Book-Me-A-Limo
Book-Me-A-Limo: Do not use-please look elsewhere-no respect for customer
For my mother’s 80th birthday I thought I would rent a limousine for 2 hours.
The limusine company I chose was BOOK-ME-A-LIMO. Their office is located in Woodbridge, Ontario. The 2 ladies I dealt with, to arrange this surprise, were very nice. I explained exactly what I wanted to them. I assumed that they wrote the exact instructions for the driver. I also assumed that if the driver didn’t know exactly where to go to, he would either do his homework and find out or ask me when he arrived. He did neither. Never assume !!!
Since my mother is blind I wanted to take her to one of her favourite restaurants:
Red Lobster and the Tim Horton’s down by her home.
I requested that the limo pick us all up at my home at 5:45 pm. Five forty-five came and went. I called the limousine company and asked where the limo was? They put me on hold, came back and said that he is caught in traffic. My response to her was, he should have left in plenty of time to be here at the scheduled time! The limo arrived at 6:10pm. Since reservations are not required at Red Lobster, I asked if they could possibly keep 2 tables aside for me for 6:00 pm. Since the limo was 25 minutes late, I figured that my request at Red Lobster was basically screwed and it was because of this idiot driver.
The limo driver decided to take the long scenic route to Red Lobster which got us there at 6:35pm.
After dinner, we all got back into the limousine. I explained to the driver how to get to our next destination. My directions were very straight forward. (South on 410, east on 401, exit Renforth, south to Eringate Drive, Etobicoke). Did he listen? No he didn’t. He chose to use his GPS. I had no idea where he was taking us. Even my guests were getting concerned. My mother was getting upset and panicky. Since she couldn’t see where we were going, all she heard was me and our guests trying to figure out where the heck we were going?
This driver had driven us to the Tim Horton’s at Finch and the 427 highway.
I asked him “where the hell are we”. The look on his face told me that he didn’t know where he was either. He told me that there was no address for the Tim Hortons, so he didn’t know where to go? I asked him why didn’t he look for address on the internet or have the company look it up. He had the nerve to say: “well, at least it’s a Tim Horton’s”. I was fuming mad. I told him if he had listened to my directions, and done what I said, there would not have been any problems. Now I had to spend my limousine time telling him how to get to the highway and to the Tim Horton’s on Renforth Drive. So instead of me enjoying my limousine time with my mother, I spent it giving him directions. I was livid!
On the way there, someone up front opened the window beside my mother. ( You see, my limousine driver decided to bring along his 10 year old son. ) Now the freezing cold wind was blowing on my mother’s face. This is all she needed to make her sick. When one of my guests yelled at the driver to close the window, the other window opened up beside me. So now we had 2 windows open. I was becoming more and more upset and angry with this guy. Again, my guests were yelling at him to close the windows. I guess he figured it out because they finally closed. So now we were all freezing in the limo. He turned on the heater and eventually we were all melting. I thought to myself: this guy is an idiot.
By the time we got to the Tim Horton’s, my mother was fed up. Instead of having the birthday cakes with her coffee, she said that she just wanted to go home. (What a disaster evening this has been.)
When we finally arrived at my home, I noticed that I still had 20 minutes on the clock. I asked if any of my guests wanted to go for another ride…they all said that they had had enough of this guy and they too just wanted to go home. I was so angry it took all my strength to keep my composure. I told the driver that he was 20 minutes early and he had the nerve to say: oh well, 20 minutes late and 20 minutes early, evens itself out”.
Then I present him with my cheque as the final payment. He said that my cheque was no good, and then makes a phone call. Then he says “give me cash”, I said ‘no’. Whoever he’s talking to (not in english), he then says “give me a certified cheque”.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I finally shoved my cheque in his hand and walked away. (I had contemplated not paying the final balance because of the lousy service we received. But as a show of good faith I decided to pay them and then contact the limousine company regarding what happened). And I think he was actually waiting for a TIP! Can you believe it? (I got the feeling that he was trying to rip me off, when he asked for cash because he should have known that the contract says not to pay the final amount in cash)
I sent an email to BOOK-ME-A-LIMO explaining what happened. I requested that I should be reimbursed for 1/2 of the total cost which was $400. No reply. Sent another email. Received a reply stating that my email had been forwarded to their complaints department and a manager would contact me the following week. The following week came and went: No phone call, no nothing. I waited another week: nothing. I decided to phone them. I was told that the manager wasn’t in…he had a family emergency. I mentioned that I was told there were 2 managers, so why didn’t the other one contact me. They couldn’t give me a solid reply.
By this time I am really P***** Off.
Then I receive a confirmation email for my final payment. And that just struck a nerve in me. I sent an email back stating that I was to receive a phone call from a manager, but that none had been forthcoming and I don’t believe that I will receive one at all.
Then a few days later I get an email from one of the ladies that had arranged the evening. (What happened to the manager that was supposed to call me from their ‘complaints department’?)
Her reply stated that they were very sorry for what happened. That the driver was new. That he had been spoken to. And that they would like to compensate me by offering $50 off my next booking with them. ARE THEY KIDDING?
The following was my reply:
An apology is fine BUT you guys screwed up!
They breached their contract.(Contract states: limo will arrive at scheduled time, a limousine driver, (not limousine driver and son), do not pay limo driver cash for final payment for it can be taken as a tip, not a payment– And this driver asked me for cash!! )
Your limo cost me $400 for 2 hours which I didn’t receive. I am on a pension and would not be in a position to use a limousine service in the future.. This was a one time deal, just for my mother’s 80th birthday.
I paid the full amount in good faith. I believe I deserve to be treated in good faith as well.
I then asked for $150: $50 for arriving late and returning early. $100 for driver getting lost, freezing our butts off, upsetting and ruining my evening, my guests’ evening and especially my mother’s evening. I wanted this limousine ride to be a lovely memory for her. Instead it was a nightmare. I am still waiting for their reply. It will probably take another 4 weeks, or none at all.
Please, please, if you ever need to book a limousine, do not use BOOK-ME-A-LIMO. Sure, they are nice to you when you are booking up with them. But when something goes wrong, they forget who you are. It took them 4 weeks to reply to me. And with that all they offered was an apology and $50 towards another booking with them? What a slap in the face .If they were a decent, respectful company, they would have notified me after my first email, offered to reimburse me 1/2 the cost, or at least $150.
If you need a limousine for a special occasion, please look elsewhere. Just look at how I was treated. This company doesn’t play fair, so they don’t deserve your business.
Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.
May 16th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
I came across this blog while reading about other complaints of limousine companies. I want to share my story too if you don’t mind.
I am writing to tell you about our terrible experience with Park Lane Livery Limousines on Friday, May 14th, 2010. We traveled from two hours out of town for a night in Toronto and contracted this limo company for a full evening of limousine services.
The limousine was meant to be ours for the full evening and we scheduled a pick up in Mississauga, two-drop offs during the night and return service back home. The evening started off well, and we felt comfortable paying the full $650 amount to Joe, our driver as per our agreement, but things quickly changed when we decided to end our evening early and called for a 12:00 a.m. pick up instead of a 2:00 a.m. pick up. Although Joe assured us that he would be there in 15 minutes, an hour and a half and five phone calls later, he and his supervisor finally arrived. There was a dispute while they blocked traffic on College Street over a liability form that they suddenly demanded I sign without reading it or providing me my own copy. It wasn’t until a Toronto Police officer finally ordered them to move the limo before we could go home.
This was only the beginning of our problems with their service. Instead of taking us directly to the first of three final drop offs (as was agreed), they took us back into downtown. We arrived at the first drop off location at 2 a.m. where Tony asked me to exit the limo to have a discussion with him. Frustrated and annoyed, we yelled at each other in a residential area until he finally agreed to drive us back to Mississauga.
They drove us back downtown again instead of west toward Mississauga; this was the final straw for all of us. We tried to have a discussion about the terms of the vehicle but Tony and Joe were impossible to talk with, behaving stubbornly and refusing to do their job. 2:30 a.m. in a strange part of town with a non-complainant driver, all 14 passengers hailed four separate cabs at $40 each to get us home.
As a tourist in Toronto, I have never been so appalled with a limousine service as I was this night. All the passengers that evening can agree that Tony and Joe were disrespectful and unprofessional. According to their website they are “proud to be Toronto’s Biggest Limo Bus & Party Bus Company” but should be ashamed of their horrible service.
It saddens me to think of someone’s evening or even worse, wedding ruined by this company’s horrible customer service. Tis’ the season for prom and weddings…
June 4th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
My son and his friends booked a limo through Book-Me-A-Limo for Grade 12 Prom. A very important time for these kids. A special moment that these kids have planned out well in advance with such excitement.
Now 4 hours before the pick up time they were called to say that the limo can’t come as it has no air conditioning??? And it is illegal to drive them without it.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 4 hours till pick up & you call??? With no offer of sending something else or providing ANYTHING to drive them??? I am so upset & angry that they have RUINED such a special night…but not nearly has upset & devastated as these kids are right now!!!
We have all called over 30 places with no luck…not a limo around that can do this at such short notice!
I say STAY AWAY from booking with these people unless you don’t care that your special evening is ruined!
June 6th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Man i wish i had seen this before…
They are the biggest douches. booked a limo.. coach bus showed up then they left people behind at our graduation and wouldnt go back for them.
July 14th, 2010 at 10:09 am
I recently got married and we had a lot of out of town guest coming for the week. We planned a bunch of events for them and need transportation for the various activities. We booked with PARK LANE LIMO, as a package for 4 different events. We had a horrible experience with them. They were late for every single pick up, there was no answer when you call their office, which we called all day long several times a day. There was no apology for being late, the drivers had no idea where they were going despite us giving very clear directions and maps upon booking. They showed up to take a group downtown for the Jays game with a 20 passenger vehicle, when we booked a 40 passenger vehicle and then the A/C on that 20 passenger was out of order so my family had to suffer and sweat through major traffic on the 427 on a day when it was 44 degrees with the humidity. During all of this, despite how many calls we placed or emails we sent no one at PARK LANE ever got back to us to discuss what was going on. Everyday we were at their mercy as to whether they were going to show up, including our wedding day where they were coming to shuttle guests to the venue. While being late and totally unreachable they did fortunately show up. However on the return trip home the driver proceeded to come out into the middle of the dance floor to find my brother to let him know that he was 30 minutes early in case you know, we wanted to end the wedding 30 minutes early or something!!
They were a nightmare to deal with and totally unnecessary stress during an otherwise awesome time.
Do not book with PARK LANE LIMO
November 18th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Thanks for you comment against Book me a Limo I was about to book with them but I will now choose another limousine company becuase I was not happy with what they did on your Moms 80th Birthday.
February 11th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
I also wish I had seen this information. I had a similar experience in booking a limo for my daughter’s wedding. I spoke with Maria Sweeney at Book Me A Limo and she was very helpful in providing all of the details for my booking.
I made very sure to provide details for the pick up of my daughter and her new husband would occur after midnight. So, I repeatedly gave the date of the wedding as well as the date of the pick-up. They were to be picked up at 12:15 as our venue required us to leave no later than 1:00. At 12:30 I was becoming concerned and called Book me a Limo’s office. I was told by the girl on the phone that the driver was on his way from downtown and should be there very soon. By 12:45 I called again and was put on hold. She came back and said oh, he is on his way. I said, you told me that some time ago and if he isn’t here soon I am going to cancel. About 12:55 the driver pulled up in a limousine that was not at all what I ordered. He told me he had been given the wrong information.
I checked with my daughter the next day to find out how everything went and she told me that the inside of the car had obviously not been cleaned since the last party and it smelled disgustingly of smoke.
I contacted Book me a Limo and described my complaint. This was the final memory that we had of a perfect day and their service was tainting that memory!!!
I was offered apologies and a free booking with them. I declined saying I don’t book limousines on a regular basis and couldn’t see the need to do so in the future. I would like a refund and we finally agreed that I would get a credit to my Visa.
One month went by and I checked my Visa and there was no credit. I contacted them again. I was told that it would be on my next statement. I checked again and no credit. I have been contacting them once a month since June 2010 and as of today, Feb. 2011 they have done nothing but continue to stall.
Today I called all of their numbers and lo and behold they are not in service. There does appear to be a link to a website which is under construction so I am assuming they are attempting to start fresh.
I am going to make sure that every person I know is aware of this.
February 28th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Customer beware. A lot of services are simply booking agents and use a group of small companies to fulfill their contracts. When booking any limo, always go to the office and see the limo. You may request to speak with the driver that will be assigned to your event a couple days in advance. A good limo company will send you a full itenerary of each stop, pick up times, duration and payment methods. The will also have a back-up plan in the event of mechanical issues. Traffic volume is one of those things that can not be predicted…sometimes traffic is just crazy. Make sure all details are confirmed the week before the event.
If the deal seems too good to be true…it probably is. You get what you pay for most often.
A former limo driver…Reg
October 13th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Do not rent rom AMANIE LIMO.They are thiefs!Poor service and rude people.
October 13th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Do not rent from AMANIE LIMO.They are thiefs!