Tiffany Towncar: WARNING **Update**

Jeannie

<font color=blue>Taking the slow route to 1000 pos
Joined
Aug 18, 1999
Messages
502
***Update 12-20***

I'm not sure what happened to the $30 check that was supposed to have been sent out on 12-12, but I did receive a check for $51 from Tiffany Towncar in today's mail (postmarked 12-17). This was the amount that we had to pay for a replacement ride when our Tiffany driver didn't show up. This is the amount that I wanted to be reimbursed, and am happy that this matter has been resolved.

***************************************************

Let me start by saying that my family has used Tiffany at least 4 times in the past and has always had a good experience. That changed last week and we will NOT be using them again.

Here is a copy of the email I sent them explaining what went wrong.

Dear Ms. Pellizzari,

This is a follow up to my phone call of Dec. 8. We were picked up on schedule on Dec. 5 by your driver, Omar. I paid him in cash for our round trip. Our return pickup was Dec. 8 at 10:45 AM at the Dolphin Hotel. Two other members of our family were picked up on this date and location by Omar at 8:30 AM. Omar did not return to get us. We called Tiffany at 10:45 AM to inquire about our pickup, but got a recording saying that you were very busy. My husband left a message and his cell phone number. We did not hear back by 11:00 AM and were forced to use a Mears towncar that was at the hotel in order to make our 12:30 flight. The cost for this ride was $51.00 (not including gratuity).

I do realize that mistakes are made and that the most important thing is that we did make our flight on time. However, I wish to be reimbursed for the $51.00 I had to pay to Mears since the error was made by Tiffany. We have used your towncar service many times over the past several years and have always been pleased (which I have attested to on several Disney message boards on the internet). I look forward to this matter being resolved so that we may continue to regard Tiffany as 'our' Florida towncar service.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Their reply:

Hello:

A check was sent out on Friday for 30.00 which is the difference in the fare which was paid to the driver. The rate was $80.00-5.00coupon. The one way rate was 45.00 which left the 30.00 to be refunded.

Sincerely,
Reservations Dept

My reply back to them:

I am very disappointed by this. I did not book one way and should not be penalized for Tiffany's mistake. Be advised that my family will no longer use Tiffany Towncar and that I will be sharing my experience on the Disney message boards that are used for vacation planning.

I'll let you know if I hear anything else from Tiffany. As it stands right now they are screwing a loyal customer out of $21.00. Not very good business in my opinion.

Jeannie
 
If you have a complaint about an Orlando ground transportation company, here is who you should contact.

City Of Orlando
Vehicles For Hire Department
1010 S. Westmoreland Drive
Orlando, FL 32805

Phone: 407-246-2845
 
Would it have KILLED them to say that they were sorry in the email they sent you. I mean they admitted they were wrong when they sent you the check. So... at least apologize!!!
 
I hate to hear about them and the service perhaps going downhill. They have no idea with these boards..they better not tick somebody off!! I've emailed them with a question and of course..no response..what has happened to a little customer service. We've always used them and I'm about to make my reservation for our upcoming trip and I'm thinking of changing companies...after all there are other choices out there. I know mistakes happen and every company has had screw-ups like this.
 

How much did you pay the driver up front? It sounds like you only paid for one round trip. If you had an additional pick up it would have been more money than what you paid. The driver probally assumed he was done after picking up the other people in your party.

You have to make sure they know what you are doing. I always call twice and confirm my reservation, one week out and the day before we leave. When we arrive I go over the reservation with the driver to make sure everything is right.

Is it possible that the driver did not know about your additional pick up??
 
I can sympathize with you, I had the same experience with Cartier in October. After several e-mails (and threats) I got a full refund for the cost of my alternative transportation.

That takes Cartier and Tiffany out of the running for future business. NOw I'm glad I just booked FL Tours for May.
 
We have also used Tiffany in the past, but this trip was a little different. We were scheduled to be picked up at 5:00 from the BCV. I called that morning to change the time to 4:00 because we were trying to catch an earlier flight. They said "no problem whatsoever." Well the driver said he never go the message and got there at 5:00 which was the original time. In fact the driver said he was just sitting around with nothing to do that day.
 
Originally posted by crzy4dsny
How much did you pay the driver up front? It sounds like you only paid for one round trip. If you had an additional pick up it would have been more money than what you paid. The driver probally assumed he was done after picking up the other people in your party.

You have to make sure they know what you are doing. I always call twice and confirm my reservation, one week out and the day before we leave. When we arrive I go over the reservation with the driver to make sure everything is right.

Is it possible that the driver did not know about your additional pick up??


The other family members were from another state and flying on another airline. The driver knew that since he picked them up several hours earlier than us on our arrival day. On Dec. 8 he picked up our relatives and in conversation with them said that he would be returning to the Dolphin for us shortly after he got them to the airport.
 
I've used Tiffany several times without issue, but my question is this- Is it absolutely required to pay the r/t fee up front? I've never questioned this until now and reading variuos issues with town car services. Do all services require r/t up front?
 
Originally posted by Laura24
I've used Tiffany several times without issue, but my question is this- Is it absolutely required to pay the r/t fee up front? I've never questioned this until now and reading variuos issues with town car services. Do all services require r/t up front?

This seems to be the modos operandi of the Town Car companies. I would imagine that it probably helps most of them to ensure that they have the second leg of the trip locked up.

But lately it seems like a lot of the problems we (myself included) are experiencing come with someone not showing up for the second leg of the trip.

I actually had (and have) no problem with paying for the r/t up front, because I don't have to worry about having the cash on the return trip.

But it does seem curious that most of the complaints lately have been from people who didn't get picked up for the return trip, instead of being left at the airport.
 
This business of paying for the r/t up-front must be uniquely an Orlando thing. I take car services from airports all over the East Coast, and it's never even been suggested to me to do that. I would refuse, in any case, there is simply too much risk that they'll take your $$ and run. Further, I never pay these companies in cash, always CC so there is a paper trail in case of a dispute.
 
How many of us pay in full for services up front in our home territory before a "job" is started or even completed? I use a tc service to the airport and am only required to pay each leg as services are rendered. Maybe this is something consumer affairs should look at in Orlando to just get a scope on what is being asked of travelers requiring tc services. You know the saying.."too big for their britches". Here's another thought in regards to paying up front, how many car services sub work out to drivers with other companies if they can not handle the requests themselves? I was told Tiffany does this. It makes you think about who you are handing your money to.
 
Most TC companies subcontract drivers (most work only for one specific company) or lease their vehicles.

Limo services charges the RT up front since sending a driver 20 miles away to have a No Show costs the driver money and/or he might loose another trip because of this NO SHOW.

I must agree, if you have given a credit card number to reserve and the companies policy is to charge you a certain amount for No Shows, they could charge you each way separately. But many do not take credit cards or do not ask for one to hold your reservation.

Did all this make sense??? LOL

:earsboy:
 
Limo services charges the RT up front since sending a driver 20 miles away to have a No Show costs the driver money and/or he might loose another trip because of this NO SHOW.

The question here is who should bear the risk - the consumer or the car service? When you pay up front and they no-show, it's just plain stealing. You have to pay another service on an emergency basis, which is likely to be a higher rate, as you don't get the benefit of a r/t fare. Not to mention the stress and aggravation they've put you through when you've planned the trip and relied on their service...

In the OP's case, the company does not even have the class to apologize nor send her the total amount she was forced to pay bc of their mistake! If it were my company, I'd refund the full amount as a good-will gesture.
 
I was left stranded at the Dolphin by a different town car company. Traveling alone with my two young daughters, I of course went to panic mode. After calling the town car company it was evident that we would have to get another ride. We got a cab and paid $56.00 plus tip in addition to having already paid the round trip fare to the original company.

After a written letter and e-mail the towncar company refunded in full the cost of the cab fare and the tip and promised a complimentary round trip in the future. I got both but probably will not use that service again. Again this wasn't Tiffany.

If I didn't need the grocery stop I would seriously consider booking two one way trips rather than the round trip even though its more costly. I guess you can look at the round trip fare as "discounted" but you have to pay up front.

If I could find a company that will do a grocery stop on a one way I would probably book two one way trips.

I have booked Tiffany for our upcoming trip and have always had GREAT service from them. It was the one time I tried another company I was left stranded. I guess I will stick with what I know from now on and hope for the best.

I am sorry you had a bad experience and I truly hope you get the apology and any compensation you deserve.

TJ
 
Jeannie,
sorry you had a big dissappointment this trip with tiffany's. i have used them twice in the past and thought they were great. i too, had booked them for my dec trip. never again. we had prebooked the grocery stop, as we had done the previous 2 trips, but when we were picked up the driver told us we hadn't booked the stop and refused to take us:mad: i told her we had to have the stop or wouldn't go with her, she still refused, she called the office, or so she said, and told us again no stop:confused: we did ride with her as we were too tired to look for another ride, but did not tip her and told her why...it would cost us more to buy our items at the resort. i sent an e-mail too when i got back, and they did say sorry, but took no responsibilty. they said we should not have waited until we got back home to complain(i was worried we might not get our return trip if i made a big deal) and that they couldn't understand why i wouldn't use them again since my other trips went fine. they said they didn't think the driver would refuse again since she lost her tip. i am returning to wdw in april but will not use tiffany again.
katypop
 
The question here is who should bear the risk - the consumer or the car service? When you pay up front and they no-show, it's just plain stealing. You have to pay another service on an emergency basis, which is likely to be a higher rate, as you don't get the benefit of a r/t fare. Not to mention the stress and aggravation they've put you through when you've planned the trip and relied on their service...


I agree the company is the one who should take the risk, if you do not mind paying a little more and pay two one ways instead of the $5.00 or $10.00 off for the roundtrip.

You definitely can call it "stealing" if they do not refund you at least what you had to pay for the alternative transportation you took back. I also agree they should refund the whole roundtrip anyway as a polite gesture, but....


:wave:
 
We rode with Tiffany many times, with some hiccups and nervous minutes when they were 15 minutes late picking us up at the hotel, *but*...never again!

For our return trip our driver, Sam, picked up another fare and left us stranded at BW! Fortunately another Tiffany driver had just dropped off someone at BW and took us to the airport. He found out what had happened when he called Tiffany.

They promised us our next trip at half fare but conveniently forgot about it when we inquired for our next trip. I brought it up with another website where Tiffany is an advertiser but got no response from Tiffany.

Never again!


boB
 














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