Could you maybe give initials? First initial? I'm searching for a good
ECV for my mother, & its frustrating to read an informative report like yours & not be able to tell which vendor it is about.
@Shanti
The first trip that I rented a scooter on was the week between Christmas and New Years, and we rented from Disney. It may have been the fact that it
was Christmas, but
every day in the park we had to contact a Cast Member to help push one of the scooters to the front of the park b/c the battery died.
That was also the trip that the "preferred" agency had communication and canceled reservation issues. When I called in September and made the arrangements for the scooter, I told them we would be staying (this was also the trip I took my parents - my mother has wanted to go to Disney since before I was born) at a hotel in Downtown Orlando. I was assured that even though the booking agent could not find the hotel name, they delivered to "all the downtown hotels". I called back over Thanksgiving break to verify about the reservation, since the charge had not drafted against my bank account, and was supposed to have been charged at least 4 weeks in advance. Again, I was assured that the reservation was good, that they would have the scooter waiting for us when we arrived, they just had not processed the charge due to how busy the season was.
The day we left to drive down (Dec 26), about 4 hours into the 19 hour drive, I received a call that the reservation had been canceled because the agent taking the booking thought that when I said "Downtown Orlando" I had meant "Downtown Disney", and they did not deliver to hotels outside of the Disney geographic area. I argued that they had contracted to deliver the scooters and should be obligated to fulfill the contract. I even offered to pay additional for a delivery charge, but was told that they were canceling the reservation, and the contract, and I had no option since they had not yet and would not charged my account since they were unable (unwilling) to fulfill their commitment. That rep did provide 3 or 4 phone numbers for alternative companies, but none of them had scooters available on such short notice during that time.
When we got back from the trip, I contacted this "preferred" vendor again (and actually even left daily comments with guest relations about the businesses that were being recommended by Disney company) and complained. The response was to provide the same number of scooters (2) for a week, cost-free on my next trip. Which was acceptable. Except ... on my next trip I had to call and get a replacement scooter
EVERY SINGLE DAY (ok, so technically not every day, but only because I eventually gave up on getting one that would continue working, and I was tired of losing park time waiting to meet them at my resort) because something was wrong. The charger didn't work on one scooter, then the battery was faulty on the other, then the motor gave out on second one they replaced, then the latch holding the battery cover broke on the first one they replaced, then the seat back broke on the first one they had replaced (for the second time), and when screw holding the handle wouldn't tighten on the second one they had replaced I just bit my lip and dealt with it for the last 3 days of the trip. In my opinion, yes I got the use of 2 scooters free for a week, but if the purpose of the free rental was to encourage me to reconsider using them in the future by showing what a great company they were, they definitely succeeded. I reconsidered ever even having them in consideration as a company I would voluntarily give money to again.
As a matter of principle, since I did accept the offer as recompense for the trouble, I don't actually publish their name. And to be completely honest and fair, on all 5 occasions I called and complained about problems with the scooter they met me and provided a different one. (And if you think that maybe I'm just "too rough" on the scooters, my rentals from AA Tourist have undergone the same usage and have held up much better). I will provide hints, though, as you requested. ;-)
I have used Apple, Buena Vista and the ones from Disney. Disney's never broke down or needed a new battery during the use time. Both the others did. I have new knees and do not need to rent one now.
Bobbi
I've used Buena Vista scooters twice and never had any troubles.
Hope that helps!! Again, I strongly recommend AA Tourist rentals. They are the only one I'll use at this point. If you can't find their number online, message me and I'll send the contact information.