Golansky transportation.

[2tinkerbell]

We have always used Lansky. Daniel has been the greatest! I am a single parent traveling with my DD, who has some "special needs." The first time I considered this my very protective older brother was just a tad nervous. He called Daniel! I can honestly say that I have never received such kindness and service!

 

[Pooh2]

We used them a couple summers ago. The driver was waiting in the luggage area with a sign with our name.
He attempted to make some small talk but his accent was so thick that we gave up after a bit.

We got a 20 minute grocery stop. I have mobility troubles so I waited in the van while my husband ran and got a few things. He was nervous about going over 20 minutes so just grabbed some fresh fruit and water.

Much nicer than taking a shuttle. We would go with them again.

 

[goofy4tink]

Just wanted to check back and let you all know how our experience was. We were met right at baggage claim, driver with name sign standing right there. Fine. We walked a fairly long way to the car and loaded up the bags. Off we went. We arrived at the Grand Californian....only issue was that we weren't staying there!! The driver made a call to the home office and dh spoke to them on the phone....no, we aren't staying at the GC, but at Desert Inn and Suites! The odd thing is that when I got my first confirmation email from them, it noted we were staying at Disneyland Resort, but after contacting them, the correct resort was noted.
I was worried about the gratuity, so I emailed them directly, and was told that the price was 'all inclusive', nothing hidden. Okay...I told them I was thrilled to have an addtl $50 to use at DLR since the gratuity was included. But...it was made very obvious that a gratuity was expected when we got to the hotel! Dh had money in his pocket, just in case. Good thing! Same thing happened on the ride back to LAX...different driver though. It was very obvious that the driver expected to be tipped. So, while they 'say' it's included, the drivers feel it's not!!!
The cars were both very clean, and the drivers very helpful. The one really odd thing was that our first driver was fairly old, and he had a handicap placard hanging on his rear view mirror! My dh felt very odd having this old man schlep our bags around!!!

 

[MuddyriverMC]

Just wanted to check back and let you all know how our experience was. We were met right at baggage claim, driver with name sign standing right there. Fine. We walked a fairly long way to the car and loaded up the bags. Off we went. We arrived at the Grand Californian....only issue was that we weren't staying there!! The driver made a call to the home office and dh spoke to them on the phone....no, we aren't staying at the GC, but at Desert Inn and Suites! The odd thing is that when I got my first confirmation email from them, it noted we were staying at Disneyland Resort, but after contacting them, the correct resort was noted.
I was worried about the gratuity, so I emailed them directly, and was told that the price was 'all inclusive', nothing hidden. Okay...I told them I was thrilled to have an addtl $50 to use at DLR since the gratuity was included. But...it was made very obvious that a gratuity was expected when we got to the hotel! Dh had money in his pocket, just in case. Good thing! Same thing happened on the ride back to LAX...different driver though. It was very obvious that the driver expected to be tipped. So, while they 'say' it's included, the drivers feel it's not!!!
The cars were both very clean, and the drivers very helpful. The one really odd thing was that our first driver was fairly old, and he had a handicap placard hanging on his rear view mirror! My dh felt very odd having this old man schlep our bags around!!!

I wonder if the company has been informed that the drivers are requesting tips? They very clearly state that Gratuity is included, ( I asked specifically) and maybe the drivers are trying to get a little extra on the side?

 

[m.a.t.diot]

Just wanted to check back and let you all know how our experience was. We were met right at baggage claim, driver with name sign standing right there. Fine. We walked a fairly long way to the car and loaded up the bags. Off we went. We arrived at the Grand Californian....only issue was that we weren't staying there!! The driver made a call to the home office and dh spoke to them on the phone....no, we aren't staying at the GC, but at Desert Inn and Suites! The odd thing is that when I got my first confirmation email from them, it noted we were staying at Disneyland Resort, but after contacting them, the correct resort was noted.
I was worried about the gratuity, so I emailed them directly, and was told that the price was 'all inclusive', nothing hidden. Okay...I told them I was thrilled to have an addtl $50 to use at DLR since the gratuity was included. But...it was made very obvious that a gratuity was expected when we got to the hotel! Dh had money in his pocket, just in case. Good thing! Same thing happened on the ride back to LAX...different driver though. It was very obvious that the driver expected to be tipped. So, while they 'say' it's included, the drivers feel it's not!!!
The cars were both very clean, and the drivers very helpful. The one really odd thing was that our first driver was fairly old, and he had a handicap placard hanging on his rear view mirror! My dh felt very odd having this old man schlep our bags around!!!

So when you say you had an extra $50 to spend at DLR is this what you would tip each way or $25 each way?

Sorry, I'm Australian and have no concept of this whole tipping as an expectation thing.

 

[goofy4tink]

So when you say you had an extra $50 to spend at DLR is this what you would tip each way or $25 each way?

Sorry, I'm Australian and have no concept of this whole tipping as an expectation thing.

I tend to tip around 10% on each leg. My total was $200, so I would have probably tipped $20 from lax to the hotel, then $20 back, possibly adding a bit more if service was really good!
I know my dh gave $15 when we got to our hotel...he felt very uncomfortable not offering something. Not sure what he tipped on the return trip...not sure I want to know.

 

[goofy4tink]

I wonder if the company has been informed that the drivers are requesting tips? They very clearly state that Gratuity is included, ( I asked specifically) and maybe the drivers are trying to get a little extra on the side?

Very possibly! And if that's the case, they're double dipping! I emailed as well. Said I wanted to be sure I understood the policy regarding gratuities. I was told the price was 'all inclusive'. Took that to mean the gratuity was included. But...no one came right out and said that was the case! So, I have to wonder if they 'hope' people will tip anyway...as they normally would. If that's the case, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[DahliaRW]

I find that surprising. When I tipped the driver acted very surprised. But, interpretation of others motives is subjective...

 

[disneymum58]

There has never been any sign of expectation for a tip for any of the 4 trips that I have used Lansky. We have only had Daniel for a driver and he is excellent.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have no idea who we had driving us. I do know that the drivers both stood there, waiting, after bags were unloaded. I've had rides with other companies that included the gratuity..those drivers unloaded our bags, said thanks and goodbye, and immediately hopped back in the car. That was most definitely not the case this time.

 

[GOLANSKY]

I can't remember if gratuity was included, but I know I tipped in cash. That was because he drove 5 kids and I figured that deserved some extra!

Yes, inclusive gratuity, airport fee, etc.

 

[GOLANSKY]

Fare inclusive driver gratuity, airport fee, etc,
No hidden cost. Also, mentioned our web site.

 

[corinne76]

Thanks for this thread! I had been wondering about this service.

Our last trip, we rented a car at LAX, drove to Target and Sprouts ... and then the car sat in the parking lot of Park Vue Inn for 5 days. We thought we might want to drive for food, we didn't. We finally used the car to drive to Legoland, and left from SD airport. I think next time we'll get a ride to DLR, and rent a car around just for the last leg of our trip.

 

[goofy4tink]

Fare inclusive driver gratuity, airport fee, etc,
No hidden cost. Also, mentioned our web site.

This is what we were told as well when I emailed about gratuities. But...when we were standing there, bags unloaded, my husband felt very uncomfortable. He felt the driver expected a gratuity, even though we had been told otherwise. So, basically, drivers are being tipped twice. Our vacation wasn't horribly impacted by this addtl expense, it was just uncimfortable.
A possible solution would be for the driver to unload the bags, and immediately get in the car..if a gratuity is offered, he should thank the customer, but say that the gratuity is already included. That's been my experience with other 'all inclusive' companies.
It's very hard to start, and end, your vacation with this kind of apprehension.

 

[connorlevismom]

This is what we were told as well when I emailed about gratuities. But...when we were standing there, bags unloaded, my husband felt very uncomfortable. He felt the driver expected a gratuity, even though we had been told otherwise. So, basically, drivers are being tipped twice. Our vacation wasn't horribly impacted by this addtl expense, it was just uncimfortable.
A possible solution would be for the driver to unload the bags, and immediately get in the car..if a gratuity is offered, he should thank the customer, but say that the gratuity is already included. That's been my experience with other 'all inclusive' companies.
It's very hard to start, and end, your vacation with this kind of apprehension.

You are not the only one who had this issue with drivers acting like they want a tip. And I agree, it should be declined by the driver if tips are included in the price. Our driver did the same and we felt we needed to tip both ways.

We had a really bad experience with Lansky on our trip to the hotel. We arrived at the airport and got the baggage claim, no driver. I called the office and was told they were having car trouble and they would be there as soon as they could. I called 15 minutes later when the driver still had not shown up and all I got was a "sorry" We waited there in baggage claim for 30 minutes before the driver showed up. Only, he did not park curbside, he parked in some parking ramp that we had to walk to and drag our bags along with us It was 97 degrees that day so I was not happy at all. The car seat that was provided for my daughter was old and dirty. If I had not paid for a roundtrip I would never have used them on the way back to the airport. I feel that for making us wait for 30 minutes and drag our stuff through the airport and a parking ramp I should have at least been offered a discount. We are going again in August and will not be using this company.

 

[Jairy]

We just used this service last week and I highly recommend it. We split the cost between two families so it was well worth it. We didn't feel like we had to tip the driver at all. We loved the stop at Target for groceries on the way to our hotel (although we looked like crazy Canadians running around the store, trying to grocery shop in 20 mins!) Both of our drivers were very polite and helpful and the cars were clean.

 

[Jacie]

We also had an AMAZING experience with Lanskys. Our driver was Daniel for both trips and I never felt like he expected a tip (although we did tip- he went above and beyond helping us with luggage, groceries, etc.) We also had to cancel our return trip two hours before we were due to be picked up because our flight was cancelled (Snow storm back home) and they were very amendable to switching us to the next morning without making us feel like we were inconveniencing them (and no added fees.)
We will use them again. Totally worth it!

 

[goofy4tink]

Please, don't get me wrong. Other than the gratuity issue, things went reasonably well. Well, other than the driver taking us to the Grand Californian!! We were at the Desert Inn and Suites!
I was taken aback a bit when our driver, from the airport, had a handicap placard hanging from the rear view mirror. But, he seemed to get around, with our luggage, quite well. So, who knows.

 

[Mynamewastaken]

I just booked them a few hours ago. 185.00 round trip from LA. I asked about gratuity and he said it was all included. I hope I don't get the awkwardness of the driver expecting a tip...

 

[ckb_nc]

Used them this weekend. It was perfect to me. Got in late and no big deal. Left very early to come back anf my driver was right there. Can't say good enough