Five Towns Limousines

My wife and I booked this company for our wedding July 3, 2015. He was so inviting and kind when we booked him. He showed up right on time at 2pm to pick my guys and I up but we were running a little late so he sat outside until 3pm waiting for us. Everything seemed fine until the ceremony was over. He pulled me aside and said «You know your working on overtime right?» I said «Yes, I know. 1 hour. I have the money in my pocket.» Then he proceeded to take us on what seemed to be the longest 15 minute ride ever. He went the wrong way, got stuck in traffic and took an extra 45 minutes to get to a park where we were supposed to take our pictures. Our photographers got there in 15 minutes and we took an hour to get there. Then after we hurried up and took a few pictures, we then went to the reception hall. When we got there, he pulled me aside again and said, «That’ll be two hours overtime. $ 300.00.» I asked him «How could that be?» He then explained to me that is was 6:38PM and we booked him from 2PM until 5PM and they round up the time if its more than 10 minutes past the hour. So I asked him, «Am I supposed to pay you for getting lost and going the wrong way? Should we consider the fact that the photographer got to the park 45 minutes before we did?» He then said, «There was traffic. I didn’t know there would be so much traffic. Its not my fault.» So I replied, «Its not my fault either, but it is your fault that we went the long way to get to the park. You’re the professional driver. You’re supposed to have planned the route beforehand and you’re supposed to know where you’re going.» He then proceeded to threaten me with calling the police and «embarrassing me at my wedding» (his exact words). Then started yelling and screaming at my parents and my sister when they asked why is he doing this. I honestly think he planned to shake me down for extra money the whole time and went the long way on purpose. I can’t help but wonder, if we were not African American would he have done this to us. I plan to let everyone know that if you do not want to be taken advantage of then do not use this company!!!

I must say I am completely shocked with the way the business is handled. I recently booked a surprise party for my boyfriend and was clear on the amount of guests I was inviting. Since I knew it was going to be a small gathering and I was paying for it myself I made no indication that it would be more. The night before the party I get a text message instructing me I need to pay in cash the following morning. I understand you may prefer cash and that’s fine but notifying a client the night before, well after banks are closed is a bit absurd. Still I did not let that ruin the party.
The limo driver was courteous and on time giving me high hopes of what the day would entail. He asks for the total amount in cash and I payed. As we enter into the limo there is a smell that I could not quite place but we ignored it and tried to make the best of it. Since it was a long ride out to the wineries we decided to listen to the radio except none of the stations worked, it was all static!
Since it was a group of close friends we looked past these things and continued to have great conversation. The wineries were perfect and the weather could not be better. Lunch time came and I was only mildly surprised the food was not correct. With all the little hiccups thus far I kind of expected lunch to be one as well. Apparently they stopped making one of the lunch choices and instead of notifying us they ordered extra of something else in its place.
After all of this we went home and the day was still great. Besides the nice driver and the ride out there, there was nothing special about the limo. I had realized that the deposit I had paid was not taken off the bill and I notified John the owner right away. His response was, that I had to wait till he met up with his driver to get the money. Starting to get annoyed at this point I still waitede. Finally we set up a time to meet and he does not show up. When I contact him after waiting for 10 minutes he tells me I have to wait an additional 20minutes. I finally lose my cool and tell him how unhappy I am. His response is I should be thankful he gave me an extra hour with the limo which would have been thoughtful if he hadn’t had charged about full price for our friend who was nine months pregnant and obviously not participating in the tastings.
I would not recommend this place, if this is the absolute last resort than sure, its better than nothing. Just make sure you keep your receipt and get your deposit back!