At first I felt a bit nervous about this car rental in Italy. I am an overseas visitor and I always worry about extra charges. That day I picked up the car in Trieste. It was a Peugeot 208 automatic with four doors and five seats from Avis. I got the car around June twentieth in the evening, about seven. The staff at the counter gave me the key and I looked at the fuel gauge. It showed five bars. I even took a photo because I was afraid there might be some problem later. The car drove pretty smooth so I felt a little better. Two days later I went to return the car. It was around June twenty second at about ten at night. I did not want to search for gas stations too late so I went earlier to a station in the city and filled up the tank. When I was pumping gas I kept counting in my head. It was 39.19 liters. The price was 1.767 per liter. I paid 69.25 euros. For a student budget this is not a small amount. I watched the gauge move from five bars to eight full bars. I felt a bit unsure. I knew I only needed to return the car with the same five bars. But I was afraid to miscalculate so I decided to just fill it up. In my mind I thought the rental office would refund something for the extra fuel. When I returned the car the staff checked it. He saw the fuel was full. His attitude was normal. Just regular inspection. I asked him if there would be some refund because I picked up the car with five bars and now it was full. He said something that sounded like it would be handled but he did not give me any number or paper. I felt a bit shy to keep asking so I left. Back at my place I started to feel more and more uneasy. I had photos of the fuel gauge at pick up and return. I also remembered the amount I paid for gas. I tried to calculate by myself. I told myself that at least three bars of fuel should be refunded. I played with the numbers in my head. I thought about eight bar fuel and I thought about five bar fuel and it got more confusing. I felt annoyed. I felt like maybe I lost money for nothing. So I contacted their customer service and explained everything I could. At that moment I did not expect too much. I just wanted a fair answer. I sent them the photos and told them it was five bars at pick up and full when I returned. I also told them roughly how much fuel I had added. The person who talked to me did not use any fancy words. It was very simple and clear. They asked step by step about the situation. How many bars at pick up. How many at return. If I had a receipt. Even when I still did not have the fuel bill ready they listened carefully. I could feel that this person was really trying to help me with the calculation and not just give me a copy paste reply. I told them that the staff at the rental desk said there would be a refund. Because of that I felt this extra fuel should not just disappear. Later they came back with the answer from the rental company. The answer was very firm. The car company said as long as the fuel at return is the same as at pick up then it is fine and extra fuel will not be refunded. When I saw this I felt disappointed. I had saved numbers and photos and tried so hard but it felt useless. I thought the case ended there. But the person who handled my case did not stop. They explained to me what the rental company said. Then they talked to me again about my real loss. They tried different ways to look at the amount. I could feel that they also understood that in real life it is hard to stop the fuel exactly at five bars. Normal travelers cannot use the fuel gauge like a lab tool. So they did not just throw rules at me. After some time they told me they were willing to give me a direct compensation in US dollars. They said this amount should cover the extra fuel I added. When I saw the number I felt much more relaxed. It was not some huge gain. It was the feeling that someone helped carry this trouble with me instead of pushing all of it back to me. For me this feeling of being followed by one person and being helped step by step was more important than the money itself. From the first message to the call to the rental company and then to the final payment this person was always there. Every time I shared my thoughts like when I kept saying the desk staff promised a refund and I felt the money should not come from them the person who talked to me did not get impatient. They explained clearly the rental policy my situation and what they could do for me. I know they must have done many talks inside their company but from my side I just felt that there was someone on my team. I am an overseas visitor and my language skills are not perfect. When there is a problem with money I usually just give up and accept the loss because I do not want to fight. This time because I had this one on one support I was able to speak out my worries and in the end I got a result that I can accept. When I received the compensation I thought again about the whole story. From taking a photo of the five bar gauge to returning the car with full fuel and then getting stuck with numbers and asking the desk and then asking for help it was a lot of small steps. My feelings were broken into many tiny pieces. Nervous. Confused. Annoyed. But the person helping me stayed there all the way. I do not know any fancy term for this. It just feels like being looked after. I understand that the rental company policy will probably not change for me. But at least there was someone who tried to see things from my side instead of only saying next time be careful. So now when I think of this rental I do not first think about the argument. I think about how I was not alone with this problem. That is what QEEQ means to me now.
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