Daughter Wants A Party Bus in SGV on 5-5-12

[BLVD Limo]

Oh, and choose a company that makes you fill out a prom pledge. I think in California, they might also need SPAB certification.

[Limo Wire]

Did you read the original post in this thread?
Do you understand I am a customer, not a limousine owner?
I used the 'Consumer Discussion' forum. This is a chance for all you limo owners to look good to us consumers. Some of you have failed miserably at this.
Gold Coast Tours is a great company. They are $500 more than most of the quotes on the smaller party bus. This is an extra $28 per kid or $56 per couple. This is not much for a limo owner, it is huge for 17 and 18 year-old kids. A group of 18 is big enough. These are all good kids that are responsible and get along. I do not want to increase it to 24 just to get more $ for a bigger bus. I mentioned the name because it was recommended by a poster.
Another poster recommended www.partybuslosangeles.com. This is why I acknowledged him.
Transwest is a great company, just not punctual. This deserves a mention. As long as it is a true statement, it is not bashing.
I did not mention any names until a day after the original post, after I did my own research. I thought it would be smart to come here and ask a legitimate question and see if any of you were interested in making some money. Instead, I got a bunch of referrals from posters who are located hundreds of miles from the requested run.
I am asking over a month in advance. This is not last minute. I am putting my name and my credit card on the line to help my daughter and her friends get a good party bus at a fair price. Apparently, some of you think this is a bad idea. I hope you tell this to every parent who calls you to book a prom group in one of your vehicles.
I came here in good faith as a potential customer. I am more than a little dissappointed in the direction this thread went.
I gave a deposit last night to a company I found on my own. The price is fair and the bus is very nice. I wish all of you the best of luck.

Gold Coast is a great company but they are $500 more, could be why they are a great company.

Transwest is a great company but aren't on time, sorry this business is all about being on time.

It doesn't matter if it's a month or 6 months it's prom season and it can make or break some companies.

Honestly the cost per child is really not the concern of the limo company if you want to save the money run the risk of the limo being late or not show up because a better paying job came their way. Or go with the well managed company that shows up with a great vehicle on time and ready to give your kids a prom to remember. But don't expect to get both. Sometime you will get lucky and sometimes you won't. And if you think during prom season you can beat a company down on the price won't happen. and any company that is willing to give you a break is probably just gonna take your money.

I not trying to be mean but you speaking like you are doing some company a favor really isn't helping. I would think the consumer discussion is more about how to rent a limo, what to do if you have a problem with a company etc.., don't know have never looked there. Limos.com would be a better place to look to rent one. Caveat emptor!

[SoCalDreamer]

Gold Coast Tours was $500 more because they offered a Bigger Bus on an International chassis. This commands a higher price than a Ford F550. The F550 is fine for our group.
The F550 ranged in price from $1,120 to $1,400 for 8 hours. This was from 4 'legit' companies.
The company I chose was $1,200.00 for 8 hours. He was not the cheapest. This was never my motivation. I chose the closest to me with the right vehicle and all the right permits. This is all I was looking for in the first place.
I personally carry a Class A CDL with Hazmat and tanker endorsements. I have not driven a truck in years, but I know a little something about insurance and permits.
I came to this website looking for a good company. Is price a consideration? Of course it is. Sadly, only Brandon1 and Steve W. made an effort to impress a potential customer. The rest of you considered my efforts too be an intrusion. You had a customer standing in front of you and you could not make anything of the opportunity.
My company uses a Towncar Service quite often. This is a local company that runs nothing but SUV's and non-stretched sedans. I asked him for a recommendation before I came to this site. The owner of that company told me he did not know one company with a party bus that he felt was worthy of a recommendation. Everyone on this forum should be ashamed of that response.
Until last night, I had not hired a limo in several years. Most of you just gave me several reasons to not want to hire a limo unless I absolutely have to. I did hire a bus last month. This is how I know Gold Coast. I think Gold Coast does a better job because they are a charter bus company, not a limo service.
Your industry is struggling and it is up to you to save it. How many of you are up to the task?
This forum has 7,255 members. Only 192 are active. What happened to the other 7,063?
My future does not depend on the limo industry. I am just a customer. Based on what I have just seen here, I am real happy my livelihood does not depend on most of you. Instead, your livelihood depends on people like me. Good luck with that.

[Steve W.]

Hey socal don't take these guys the wrong way. This is an international fourm so not to useful for consumers on a local level. I just happen to live in Azusa so could make a recommendation.

You did some good homework and if nothing else this thread is a great example of what a parent goes through to get thier kids a ride .

And you are correct that it is shamefull that your sedan guy or me could not give you 3 referrals each. It goes to the kind off ethics we have in this industry that I would not recommend most of the people I know that have a bus because I would not feel comfortable that you would have a good experience.

The people that contribute to this fourm are the cream of the crop in this industry. And I would have no problem recommending any of them. They are all trying to do things right.

However the closest fourm member I could recommend to you with a bus is in Bakersfield! And he knows all about travel time charges!!

So who did you end up going with?

That mention of a SPAB certified driver is correct. Although our california industry association has been trying to get the law changed I still think it is required to take kids to an off campus school function.

The CHP and PUC does some time team up for a limo check at proms. not sure if they impound for not having SPAB certification but they do if the driver does not have a class B licience with passenger endorsement.

Hopefully you are getting a written contact with this company. If you do not see a section about what happens to your money if the limousine gets impounded for licencing or mechanical violations then might be a good idea to add it in there before you sign. Save you some court time hopefully.

[BLVD Limo]

Of the other 7,063 forum members, most of them have been spammers from India trying to plug websites, a few have left the industry, at least one has passed away, some have forgotten their previous login information, and others only came here to ask a quick question about maintenance , starting up a biz, or purchasing a vehicle.

[Party Bus Andy]

Dreamer: You seem to think that we all suck at customer service and you act like you can do better, I have questions for you. What happened to the limo business you were starting 3 years ago? Why have you not added a party bus to your fleet yet? Why do you not have affiliates with Party Buses? How did you determine your rates? You have made 23 posts on this forum in 3 years, how many of them have been helpful to this industry?

Did you realize that from September 2, 2009 until April 2, 2012 you were one of the 7,063 inactive members? That is until you wanted a good bus at a fair price.

[Limo Wire]

Well said Andy.

[brandon1]

The owner of that company told me he did not know one company with a party bus that he felt was worthy of a recommendation. Everyone on this forum should be ashamed of that response

He probably lied to you because if he sent you to a good company with sedans there was a chance you might start using them for sedan work.

[Cedar Mill Limousine]

This is a local company that runs nothing but SUV's and non-stretched sedans. I asked him for a recommendation before I came to this site. The owner of that company told me he did not know one company with a party bus that he felt was worthy of a recommendation. Everyone on this forum should be ashamed of that response.
Until last night, I had not hired a limo in several years. Most of you just gave me several reasons to not want to hire a limo unless I absolutely have to. I did hire a bus last month.

Everyone on this forum should be ashamed? Really? Because I do not know of a reputable party bus company in Glendora, CA? What is with you CA people that think the world revolves around you? Sounds like you have been in the trucking business forever...you know of a good company that can deliver me 20 yards of black dirt in Crown Point, IN? Get a life.

[Karl]

I agree with you, Rich. I also take exception to this bit about how everyone should feel some kind of shame. I say get bent!

[Limo Wire]

Everyone on this forum should be ashamed? Really? Because I do not know of a reputable party bus company in Glendora, CA? What is with you CA people that think the world revolves around you? Sounds like you have been in the trucking business forever...you know of a good company that can deliver me 20 yards of black dirt in Crown Point, IN? Get a life.

And you left out the part, this load of dirt is for your daughter so her girl scout troop can grow veggies for starving children and they all can get a merit badge and all the while he can do this to provide you a service based on what you think is a fair price.

This just screams to me how many friends of friends I had when it was prom season for their kids. I'm Joe Blows friend and he tells me you guys are really close and he assured me that you would love to do my kids prom at a price I want to pay. But he told me you would give me a deal. I know it's the busiest prom night of the year but he said you were a good guy. What do you mean $800 dollars we are almost friends here, I know Joe Blow. Oh brother!!