I just can't get a break with Super Shuttle

[leota's necklace]

Just for the record, I received this automated response shortly after I logged my complaint.

"I want to thank you for contacting us regarding your case number #358333. We will process your request in the order it was received. We want to thank you in advance for providing your feedback to us. Please note we endeavor to respond to all complaints, and requests the cases are worked in the order of which they are received and an advocate will be in contact with them.

Please be assured that all efforts are being made to ensure a timely satisfactory resolution. "

I can't tell you how hard it is not to submit another complaint about the awful writing in that form letter.

Nonsensical Corporate English aside, I haven't gotten any other response from them yet. We'll see how long their backlog is....

[jananafish]

The red pen in my brain went into overdrive haha. Wow. Well, good luck

[CADisneyFam]

not sure if this is an option but our last trip we decided to rent a car (eventhough we only used it to/from airport) It ended up being cheaper and faster. Depending on how many people are in your group car rental might be a cheaper way to go.

[leota's necklace]

It looks like the current OW price from SNA to the Grand Californian is $50 for Business Express Svc by ExecuCarExpress. Does anyone know how that compares to the current flat rate cab fare from SNA? -- Suzanne

Sorry to have left this hanging -- I believe the flat rate I paid from SNA to the resort area was $40.

[candles71]

That seems about right. We paid $45 (flat rate) from Long Beach which is only 4 or 5 miles further.

[SuzanneSLO]

Sorry to have left this hanging -- I believe the flat rate I paid from SNA to the resort area was $40.

Thanks for the reply -- Suzanne

[DwarfPlanet]

not sure if this is an option but our last trip we decided to rent a car (eventhough we only used it to/from airport) It ended up being cheaper and faster. Depending on how many people are in your group car rental might be a cheaper way to go.

This was a great idea which I had been keeping away from but then I did some research after you posted and just made reservations for Enterprise since I got a full sized car for $141 for a week at the end of May. They must have a glut on FS cars since alot of the other companies are $40-50 more for compacts. So now we have taken care of our tranportation and DW is happy for we'll go visit the beach now too.

[Drince88]

This was a great idea which I had been keeping away from but then I did some research after you posted and just made reservations for Enterprise since I got a full sized car for $141 for a week at the end of May. They must have a glut on FS cars since alot of the other companies are $40-50 more for compacts. So now we have taken care of our tranportation and DW is happy for we'll go visit the beach now too.

Many of the resort area hotels charge a parking fee - so make sure you include that into your budgeting!
Also, based on my experience (which is rarely if ever at an airport location - so those may be more efficent) the process to get a rental car to/from Enterprise is LENGTHY - so don't cut yourself short on the time it takes you to return it and catch your flight!

[candles71]

SNA? Drop and go, they hardly look at it. Both Enterprise and Budget in our experience. They are located in the parking structure. You go to the counter inside by baggage to do the pickup paperwork, then go to the parking structure across the driveway to pick up the car. The return is in the same location, we've never had more than a couple of minutes on the return.

[Drince88]

That's great to hear, Candles. Like I said, most of my Enterprise experiences are off-airport, and there's soemthing in their processes that just seems to take forever.

[bennette]

That's great to hear, Candles. Like I said, most of my Enterprise experiences are off-airport, and there's soemthing in their processes that just seems to take forever.

At John Wayne, Enterprise has an airport location and an off-airport location (a couple, actually) but they are usually pretty clearly labeled (the most common off airport one is on MacArthur Blvd). It's not that bad but I wouldn't use it from the airport. I'm not a huge fan of picking up rental cars at John Wayne simply because I find the garage a little claustrophobic but all the desks are pretty convenient. And return is easy.

Then again, if I was going from John Wayne, I'd take a taxi! But I can go to the beach anytime.

[adriennek]

However, I have used Supershuttle's Execucar service which is like a private car (and was only slightly more expensive than the SS shared van option for two people) and was very pleased and would use them again.

This is what we use, and we haven't had any problems. It's just their shared ride service that seems to be so hit-or-miss.

AVP

This sounds like what we did when we went to WDW. It was actually less expensive to hire a "private" Super Shuttle than to pay separately for the five of us for a shared ride. (And SS was still much less than a private car.)

Both going and coming the service was terrific. But I agree, after my last experience on a shared ride, I'll never do it again. My driver was late picking me up at home, because he was picking up someone else who lived over 30 minutes south of my location - without traffic. Well, this was during morning rush-hour. I was the last pick-up but by the time he got to my house, I was almost late for my flight! In fact, I'd been on the phone with Super Shuttle trying to find out what the hey-howdy-hey was going on, and they were less than helpful and not very apologetic.

Did I mention the rush hour traffic? The driver was driving like a maniac through the traffic trying to get to the airport in time.

The only reason I'd gone with a shared ride with Super Shuttle was so that my husband wouldn't have to wake up the kids and take me to the airport before taking them to school. Next time? Husband will put the kids in the car in their jammies.

[megzrg]

Wow, nice to hear that I am not the only one that has had serious issues with them. Our last trip had to be the worst as we spent close to 45 minutes circling LAX looking for more passengers. We missed so much at the park that day, because it took the driver forever to finally get us to our hotel (there were only 2 stops).

On top of that the driver got upset with the first family that he dropped off and came back to the shuttle cussing, in front of my son!

I also sent a complaint to Super Shuttle and they ended up refunding us part of our fare and said that they would take care of the issue. But, from the posts it doesn't look like they took care of both issues.

[DwarfPlanet]

Well its all the negative issues I've been seeing here that caused me to look for another mode of transportation. I have been in and out of LAX to many times to count on business using either Enterprise or Budget that it really didn't bother me to go to a rental.

[lovechows]

After reading all of these posts, I don't think we will use Super Shuttle again. Does anyone know where the best places to park at John Wayne Airport are? We're going to be flying out on Friday morning, May 18 and returning the evening of May 21st. Any suggestions you have about closest parking with reasonable rates will be greatly appreciated.

[bennette]

What is a reasonable rate?

[lovechows]

Great question, Bennette! I'd love to be able to park at the airport for $20 or less per day. I've seen rates in that range advertised online but am wondering if they really exist when you get to the airport (or are they filled early, especially if you're flying out of Fridays). Also, is there a closer lot. We're flying on Southwest. Any suggestions?

[bennette]

Well their regular on airport (close) lot IS $20 per day. I've never not found a spot in one of the terminal lots, although I don't know how often I've left on a Friday. My husband usually parks there for short trips. The airport isn't so big that not getting the terminal closest to your flight is much of a hassle. They have offsite parking as well; I'm not sure I've ever seen it full. The parking contact number is 949.252.5200. You might call them if you are worried about getting a space.

You can park and fly quite close by at the Hilton or Marriott starting at $10, but it's never been necessary for me. Just google John Wayne and the name of these htels for more info.

[menicksmom]

I've used ABC Shuttle twice from John Wayne Airport to Harbor hotels. Both times it was $10 per person for my party of 4 (one way), and both times we were the only ones in the van. Same friendly driver both times. No waiting involved on either end of the trip, except on my last trip BACK to the airport, he was early and waiting for ME! We didn't have to spend precious Disney time getting to the airport too early. It's been a couple years so the price may have changed. 714-719-4197.

[HobbitFeet]

It looks like the current OW price from SNA to the Grand Californian is $50 for Business Express Svc by ExecuCarExpress. Does anyone know how that compares to the current flat rate cab fare from SNA? -- Suzanne

I thought I was getting the flat rate from PPH to SNA, but I guess I didn't use the exact words, and the meter came out to 44.88. So....even without the flat rate, it's not that far off if they use the meter.



I used Karmel last time I needed a shuttle to LAX, and it was great. They officially do NOT troll for other passengers, the driver was early but NOT just driving through saying I wasn't there (like SS nearly once did to me from HoJo); he was parked off to the side and reading, waiting for the scheduled time. And then was courteous when I showed up early.

[leota's necklace]

Just to update: three weeks from registering my complaint with SS, and zero response beyond the automated acknowledgement. Now I am kind of grimly fascinated to see how long it will take, if ever....

[lovechows]

Bennette, thanks so much for your parking information!! For short trips, I think it will be less expensive to park either at the airport or one of the hotels (depending on whether we have time for shuttles). So much better than Super Shuttle!! It's really a shame, though, because it was a very good service until it was taken over by private drivers. Because we had some really good ones, we kept using them even though we'd sometimes have problems. After my last time using them and now that I've read everyone else's stories, I don't see any reason to continue to do business with them.

Leota: I hope you hear back from SS. I'm not morbidly fascinated to see what kind of lame response you'll receive, too. Hopefully you won't need to use them again either.

Thanks everyone for your feedback and suggestions!

[leota's necklace]

Probably the final update -- I finally logged in to check my credit card statement and it looks like SS refunded me the amount of my fare.

Not optimal (no direct communication letting me know that was what the were going to do, and that ten bucks sure wouldn't have been much of a bonus had I missed my flight because of this driver), but still, it's something.

[Shark Bait]

Oh man, as a college student in LA, I can tell so many horror stories about LAX Super Shuttle. Like the time my driver got pulled over by a cop, and the other time that my driver forgot someone's luggage, and the other time he decided to take a Long Beach fare when the rest of the van was filled with USC students, and the one time my driver dropped me off a mile away from my destination, and every ride where I think the driver's going to run into a tram... At least I never have to deal with missing my flight, since they tend to have the pick-up window 3+ hours before the flight despite a 30 minute max drive time to LAX.

The other major LAX shuttle, PrimeTime, is just as bad, except cheaper. I remember specifically asking for a 3:45 pick-up time because I had class until 3:20 (my flight wasn't until 7pm, and that was the latest time offered), and the driver came at 3:15 and got mad that I wasn't there. Way outside my 15 minute buffer and no courtesy call to inform me that they'd be 30 minutes early.

I admit, I'll keep using ride sharing shuttles because they're cheap and convenient for going to/from a college campus, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who can do something better.