Tuesday, August 21, 2007

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
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