Not So HAPPY LIMO!!!!!!

[videoman]

Now before you start bashing me ...let me tell you that I have used Happy Limo in the past for the same exact intinery!!!!!

Just got off the 10-2 crusie and booked HAPPY LIMO for my transportation. We were to be picked up at MCO and go to Best Western in Cocco Beach. Once I arrived I called for the driver and it took him 20 minutes to "pull around". When he finally showed up he was in this filthy(sp) light brown Cadillac. It was so bad that yo could not see out the front window!!! And the interior was loaded with garbage. But I figured I was on vacation and it was just a short ride to the hotel. It took over an hour and and half!!!!!! (It's normally 40 minutes)
We had arranged to be pick up at 8:30 am for our return trip home. We departed the ship and were waiting outside at 8:35am. I searched the area looking for the HAPPY LIMO driver and at the same time placed a call to their office. I was told that the driver was 5 minutes away!! I called agaian 10 minutes later and was told the driver was 10 minutes away now!!! In the meantime there was other HAPPY LIMO driver there waiting for another party. FInally I called again and was told that the driver "Would get there when he gets there!!!!!!"
He finally showed up at 9:25am. 55 minutes late. He had an attidute(sp) with me since he knew I was calling on his status. All the way to the airport he was on the phone talking Spanish. I prepaid the return trip and he was standing around waiting for a tip!!!!
Like I said, I have used them in the past and will make sure I NEVER use them in the future!!!!!!!

 

[videoman]

sorry if I offended anyone who has had a pleasant experience with HAPPY LIMO...like I said I have used them in the past. This time was a little strange since it happened to me both ways

 

[videoman]

glad to hear that i was not the only one burned by this company

 

[videoman]

Glad to see that I can help out so many people before anything like what happens to me happens to them

 

[videoman]

Just emailed HAPPY LIMO...told them how disappointed I was in their service and just how the other DISer's were also feeling. They said they would be in contact with 48 hours...Let's really see how much they are committed to service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[videoman]

I noticed that they moved my thread to this forum... I hope it can be of help to people who plan on using this company!!!!!!

 

[videoman]

They told me 48 hours and that was 72 hours ago....I quess they really don't care about their reputation!!!!!!

 

[Farms]

We used FL Tours last time and we had nothing but wonderful service. Andy is very accomodating and will make the requisite grocery stop, etc. I would highly recommend them. They were on-time, courteous, and flexible when we needed to change our plans.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Tahnks for the info.........i almost booked today. I called DCL and used then again!!

 

[smchan]

Regardless of the factual circumstance of the bridge collapse, the litany of customer complaints here is enough to turn me off.

I suspect the problem is largely due to one or two DCL fan sites that recommend this company. Those of us that are Internet savvy look to these fan sites for helpful information - and indeed they're helpful - but we run into issues when a labor of love becomes a labor of commercialism. Some of the greatest fan sites are ruined, in my opinion, as soon as they start doing referrals, special coupons etc because it clearly crosses the line from editorial opinion to having a financial interest.

I realize fan sites are a lot of work but I think they ought to be upfront about why they are recommending a particular choice. I won't call them out, but I've noticed no less than 3 Disney World and DCL fan sites go commercial whilst still trying to (thinly) maintain the guise of being an independent fan site.

Sam

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by amymouse

I'm very uncomfortable with the turn this thread has taken from expressing a dissatisfaction with a particular company to bashing websites that offer reams of info at no cost to us.

But it might, in fact, come at a cost to you. If I were to build a fan site and suggest, through personal experience, that hotel X were the best thing going AND give you a coupon for $20 off, you'd feel as if you saved $20 when, in fact, you may have selected a more expensive option because I failed to present more options. I know of a specific fan site that offers discounts on particular Disney World area hotels when, in fact, one can easily do better through priceline. The problem comes not when my research is limited to my personal experience but when I limit the options to those who pay me for referrals.

I have no issue with fan sites offering coupons, special deals, etc. I just wish they would adopt a full disclosure policy and be transparent about why they are making specific recommendations.

I've interviewed fan-site owners (non Disney ones) and it was scarey the kind of money they made pushing certain products through their sites without disclosing the fact they had a financial interest in those products.

I completely agree that fan-sites are extraordinarily useful and I'm sure they take an extreme amount of time and money to create and maintain. I just wish advertisements and editorial opinions or experience reports were clearly marked as they are in the newspaper.

Sam

 

[tink182]

We always use Tiffany Town Car and have been very pleased with their service!!!

 

[Billinaz]

It was always more cost effective for me to rent a car from Budget rather than a limo. (5 of us)

Looks like Im glad I did!

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

We used Tiffany Towncars to get us from WDW to the airport after our last cruise and they were AWESOME!!! We were VERY late (we had our wedding in WDW the week before and had made arrangements to meet our photographer to pick up the prints at the Wilderness Lodge. We waited on Disney transportation but they don't travel resort to resort so we had to take a bus to a park and then one back to our "home" resort. We were SO late but Tiffany Towncars really shined through! They didn't charge us a fee (although we would've paid one! -- we were 1 1/2 hrs late!) and most importantly, they waited for us! Two thumbs up for Tiffany Towncars!!!

Stacy and Ken

countdown for the next cruise is on! 112 days to go!

 

[amymouse]

I have a reservation with HL for my Oct 24 cruise. I've decided to keep my reservation with them and hope for the best. I'll be sure to post my experience when I return.

 

[amymouse]

I owe a great deal to four paritcular fan sites, and I have no intention of faulting those sites for making recommendations or offering coupons. With the information about discounts that I've gleaned from these sites, I've been able to make three to four times as many trips to WDW at DCL than I could afford prior to finding the info available for FREE on these fan sites. All of the websites I have in mind started as a labor of love and bloomed into something fantastic and far beyond what the creators had imagined when they began.

I have yet to see any of those sites recommend a vendor with whom they haven't had personal experience with the level and quality of service they provide. It seems natural to me that if someone has a good experience with a company, that they would want to recommend that company to others. We've seen that natural tendency right here in this very thread as posters made recommendations for alternate transportation companies with whom they were pleased.

I'm very uncomfortable with the turn this thread has taken from expressing a dissatisfaction with a particular company to bashing websites that offer reams of info at no cost to us.

My hats are off to those people with enough imagination to create a fan site, with the perseverance to maintain it, and the savvy to find a way make it into a business.

 

[amymouse]

I understand why it could be a problem if a website is making a recommendation but not disclosing that they have a financial stake in that recommendation, and I can understand why you're critical of a website that appears to be fleecing it's loyal readers for it's own gain.

Possibly, I have just been very lucky that my loyalties have been with sites that have yet to fail me, and whose expressed opinions I trust. I also consider myself a careful consumer and compare info from alot of sources before making my choices. I also assume that if I'm "clicking a banner" on any website, then they probably have a financial arrangement and I should weigh that recommendation accordingly.

I'd like to propose that we probably won't see eye to eye on this topic since our experiences seem to be different. I'll let the thread continue without futher comment.

 

[Lynda Silk]

I had booked with Happy Limo too but in view of all the posts, I have cancelled and booked with Southern Elegance too. I felt kind of bad about cancelling but who wants to take a chance when you're on vacation!

It will be interesting to see what Happy Limo's response is to your feedback, videoman!

 

[invaderzim]

A few weeks back I posted a separate trip report on Southern Elegance Limo. My TA had advised against Happy Limo because she said they had left many of her clients stranded -- including causing someone to miss their flight!

I book SE on a whim because of one report I read on here. But what sold me was their treatment when I called and emailed them. I always had a response within the hour and when on the phone, they were incredibly polite and informative -- and very up front about their prices. They make you pay up front, but I really had no problem with that.

Now here's another feather in their cap: we were supposed to fly out of Phila. at 10 a.m. and arrive in Orlando at 12:30. We had a 3 hour delay in Phila due to mechanical problems. I only called SE once -- and the woman was very reassuring and said not to worry, that they had our flight info and would track our flight. Lo and behold, when we stepped off the plane at 3:30, there was George at the bottom of the escalator with a sign with our names! What a wonderful site.

We had booked a towncar to Universal, a limo to the port and a towncar back to MCO. However, due to Frances, we came back in at Port Everglades. I contacted SE and they immediately refunded my money for the third part of my trip right back to my credit card!

I would use them again in a heartbeat.

Cathy

 

[invaderzim]

here's their website:

www.southernelegancelimousines.com