76 Carriage Company

Review: There were several serious issues that disrupted my wedding ceremony and reception on May 23, 2013.

Firstly, [redacted] (company representative) and I had a discussion the week of the wedding to finalize timing and which shuttle run would transport which passengers. The timing was critical. We discussed a 5:30pm shuttle run of wedding guests, and I was clear that the shuttle could leave no earlier or no later than 5:30pm. The intention was to give guests as much time as possible to get to the hotel and still make the shuttle, while also providing ample time for the shuttle to arrive for the 6:00pm ceremony. I was notified several minutes before the ceremony that we had to delay the ceremony because numerous guests were driving themselves, including my mother who was waiting for the 5:30pm shuttle. Evidently the shuttle departed the hotel at 5:20pm. These ten minutes were enough for many of my guests to miss the shuttle. As they waited around at the hotel, they finally realized that they must drive themselves to the venue or they would miss the ceremony. I paid nearly $800 so my hotel guests and wedding party would not need to worry about drinking and driving, and so everyone could have comfortable and reliable transportation throughout the event. The early departure completely disrupted that. The ultimate impact was that we delayed the start of our ceremony until the hotel guests who missed the 5:20pm shuttle arrived, including my mother. As you can imagine, this was the last thing that my bride and I needed to worry and stress about on our wedding day!

Secondly, the end of the evening went nearly as badly as the beginning. The last shuttle of the night was loading up and was instructed not to leave until the bride and groom were aboard. As we went outside to board the shuttle, it had already left minutes earlier. I was with my bride, my brother (who was the day of contact person), as well as approximately ten other guests. The conclusion of our reception was very happy and exciting until we were faced with the prospect of trying to find taxi cabs back to our hotel at 11:30pm in Northeast Philadelphia. We paid for the shuttle to take us back, yet it left without us. My brother tried countless times to reach the driver directly via cellphone, yet no answer. Finally, after about 15 minutes, he reached the driver who agreed to return for us. We waited thirty minutes outside after our wedding when the driver was not supposed to leave on that final run without us. You can imagine our frustration and embarrassment in front of our guests.

The third thing that I find very alarming and unprofessional was the driver's attitude and tone of voice to my bride. As we finally approached the hotel, my bride said aloud that the driver had passed the hotel entrance on [redacted]. He angrily retorted that "I've driven here a dozen times tonight and I know where I'm going!". He took us in a back entrance as everyone, myself included, was stunned that the driver just rudely raised his voice at the bride! $775 for a professional service would not warrant such inappropriate behavior.Desired Settlement: - Sincere and detailed apology from company management. I would like to know why they're sorry and for what reason. I would also like to know how they intend to improve.

- Partial or full refund for services. I paid $775 for services, and they did not fulfill the written contract or verbal agreements.