About a year ago, I started searching for limo/charter bus companies for my brother's bachelor party. As you can imagine, this was an important day for my brother and his close friends, so I wanted to get the best option possible. I came across Designer Limo's website, saw that most of the reviews were positive (with a few horror stories), and decided what the heck, the bus has a million awesome amenities (ipod jack, satellite TV, comfortable chairs, etc), so I went for it. The price was relatively reasonable, I think about 2,000 dollars for the night split between about 18 guys, and we were just going from Long Beach, Long Island to CitiField to see a Mets game (with perhaps a few stops afterwards at local bars).
The night started out without a hitch. The driver showed up on time (in fact about 15 minutes early, but reassured us that there was no rush), we paid upfront in cash, and we got on our way. Now, as you can imagine, even though there were some empty seats on the mini-bus, 18 guys in the middle of summer can get a little stuffy. So, when we realized that the AIR CONDITIONING DIDN'T WORK, we were a little concerned. The driver assured us it was on full blast, but it was blowing out only hot hair through the vents and we were all sweating. In fact, the ice in our colors began to melt so rapidly that containers full of ice when we left became soupy/luke warm water just 45-60 minutes later. Unfortunately, we couldn't open windows, so it was very uncomfortable. After a bunch of calls back and forth between the driver, ourselves, and the management, the issue was never resolved.
Then the other problems started...the ipod jack did not work AT ALL, and neither did the television. The driver had absolutely no idea how to work either of them, and despite the efforts of us, the driver, and the management who we had on the phone, neither worked for the entire trip. So, for what became a 1.5-2 hour trip due to traffic, we had 1) No air conditioning on a hot august day; 2) no radio/ipod and 3) No satellite TV, ALL OF WHICH were advertised as being fully available on the website with this bus.
To the management's credit, due to all the problems, they sent a larger bus to citifield, which had a functioning radio, air conditioning, and even a bathroom. Although it didn't cure the miserable ride to the game, it was a nice gesture and a good business move that we greatly appreciated. Things went ok after the game...the bus was nice, everything worked as advertised (even though we had no TV and just listened to the radio cause the bus had no ipod jack), and it drove us around a bit to some bars. We ultimately went to a bar and the bus waited outside for us. We had to be home at 4 AM, so to be safe, around 245 (we were only about 30 minutes from long beach), we started gathering in the bus...the only problem? THE BUS BROKE DOWN. As it turned out, the bus totally busted. Not even the electricity worked, so we couldn't lay down on the seats and try to sleep while we waited for a THIRD bus to come get us. From 245 til about 430 AM, we sat and waited while a ""mechanic"" of some sort showed up. Ultimately, we piled on the third bus of the night, that mercifully ended our miserable night and drive us home.
When I called about our issues, I was at first met with apologies and promises that they will give us a free limo ride at a time and place of our choosing. While still furious about our ordeal, I was able to calm all thsoe who paid close to 200 dollars, and we tentatively planned a wine tour out east. Unfortunately, after multiple promises from the company that they will accommodate our future trip, the management suddenly fell off the face of the earth and stopped returning my calls. So, all I got was a lot of talk, with absolutely no delivery. I guess that's a good business strategy? Promise you will rectify a situation until the disgruntled customer gives up?
more