Cartier leaves us stranded at Beach Club!!!! - UPDATE!

[treloarf]

We will NEVER use Cartier again!!!! I couldn't believe it - we waited & waited but had to take a cab to the airport $56.00!!!!

Cartier was great picking us up at the airport (even though our flight was delayed 2 times - 6 hours late into MCO)- we did call Cartier to let them know. Stopped at the grocery store. We told the driver when our flight was at 5:20 pm on Tuesday. (IT was also in reservation form). He said he would be at the Beach Club at 3:30 pm.

We called Cartier at 3:35 pm - got voice mail, left message. Called again 3:45 - no answer. THe valet called for us actually. The valet said we better get a cab & in the future should use either Mears or Tiffany towncar. My friend had paid Cartier the full fare + big tip when he picked us up at the airport using a Debit card. The cab came at 4:00 & we just made it to the airport.

UPDATE - 1:00 pm. Cartier sent me an email apoligizing & said the driver had an emergency with his daughter going to the hospital & forgot about picking us up. They are reimbursing our cab fare & will give us a 1-way limo upgrade on our next trip.

Sorry - but there will not be a next trip w/Cartier.

 

[ducklite]

Ugh! That's a terrible way to end a trip

Have you gotten hold of them yet? IMHO you should tell them you want the entire cost refunded to cover the cost of the cab.

That's a good rason to ALWAYS pay for things like this with a "real" cc, you can contest the cahrges with the cc company and not have to pay until it's resolved. With a debit card you can contest, but they'll still keep your money until it's resolved.

If you don't get satisfaction, file a complaint with the Orlando area BBB.

Thanks for the heads up!

Anne

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I'm so sorry you went through that but thanks for letting us know. This is the first I've ever heard anything bad about Cartier. Please let us know what they have to say when you get in touch with them. I have them reserved for my cruise in August. Take care.

 

[LibertySquare]

http://www.orlando.bbb.org/alerts_and_news.asp

 

[Luckymommyx2]

BBB of Central Florida, Inc.
151 S Wymore Rd, #100
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
(407) 621-3300

CARTIER TOWNCAR INC
5334 Central Florida Pkwy #237
Orlando, FL 32821
View Location Map



Original Business
Start Date: 9/1/2001
Principal: Asis I Ali, President
Local Phone Number: (407) 239-1515
Fax Number: (407) 465-0052
TOB Classification: Limousine Service


The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources.

Customer Experience

The Bureau has processed no customer complaints on this company in its three-year reporting period

....

 

[helenk]

What a nightmare for you ! Not getting the ride to or from the airport is always one of my biggest fears each time I fly.
Let us know how you make out, I just made reservations with them for my up coming trip, they were cheaper than the other town car providers.
Did they schedule the pick up time? If they did this concerns me about their service as well. When I had a 4:30 flight, Tiffany Town Car arranged to pick me up at 1:45, this gave us plenty of time to get to the airport and get checked in etc. It seems like a 3:30 pick up for a 5:20 flight is cutting it very close, considering it takes at least a 1/2 hour to get to the airport.

 

[Trekker]

Just an FYI - As I'm sure you have noticed plastered all over the Transportation Board Fl Tours is the official transportation company of the DIS.

To this date I've never heard a complaint about service from this company.

 

[maciec]

We used Cartier on our trip 2 weeks ago and they were fine. No better and no worse than any other towncar company. I did find out that there are only 2 drivers - the owner and another guy (forget his name). We were picked up by Ali and taken back by the other guy. I didn't like this too much because when Ali dropped us off I tipped him for the whole trip thinking that he would be the one to take us back to the airport, but the other guy showed up so I had to tip twice. UGH! The other thing that I didn't like was that we asked for a car seat and when we got to the car it was half-assed put in ..... very unsafe. Thank goodness DH is a Certified Child Safety Seat Technician so he was able to fix it with no problems.

Next time I think that i will use Fl Tours or Tiffany and skip the cheapest. I guess this goes to show .... you get what you pay for!

 

[treloarf]

So the saying goes "live & learn".
"Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn't make me stronger."

- Lou Holtz -

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

UPDATE - 1:00 pm. Cartier sent me an email apoligizing & said the driver had an emergency with his daughter going to the hospital & forgot about picking us up. They are reimbursing our cab fare & will give us a 1-way limo upgrade on our next trip.

If it is true, then I think it a legitimate reason. I would probably use them again.

 

[helenk]

I know there were complaints about Tiffany and I had no problems with them, there have been complaints about Yourride, I guess these things happen now and again, but it does make you nervous. There have been other glowing reports about Cartier, so hopefully this was just a fluke.
I just got my reservation confirmation from Cartier, and if there are not other problems posted here between now and just before my trip I will be using them. In their e-mail they tell me to let the driver know when to pick me up for my return trip, I know Tiffany's driver always gave me the time they would be there. I will just make sure I have plenty of time to get to the airport without having to stress too much

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
If it is true, then I think it a legitimate reason. I would probably use them again.

Gail--I disagree. The drivers all have cell phones, and even with an emergency he should have placed a one minute call to tell someone that he wouldn't be able to make the run.

Anne

 

[peg2001]

It sounds to me like they are trying to make it right with the OP. Mistakes are going to happen occasionally and the sign of a good company is how they respond.

Their explanation was that they driver forgot about the run, so that is why he didn't even make a phone call.

Peggy

 

[ktglads]

I had Cartier over the weekend. I had Ali pick us up from the airport when we got there, which was good since we had missed a connecting flight and were a couple of hours later than I had originally scheduled. We didn't have a Cartier van on the way home, though. It was a Sunshine van (about 5 minutes early I want to add). I think they may be subcontracting from them, so it is possible that it was this other company that Cartier subcontracts with that stood you up. That is really no excuse, but I just wanted everyone to know that they are not doing all of their runs and they have other companies working for them.

 

[treloarf]

i just have one more thing to add about this company - every time I called I got a voice mailbox - not a person. I think that was the most annoying thing when I was trying to call from the hotel.

No one answered the phone & it just went to a phone mailbox - it didn't even say "this is Cartier......." You would think after trying for about 1/2 hour someone would have called us back. The bellman at the hotel said they never heard of Cartier & the most notable services to use are Mears or Tiffany.

Sorry but I will not use them again. They should have some mechanism in place that double checks that there is someone to pick up their passengers. We could have possibly missed our flight & then who would have paid for a new ticket for us?

Also when I got back home & tried to call them Wedn. a.m., I got that same voice mailbox. I left the message asking them what happened & instead of them calling me back & talking to me in person.....they sent me an email. Sorry, I would have been on that phone apolizing in PERSON!

 

[NJ Kat]

We just got home last night from DW. We used Cartier each way, from the airport and back. The service was excellent. We had the same driver each time. I think it was Ali. He was very nice. Even though we hadn't requested a grocery stop, he offered one. We didn't need to stop, but I thought it was really nice to have the opportunity offered to us. He had the booster seat we requested also. We needed a van since we had 3 adults, and 2 children in car seats. The van was absolutely spotless. Ali verified our pick up time for our return trip to the airport. He was right on time.
We will definitely use Cartier for ourt next trip. Not only was the service excellent, but they didn't charge extra for the van or the booster seat like some car services do.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by ktglads
We didn't have a Cartier van on the way home, though. It was a Sunshine van (about 5 minutes early I want to add). I think they may be subcontracting from them, so it is possible that it was this other company that Cartier subcontracts with that stood you up. That is really no excuse, but I just wanted everyone to know that they are not doing all of their runs and they have other companies working for them.

I beleive Tiffany operates in a similar fashion... I've seen many vans and towncars with other operators names on them, and with a removable Tiffany Town Car magnet that sticks to the door.

 

[Luv2Roam]

We have used YourRide three times and have been very happy with them. We always had Jim.
One thing about Rabbt, he always was in contact with Jim. Almost too much so. Jim is a very reliable person. Either they are always super busy, or Rabbit is in constant contact.
Plus the few times I called YourRide, Rabbit answered on the first ring. (Last Memorial weekend our incoming flight was around 2 hours late. And we had no problems.)
I know Jim and Rabbit have both mentioned they track the incoming flights of their guests.
Luckily you arrived at the airport in time. But to me, a free upgrade one way wouldn't be good enough. I would use someone else too.
Just two people handling guests would make me too nervous.