Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Three strikes and East Bay Connection is out

Customers are cattle as far as this company is concerned.

If you live in the San Francisco East Bay, your options for a shared-ride shuttle to either Oakland International or San Francisco International is East Bay Connection. I’d rather walk. Hell, I’d rather not go. Three terrible experiences are all I need to make sure I always have another way to get to the airport.

Strike 1: I had a reservation on an East Bay Connection shuttle to get home from Oakland Int’l. I got to the shuttle to find one other passenger slumped in the back seat looking glum. I settled into the van and waited…for nearly two hours. Other passengers with reservations were on delayed flights and the driver was not allowed by his dispatcher to take us home. They could easily have sent another driver to wait for the delayed passengers, but that evidently would have cost them too much, so the decision was made that it was better to make their customers suffer.

Strike 2: I had a reservation on a shuttle to get me to SFO. The reservation agent gave me my pickup time and the shuttle driver was waiting, right on time. I got into an empty shuttle. “Just me?” I asked? “No,” he said, “I have to pick up five more passengers.” He told me where they all lived. I did some calculations, then asked, “Will you get me to the airport by 6 a.m.?” That would give me an hour to go through security and get to my flight. The driver shook his head. “Not a chance.” I had to have him turn around and take me back home so I could drive myself to the airport. On the way I called East Bay Connection and asked, “What the hell?” “Sir,” I was told, “this is a shared ride service.” “I know that,” I replied, “but I should have been picked up early enough to ensure I wouldn’t miss my flight. What good is a shared ride service if it can’t get me to the airport in time to make my flight? Why do you even ask what time my flight is leaving when I make my reservation if you’re not going to schedule my pickup in time to get me there??” I just got belligerence from the shuttle representative.

Strike 3: On my way home from Chicago last week, I ran into a friend on the same flight. He had an East Bay Connection reservation to get home, but I offered him a ride. It would be faster (he wouldn’t have to wait while the shuttle dropped off four other people) and it would be fun to catch up. We got down to baggage claim at SFO and he called East Bay Connection to let them know he wouldn’t be riding with them. “We’ll charge your credit card anyway,” he was told. He was flabbergasted. “What if my trip got extended? What if my flight was cancelled and I had to spend the night in Chicago?” “We’d charge your card for the missed reservation,” he was told. He wound up taking the shuttle.

Some companies just don’t understand the advantage of making your customers happy instead of miserable. With all the flights I take each year, East Bay Connection is out probably $1,000 in revenue this year alone, and I’ll bet I’m not the only one who has decided it’s better to pay exorbidant airport parking that suffer another experience with these losers.

Posted by Shel in • Shuttles
(17) Comments • Permalink

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  1. Shel, I’m with you on Strike 1 and 2.  There’s no excuse for either of those.  I do have some sympathy for the company on Strike 3. Last minute cancellations can be unfair to the company.  If it was a delayed return and they would still get the revenue, that’s one thing.  But a straight-up cancellation after they had allocated routes for the day can be problematic.  And I imagine the fare for one-way and round trip service may be different as well.  It would still be better if they didn’t charge his card, but I don’t see it as “wrong” either.

    Of course, I’m fortunate in that I have been able to find a reasonably priced airport car service in my area so I can avoid the tyranny of the shared shuttle—and the danger of me driving home late at night after a long week on the road.

    Chip Griffin  on  08/21  at  06:34 AM

  2. Wow, after hearing that I have no idea how that company continues to operate.

    Evra  on  09/01  at  05:30 AM

  3. Worst experience of my life.  Not worth the service even if it is free!!! East Bay Connections called me the night before to confirm my appointment, and couldn’t get my basic information correct. That was a red flag. The next morning, I waited 45 minutes and East Bay Connections never contacted me.  I was forced to call a cab, who was able to get me to the airport in 20 minutes at a cost of $10.00 less than East Bay Connections priviate limo service.  They billed me anyway and when I spoke to Alefi, the owner he yelled at me over the phone and said that I wasn’t outside of the hotel at the time of the pick put (3:30 AM). DONT WASTE YOU TIME WITH THIS COMPANY.

    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  10/25  at  11:10 AM

  4. Companies nowadays don’t value customers. They should understand that customer satisfaction is very important for their business.

    anna  on  01/08  at  09:27 PM

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    Mailer  on  01/11  at  10:45 AM

  6. My sympathies are with you. Poor treatment of customers seems to be commonplace at the moment. One thing that I beleive though, is that companies such as this will stagnate, particularily in these tougher times.
    Keep up the good work

    Mike Ireland  on  02/03  at  10:01 AM

  7. How strong is the presidential limousine? What about the motorcade? I have always wondered. There are about 20 cars with the presidential limousine. Black SUVs, an ambulance, a big black truck, and other vehicles. What do they all do? How strong is the limousine? Is it bullet proof, bomb proof? Can it survive a WMD attack?

    limo  on  03/10  at  12:10 AM

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    Miami limousine  on  07/22  at  03:17 AM

  10. Now, that’s just some bad service!

    Limousine Hire Perth  on  08/03  at  12:15 PM

  11. Well I think that this is pretty bad service.
    Mike - the buy grow taller 4 idiots dude.

    senuke pro  on  08/06  at  01:20 AM

  12. I beleive though, is that companies such as this will stagnate,particularly in these tougher times.

    Houston Courier Service  on  08/07  at  11:00 PM

  13. Well I think that this is pretty bad service.
    Mike - the buy MyArticleNetwork, Unique Article Wizard and Maverick Money Makers Review dude.

    SENuke Review  on  08/20  at  11:57 AM

  14. I would agree, pretty bad service.
    Adam - registry easy dude.

    External hard drive  on  09/25  at  03:24 AM

  15. Some companies offer you bad service. me too agree its really a bad service. you should try a new company. better review it from your friends circle.

    Miami limousine service  on  11/07  at  03:44 AM

  16. Interesting post, though i cant say the same about the service.

    Buy High PR Links  on  12/11  at  01:36 AM

  17. There are so many companies that offers such poor services and takes advantages of their customers.

    Teeth Whitening Products  on  12/11  at  01:45 AM

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