AVOID THIS BUS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!…read more
The incompetence of this company's management, staff, and drivers on the day of my daughter's wedding caused us angst, anger, and exasperation, not to mention we lost an hour of the wedding reception on that evening this past September.
My daughter contracted with United Bus to have three coach buses transport 56 people each from a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, to a wedding venue in the Mount Vernon area about 20 miles away, then back again after the reception at 11 p.m. on September 14, 2019.
Allowing for a 20- to 25-minute drive, we figured the passengers would board between 4 and 4:15 p.m. and arrive at the venue no later than 4:50 p.m. The ceremony was scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
So at 4 p.m. on Sept. 14 at the Hilton Old Town Alexandria, how many United Bus Charter buses showed up? One.
When did Bus No. 2 show up? At 5:20 p.m.
When did the third bus show up for the 4 p.m. pickup? Never.
A comedy of errors and incompetence left nearly 100 guests waiting in the hotel lobby, so our wedding planner and her assistant quickly set up an Uber code tied to my account to start ferrying guests to the venue as they waited for the second and third buses to arrive at the hotel. Some guests used the code, others just paid themselves, and by the time Bus No. 2 arrived - 80 minutes late! - only seven guests and the wedding planner assistant were left. This 55-person bus departed with eight passengers at around 5:30 p.m. and arrived at 5:55, so the ceremony didn't begin until 6 - one full hour late.
This hour delay caused the reception - scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. - to start at 8, meaning we lost an hour of the reception, a full 60 minutes of fun and laughter and dancing, because the venue could not extend beyond 11 p.m. because of noise ordinances and worker considerations.
THERE'S MORE: After the reception, there was another bus issue. The third bus finally had arrived, so three buses were lined up in the parking lot, packed with our guests and ready to take them to a bar in Old Town Alexandria for an after-party. One bus departed on time, a little after 11 p.m., while the other two buses idled and prepared to leave.
But one of the buses, driven by the same woman who was 80 minutes late for the afternoon pickup, took the wrong exit lane and could not navigate a left-hand turn out of the parking lot - in fact, she hit a fence with the bus, causing damage to the fence and the bus. Then, to add insult to injury, this incompetent driver was unable to back up the bus correctly and maneuver it to a point where she could make a right-hand turn to loop around and take the correct lane out. Her bus blocked the third bus from departing, so 100-plus guests were left stranded on these buses FOR 45 MINUTES!
Finally, the driver of the other bus had to get out of his vehicle, take the wheel of her bus, and back up her vehicle so that his bus could get through and her bus could make a right turn, loop around the parking lot, and take the correct lane to finally get out of the lot. Yes, this company's bus driver was unable to maneuver her vehicle in reverse.
Beginning on Monday, Sept. 16, we began emailing and calling the bus company to get information on how this situation unfolded and to request a full refund. These efforts were met with more unbelievable incompetence from the company's staff.
First, we were told the company's owner was out of the country, unreachable, and would be back "next week," meaning the week of Sept. 23. We eventually found out that he was indeed reachable and had access to the internet, yet he was unable to send us even one email from his account? To say something like, "I understand your frustration and will deal with this when I return from abroad on so-and-so date."
In the meantime, the wedding venue sent an email to the United Bus representative who had facilitated the contract, and her response was laughable and almost unintelligible. This response led the wedding venue to ban the bus company from its site, saying, "It sounds to me as if your company owes this family some compensation for the situation they had to endure regarding the timing and professionalism of your drivers. With regard to our venue, we will not be allowing United Bus back at our property as a vendor, and will be informing our clients of this."
We continued to call and email the company and were met with more incompetence and delay tactics. "Next week" become the following week before finally the owner picked up his phone. After some back-and-forth, the owner said that he "wasn't proud" of his company's performance that day but would not be giving us a full refund as we requested.
In the end, the United Bus owner offered less than a one-third refund, and after consulting with a lawyer, we decided to accept the offer rather than deal with this incompetent company any further.
All in all, I would STRONGLY suggest not using United Bus Charter for any reason.
