[zoey9797]

Just wanted to share our experience with Tiffany Towncar for fellow Disneylovers trying to figure out which service to use!

We reserved a round trip Tiffany Towncar one month in advance for 4 people ( 2 adults/1 jr. and 1 child) on our recent visit to Disney. It was the cheapest I could find. I called to confirm a few nights before we left. All was correct.

When we arrived at the airport in Orlando, our driver was nowhere to be found. Our kids ( ok, me too) were really excited about traveling in a fancy car to kick off our week long trip to Disney! We waited patiently but we were VERY exhausted after 11 hours of travel with a 7 year old! You can imagine.....
When our driver arrived, he was very apologetic and he had been lost in the airport. Ok, that happens right? Not a problem. Let's go!

We hurried to the car and oh, wait it is a huge cargo van! We were not in the mood to make a fuss. It had seats (broken seatbelts, but seats) We we tired and the driver spoke little English so we got in. We tried to hold our breath most of the way. The van was stained and STINKY! Far cry from the Towncar we imagined! We managed to make one seatbelt work for out littlest child and we used the handles to hold on. After a Nascar style/ beat the redlight trip to ASMo, we got out and I took the kids to check-in. My DH handed the driver our Passporter with the $8 coupon in it and signed the charge slip. I had never told DH what the charge should be- MY FAULT!

When I looked at the slip after unpacking, I had been overcharged by $18.00. Ok It wasn't ALOT but I had saved and budgeted SO much for our trip that I was upset.

On our way back, we had the same driver. Before we got in, I mentioned the error of the vehicle and charge. He was very pleasant and a bit nervous. He called in to the office because he said that someone had just been fired for overcharging a customer and he couldn't loose his job..... So he needed the manager to understand it was not his fault. I agreed to talk to them.

I spoke with a Customer Service Rep who proceeded to raise her voice at me and insist that we had 5 people in our party and of course they automatically upgrade at 5 people. Yes, they charge you for it.
They couldn't have possibly made a mistake and why did I get in the van anyway if it was not what I had reserved?
I attempted to explain our 11 hours of travel with kids and that we were tired and just needed to get to ASMo. I thought Tiffany may have ran out of Towncars and sent a van. Who Knows? We didn't want to argue on our first night in the happiest place on earth!
We were very rudely left with the choice of finding a new company and getting to the airport in 30 minutes or just taking the stinky van. We had to leave so that we wouldn't miss our flight. The driver offered to give me the $8 coupon money out of his tips to make up for that portion. I took it and promised to call in and clear this up without getting him fired.

I called and spoke to 5 or 6 people on 3 different attempts at the Tiffany TownCar office before getting to talk to the person who claimed to be the owner. He promised a refund and apologized. I was ok with that in spite of the inconvienence and not being able to ride in a Towncar.
30 days have went by..... no refund.
I called to follow-up today and once again, no supervisors available. Amazing...

Word of warning:

Make sure you have a backup plan for transportation and check your reciept carefully! Carry a confirmation reciept with you. Do not get in the vehicle if it is not what you reserved. You will not get your money back once you have accepted the transportation.

We had a wonderful trip and will do it all again in 2 years. The only difference is.... I think we'll rent a car

~Zoey

[BuzzLightyear]

Sorry to hear about you bad expierence. We used Tiffany 3 years in a rw without a problem.

[Dana]

I am so sorry to hear of your bad experince with Tiffany. I have used them twice. The first time was in 2002 and I had a great driver. This year my driver was pleasant as the last, but incapable of lifting my heavy bags. I did it myself becasue I could not bare to watch this tiny woman struggle with what I could lift easily. Why would you hire someone who cannot lift and carry luggage? What in God's name would this woman have done if I were a snot who refused to help her? That says to me that they (Tiffany's) are just hiring anyone, which inturn means they either got to big to fast or they have a high turnover nad have trouble getting help. I don't like taking chances or crap shoots on my transportation to/from the airport. Next time who knows what I will get. Being on time for me is essential and rushing making me crazy. I will be using Quick Silver this time and hope that they have more concern for thier drivers and their customers. I must mention that they were prompt for pick-up to and from the airport and I was treated wonderfully by both drivers.

[zoey9797]

I agree Dana .. As a first time planner for a Disney trip, I researched every service available and chose Tiffany . I just had to let others know my experience because I relied so heavily on others experiences while planning my trip. For the most part all the tips and tricks were wonderful! Everyone travelling with us thought I was a Disney "pro" LOL !
I just would hate for someone to have the experience we did with transportation. Especially going to Disney!
I never have heard back from the "manager" however, during my only conversation with him, I mentioned I was a member of DisneyCentral and how we DCer's love to hear each others tips and experiences. He said Disney WHAT? LOL ...He wasn't impressed. Must not check the Disney boards!
That is my experience for all it is worth. I am not a natural born complainer so I feel a little bad Karma from posting that but I really wanted to let people know we got the "bait and switch" from them. :O)
Hopefully someone will all least take precautions even if they use another service. Never hurts to be safe.
~Zoey

[Turnwrench]

I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience. Yours is not the first I've heard, however. Unfortunately, things seem to have gone downhill rather quickly at Tiffany, and I agree with Dana in that I think they have just gotten too big to care about the service and little "extras" that used to make them so good.

On the bright side, however, there is another company that offers the service and quality that Tiffany used to - and they're even a DC sponsor! Quicksilver Transportation does a wonderful job of providing top-quality service in very nice and well maintained vehicles (and no, I'm not an employee of nor do I have any financial interest at all in Quicksilver).

Here's a case in point - I know of a situation where a person's travel agent inadvertently booked Quicksilver for the wrong day. The person called the travel agent from the airport wondering where the driver was. The agent then called Quicksilver in a bit of a panic, and they had a driver there within 5 minutes! You just can't beat service like that.

[Dana]

It it my hope that Quick Silver adds that special magic just the way Tiffany did.

Zoey-
You aren't going to have bad Karma for warning others of a bad experience and possilble loss of funds. No worries now.

It is my sincere hope for the people who depend on employment from Tiffany's that they get their act together. Much business is to be had and taken away by word of mouth. It's nobody's fault but their's for bad service.

[disneyguy]

I think that I would use Quicksilver anyways, just because they sponsor the site and occasionally post. I had a bad expirience with Tiffany's too. That had messed up the dates for the reservation, and the driver was nice but he seemed a little superficial.

[MerlinMatt]

Having just used Quicksilver, I'd say that you wouldn't need a backup plan if you use them.

Gregory (Quicksilver owner) actually sympathizes with Tiffany. They used to be a very reputable company and still most people are happy with their service. Unfortunately, they appear to be a victim of their own success. They have grown so rapidly and haven't hired enough people or purchased enough additional vehicles to account for the additional demand.

BTW, I would be VERY wary of a driver who gets lost in his home airport. The signage at MCO is VERY clear. I rented a car 14 years ago on my honeymoon and I didn't have a problem driving in and out of the airport, so someone who drives for a living should NEVER get lost.

One last thing, I know this is Monday Morning Quarterbacking, but you should have called Tiffany after your first day soaking up the magic. You should have demanded a partial refund at that point, or at least a promise of a towncar for the trip home. I'm confused also, if you only had 4 people, why did she say that you had 5?

In any case, have you posted a trip report? We'd love to hear all the GOOD stuff about your trip!

[Dana]

Originally Posted by Matt McDonnell

In any case, have you posted a trip report? We'd love to hear all the GOOD stuff about your trip!

Yes, please do. I'd also love to hear bout your trip.


Monday morning quarter backing..lol Matt.

[nicatene1]

Zoey thank you so much for posting this warning. I was going to choose Tiffany for our trip in November, but now I will go with Quicksilver. I for one am always grateful when others share their experiences good & bad.

[gracie]

I'm glad I decided on QuikSilver for our trip at the end of July. I'll report to you all how it went!

I don't think you should feel bad about posting a bad experience you had, hopefully, Tiffany co. will learn from their mistakes before it's too late. I think it is bad business to offer bad service when you are basically making your money off of it. People use these towncar services for a little something extra, and if they can't deliver, they shouldn't be in the business IMHO...

[MerlinMatt]

Let's be fair.

Tiffany still has a very good reputation. I'm sure if you ask around, you'll still hear more good experiences than bad.

That said, there's nothing wrong with expecting and even demanding quality customer service. If a representative of a company gets short with you, I think it's time to choose another company, assuming you're in that position.

One of the things I really like about Quicksilver is that their policies are really based on trust. They don't use a credit card to hold your reservation and don't charge you for cancellations. All they ask is for reasonable notice.

As a former business owner, this policy would scare the heck out of me, because as we've discussed so many times, people can be real jerks. But Gregory said that they've only been stiffed a handful of times and most people are generally very sincere. That's good to hear, IMO.

So, I still want to hear some good stuff about this trip.

[inluvwithdisney]

[quote=Matt McDonnell]
BTW, I would be VERY wary of a driver who gets lost in his home airport. The signage at MCO is VERY clear. I rented a car 14 years ago on my honeymoon and I didn't have a problem driving in and out of the airport, so someone who drives for a living should NEVER get lost. :/QUOTE]


I agree wholeheartedly!!! That was my FIRST red flag!! I mean come on that is his job!! We rent too and did not have a problem at all!! And we have never been to MCO or Orlando!!

As for the service otherwise, that is awful!!! Customer Service is not what it used to be at all!!! People used to want to please!!!

What ever happened to The Customer is ALWAYS RIGHT???

Sorry for the bad start to your vacation!! Hope the rest went well!!!

[disneyguy]

Matt, I gotta disagree with you on the signs at MCO. We drove up and go lost very easy, and almost when to the wrong enterance. Then, when we got inside we followed the signs to the US Airways area, but it took us in a HUGE circle. They are doing a little construction, and have redone the way you come in and meet towncars and other vehicles, because of 9/11. I think my favorite airport is the Jacksonville, Florida airport(JIA or JAX) and the Norfolk, Virginia (ORF). They were actually the first two airports to include the new security system where checked baggage is screened on conveyor belts, instead of the way they check it in MCO.

[MerlinMatt]

Even if the signs are bad, when a professional driver gets lost in an airport, that's kinda pathetic. The rest of their experience with this driver does tend to speak for itself.

I'm still waiting to hear about the GOOD stuff from this trip.