Dollar Rent a Car Extra Charge, Stolen iPhone Case, Horrendous Service, Deceptive Business Las Vegas, Nevada

Short version for those in a rush:

I know their prices are low- but I beg you- if you're reading this, don't make the mistake of thinking that maybe it's not that bad and folks are just coming here to complain, this place is absolutely terrible, and you'll regret it as soon as you see the line snaking into the main lobby area (that's what happened to me). Spend the extra dollars (no pun intended) and choose a better rental car company. Also, they steal iPhone cases, so there's that (more info in long version).

Long version:
There aren't enough snide terms in the english language to describe how I feel about this place. To paraphrase Flock of Seagulls - run, run so far away. This company is absolutely horrendous, even if their prices are lower than the other companies, trust me- they're still not worth it. Lets see where to begin:

I arrived at the airport rental car center after flying out to Vegas with my then-fiance (now wife, we were doing the vegas wedding at the Strat). The first thing you'll notice is the line. Every other rental car company has a line of maybe 3-8 people, then you see Dollar, with a line of 40+. No, that is not an exaggerated number. And no, it was not an isolated incident, as it was that bad when we were leaving as well - but more on that later.

After waiting more than an hour to get my car - to put that in perspective, our flight was three hours long - it took me 1/3 of the time it takes to fly from Chicago to Las Vegas as it did to pick up our car. Only, it wasn't our car, at least not the one we were told would be available. They had rented out all the Dodge Challengers, so we went with a Galant instead - not too bad of a change, and small fries compared to what was to come.

After rushing through the desk since at this point I was going to be late for a meeting with our wedding coordinator (I scheduled a meeting when the plane landed, since I didn't think it would take over an hour in line at Dollar) I signed up for some supplemental insurance since I was planning on taking the car out to the desert for some photographs with our photographer, and was finally on my way.

The next day, I got a call asking if I was coming by to pick up my car. I said I already had, and they said their system must have not scanned it. Keep in mind- I was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on our wedding and looking after our 25 guests, but I got them their contract info, and they said we're now OK.

Fast forward to the day of my wedding. I get an email asking if I'm coming to pick up my car (notice a pattern yet?). This time, I didn't reply, with the minor issue of getting married taking up the majority of my day. Besides, the person on the phone said we were OK now - can a company really suck this bad? I didn't think so, but I was wrong.

When it was time for us to leave, I turned in the car, and sure enough - we were never in their system! Too bad for them for screwing up so bad - right? Nope! I was told I had to go speak with someone at the desk, and the line was just as bad as it was when we had arrived. At this point, thoroughly tired of this place's complete incompetence, I went to their express member desk and told them they had to handle this issue. And they did! Except I was charged as an uninsured driver, apparently I was supposed to show my card at checkout, even though they never asked me to (to be clear, I've carried auto insurance uninterrupted since I got my first car in 2000.) I complained, and was told... go up to the front desk! At this point, I had two choices:

1) Complain about the additional charge and miss my flight

2) Eat the charge, and go on to write this

Clearly, I went with #2 (in actuality, I wrote them an email about the un-insured driver charge, and was never responded to - I know- a big shocker with these crooks)

Oh, but there's an extra added  bonus! A friend of ours forgot her iPhone in her car, which was returned at the same time as us. This was realized within 30 minutes, so NOBODY except Dollar employees were in the car during this time. When she picked it up, the case, which held her credit cards, was gone. The phone and cards were placed in a plastic bag, but someone from Dollar STOLE HER iPHONE CASE.

If you're still reading this far into my rant- thank you. Now do yourself a favor, do your friends a favor, and go find a different rental car company.