Crown Black Car

Recommends

Sarah L.

Joined 1 year ago

I had to review it given the horrible 1-star rating. They are FANTASTIC. Everything in that one-star review one can chalk up to being a fledgling small business, especially at the time of the Living Social coupons. I have had nothing but fantastic experiences with them -- and if they're a few minutes past when they said they would be, I simply call back their courteous dispatcher who informs me of the status of my cab.

The drivers are nice and down-to-earth, but if you're looking for someone who looks like a chauffer they might not be your cup of tea (Try Uber or Flat Rate for Hire in that case, although it seems like a really petty quibble). They don't try to overcharge you, ever. They don't judge your cab ride length or credit card usage. And they always have some great tunes playing. Seriously. Crown Black Car EVERY TIME.

Doesn't Recommend

robD28

Joined 2 years ago

Strong recommendation: DO NOT call Crown Black Car!. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT USE CROWN BLACK CAR. Do I feel passionate about that? YES! Here is my experience with them.

I bought a living social coupon to try them out a few months back. In my business, I pay for out of town facilitators to fly into Seattle every few months to help with my work. I'm always in need of quality rides to and from Sea-Tac. So a couple weeks later, I call them to reserve an airport pickup.... only to have them tell me "sorry, didn't you read the fine print? we won't pick up from the airport with the living social coupon." I can tell you that I DID read the fine print, multiple times before I bought the groupon, to be sure that it would work. I even had my colleague, who has a very detail-oriented mind check it out to see if I was missing anything. At the time of purchase, we did not read anything that said they wouldn't. Maybe they added it that clause in later?

Meanwhile, months have passed, and I realized that there are only a few more months to try them out for NON-airport-pickups... so yesterday, I had a friend who was taking the ferry in from Vashon to go to Ballard for an overnight visit. Called ahead, left a message (what's with the answering machine anyways?), and they called back about fifteen minutes later and said sure -- should cost about $30-$35. My friend arrived at the Fauntleroy terminal, at the time expected, and there was no Black Car there. She called, and they said they'd be there but be a little late. After 25 minutes of waiting, a young driver showed up. In her words, he was a nice kid, but very unprofessional. She was carrying a significant number of pretty heavy bags -- he popped the trunk and stayed in the car while she loaded them in herself. Towards the end, when she asked him how to receive credit for the remaining $75 living social voucher (as was stated on the clauses in the original purchase -- that the coupon could be used for multiple rides until the full value was reached.). The driver told her he didn't know. She asked him if he could find out for her. He basically said no, he couldn't. Nice.

Those were the two forgivable issues. Here's the third and final and unforgivable one. My partner was flying out of Sea-Tac this morning, with her 7 year old daughter. I'm out of town and am unable to drive them. She had also bought one of the Living Social vouchers for Black Car. Knowing that the coupon expires in a few months, and that they had stated that they did take people TO the airport, she called them. Despite knowing about the late arrival of the driver the day before to our other friend, she figures - this is the airport, there's no way they're going to NOT take that seriously, right? Wow - she waited 30 minutes past the time they said they would arrive - and they never even frackin' showed up!!!!! What the *&#$% is up with that? She ended up having to drive her car to the airport. It's a 2-week trip, so now I have to recruit a friend to drive down there with me to pick it up - or leave her to be faced with a very expensive parking bill. Unbelievable.

I read a Black Car response to another complaint below - he said they were totally reliable, even for airport pickups. Ummm, yea, okay- whatever you say!

Honestly, after my experiences of the last few months, I am incredibly surprised to find even a single positive review in here - I would put great odds on the fact that a majority of the postiive posters are friends of the drivers or owner. I only wish I had read the negative reviews on here before I gave them a cent of my money!

After reading this, if you still go ahead and call these guys - do so at your own risk!