THE BAD
Experience 1 :When I first moved to this area, I used this service quite often and hated it initially. My first chauffer was a racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic man whose first question to me and my mother of 58 years was "Where are you guys really from?" and on learning (confirming) that we were not Muslims he delivered a speech (the entire ride) on why he hates Islam and all Muslim people. Luckily he moved to Texas and we just had him drive us one time after that. My family and I were very offended and actually considered reporting him to the owner, but turns out he would answer the phone very single time.
Experience 2 : This was with another chauffer who charged us 25 bucks for a 12 dollar ride. We reported him to the dispatch manager that particular day Joe, who refunded us the money and also gave us a free ride back.
Another random bad experience : They really have a racist problem. It was one of the female chauffers, who came outside our house earlier than requested- did not honk or call and left. When I called her at the intended time, she told me how she had other people to pick up. When she finally came to get us- she says "IN THIS COUNTRY, YOU GOTTA BE WAITING OUTSIDE ATLEAST 10 MINUTES PRIOR TO PICKUP, BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THE DRIVER WILL ARRIVE". Whatever that means. Also she said that in a LOUD, SLOW manner- people of color/immigrants who are discriminated against would probably understand where I'm coming from. It was really surprising as her tone over the phone was quite fine. I was really tempted to be passive aggressive and answer her back in the same tone "BUT YOUU COUUULDD HAVVVEE JUST CALLED OR HONKED" but I refrained from doing so. We just ignored her and kept to ourselves.
THE NOT SO BAD
1.They have good guys too. Joe is a relatively well mannered guy who is usually in a good mood all the time. There is another young chauffeur (I can't recall his name, but he's the youngest of them all), who is very courteous and professional. That is when it truly feels like a cab service. So if you can ask for them, It would be great. If they had more people like these two, this would definitely be a 4-5 star review.
Bottom line : They have a sort of monopoly in the area and if you need a cab, this is pretty much the service you'd have to use. Please don't expect them to be professional, unless of course you get those two particular people driving you that day.
Other important points to keep in mind
1. Book fairly in advance- I'd say more than half a day. If you call last minute chances are that you won't get one.
2. The cars are usually unclean, please don't expect a cab experience.
3. It's quite pricy. They don't have a meter system, but have flat rates, and it usually ranges between 11-16 dollars for a local ride.
4. Like I said they are the only reliable cab service in the area. They will take you to your destination, but don't expect it to be a pleasant experience every single time.
On the brighter side, I've come to respect and admire all the cab/uber workers in the city even more. They're professional more often than not. read more
