Anyone using a town car service? You MUST READ THIS! (long)

[JessicaR]

But you did make a reservation originally with Cartier. Maybe they didnt receive your cancellation. That would be an honest mistake.

I made reservations for Cartier for our Sept/Oct trip, and I asked them for a car seat and booster seat. They confirmed my reservation, but stated they could only provide a booster seat and if I wanted a car seat I'd have to reserve a van for $90rt instead of $75rt for the town car. Each email said this, like they were trying to sell me a more expensive car or something.

All I know is a town car company I never contacted picked us up from the airport, and I found out in a call later that it was Cartier.

So this statement isnt really true?

I always appreciate helpful info in regards to the good and the bad. In this case I dont feel it was appropriate to bash Cartier, they didnt deserve it!

I have never used them before but have used many others and always look here for the latest news before choosing for the next trip. So thankfully Cartier is still in my list.

 

[TammyC]

Wow, it looks like Jessica may have solved this mystery. (I was worried that someone might try to switch on us when we go!). I kept reading the original message and did not see this part, but it would explain how Cartier knew all the information including the home phone number. I got to thinking, did a search and found this quote in an older post.

 

[lsyorke]

"Wow, it looks like Jessica may have solved this mystery"

I have to agree! Its a shame when a company gets bashed for something that could have been a honest mistake.

 

[cheeringmom]

on the original posters part but they are good questions to ask. I would have never even considered this might happen. So I won't start my vacation until I'm out of the airport and past the front desk of my hotel and in my room. Then its TIME TO PARTY!!!!

 

[MrsToad]

On our last trip in June, we used a towncar service and both pick-ups and drop-offs went smoothly. However, the OP's checklist made me realize how foolish it was of me to pay the complete round-trip fare in full and in cash (w/tip) when dropped of at the resort and not get a receipt! In the excitement of seeing this particular resort for the first time, I didn't even think of a receipt until much later. Luckily, all went well.

We did, however, find it odd when on the return trip, the driver gave us his card with his cell phone number, mentioned that his company had been bought, and stated that we should call him directly when ready to book for future trips. This company is most definately still operating in Orlando. The driver's suggestion didn't seem quite right. Has this happened to anyone else before?

 

[dznyntnh]

MrsToad--

You may have been dealing with a freelancer. A lot of the car companies use them. He was probably just going after your business like any other business man would.

I think MCO is the only place I've ever flown into where all the cabbies have business cards. Everytime I've taken a cab from the airport, they have tried to guarantee a return trip for me, obviously it must be easier than sitting at the airport waiting for a fare. It also makes it rather convenient, if you liked the driver on the way over to wdw, since wdw doesn't let the cabs line up outside of the hotels like they do in other cities.

Your driver could have been telling the truth about his company changing hands, it seems several of the ones discussed on these boards have over the past few months.

 

[ccrosner]

We arrived at MCO on 10/2 to find our name (not that common, not uncommon) on two towncar drivers nameplates. I started going to the first one I saw but was surprised that it had a company name on it that I didn't recognize. Then I saw the Tiffany Town car guy with our name on his board. So we went with him and thought "how odd that someone else on our plane would have the same name".

After thinking about it for a few minutes, I wondered if the originally car company I tried to reserve with (can't remember if it was Your Ride or FL Tours) had sent a car. I had sent them all of my information but never received an email confirmation. So I assumed I needed another company and reserved with Tiffany.

I felt a bit bad as we drove to WDW but realized that the other car driver had picked up a fare while we were there and I never should have expected them to pick us up because we didn't have a confirmed reservation.

By the way, we had a great experience all around with Tiffany and would use them again.

 

[BCVOwner2002]

Thanks for posting. The questions you suggest we ask are good advice and can't hurt to keep them in the back of your mind just in case there is any confusion. We used FL Tours in the past and will again in the future. Andy and his staff have been very professional and courteous. Annmarie

 

[Aisling]

OK, maybe I'm an overly suspicious person, but why would anyone get into a car with someone just because they had your name on a sign without verifying who they were and who they represented??

I never verified the town car company when they picked us up! I saw our name on the card, and then we hopped in. I guess I need to be more cautious in the future.
Thanks for the tips!

 

[MrsToad]

dznyntnh, thank you for your clarifying the situation. I hadn't thought about the car services hiring freelancers. Now I understand what happened.