Let me start with fully admitting my experience as a limo rider isn't vast...and this was the only time I myself have had to research and use the services of a transportation company. I turned to good old Yelp for direction and took the previous reviews with a grain of salt which was a huge mistake. I wouldn't be using it for a night on the town, expecting a bathroom aboard a bus, or VIP entry into clubs, so I didn't take other peoples' experiences into account.
Huzbind and I were in the market for an all-in-one service: a limo for me and my bridesmaids to go from our hotel where we got ready to the wedding venue, a Hummer or equivalent for him and his groomsmen, a party bus back to the hotel afterparty for us and whatever guests weren't in a position to drive, a towncar to and from the airport for our honeymoon. Maybe this was a tall order? Either way, after calling around, I figured it would be so much easier to do business with ONE company, no matter the financial cost, for the sake of convenience.
I was pleased initially with the customer service. My call and e-mail were answered promptly and the quote was really reasonable considering what it was we were requesting. Huzbind and I were ready to rock and roll, so I made arrangements to meet Steve to sign the contract and pay the deposit. He told me he was working out of another office that day and to meet him there. It was a hotel in San Jose. When I arrived and asked the front desk, they were thorougly confused. "We do limos? Steve? Steve who? OH.... Steeeeeeeeeeve!"
As it turns out, he's a regular employee of a hotel and has a side gig contracting limos, party buses, etc from private people who own them; which isn't a big deal. I'm down with the hustle. You should just be aware this isn't a regular company.
When I met with him, he was was polite, efficient, and a pleasure to deal with. I signed the contract, gave him my cc#, and figured I was good to go. Mike called me days later saying he'd made a mistake with the quote but the actual package price was $200+ above what he had quoted me, but he had negotiated down to $200. I realized mistakes happened and gave him another cc to charge, saying no problem. It was still a good deal considering I only had to deal with 1 company.
The day of the wedding, I will say to their credit that both drivers were there on time. Maybe even early. Huzbind's request was for a black SUV, anything similar to a Hummer, that would fit him & his groomsmen... he got a white Escalade (or similar, I forget). Either way, he was a little miffed that it was white only because it was to be used as a photo prop. Not the end of the world but disappointing, especially considering he had so few specific preferences as it pertained to our wedding. My driver didn't know how to get to the venue, didn't know which detour to take when there was a problem on the freeway, and we got there later than expected but still with enough time for the wedding to start.
My bigger problems came later. The party bus was there 1 HOUR before they were supposed to be, which wasn't a big deal... except they EXPECTED ME TO DEPART FROM MY RECEPTION EARLY when I had specific e-mails and a contract saved to my phone with specifics on times. I'm the hostess. I can't leave my own wedding early, I don't care what gig you have to get to after this. Figure it out... and that doesn't necessarily nominate me for Bridezilla status. Luckily, I had an awesome bridesmaid who went outside and dealt with the driver who was also very sweet but out of the loop. This is what happens when you deal with a company that doesn't own, manage, or even dispatch its own fleet. Buyer beware.
I was disappointed that we were promised complimentary booze, but the driver said oops, no, it's illegal for us to provide booze to you. He managed to find a bubbly from an quinceanera he had driven for earlier in the day, and we went back into the venue to grab a couple more for the ride back which in every other sense was a blast.
Honeymoon departure: The towncar was at our home plenty timely with a clean vehicle. We had no complaints at all. Imagine our surprise and dismay when after an awesome honeymoon OUR RETURN TOWNCAR WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. We waited for 2 hours beyond pickup time and after making no less than 3 calls before giving up and taking a cab home. We didn't feel very VIP in that particular moment. Steve called back when we were almost home and agreed to refund our money for that portion of the contract. I told him I would need reimbursement for the $35 cab ride home, to which he agreed also, and was very contrite and apologetic about the mixup. After a bunch fo calls and 2 weeks, my refund was finally processed, not without a slew of excuses about how there was another customer who had a problem with a refund (shocker) and another customer with my first name that had gotten my refund by mistake.
Fail all around. read more
