My bad experience with Karmel shuttle

[dorakk]

Hi all,

Just want to share my bad experience will Karmel shuttle so that everyone is aware.

First of all, they double charged me. I used the credit card to secure my reservation, while paying the driver in cash. Stupid me not asking for a receipt for cash payment. The driver denied receiving my cash payment, thus the company charge me on my credit card.
Lesson learned: ALWAYS ASK FOR A RECEIPT ON CASH PAYMENT.

Second of all, they are super late and the commute from LAX to Disneyland was super long.

My flight arrived LAX at 9pm, driver didn't show up until 9:45pm. Went to another terminal to pick up another couple. Then for some reason they decided to drop off the couple at south Anaheim first, even though Disneyland supposed to be the first stop. By the time I got to Disneyland hotel it was 12am.

Btw, shuttle fee was supposed to be $22, I paid the driver a $50 bill. She gave me attitude when I asked for change. Why on earth she think she deserves $28 tips after a 3 hours transfer?!!

JUST BEWARE! ESPECIALLY FOR CASH PAYMENT!

 

[Astylla]

Oh that's really unfortunate ! I don't blame you for being upset and regardless of how you pay even in today's digital world you should have been treated with respect and integrity.

I had such a polar opposite experience and we waited under 10 minutes for our pickup from LAX in September. And while they picked up another couple it was after we got picked up, I artranged our pickup time 45 minutes after our scheduled arrival though to ensure enough time to get luggage so i'm not sure if that made it easier.

It's hard to assume why any attitude was given - large bills in some areas are sometimes not accepted but regardless that could be handled differently.
Sorry you had this experience.

 

[GenGen22]

I had a bad experience with them as well traveling from LAX to DL. I usually use Supershuttle but read that they wouldn't pick up other passengers and would go directly to DL & we were trying to get to MPH as soon as possible next year. We got a creepy driver who did some weird stuff. Anyhow, we were safe but sticking to what we know going forward. It's Supershuttle for us.

 

[justgrace]

I didn't realize that drivers carry that much change. I think on SuperShuttle, they have signs within the vans that drivers don't carry any more than $20 for safety reasons. We usually just pay and tip online in advance. But I think we're going to stop paying the tip online in advance, because we had a SuperShuttle driver pick us up 30 minutes late for our trip back to the airport without very much of an apology, but there was nothing we could do because the tip had already been paid. This was a pretty isolated incident, because SuperShuttle usually provides pretty good service.

Sorry you had that experience, though! Never a fun way to start of a Disneyland vacation!

 

[bumbershoot]

I used the credit card to secure my reservation

I wasn't even aware that was possible. I just pay with the CC when booking.

the commute from LAX to Disneyland was super long

Is the actual drive-time something to be blamed on the driver? Even I don't blame supershuttle or Grayline for the drive time...

My flight arrived LAX at 9pm, driver didn't show up until 9:45pm.

Ooh that would have been perfect for us. We don't rush to get off the plane, we take our time, we visit the bathroom, we get our bags, we go outside...45 minutes for that is just right for us! After you got your bags, how long did you actually wait outside?




So...as I look around to see if reserving without actually paying is possible... I see in the FAQS...

How do we get picked up from the Airport or Cruise terminal?
Upon arrival, gather all luggage. Immediately call toll free 1-888-995-7433. Provide the agent with your confirmation or last name on the reservation. Dispatch will get on the phone to provide you a vehicle # and tell you exactly where to stand to meet your driver.

Did you do that? Once I landed at SNA and I actually called from the gate.

On the LAX-specific page I see:

Once you arrive, you will receive a text message from us with our READY TO GO link. Once you have gathered all your luggage, simply click READY TO GO. Dispatch will alert you back with a vehicle number and exactly where to stand to meet your driver.

Did *that* happen?


You mentioned that the commute itself was long; was it bad traffic? If so, do you think the bad traffic might have held up the driver (and would have held up any shuttle driver) and that's why you had such a long wait compared to what you expected?


For the person who sounded like they were wondering about the driver picking up someone else...

Does Karmel Shuttle loop the airport?
No, we are a reservation service only.

The difference is that SS will loop withOUT having a reservation for someone. Karmel will pick up people they have reservations for.

It does sound like there's a difference for "residential" service vs airport service; did you go from the link that specifies LAX? I'm just wondering how the residential (I assume) address got dropped off before resort, and I'm wondering if they understood that you had booked "LAX to resort" specifically.


Aha, they DO do reservations where you're paying cash!

How does payment work?
Clients may pay by cash or credit card. If paying by cash a credit card # is necessary to hold the reservation.

I never even noticed that while booking.

So it sounds like the company used it to hold the reservation, and then the DRIVER didn't report it. So the company did what the company would do, when payment isn't given (or recorded). I'd try again, and if it doesn't work I'd dispute the charge. And I would make SURE that Karmel understood that your driver wasn't up to snuff and they need to look at her continued employment...

 

[bumbershoot]

I didn't realize that drivers carry that much change.

I never would have assumed they would carry change for a $50, either. Especially that late at night. Especially a female driver.

 

[cijay]

We had such a great driver with Karmel. He took one look at my luggage and asked "that's all you brought for a week? man, you gotta talk with my wife."