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A shuttle disaster

November 29, 2006

Q: I recently made a reservation for a van ride from New York to Newark airport through SuperShuttle. I called hours in advance of my scheduled pickup and was given a confirmation number by phone.

My van was supposed to arrive by 11 p.m. I waited 45 minutes and no one showed up. I called the dispatcher and was told that someone had tried to call my cell phone to tell me about the delay. But I hadn’t received a call.

A SuperShuttle dispatcher said the earliest they could send someone over was three hours later. I reluctantly agreed to wait. But at 3 a.m., there was still no van.

I called the company and spoke with the same dispatcher. He said there was no van available to pick me up. Then he told me to take a cab and to contact SuperShuttle’s customer service department to receive compensation for the $70 fare.

I filed a claim more than a month ago, but so far — you guessed it — I haven’t heard a thing from SuperShuttle. Can you help me?

— Lana Carlson, Minneapolis

A: SuperShuttle should have picked you up when it promised it would. And when it didn’t, it should have immediately advised you to take a cab, for which you should have been promptly reimbursed. Instead, you waited four hours for a van that never showed up. Then you waited weeks for a refund.

That doesn’t seem so “super.”

What’s the company’s policy on no-shows? Who knows? Although SuperShuttle has a no-show rule for customers (according to its Web site, if you cancel a reservation four hours before a scheduled pickup, you get a full refund), it doesn’t seem to have one for itself — or if it does, it’s not clearly disclosed on its site.

You were much too accommodating when you agreed to wait four hours for a shuttle. I would have called SuperShuttle and asked to speak with a manager. You wouldn’t have been out of line to politely request either an earlier pickup or for the company to cover your transportation expenses to the airport.

I contacted SuperShuttle on your behalf and asked about your delayed reimbursement. Although a company representative promised to look into the matter right away, you didn’t hear back from anyone until two weeks later, when I checked with SuperShuttle about the status of your case.

A representative then contacted you directly, apologized for the delays and processed your refund for $70.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

3 comments

  • Chris in Alaska

    I don’t have it in front of me, but when I made a SuperShuttle reservation earlier this year, I remember something about a policy in which they will refund your airline fare or change fee if you a) choose their recommended pick-up time (based on your flight time) and b) they don’t get you to the airport in time and you miss your flight. While this doesn’t directly address SuperShuttle no-shows in the case that you still make your flight (I’m wondering why Ms. Carlson picked an original pick-up time in which she was able to wait four hours and still not miss her flight), I wonder if it is applicable.

    Note that I can’t find reference to this policy on their site–perhaps it was verbally quoted to me by a reservations agent.

    On a related note, how do other shuttle companies (Prime Time, Roadrunner, etc.) compare to SuperShuttle?

  • Ana in NY

    I had a similar experience. I faxed in the taxi receipt and waited and waited. I sent it in again, and got no response. The third time, I sent it with a cover page I use for my law practice – something I don’t usually do when I am not acting as an attorney.

    I received my refund by overnight mail the next day.

  • Susan

    I have had continued problems with SuperShuttle as well but they are convenient and less expensive than taxis so I retry their service every few months. Like the author of the complaint, I have had them not show up several times and have never received reimbursement for the trip not taken(3 times). I have called and spoken with the service desk and their strategy seems to to be to pacify you with assurances but no refund. The clincher was the ride that I took over Thankgiving with my 2 children from DC to Boston. I always pre-pay the tip. The driver on our route had 4 separate customers and in the dark of the early morning hours in an unlighted van, he asked us to sign voucher receipts. When I took a close look at mine, I saw that he had crossed out the 18 % tip and marked in a 30% tip. I crossed that out, initialled it and remarked the 18% which was very generous under the circumstances. All of us on the van had the same experience. Later, SuperShuttle customer service said that they would investigate the driver. I have never heard back.

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