Last minute pre-Affiliate Summit stresses

A recommendation for anyone who may require bus or limousine service anywhere in the United States – don’t trust the folks at VIPRide.com.

We contracted with them to provide bus service to and from the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues on Sunday morning.

This morning, about 48 hours prior to our event, I get the following email:

At the time of your booking, I was not aware of the CES show in town. My driver is telling me there is a 5 hour minimum on the vehicle, instead of the four that was charged.

We have two options, I can either keep the reservation and add the hour, which is a difference of $XXX.XX. The second option is to cancel and refund in full, because it was a mistake on our part.

I am truly sorry to spring this on your at the last minute, but I wanted to give you the option before I charged the card.

Let me know as soon as possible. (Our phone system is currently down, the best way to reach me today is email)

What ever happened to the value of a signed Agreement with a deposit in place?  The amount of money was not huge, but the bottom line is, we try to be people of principle here.

They then came back with the suggestion that they could take on 20% of the difference in extra cost – after they admitted 100% fault.  An I was supposed to feel good about this solution?   They then offered to give me a 30% discount on future bookings  as a make good.

I don’t know about you… but when someone sticks it to me and leaves me in a bad position at the last minute when there is not really a chance to book alternate comparable transport for anywhere near the quoted rate, I am not all that likely to book with them again.

So – there you have it.  If you are an event planner or are in a position to book transport through VIPRide.com in the future, my recommendation is that you keep on looking.

So…. what does this mean to Gospel Brunch Attendees?  CAMA will be springing for your cab fare and you’ll actually get dropped off closer to the House of Blues than you would have on the bus.

We’ll still meet at 8:3o at the Rio front entrance and we’ll have cabs lined up to get us there.

See you in Vegas baby!