This review is long overdue. Every experience I've had with the St George Shuttle has been 5 stars - and I've ridden with them 5-10 times and refer my friends and family. For this last ride, 2 stars is generous.
I got permission from the driver to let me sit in the passenger seat - no one had reserved it. 30 minutes into the 4 hour ride from St. George to SLC, the driver tells me that people typically have to pay $5 to sit in the passenger seat, and another gentleman would also like to sit there, so would I "share" and switch seats at the next stop in Cedar City? He never asked me to pay the $5, which I would have gladly done.
Just imagine this scenario in a restaurant: You get seated at a table with a scenic view, and part way through your appetizers, the waiter asks if you will "share" and switch seats to the back of the restaurant for some people who arrived after you did and requested the seat you were already sitting in.
Yes, this other passenger arrived 5-10 minutes after I had, and we had already embarked on the trip when the driver brought this up. St. George to Cedar City is 45 minutes, which is how long I got to sit in the passenger seat. The trip was a total of 4 hours.
I can't fathom having that sense of entitlement to ask someone to move so you can sit in their seat. The driver treated this as a reasonable request. Is this reasonable? What would make this reasonable? Is my money worth less than the other guy's money?
I was literally asked to give up my seat on the bus and move back. I was the only person of color. I hesitate to bring this up, because people will automatically write me off, say I'm overreacting, or "race baiting". I am not saying that it was conscious on the part of the driver. He seemed like a nice man. All I'm telling you is what it looked like, and what it felt like.
Regardless of the motivation, his request was inappropriate and weird. I have not written any other Yelp reviews where I have had a similar experience. I'm not naming him or expecting a discount. I just hope St. George Shuttle can hear this and do better.
I've only experienced this kind of treatment by service industry professionals in St. George, which I visit frequently. It seems to come from well meaning people who don't know how to display professionalism and are surrounded by a homogenous demographic, if that played a role. It's not that it was a big deal to switch - I would have definitely done it for someone handicapped. But it was clear the driver just liked chatting with the guy. I was tired and was quiet. So he booted me from where I was already seated, mid-trip. He could have said to that gentleman, "Sorry man, this lady is already sitting there. You can always reserve it ahead of time or get to the shuttle early next time."
In this case, there was almost immediate justice. The guy he moved up got started on politics, and it became clear they didn't see eye to eye. The next while before the drivers switched out, the passenger ranted and lectured the driver. If it wasn't such sweet revenge, I would have felt sorry for the driver, who had to be polite. I have to say, I kind of agreed with the driver's dissenting opinion to the other guy's obnoxious politics, but hey, he brought this on himself.
Despite this experience, I would still ride with St. George Shuttle - the St. George Express is overall inferior in service and we only have two local shuttle companies to pick from in STG. I really hope you guys can do better. read more