Zipcar saw a significant swing in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a falloff in demand in March 2020 and a surge in May. Having taken cars off the road, the company had trouble keeping up with demand, causing a backlog at the customer service center. Some customers arrived at the time of their reservation to find no car in the parking spot. Some customers reported being stranded without transportation and unable to reach customer service to complain or cancel their membership. President Tracey Zhen apologized in June, saying the company was adding cars and customer service employees. By that month, she reported membership applications in New York City 70% above June 2019. An anonymous employee told CNN that the problems were exacerbated by laying off more than 20% of its employees, and changing call centers.