Thank you !!

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Village Airport Van
 

I mentioned in an earlier post that we use Village Airport Van and have been very satisfied with them.

We have had an experience showing just how good they are ...... a few years ago when the Volcano in Iceland (I think) caused the ash to severely disrupt airline service all over the world, my husband was in Europe and got stuck in London for several days trying to get a flight back to the U.S. I stayed in contact with the Village Airport Van both night and day because I was constantly having to tell them he was coming on such and such a day and flight and then that would be cancelled and so on and so on ........... Finally I got a call from him as he was boarding a flight asking me to make sure he would be picked up the middle of the night at Orlando! I called the Van, they stayed in touch with me throughout the day and into the night and picked him up in the middle of the night and brought him home safely. NOW THAT IS REAL SERVICE. I am sure we were not the only people that they assisted with exceptional service during that difficult time.

I have been using an airport service company that will take up to 4 passengers to or from the airport for $75. They pick up right at your door. They also show up at the airport luggage area with sign in hand, grab your luggage and take you home. The service has been great. There # is 352 728-1411.

Last year was my first experience ever driving a golf cart. My first rental house last year was in the Village of Chatham, near Nancy Lopez (far north end of TV). A couple of times I had dinner towards the south end of TV - at Cane Garden and at Havana. I'm estimating Havana is 12? miles from Chatham. Being a newbie golf cart driver last year, I did not feel comfortable driving by myself in the golf cart from Havana back to Chatham at night, especially with my tendency to get lost. I'm sure experienced TV golf cart drivers daily drive from Havana and points south of 466A to Chatham, but as a newbie golf cart driver driving that distance at night by myself was not something I was comfortable with doing. Now I drove with my friend in her golf cart, (she lives in the Village of Caroline) from her house to Chatham, but she knew exactly where she was going.

As Pooh indicated, TV is pretty spread out from north to south, and getting more spread out now that there are villages south of 466A. Before you say, that you are sure you will not need a rental car, I think you may want to assess what distance you want to drive in the golf cart, especially if you are a newbie golf cart driver. I believe you can rent an automobile in TV from Enterprise if you just want a rental car for a day or two -- someone correct me if I am wrong on that. I will be back in TV next month, and I will be using the golf cart that comes with the rental house, but I like the option of having a car, as I usually venture out of TV a least a couple of times while I'm renting in TV as I love to drive around FL. Just my 2 cents. Have a fantastic visit :wave:.

Extremely bad experience with the Villages Airport Van.
 

Very bad experience with the Villages Airport Van involving two teenage girls-- ages 15 and 18. On the trip from Orlando International Airport on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 they could not get on the van even though this had been prepaid $70 by the homeowner. The homeowner received a call from a very responsible 18 year old girl who described the problem. Then he called Villages Airpoirt Van and straightened out the problem. It seems like prepaid trips had been cancelled some how the day before, June 12, 2012.

It also took the girls 3 hours to get from the Orlando airport to our home near the Villages High School.

On the trip back to the airport (June 20, 2012), which was again prepaid, our two teenage girl visitors were offered the choice of paying right then or facing the police according to the driver. He said that no payment had been given for these two rides to the airport. These fares cost $70. Luckily, these two teenage girls had the $70 from money given to them as a safety net and for their lunches and other needs during the trip. These two teens were travelling alone from Orlando to the Phoenix area.

Again, the excuse as with the trip from the airport was that the prepaid Villages Airport Van trip had been deleted.

The homeowner here in the Villages called Villages Airport Van and learned that this was one of their best drivers!!!!! Not even an apology was offered for what these two teens went through. Again, these were two teen age girls travelling alone.

We were out of the house when the teen age girls called with the news that the cops would be sicked on them if they did not pay for their trip ($70). Not a word from the driver about these two fares not being paid when he picked them up from the Villages homeowner doorstep. He picked them up among a number of adults who were also visiting here in the Villages.

No one in this household will use the Villages Airport Van again.

Prepaid Village Van
 

Five days ago, we were picked up by the Village Van at Orlando Airport. We had prepaid for the trip to and from the airport. When the driver requested payment we told him we had prepaid, he said there was nothing on his sheet to indicate that, I produced the receipt and he called it in and the office then found our prepayment. The lesson here is to always carry the receipt for a prepaid trip.

Would suggest to the owner of The Village Van that he gets more efficient office staff, and that the van driver accepting prepayment make a note of it on his work sheet in VERY LARGE LETTERS.

The problem we had is that the teen girls (15 and 18 year olds) had the van receipt with them but I guess the office said that the trip had not been prepaid. That was because some office worker at the Airport Villages Van had deleted these prepaids.

So two teenage girls get threatened by a call to the police if they do not produce the cash.

They should double-check always when kids are travelling alone if they have trips that have been prepaid. What would have happened if the kid panicked thinking she would miss her flight but did not have the cash needed on her? Fortunately our 18 year has a very level head on her and after trying to call here--but not getting anyone-- managed to scrounge $70 from her and her 15 year old sister's emergency travelling money.

Just think that is horrible not to have some kind of policy that covers checking for prepaid fees at the pick-up door when kids are involved so that the kids do not get abandoned at the airport and/or miss their flight. These are TEENS! This happened at the trip picking up the kids at the airport as well that the office worker deleted the prepaid record which we had the receipt for both round trip Villages Airport Van trips. The receipt acknowledgment of these 4 $35 fares was e-mailed to us on June 9, 2012 from the Villages Airport Van with confirmation numbers.

I've used both many times the Shuttle before there was competion and the Van since they started (and by the way they have been around for years now). The Van goes to your house HUGE ADVANTAGE if you need to get your neighbor up to take you to the bus stop you might as well pay them to take you to the airport! The Shuttle charged me $5 extra for my clubs! Hello!!! My clubs happed to be the lighter of the tree bags I had!
I'm a firm believer in the Airport Van right to your door, on time, and no extra charge for clubs!

The Villages Airport Van was roughly on time when they picked up the two teens from the door on June 20, 2012. But they did not check if these kids had prepaid or not at the door. Bad policy with respect to kids. They were prepaid but the office deleted the prepaid status even though we have the receipt for it and the confirmation number sent via e-mail from the Villages Airport Van which was also forwarded to the parents of the two teen girls.

It did take though about 3 hours to get the kids from the Orlando airport to our door on the trip here on June 13, 2012.

Had very good lucky with Villages Airport Van. They wait if you are late, the shuttle leaves on a schedule and you sit and wait.

Huh? I read this ten times and I can't tell if it is an endorsement or a put-down.

We have used the Villages Airport Van numerous times. They are on time friendly and helpful plus they pick you up at your home. Very pleased with their service!

We have frequently used The Villages Airport Van. My husband used to "commute" to work and often arrived after The Shuttle stopped running. So the fact that The Van runs a 24 hour schedule was great. Plus the fact that they pick up and deliver to your doorstep!

The village van works great for me. One thing I don't recall being mentioned is you get a freebie with every ten trips. They do not offer it unless you ask. When I found out about this bonus, I asked how many tripsI had on record (trip count to anyone who is dropped off at your address). I had 18 trips. I used one of the freeness on my return to NY