We booked American Limousine Inc. to transport our guests to our rehearsal dinner, one of the most…read moretime-sensitive events of the entire wedding weekend. While our driver indicated he was on the way at 3:50 PM, which would leave plenty of time for our pickup at 4:30 PM, in reality, according to the tracking link the company provided, he did not start moving until 4:25 PM, not enough time for the 30+ minute drive. As a result, our driver showed up 25 minutes late.
That delay wasn't just an inconvenience. Our venue had a prepaid drinks package on a fixed schedule that started at 5 PM, and because we arrived late, we lost nearly 30 minutes of it, more than $700 in value we'll never get back. Instead of starting the night relaxed and celebrating with our families and friends, we spent it standing on the curb, checking our phones, and wondering if the bus was coming at all.
When I raised the issue with their dispatcher that evening before the bus driver arrived, their offer was 30% off the remaining base fare. Not 30% of what we paid in total, since that excluded our deposit, and nowhere near the $700+ we lost because of their delay. It felt less like an apology and more like an attempt to make the problem go away as cheaply as possible. I followed up with their reservations specialist to push for a fairer resolution, but was told that was the best they could do.
When you hire a transportation company for a wedding, punctuality is the entire job. Everything else on the schedule depends on it. I understand the driver was coming from a previous job that ran long, but that's a scheduling problem for the company to solve, not the customer. If a driver can't make a wedding pickup on time, dispatch should send someone else or tell us early enough to make other plans. American Limousine failed at the one thing we were paying them for.
If you're planning a wedding or any event where timing matters, I'd strongly recommend booking someone else.
