I am still reeling from my SuperShuttle ordeal of less than 24 hours ago. In this economy, I was fine with the idea of sharing a ride with other weary travelers if it meant saving about 20+ dollars on cab fare. And I realized that being frugal might add an hour to my travel time. Not a problem.
However, I live only 30 minutes from JFK and I arrived home 2 and 1/2 hours after I boarded the SuperShuttle. For the first hour, I was the only passenger in that darn blue van as my uncommunicative driver hopped in and out of terminals in search of passengers. I understand that the logistics of organizing passenger arrivals is more prone to error than departures but it strikes me as excessive that my SuperShuttle experience was longer than my flight from Florida to New York. Lesson learned: I can always make 20 bucks but I will never get back my valuable time.
I have just e-mailed the following complaint letter to SuperShuttle demanding a full refund. Stay tuned for updates.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to express my complete dissatisfaction with my most recent SuperShuttle experience of Saturday, August 15. 2009. My reservation number was 12345678.
As indicated in the e-mail confirmation that you sent me, I called SuperShuttle at about 7:35 pm to inform you of my arrival when my flight arrived at JFK. I was told to wait about 20-25 minutes for the driver to come and get me. Around 8:00 pm the driver called my cell phone and instructed me to meet him outside. So far so good but it all goes downhill from there.
I was the only passenger in the van and understood that I would have to wait while the driver collected the other passengers. However, I did not realize that the driver would circle around the airport for an entire hour before he picked up the next passenger. At several terminals, I was left in the van alone for 10-15 minutes while the driver went to get other passengers and he would then come back empty handed.
Long story short, I reached my home at 10:30 pm. This was 2 and 1/2 hours after I entered the van and even longer than my flight from Florida. At no point did the driver ever communicate with the passengers to let us know the itinerary for the drop-offs. For the record, I live 30 minutes from JFK. Even with a shared ride experience, a 2 and 1/2 hour trip is excessive and unprofessional.
As we reached my neighborhood, I told the driver to turn so that I could be dropped off in front of my building. He refused to do so and then made a U-turn on the wrong street. At that point, I was completely frustrated so I asked him to stop so that I could get off the SuperShuttle immediately. This long, slow, and unpleasant journey ended with me and my luggage being dropped off half a block and across the street from home.
I am writing to request a FULL refund for my SuperShuttle trip. I used your service to take me to the airport and was pleased but the return trip was absolutely horrible.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
