Talk of The Villages Florida - Bad News Village Transportation

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Quote:

Originally Posted by TheVillagesTransportation (Post 1227773)

On behalf of The Villages Transportation, we would like to send a sincere apology for the series of events that happened on this particular shuttle trip. Our company has always strived to offer excellent customer service and have not swayed from this belief. Our service relies on our employees to maintain this standard. It is unfortunate that on this morning an employee failed to show for his shift. A driver was sent out as soon as the Office Manager was made aware of the shuttle not being at the station in order to rectify the problem. The passengers were dropped off at the airport 20 minutes later than what they normally would have been if the shuttle left on time from Lake Sumter. We would like to assure you along with fellow posters, that this is not the norm for The Villages Transportation. Our services have been consistently reliable over the past 20 years and we hope that one post, such as this one, does not prevent you from using our services in the future. As for the cost you incurred for re-booking the flight, we are only aware of one passenger that missed their flight. That matter has been resolved with full reimbursement of the cost to rebook their flight. If we are not made aware of your individual circumstances how are we supposed to address it? Please contact the office and ask for Claudine, Office Manager, so we can take care of this as soon as possible.

That's a little more reassuring. But can you address the OP's claim that he was hung up on, and that he and several others had to take a taxi to the airport? Thanks in advance.

When your in the water drowning and someone finally throws you a life preserver do you throw it back because it's the wrong color? I think what they have offered is enough. More than fair. Are they supposed to drop to their knees? I don't think so.

I often use this service. It has gone well most of the time. Had a few problems with the other van services though which I described at length on TOTV. This was the Villages Van door-to-door that we had the problem with and it was with the prospect of their leaving a couple of teenage girls stranded at the airport if they did not get paid. They had been paid but there was some kind of mess-up that involved a lot of calls to my parents, credit card numbers and the like and some girls almost in tears. This was a few years ago though.

I am glad to see that they are responded on TOTV.

I had a very bumpy ride to Sumter Landing last May of 2015. I do hope they have better shock absorbers.

It's good to see a response. I hope the OP realizes he helped correct a problem and has received satisfaction in this matter. Obviously the company cares about this service enough to try to correct things. It's always better to quickly and as calmly as possible bring problems to a company's head to be solved rather than just stew about it.

Yuck! I can't stand sitting in those uncomfortable vans that the airport van has. Not to mention being drove all over the place and last time we used them we waited for over 30 minutes for a couple to come out, because they were not ready. I used the big white shuttle many times and never had a problem. I prefer the direct ride to the airport.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreggB (Post 1227806)

I personally appreciate the service The Village Transportation offers & think that us Villagers are lucky to have multiple airport transportation options available to us. SUGGESTION: The ability to also make reservations online would definitely be helpful as well. I travel weekly & many times when I have called and been placed on hold and a few times have shown up when the driver did not have my reservation - this was rectified by driver calling the office but an email confirmation would certainly be nice.

I always book online for the Village Shuttle, they call us back and confirm it too.
I looked up their website address for you.
The Villages Transportation | Shuttle service to and from Orlando International Airport

I hope this helps. :spoken:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midorisour (Post 1227999)

What is your opinion on tipping the shuttle drivers?

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Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1228025)

What is your opinion on tipping the shuttle drivers?

I usually give them 10% or so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1228025)

What is your opinion on tipping the shuttle drivers?

If they are on time and hustle it up with the luggage and drive like a human, the low end $5 per person, excellent service as high as $10 per person.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HimandMe (Post 1227840)

And not post to a public forum...................until after the service provider had a chance to fix the problem.
(A busy signal on a phone is not the trigger to go post on the Internet)

Quote:

Originally Posted by outlaw (Post 1227297)

The OP said he/she tried to contact the company several times on their hotline, and was "hung up on". Does that sound professional to you? Another poster confirmed a similar bad experience with the same unprofessional company non-responsiveness. What else needs to be said?

What "Hotline" are you referring to? I have never heard or used their "hotline".

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1228025)

What is your opinion on tipping the shuttle drivers?

We always tip too, sometimes $3, sometimes $5, it just depends on how many bags we have and how much the driver assisted us.

I will say, they have the cleanest taxi's I have ever seen and by talking with most of the drivers they also live in TV so that in itself is comforting.

I have been using them for about a year now and have had no problems. I was recently told they don't do phone conformations anymore but, I get emails with ALL the information for my trip with a reference number which I really appreciate more! I think humans are humans and errors happen sometimes, as long as they responded correctly and offered to make it up to you I have no problems with the customer service.:eclipsee_gold_cup: