On Friday, I received an email from someone named Ray who identifed himself as a Customer Service Supervisor with Avis/Budget. His message explained that he had been referred to my blog and he offered to discuss the issue with me and try to make it right. 

Today, I sent Ray an email detailing the situation. I also put my proposal on the table.  I'll rent again with Avis if they can provide two things:

1. A free weekend rental.
2. A hassle-free experience that includes me being on the Preferred list.

This is a bit of a surprising development because I honestly didn't expect to hear from someone at Avis. I'm now cautiously optimistic, but Ray's response will let me know if I really do have something to cheer about. I'll let you know how it goes!

Background: I started this blog experiment after I had unsuccessfully tried four times to resolve a problem with Avis. I signed up for "Preferred" status so I could bypass the rental counter, but I've had to go to the rental counter anyway. Now, I'm using my blog to chronicle my attempts to see if Avis will finally resolve the issue or cause me to find a new "Preferred" rental car company.