This is long but worth the read because there is a twist! In a nutshell, FMS has great customer service until something goes wrong. This is when you discover they are neither trustworthy nor honorable.
Back in May, I had a scooter die on me completely at Disney Hollywood Studios, Galaxy's Edge, located at the back of the park. This was frustrating because the LED 'idiot light' meter showed 75% power remaining. (As an aside I have since found out from a dealer that the LED meter is extremely unreliable and can easily be replaced with an $8 digital meter showing actual battery power).
This day happened to be the only day I failed to bring my charger, which FMS strongly advises their customers to do. Nevertheless, here we were, stranded in the back of the park.
We quickly found out we were on our own. We also discovered how difficult it is to push the hunk of weight that is a Victory scooter with an auto-engaging safety brake. Disney couldn't help due to liability reasons, and FMS wasn't allowed in the park to bring us another scooter, but they could meet us at the curb...during business hours only! By the time we made it to the front of the park, FMS was closed. We now had to get this unit to the bus, on the bus, off the bus, through Disney Springs, and to our hotel. All this took a little over two hours and we covered a tad bit over a mile.
The next day I called FMS and relayed this experience to Samantha, or Sam as she is known. She listened patiently for 30 minutes and was very sympathetic. At the conclusion of our conversation, she didn't offer any type of remuneration. What she DID do is ASSURE me of a significant discount the next time I was in Orlando. I was so impressed with the way she dealt with me that I sent a pretty awesome email praising her customer service experience.
Fast forward five months. We had planned another trip to Orlando so I called Sam. I reminded her who I was by summarizing our lengthy phone conversation just 5 months earlier. She seemed to not know who I was and needed to refer to the email I sent to FMS on her behalf. I was, however, thrown off by the chill I experienced from a lady who previously seemed so genuine.
I gave her our dates for December. She computed the cost of a regular/basic/level 1 scooter (I don't know what a regular scooter is), then told me she was giving me a free upgrade.
I am a loyal customer. If you take care of me, I will be your customer for life. if you mess up my food order, but replace the food and take the meal off my bill, I will eat with you for a long time. If you do a crappy job cleaning my car, but refund me 50% and re-clean my car, then you will always be cleaning my car. I am loyal because those businesses have shown I can trust they will stand by their service.
On the other hand, if you are a scooter company that assures a frustrated and disappointed customer a significant discount for future patronage, then you would be wise to stand by that assurance.
As it turns out the choice to not offer a remuneration works well in FMS's favor, as does the assurance of a significant discount. No remuneration allows them to keep their money and empty assurance of a significant discount is not an assurance they will likely have to honor.
Florida Mobility is a great company to deal with...until you have a problem, then they become nasty. If you don't believe me, just read their reviews. They give five-star service until they are required to step up and be honorable and trustworthy.
Here is the twist to this story: as it turns out, THE SCOOTER BATTERY WOULD NOT ACCEPT A CHARGE! Whatever was wrong with it, the battery turned out not to be depleted. The problem was electrical which means FMS absolutely DID owe us something. The problem was in THEIR scooter, yet we were the ones who had to bear the burden 100%. Sam wasn't being nice when she assured me a significant discount, she OWED me a significant discount.
Oh, are you wondering what my "significant" discount offer was for a 5-day rental? About $16.
No remuneration for their defective equipment that caused us A LOT of inconveniences, and no discount for me, for I choose not to do business with a company that willingly chooses to deceive their customers. read more