Did Avis Car Rental Discriminate Against Israeli Businessman?
An Avis Car Rental branch allegedly refused to rent a car to an Israeli business executive, despite the fact that he was a regular customer with a loyalty card and presented the necessary documentation.
Several years ago, Avis ditched its longtime “We Try Harder” slogan in favor of “It’s Your Space,” but neither apparently seemed to apply in this scenario that occurred in New York City over the weekend.
Since this story broke, the hashtag #boycottavis has gained traction on Twitter, given the implications of possible anti-Semitism and religious or national origin discrimination.
Avis initially denied the allegation, but in an update, has now issued a formal apology to the customer who was visiting the U.S from Israel.
Avis has more than 5,000 locations around the world. It’s parent, Avis Budget Group, also owns Budget Rent a Car and Zipcar.
As part of the company’s detailed mission statement, Avis strives for a “stress-free car rental experience by providing superior services that cater to our customers’ individual needs” and that it embraces diversity of all kinds.
Dov Bergwerk, a high-level executive with an Israeli pharmaceutical corporation, ran into trouble when he tried to rent a midsize sedan from a Manhattan branch of Avis Car Rental, according to the Observer.
“A reservation agent… declined to honor Mr. Bergwerk’s reservation, saying that it was company policy not to recognize Israeli documents. Stunned, Mr. Bergwerk explained that he had rented from Avis many times, including a car from that very same office on Thursday, November 19—only two days earlier.”
The dispute continued when the agent evidently refused to access his loyalty card account to verify his identity and customer status. The branch manager also refused to honor Bergwerk’s Avis reservation.
The businessman then called Avis customer service on the 1-800 line, and he received the green light for the rental, along with the suggestion that he could produce his passport in addition to the license to satisfy the Avis workers with a second form of identification.
The manager then allegedly changed her tune when she got on the line with the customer service rep. “She now claimed that she was declining to rent the Bergwerks a car not because of the insufficient documents but because Mr. Bergwerk had ‘argued about the way I was being treated in front of other customers,’ according to Mr. Bergwerk.”
#BoycottAvis @Avis pic.twitter.com/SmQoyOkb34
— RF (@proudjewess26) November 23, 2015
His Israeli driver’s license lacked required information in English, the agent apparently claimed. According to the state of Israel’s Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, however, the U.S. is one of 21 countries that accepts a license issued by the Jewish state.
Bergwerk told the Observer that his license and credit card have never been challenged in 15 years of travel and sensed that he was getting the cold shoulder from the Avis staff as soon as he produced his Israeli license. His wife was also present during the back and forth, and she supports his version of what went down.
“I felt that something very ugly was going on. Discriminated against. When you deny someone a service and they present the ability to pay for that service and they dismiss you like your money isn’t good here, it’s very demeaning,” Bergwerk explained.
In its initial customer-blaming statement, the Avis public relations office insisted that Bergwerk “failed to provide the required documentation,” and that “so far, our ongoing investigation suggests that this customer is unfairly maligning us with unfounded allegations.”
“We have spoken with the customer and apologized for the misunderstanding that occurred as a result of this inconsistency in applying our documentation policy, and the customer has accepted our apology.”
The Avis car rental response also reaffirmed its nondiscrmination policy.
[Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beal, via Flickr |cropped and resized|(CC BY-ND 2.0)]
If @Avis won't recognize #Israel ID as legitimate, I won't recognize #Avis for legitimate car rentals.
RT if you agree. #boycottAvis
— Mendy Pellin (@MendyTV) November 23, 2015
