Our experience with Florida Tours

SandiH

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 12, 2000
Messages
569
Overall - our experience with FL Tours this past week was ok. I was extremely nervous given all the negative posts Andy has gotten over the past few weeks. I had booked a limo as a surprise for my boys.

Our experience started great - we flew on Dec. 18th. Our flight was delayed an hour and I called as soon as I found out - worried about losing our grocery stop that we were counting on. I was told that we were the last scheduled trip for our driver so we should still be able to have our grocery stop. We arrived to Mike waiting for us at baggage claim with a sign - good. So far so good. The boys were in AWE when he pulled up in a white limo! Mike had Finding Nemo running on the VCR and our requested booster seat even though we didn't really need it after all. We were able to stop at the grocery store as requested. Mike was very pleasant and helpful with our bags.

Before leaving for our trip - I had requested a 3:30 pick up instead of the 4:15 that they usually do (2 hours before our flight) Since we were flying Southwest, I was worried about getting a good boarding pass and not sure if I would be able to print at the hotel. I hadn't heard back about my request but wasn't overly concerned about it it - especially since I found out on our flight to Florida that if I didn't happen to get my boarding passes printed at the hotel - I would still be able to print them at the airport. Mike had told us he'd pick us up at 4:00. Fine by me.

The day before we left, We had a message from Andy confirming our 3:30 pick up time. Great - apparently my request was able to be met.

On departure day, we headed to the front of the hotel at 3:30 to find a black car waiting for us. Yes - a CAR, not a limo. I was ticked!!! I told the driver (who wasn't MIKE) that I was expecting a limo. He asked if that's what I requested - I said yes, I had a round trip limo paid for. Told him that Mike brought us to our hotel in a limo. He knew that Mike only drove limos so said I could call FL Tours. He called on his phone, talked for a few moments and then gave the phone to me. Andy (I assume) looked up my reservation and confirmed that yes indeed I was suppose to have a limo. He said I was absolutely right and he'd make a quick call and get right back to me. Within a minute or so, Andy was back on the phone, stating that there was a mixup with my pick up time (Mike had thought it was for 4:00) and that he was on his way - would be there in 10 minutes. WE unpacked our bags from the CAR (bell hop put them in there for us). The driver did nothing to help us un pack our bags. I'm sure he realized that he just wasted his time waiting for us - to not get the fare for our trip.

Within 20 minutes of the inital phone call - our limo with MIKE arrived. Mike was sorry for the confusion, took time to put in a movie my kids would want to see and helped pack our bags into the limo.

All and all - we got what we paid for, arrived on time to the airport and enjoyed the luxary of the limo.

Would I use them again? Probably not. The frustration lies in the confusion and lack of internal communication at FL Tours. If Mike was planning to pick us up at 4:00 - how did another car get dispatched to our hotel at 3:30??? I also didn't like having to pay cash and not use a credit card. What if I didn't get my limo that I paid for? What recourse would I have? With a credit card, I could disput the charges. When you pay cash, it could be more difficult to get a refund.

I'm glad that our transportation turned out ok but wasn't happy for about 20 mintues while waiting for it to get cleared up. You should have heard the message I was composing in my head while I waited!
 
I'm glad it worked out for you! FL Tours not taking a credit card was the #1 reason I didn't use them, and took Tiffany instead. I'm sure only taking cash is a way from FL to keep their costs down and then pass the savings on to the travelers. But I like to deal with credit cards exclusivly for all purchases for various reasons, one of wich is being able to disput the charge if there is a problem. FL Tours may want to look into accepting credit cards if they want to stay competitive.
 





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