Chariots For Hire

I went on a wine tour with 14 friends, coworkers and significant others. Our driver Robert was very courteous, passing out business cards etc. This being the 1st time taking a wine tour trip I figured everything would go great. Sigh, but they didn't. We scheduled 3 wine stops after being told that from our location that would be fine with the 7 hour rental time. \r \r Spot one: Our driver gets lost, goes up and down random driveways, and stops in the middle of streets to ask for directions, to where finally I had to call the 1st vineyard to ask for directions on how to get there. The sad part is, there is a HUGE!!! Sign on the main street stating the vineyard and arrows to follow. That being the case we were 15/20 minutes late for our tasting. \r \r Spot two: After arriving at spot one late we rush our wine tasting so that we can be at spot 2 on time, a spot that is only 10 minutes away. Before getting in the limo I confirm which spot we are going to. E.G., ""the next spot is XYZ right? We're going to XZY next."" Alas, our driver takes us to our 3rd spot instead causing us to have to wait additional 15 /20 minutes before they can accommodate us.\r \r Spot three: Same story. Due to being early/late to spot 2 have to wait to be seen at spot three. Finally the day is done. \r \r He drops off the first bunch at their pick up location and then is off to drive us home. Half way there says he needs to stop for gas (okay) and states that ""I'm doing you guys a favor. Normally I make the customers pay for their gas."" DON'T FALL FOR THIS! IT WAS HIS WAY OF MAKING SURE HE GOT A TIP. They have company credit cards.\r \r After all is said and done we are now an hour and 9 minutes over our 7 hour rental. I call that same night explaining our situation and the lady I spoke to was very nice. She took my information, stated that someone in billing would contact me on Monday and I wouldn't be charged for it. LIES!!\r \r I call on Monday just to confirm that I wouldn't be charged and am told that everything is taken care of and not to worry. That night I get a bill for going an hour and a half OVER! I call the next morning and THANK YOU LORD! Speak with the boss. I explain my situation and he states that there is nothing he can do and that no one should have told me otherwise. He finally relents and states that he'll charge only ½ of the bill but continues in the next breath that the longer that we talk the more inclined he is to not adjust the bill at all! Such an ass. Will NOT! Be using this service again and plan to post on all available media options. If the bill had just been adjusted the whole thing wouldn't have been so bad and would have used their services in the future but with just a different driver. \r \r more

I'll attempt to keep this review as objective as possible, but it will be difficult considering the quality of service (or maybe non-service? disservice?) that I've received from Chariots for Hire. For our wedding day, we reserved 3 vehicles for transportation and confirmed the reservation multiple times.\r \r Vehicle 1 - 14 Passenger Van - Scheduled to pick up the bridal party from the church after the ceremony (3:30pm) and take us to the reception venue for pictures before the guests arrive. They sent a 14 passenger van, but it was missing an entire row of seats. An 11-seater 14 passenger van. We were forced to flag down family members in the street and ask them to go directly to the reception venue and not back to the hotel first as they had originally planned. Not what we paid $565 dollars for.\r \r Vehicle 2 – 56 Passenger Bus – Scheduled to pick up guests from the hotel at 4:30pm and take them to the reception. 4:15pm… no bus. 4:30pm… no bus. 5:00pm (reception starts)… still no bus. Needless to say, my new wife and I were a little stressed out that the reception had started and half of the guests were still missing. After our friend had called Chariots for Hire multiple times, a party bus (the ones with stripper poles – defiantly not what we ordered) arrives at the hotel at 5:15pm and the remaining guests cram in and show up to the reception an hour late. \r \r Vehicle 3 – 33 Passenger Bus – Scheduled to pick up guests from the hotel at 4:30pm and take them to the reception. This one actually showed up on time and was the correct vehicle.\r \r Two out of three ain’t bad, right? Not when it’s one of the most important days of your life that you spend months planning, confirm your transportation reservation multiple times and drop over $2,000 so that your friends and family can enjoy the reception and not have to worry about driving. Needless to say, there were some people that were upset.\r \r I wish the story ended here. The next day we receive an email from Chariots for Hire thanking us for our new $57 purchase. Apparently one of the busses went over the booked time slot and they charged us an overage fee. Really? They show up an hour late and then charge us a fee when they (allegedly) went over the paid time? Upon calling Chariots for Hire the next day to explain the situation (and inquire about the $57 charge), they seemed like they could care less. Not once did we receive an apology or an admission of wrongdoing. I might as well have been speaking into the box at a drive-through. After being on the phone for 40 minutes, we were assured that someone from customer service would call us on 10/11 – the day we were back from our honeymoon. \r \r I followed up today and was told that the only person that can help me is on a medical leave of absence. I will be sure to update this response with their resolution.\r \r **UPDATE**\r \r Was contacted fairly quickly by the owner after posting my review (thanks, Yelp!) and was able to work out a resolution that I felt was appropriate. more

After reading Kristens review I was hesitant to call Chariots. My good friend had used their service and sang their praises so I figured I'd give them a shot. I had my wedding during peak season, on a Prom night. I wish I knew before I picked the date that limousine companies make it through the year largely due to the demand during Prom season. I shopped around to really get a feel for the industry and to pick a company I could trust. Seriously, Chariots was miles ahead of the rest. The representatives you speak to are very knowledgeable and helpful! They talked me through my options, suggested vehicles the could work for the bridal party and for my guests. They have certainly done weddings before because they asked all the right questions to help me think through the logistics of my big day. It was a pleasure working with them! They even offered me and my husband a discount for our bachelor/ette parties and for our one year anniversary! The vehicles were not on time, they were early! The chauffeurs were dressed professionally, opened the door, greeted my guests with smiles, it was great! Exceeded my expectations! I look forward to another event where I can use their service :) Pros: Great! Great! Great! more