ARRIVED A FULL HOUR LATE, and we missed our engagement.
This past Friday, my family rented a limousine from Grand Limo for a retirement party. We booked a month in advance - the pick-up was scheduled for 4pm, we were to travel approximately 45 miles, and had a 6pm dinner reservation at a prestigious restaurant (that books reservations weeks out on a normal night, let alone a Friday evening during the holiday season). The limo was a surprise for the retiree and part of a big send-off - her co-workers/family would all be outside to bid her a farewell and she'd be able to step into a limo for her grand exit.
The weather reports all predicted snow that day, and we did get about an inch starting around 2pm. At 3:30, we received the first text stating that our car service would be late by approximately 15 minutes. I was disappointed, but the party was still going and we DO live in Michigan, so... no problem. (We had several people attending from out of town and they were all on time, having left early to accommodate for weather conditions.) We received 3 texts following the initial one, stating that the driver was going to be an additional 10-15 minutes late, due to highway conditions. At this point, it's 4:30 and people were leaving.
The limo arrived a FULL HOUR LATE. At 5pm, the entire party had dissipated, the staff was cleaning, and the guest-of-honor was sitting in her coat, asking us what exactly it was she was waiting for. The "grand exit" turned into a long, annoying wait and a sadly unceremonious pick-up, after we told her the "surprise" plan.
We traveled back the same way (same highway) that the limo had come from - we made it to our destination in an hour, roughly 10 minutes longer than it would normally take. We tipped our driver, despite our disappointment, and went in to the restaurant - only to find out that our reservation had been given away, seeing that our party wasn't there on time. We ended up waiting an additional 90 minutes, in the pub, for another table to open up.
Despite ALL of this, I tried to be understanding. However, I did want to let Grand Limo know that we did not use the 2 hours we paid for, and were charged for. I called twice, and a supervisor (Alicia? Felicia? She wouldn't give me her last name) finally called me back. What happened next was so shocking, that at some point I actually put her on speaker and walked into my neighboring office, JUST so my colleague could hear how unbelievable this person was. Alicia/Felicia was furious at me "for complaining", and I was repeatedly (REPEATEDLY) told that she "ain't Mother Nature, honey". When I tried to explain the situation, she repeatedly yelled over me, saying that I don't know anything about limos (no contest, there) and was belligerently angry when I said that our guests, which were from the same area as the limo service, were able to make it. When I told her the tardiness caused us to miss our dinner reservation, the response was: "SO?!"
I realized I wasn't going to get anywhere, and asked for the owner's contact info. I was told that she, Alicia/Felicia, was the General Manager and that the owner "wasn't involved" in the business. ??? I asked if there was anyone else I could speak with, and was hung up on.
Never in my life have I come in contact with such unprofessionalism and ridiculous behavior from a company representative. I don't know which was worse - the fact that Grand Limo turned what was supposed to be a lovely evening into a chain of small disasters, or the fact that I was berated and yelled at by a representative after calling with a concern.
I would warn anyone against using them - especially if you're on any kind of schedule. read more