[outlaw]

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?

[outlaw]

Based on certain comments providing speculative excuses for this company, I can only conclude that it is the developer endorsed transportation service. Flat tire?! Really?

[Muzik]

I always use Village Airport Van. Very reliable.

[HimandMe]

It sounds like the OP needs a big apology, an explanation, a future free ride to the airport and the cost of purchasing new airline tickets! He has had enough aggravation through all this. Perhaps then, he can be open to understand what may have been a real problem or human oversight.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by outlaw

Based on certain comments providing speculative excuses for this company, I can only conclude that it is the developer endorsed transportation service. Flat tire?! Really?

Yes a flat tire really. Sometimes in the people moving business things seem to snowball. One problem leads to another. The person in charge may have been trying to solve the problem they were facing and a driver waiting to go to work hung up the phone in a very unprofessional manner. I believe they made a television show about this nutty business once. Being a dispatcher is a mix between a commodity trader and a airline traffic controller....it is insane and you are at the mercy of many variables, people and mechanical. A flat tire was our favorite excuse when we were late for a pickup and most people would accept it as fact. In the real world things happen. I would be upset if I had to pay for another ticket. That is terrible.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by HimandMe

It sounds like the OP needs a big apology, an explanation, a future free ride to the airport and the cost of purchasing new airline tickets! He has had enough aggravation through all this. Perhaps then, he can be open to understand what may have been a real problem or human oversight.

On the money. You said it better than I did.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by outlaw

Based on certain comments providing speculative excuses for this company, I can only conclude that it is the developer endorsed transportation service. Flat tire?! Really?

I think many of us identify with management. I wonder if the people who really have the power to straighten this out know about it, because certainly it is not right.

I don't think the developer owns it anymore. I think I remember that it was sold to someone else about three years ago. It appears to be part of the developers business plan, as they sold the Newspaper, and the entertainment department and successful restaurants that they ran themselves at The Lighthouse, Cane Garden and the place where Panera now is.

I think that it would be interesting to find out what happened exactly, (hangover, car and driver stolen by extraterrestials, mechanical difficulty?) and whether anything was done about it. Someone's head should roll and restitution be made.

[trueorange]

I have successfully used Villages Transportation before. However, their reservation process is cumbersome. It would be nice to have an email confirmation or a printed confirmation or a confirmation number or something along those lines. I'm a person who likes to double check arrangements ahead of time and Villages Transportation makes it difficult to do so.

[ahayward65]

I am confused about the names of these airport transportation companies. Some call it Villages Transportation, some Villages Airport Shuttle and now I hear of a third one called Signature van.
Are there 3 different ones ? i and my family and various friends have used a shuttle but now I am not sure which one we took.

[Carla B]

Yes, AHayward, there are three different companies. Villages Transportation has a regular schedule running to and from MCO. They pick up and drop off only at Lake Sumter Landing. If you don't have a way to get to Sumter you can call for a taxi pick up at your door and drop you at Lake Sumter to catch the shuttle at extra cost. The OP's complaint was that the taxi was on time to pick up their passengers but the bus wasn't at Sumter to deliver them to the airport.

Village Airport Van is a shared-ride shuttle that picks up and drops off at your door. You call and talk to someone to make a reservation. We like to take them from MCO to home 'cause the flight doesn't have to arrive at MCO on time to catch a van. If you live in the southern part of TV it makes more sense because they drop those residents off first.

Signature Van is a new service. I'm not familiar with how it works, so maybe someone else knows.

[dietpepsi]

Originally Posted by JoMar

We, and out guests, use Village Transportation and have never had an issue. Will continue to do so until we have a reason not to......for Sanford we are trying Signature Coach.

what is the cost sanford? how often do they go?

[Matzy]

Off the main topic---I am just wondering that you have to buy a new ticket after a missed flight. I had that several times but never I had to buy another ticket, in one case I just had to pay 25.-- $ for re-booking.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by ahayward65

I am confused about the names of these airport transportation companies. Some call it Villages Transportation, some Villages Airport Shuttle and now I hear of a third one called Signature van.
Are there 3 different ones ? i and my family and various friends have used a shuttle but now I am not sure which one we took.

If you were dropped at the shuttle station at LSL, you used Villages Transportation.
If you were dropped at your home, you used Village Airport Van.

[GreggB]

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.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by TheVillagesTransportation

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.

Bravo...That's customer service. All Transportation Companies have a glitch now and then....it can be as simple as one driver calling out or a flat tire. Reimbursing your customer shows your commitment to Service Excellence. We will be using your service often.