentioned the car is being cleaned. So we waited for another 10 minutes only to find out the car was sitting in a different parking spot. Once we got the car (almost 2:00 hours later), we started to drive on the freeway and the "Low Tire Pressure" indicator came on and we had to come back to the office for an exchange. We wasted another 30 minutes. The rep was not even courteous to accept the issue. I really don't know how this facility is operating. Absolutely unacceptable customer service. read more