CombatCritic's Wall of Shame: Oregon

Showing posts with label Oregon. Show all posts

Sunday, March 29, 2020

If Hiring A 'Lyft'', Pay Close Attention To Quote And Actual Fare - It's Highway Robbery!

Lyft HQ
185 Berry Street, Suite 5000
San Francisco, CA 94107 USA
Phone: 855-865-9553
Web: lyft.com

My wife and I escaped from Portugal, just a few miles from the Spanish border - Spain being one of the worst for COVID-19 cases and deaths - based on the direction of the US State Department. Before Portugal decided to possibly seal the country and trap us for an undetermined amount of time, we were put on one of the last flights from Lisbon to the United States, arriving in Portland 36 hours later.

I immediately opened the Lyft app because I had found Lyft to be as reliable as, and routinely cheaper, than Uber. The quote from PDX to our home 17 miles away was $36 and change for a Lyft XL six-passenger vehicle, so I clicked on the "Reserve" button.

Our driver arrived 10 minutes later, just two minutes late and took us home. He was not just a wonderful, intelligent, and insightful man, he was customer-service oriented and an excellent driver. I tipped him generously even though the fare I was charged was $14 too high!

Instead of the $36 and change I was quoted, the charge was for $59.27, higher than Uber's fare for the same exact route (I checked). I assumed it was a mistake and sent them a simple message through their app. Here is the response I received:

Jirald (Lyft)

Mar 28, 12:45 AM PDT

Hello there Chris,

Thanks for letting us know about your concerns with the cost of your ride on March 27 with driver Veillard. We understand how important it is to know how ride charges are calculated. I'd be glad to check this out for you.

I reviewed your ride and can confirm that you were not overcharged. When you requested the ride we quoted you a price of $50.23 and this is the total you were charged was $59.27 plus the $9.04 Tip.

The reason why the ride was expensive compared to the Standard Lyft ride is because of the rider type which was requested a Lyft XL. Lyft XL rates are a bit higher than standard Lyft or Shared rides. Lyft XL rates vary by region. See pricing for your city.

The cost of your ride will always be the same as the upfront price unless the destination changes or a stop is added. More information on Upfront Pricing can be found in our Help Center.

I hope this helps, Chris. If you have any other concerns, please feel free to contact us back. We're always happy to assist you. Stay safe!

All the best.

I do not and, I repeat, do not appreciate being treated like a moron who does not know how fares are calculated, first of all, and will not, will not, do not be called a liar I also do not deal with dishonesty or a lack of integrity very well under the best of circumstances, but having experienced a solid week of stress after Portugal's COVID-19 Emergency Declaration and working with United Airlines and the State Department on finally finding a, literally, last-minute flight home, I was furious! So I sent them an email response:

Date: Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 9:26 AM

To: Lyft <support+id ...1342@lyft-new.zendesk.com>

Subject: Re: [Lyft] Re: Follow-up from Lyft

That’s horseshit. You might as well be thieves. I know what I saw and what drove my decision to use Lyft over Uber, so this is the last time I will be using Lyft. I will delete your app and my account and you will be able to read a review of my experience on Yelp and my popular travel website (link below). Go fuck yourselves!

Respectfully,

To which they replied back:

Natalia (Lyft)

Mar 28, 6:20 PM PDT

Hi Chris,

We appreciate you following up with us about this situation.

While we're unable to issue a refund for this ride, it goes a long way that you shared your concerns about this with us. We understand this isn't the resolution you were hoping for, but recognize there's always room to grow and improve based on community feedback like yours. We hope you'll consider giving Lyft another chance.

Please feel free to get back in touch if there's anything else we can assist with.

Regards,

Natalia

Lyft Support
help.lyft.com

Fair enough, they have the option of, legal of not, blowing this one customer off, but was it really a good business practice to not take a 'customer's always right' philosophy? I am confident about what I saw, but had I snapped a screenshot of the quote as I normally would do, I would have proof that I was overcharged.

What kind of America has it become where a large, worldwide business would not take the word of a dedicated and loyal customer, frequent traveler, well-published, and award winning travel writer? I have no reason to lie, it's only about a measly $14, not really worth wasting my time, but it was also about something much more important, principle.

So, as I told Lyft, and I meant it, go fuck yourselves! You are not the only game in town, not in this one, or any other of the towns around the globe where you compete with Uber.

I will never use your service again, not because of the $14, but because you did not do the right thing. Any company worth a shit, especially one fighting to stay alive in a travel industry ravaged by today's Coronavirus, would have credited the difference without question, apologized, and maybe even offered a coupon for a follow-up ride. That is how a company with integrity, an unwavering commitment to outstanding customer service, and the burning desire not to have to fire their employees and shut the doors would have handled it. You did not. Period.

I faithfully served our nation for 20 years as a United States Air Force officer and my core values, values that Lyft obviously does not aspire to, are:

Selflessness

Loyalty

Integrity

Compassion

Excellence

Dignity & Respect

Calling me a liar and cheat is an assault, not only my character, but on my profession and my country. What the hell is this country coming to? More about that in an upcoming post!

CombatCritic Gives Lyft 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My 'WALL OF SHAME' ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Vancouver, WA: Turned Away And Insulted After Being Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza

Pizzeria La Sorrentina
9811 NE15th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98665
Phone number (360) 980-1651
Website: lasorrentinavw.com
Prices: $$$$

We drove nearly 30 minutes from our home, arriving just two minutes after their 2PM "closing" time due to unexpected traffic. I was hoping to sample their offerings because, having lived in Naples, Italy for three years and being married to an Italian (my wife's family still lives in Naples and we visit quite often), I love authentic pizza Napoletana and was curious to see just how authentic theirs was.

When we arrived, the oven was going strong and the two employees were still there prepping for dinner with the door and window open. We stood there for a minute while the woman looked at us without saying a word, so I finally asked her "Are you closed?" to which she responded only with a "Yes". I was a bit shocked because there was absolutely no reason to turn us away and they did not even bother to tell us why they would not serve us at 2:02 PM.

If this was a sit-down restaurant, I could understand why we would not be served. However, having eaten many pizzas in Naples and attended a "pizzaiolo" (pizza maker) course there this past February, I know that a Neapolitan pizza takes less than 90 seconds to prepare and about 60-90 seconds to bake at 485 degrees Fahrenheit. I understand that they were "officially" closed and may have had things to do, but taking 3 minutes to make a pizza for a customer was, I believe, not too much to expect.

The restaurant business and customer service are all about making customers happy and turning us away so rudely was, in my opinion, uncalled for. Having spent a great deal of time in the business and owned a very successful mobile food operation myself, I would have never turned a customer away in similar circumstances, but that is just me.

After leaving a tip on Yelp regarding my experience, someone (whom I am assuming was the owner or manager) sent me a compliment with a "You're Funny" tag stating:

"I'm not going to serve pizza anyone even 1minutes late. Please come during business sir. Thank you"

With literally millions of readers annually across several platforms, including Yelp and my popular blog, my responsibility to readers is to provide an accurate, honest "opinion" based on my experiences, so I did not appreciate being laughed at ("You're Funny") because I take my responsibilities and commitment to my readers very seriously. A more professional and customer-oriented response would have been much more appropriate in my opinion. For example: "I am very sorry that we had to turn you away, but our employees were busy prepping for dinner and could not take the time to serve you. Please accept our sincere apology and come back to visit us very soon!" would have been a much more appropriate response and they would have likely gained a return customer. Unfortunately, based on our negative experience and the business's insulting responses to my tip, I will not be returning any time soon. Not an unreasonable person, if an apology is forthcoming, I may consider giving them another chance and revising my review/rating.

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria La Sorrentina 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Travel Tech: Defective Garmin Vivoactive - Welcome To The Wall Of Shame

If you travel as much as I do and are active (walking, hiking, golfing, swimming, etc.), a good activity monitor or smart watch is indispensable. I bought one from Amazon.com a little over a year ago and am I sorry I did.

The Garmin Vivoactive ($179) worked fine for about six months, monitoring sleep and the golf function worked OK. When walking (golf) or during travel (we walk a lot), it kept track of steps and was quite useful, but I use an elliptical trainer for much of my cardio and the Vivoactive was/is totally useless unless your arms are swinging.

After 5-6 months, it quit syncing sleep on a regular basis and a month or two later the golf function stopped working altogether. For golf, it give you basic yardages (front/center/back of green) and keeps score, but that's it. It has difficulty recognizing the golf course you have just arrived at, even with GPS, so you have to remember to sync it via Bluetooth with the Garmin Connect app on your phone, a real pain in the butt.

For the past several months the golf function, one of the primary reasons I bought it, quit working altogether. It can find the course, but when you click on the course you want to play, it starts "downloading data" and "transferring data", but then goes back to the main menu. Once on the course, it sometimes would start working, but FOR THE WRONG COURSE. The course I play has a short Par 4 2nd hole, but the Vivoactive lists the 2nd hole as a Par 5 and the yardage does not work at all.

This "smart" watch is a piece of junk. I wasted $179 for a digital watch when I could have paid $30 and gotten a better Casio with more functions than this thing has now. Garmin came out with the Vivoactive HR just weeks after I bought this garbage, but did not bother telling me that I could have bought an upgraded watch with a heart rate monitor for a little more if I waited a few days. I do not know if the Vivoactive HR is any better than the Vivoactive, but it could not be any worse.

The watch stopped working altogether in July 2017, dead as a doorknob. I will never buy a Garmin product again because of their lack of customer service and the junk they sell. DO NOT BUY A GARMIN VIVOACTIVE!

CombatCritic Gives Garmin and Their Vivoactive 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over 1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Travel Tech: Defective Garmin Vivoactive - Welcome To The Wall Of Shame

Key Words: Garmin, Vivoactive, watch, GPS, smart watch, golf, steps, activity, monitor, active, Portland, Oregon, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, product, business, review, Yelp

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond Any/All Repair"

Monday, February 6, 2017

Portland, OR: Airbnb Nightmare On Lombard Street

Albert's 2 Bed, 1 Bath, Kitchen, Pets OK!

North Portland (Arbor Lodge), Oregon

Airbnb Link

Price: $$$$

The place has potential, but it is severely outdated and dirty. The fridge, heat, hot water heater, and coffee maker did not work. The electrical is a mess, the blinds need to be replaced, the heat needs to be fixed, the kitchen needs a severe makeover, the plastic in the shower covering the wall needs to disappear, and the floors need replacing. The blinds are old, barely work, rusty and dirty. The kitchen counters are stained and gross. There is a glob of something in the kitchen sink, but I did not want to find out what it was by touching it.

My Only Heat Source Other Than Small Wall Heater In Bedroom

Albert, the host, was fine before and during check-in, but then he checked-out and everything went downhill from there. With no heat and nothing working the first night, I tried to contact him at around 9pm, 10pm, and 11pm, but he would not pick up the phone or respond to texts. He sent an electrician the next day, but he said "I can't find anything wrong", even though there was not enough amps to run more than one or two things at the same time. When I returned the second evening, I expected the problems to be solved, but they were not. Again, I tried to contact Albert, but he said "there's nothing I can do". A guest, me, was freezing (temps in the high 30s during the day and 20s at night) and nothing worked, but there was absolutely no sense of urgency and even less communication.

The location is not bad, but it is an old building in a rather seedy neighborhood with little within walking distance except a couple dive bars and a 7-11.

Plastic Hiding Something In Shower

Bathroom Heater Hasn't Worked In Years

The apartment was uninhabitable and should have never been rented. I cannot believe that I was charged for the two nights I stayed there, freezing and unable to shower (no hot water), make coffee or store anything in the fridge. I feel that the host could have done much more to solve the problems or at least communicate that he could not. He had my phone number and knowing that there was still no heat and nothing working on day two, a simple phone call or text would have allowed me to find suitable accommodations. It is inexcusable for a "paying" guest to have to suffer and as someone with experience in the hospitality industry, he should have known better.

Thanks to Airbnb for your professional help and the $200 credit. Even though I had to suffer for two nights, your representatives were compassionate and very helpful.

Finally, I got this wonderful text (5:47AM - Friday) from Albert after he read my honest review online:

This is the kind of person you will be dealing with if you choose to stay with Albert. Your choice!

CombatCritic Gives Albert's Place 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME"

One Bomb Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Portland, OR: Airbnb Nightmare On Lombard Street

Key Words: Airbnb, Albert, North portland, Portland, Oregon, apartment, room, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, accommodation, hotel, motel, guest, review, Yelp, Airbnb.com, Lombard, street

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"