Carmel Car and Limousine Service

This place has terrible customer service. Also, this place has terrible car service. Their reps, who clearly hate their jobs and know their company sucks, are rude and really just don’t care. Its too bad and really makes for a frustrating situation.
I called a reservation in for my boss weeks ahead of time and even called to confirm and the SUV never showed up. He called the dispatch and customer service and it rang and rang and rang. He called to let me know and I reminded him how I warned him about this company’s terrible reviews and he laughed and said okay get my money back. I haven’t yet received a credit because their customer service doesn’t answer the phone!
Surely they will go out of business in the very near future since Über is more professional, cost effective, timely, everything. He called Über after 20 minutes of trying to contact Carmel and they showed up in 5 minutes. Still crickets from Carmel 2 hours later!
UPDATE: Apparently they ‘experienced a fire’ and this was the reason for the car not showing up. They are supposed to give automatic refunds so we’ll see. Sorry about the fire but your ghetto ass system should send out emails or SOMETHING to people who pre-​booked weeks out. I think natural selection is trying to take this company out!

Left high and dry on a confirmed reservation made 24 hours ahead of time. They made sure to charge my credit card though– I am disputing the charge. I am aware sometimes people run late, so I called 5 minutes past the scheduled time– no one answered any of their numbers. I tried contacting via website– it was down. I waited 20 minutes before my doorman insisted I was going to miss my afternoon flight and I grabbed an Über. Two days later I receive an email with a coupon discount for my next reservation with some verbiage «sorry for whatever reason we didn’t connect». No Carmel, your company didn’t show. I was there, you have my money, a coupon doesn’t cut it. I have tried to call the number listed on that coupon email and it is always busy. I will NEVER use them again, and I will NEVER recommend them. I am in the city every month– I could have been a good get. Use someone else. The $ 10 savings isn’t worth it to me.

ZERO STARS SHOULD BE AN OPTION
STAY AWAY!
DO NOT USE!
I had paid for a full trip both ways to and from the airport.
First problem we had was we had no one their to pick us up at the airport. Lucky someone answered the phone and picked us up 20 minutes later.
Now for the HUGE problem. For a company that «says» they are open 24 hours. Why would you not have someone answering your phone calls. I tried calling six calls, with no one answering the phone. I tried emailing them and didn’t get a response until three days after I have arrived home. They responded with you should call the customer service number, which you guessed it… NOBODY ANSWERS
Please do yourself a favor and walk if you have to Über if you need to BUT do not use this company

If it were possible to give a minus zero review, I would do so. I have been trying to reach Carmel by phone for over 24 hours; none of the numbers answer. The website allowed me to log in this morning, and I complained in the comments section, but got no answer. This evening, the website doesn’t allow a log in or a complaint to be submitted.
They failed to pick up contracted passengers, including a handicapped person, at LaGuardia because the passengers couldn’t call them to say «We’re here now, come get us.»
Our company have done business with them for years. We are now cancelling the remaining nine cars we had booked in NYC and Los Angeles. Unfortunately, we can’t cancel them by phone because no one answers, and we can’t cancel them by website because it won’t accept comments. We have had to resort to looking up every single person we can find who works there in administrative positions, and sending an email with copies to the company attorney, travel agent, and manager.
This business is disgraceful. If you notice, they have a big pop up sign that says something like «Yes, we have a lot of bad reviews on Unilocal!,but we’ve given great service to a bazillion customers.» No, you haven’t. Because service is only as good as the service you’re CURRENTLY giving, not the service you gave years ago.
I’m betting all the Carmel drivers have gone to Über. And if so, it serves Carmel right. A disgrace.

The driver was intoxicated. Shall
I say more?
The cars are dirty, and they hire the worst drivers. Most of the time the drivers barely speak a word of English. I only use them to pick up guests at the airport, or when I can’t use über. The faster this company goes out of bussines the better…

I have used Carmel for about 5 years now. It was great for the first few years. Over the last two years, it’s gotten terrible. However, I continue to be loyal because they have the best rates. I now see this is because they are terrible.
They NEVER show up at the airport on time «in 5 – 7 minutes.» Ever. This time, I had had a long day traveling, it was midnight, I just wanted to go home. I was relieved when I saw the mile long limo line at LGA that I had booked a car.
I called my driver, he couldn’t find me. I moved up and down the terminal, telling him everything I saw. I even finally stood by the only police car there, which was flashing his lights. He STILL couldn’t find me. He kept hanging up on me, yelling at me, telling me he was going to leave me, etc. I kept saying back «I don’t know what you want from me! I’m moving around, I’m standing by a flashing police car, what can I do? Where are you? I’ll come to you!» I was pleading with him not to leave me. WELL HE LEFT. And then wouldn’t answer my calls.
I started crying – I was tired, had been yelled at and knew that if I got in the cab line, I wouldn’t be home until after 2am. I then called Carmel, they said they’d send another driver, but that the rate had now increased from $ 28 to $ 35. I was punished because my driver couldn’t find me, no matter what I did, then left me.
I FINALLY found the next driver, cried the whole way home, and had to pay more for their disservice. I will absolutely NEVER EVER EVER use this car service again. I had always recommended them, but their services are absolutely worthless. DO NOT REMEMBER «6!»

STAY AWAY. TRUST ME. Man these guys are terrible. I had to use them a few times and 4 out of 5 times the driver had no freaking clue how to get to JfK or LGa! This last time It took 30 minutes more than a regular cab. Today I missed my flight because if this idiot driver.
The DRIVERS RARELY SPEAK ENGLISH. They have to call back to ‘homebase’ for a translator.
It’s not worth the 10 bucks savings. Don’t use them if you want to get to airport on time.
Oh oh yeah and then the driver had the nerve to ask me for a tip at the end of drop me off 30 minutes late for my flight

Disgusting.
There was nothing particularly wrong with the actual ride from the Pearl Hotel to JFK on the morning of January 15 at 6:30 am… other than the fact that our driver showed up and called us at 6:15 am and pressured us to get outside, NOW. We specifically called a car service instead of taking the shuttle to gain that extra time… at 6 am, every minute counts. I was irritated to lose the extra 15 minutes we were counting on just to suit the driver.
The van that showed up was an embarrassment: complete with beaded seat covers from the 70’s and Hello Kitty stickers & decals everywhere. I was actually mortified to be getting into this vehicle in front of our posh hotel, in my nice clothes. Yes, I know that sounds incredibly snotty… and I’m so not that girl… but we paid a ton of money for this trip and took it in true style… and this was a dirty, disappointing, anti-​climactic low-​rent way to end a wonderful NYC stay. But the worst… the absolute worst part of the ride was the driver’s breath.
It was so strong and so bad that the entire van just reeked. It’s a long ride to the airport, and even longer when you’re trapped in a van with a driver with the worst breath on Earth. I was miserable and gagging the entire time… I had to pull out the lavender spray hand sanitizer from my bag and spray it as discreetly (yet as repeatedly) as I could, all over the van. It barely helped, so I sprayed a ton of it into my scarf and just buried my face into it as best as possible.
The driver seemed to sense his own foulness, as he continually cracked the window open and shut despite the 22 degree weather morning. I can’t describe how unpleasant it was… and beyond that I was angry that I couldn’t keep my head up to take in the looks at my favorite city in the world… instead had to keep my scarf wrapped around my face to try to kill the stench.
Other than that, it was your typical driver-​on-​the-​phone-​the-​entire-​way kind of trip. For what it’s worth, I also left behind an expensive pair of sunglasses because it was still dark, and I was so anxious to get out of the van when we arrived at the airport that I didn’t check my surroundings thoroughly enough. The driver had our phone number, but never bothered to call about the sunglasses. I’m sure he kept them. Too bad I didn’t leave behind my mints.
Based on the defensive, barely intelligible, broken English replies left by «Guy K» («we are disappoint in this notion and do not believe in this notion»), I am REALLY looking forward to what he has to say to me here. Yes, that’s sarcasm.

Hard not to miss Carmel when in NYC. Their annoying commercials are everywhere! Bad enough their ‘6−6−6′ spots use a jingle almost identical to the ‘Keyes-​Keyes-​Keyes’ car dealership ads here in LA, but they also try to promote the app by using that iOS notification sound over and over again! Get me the Excedrin!
Plus, their number is all sixes. How Satanic can you get? That’s a bad sign right there. Guess they could nab the all eights number from the ambulance chasing law firm.
Annoying as they are, they must work. I decided to try the service for my ride from the hotel to JFK. Cost was about the same as a cab, and I figure you got to get a better ride in an unmarked vehicle that a Yellow Cab. Was I wrong.
The ride itself was fine, the SUV we were in was big with roomy seats but the vehicle reeked. I’m still sure from what but it was disgusting. So much so, my girlfriend started taking a perfume spritzer out of her bag and started spraying the inside of the car to remove the odor as best as possible. About ²⁄₃ into the ride, our driver must have finally received the message so he opened up his window a crack. Then he rolled it back up a few minutes later. Maybe he didn’t get the message, after all.
I think we might have been better with a cab or even a shared GO shuttle instead.

WARNING — THESE GUYS CHARGE YOU FOR TOLLS THAT YOU DO NOT TAKE
I have called 9 times about double-​charging for tolls. I do NOT have to pay your toll back to the city from NJ, especially when I SAW the driver pick up another fair. Double dipping like that is FRAUD. Kiesha in Customer Service cannot provide a direct phone number; John told me «too bad,» and Dave would NOT return my calls. I’m in Public Relations — If you want me to put out a national press release, I will. REFUND MY TOLL YOU CROOKS.
I am seriously considering calling the DA’s office.

If there was a zero star choice I’d choose that. On Dec. 24 2015 at 12pm I reserved a car for a trip from Bushwick, Brooklyn NY to Newark Airport, EWR.
Car 43
Driver: Binya Ameen
Driver’s License#: 5 425 480 exp. 3÷8÷2017
Vehicle License #: 5 431 186 exp. 4÷24÷2016
Carmel TLC #: B00256
Car License Plate: T619957C (4 DOOR FULL SEDAN)
I was quoted by their phone service that tolls from Bushwick to EWR was to total $ 17. Driver Binya Ameen charged me $ 170 in tolls. I’ve filed a complaint via their customer service answering machine and the online website. Neither of which has garnered any sort of response whatsoever. I find this extremely unprofessional as well as irresponsible.
This is an absurd amount to be charge for a trip which should’ve cost me a total of $ 97 not including gratuity. That amount is based on information from the phone reservation service.
The lack of response and cooperation from this company is terrible. I’ll be disputing the charge with my bank as well.
So, wherever you have to go in NYC, DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE!!! Oh, and Mr. Ameen was on his phone the entire time. So ridiculous.

I’m extremely disappointed in the service I received on the evening of New Year’s Eve. Because I know how tough it can be to get a cab (and I wanted to avoid Über’s surge pricing), days earlier I booked a car to take me home after the festivities at 1 a.m. About 5 minutes before they’re scheduled to arrive someone from Carmel calls to say that they should arrive around 1:15 a.m. Cool. No problem. I know how it can be on New Years Eve. So I call Carmel around 1:30 to see where things stand and the guy tells me they don’t have enough cars and that they will be canceling my reservation. Wait, what?
And before I could even register what was happening, he was offering to connect me to customer service, which I declined. (Why bother? I needed a car not someone to make me feel better about being stranded.) And the minute he hung up I received an automated email with a discount code — as if they knew some New Year’s customers would randomly have their trips canceled, so they were ready with the «accept our sincere apology for any misunderstanding» e-​mail and discount.
I’m a loyal customer despite the spotty customer service I’ve received through the years, and I did everything right by booking days in advance — yet this poor service was still my fate. Look, I get it. New Year’s Eve is busy. But don’t take reservations that you know you can’t fulfill. In this crowded marketplace of car services, taxis and ride sharing apps, it would be a smart business move to make customer service the top priority. Distinguish themselves among the pack. But Carmel will have trouble retaining clients if they continue to do business this way. A business that truly cares about its customers does not act in this manner.

Eek! Methinks no! This was horrible. Guy was texting the entire time. Shady. Why not just use UBER.
No I’m not with UBER I just find UBER to be reliable and honest and punctual.

If I could give zero stars, I would. Honestly, worst, most unreliable car service this side of the Mississippi.
Pick up time passes. Get call. «I’m 5 minutes away.» Okay. 15 minutes later, MIA. Call into dispatch, «where is my driver??? It’s been 25 minutes» **crickets** So. Driver shows up THIRTY MINUTES late. I’m sorry but wtf. You have one job. My requested pick up time was right before good olé NYC rush hour, which actually seems to be all day long, but regardless, you’d think he’d be proactive with this factor alone. Or just be on time because that’s professional.
Cue 4:45pm, we’re en route to Kennedy Airport. Again, 30 minutes late. Finally in the car, he proceeds to take the slowestttt, most painful route possible. I could run faster in quicksand than this guy (D. Bautista). I requested he take a shorter, less crowded route (love you, Waze) but he refused to deviate from this already shitty plan. I said, «you’re 30 minutes late, I’m going to miss my flight.» He literally said, «I can’t do anything about that.» HOW ABOUT YOU SHOW UP ON TIME. F@)*%# idiot.
Long story, and drive, short. I missed my flight. I gave myself 2 hours to get someone 25 minutes away and the entire trip took 2 hours. TWO HOURS from grand central to jfk. I will never, ever, ever, ever (ever x2034) use this car service again. You’re a joke and I want my money back.

I am a big fan of this car service and use it in multiple cities. Unfortunately today in NYC when the driver called from outside I could not even understand him. Once in the car it was even worse. He kept asking me questions that I could not understand his language and we both got frustrated because of the inability to communicate. I Had to call dispatch from the back seat to make sure I was even going to be taken to the right place. This is my first bad experience with Carmel and I will use again but Carmel please take note It is not asking too much to be able to communicate with your driver!!!
Update: just when I thought it was bad it got worse. When he dropped me at the airport we argued over the fee. He tried to charge me $ 59 for a $ 39 fare. He did the math 3 times before I picked up the phone. Then a lightbulb went off and he realized he was wrong (his math 42 added 3 for discount coupon and came to 59). I have already called to file a formal complaint. They do it online or by message box. Will send formal letter once home. Very disappointed in today’s service. Especially when I was a fan to start…

I scheduled a limo pick up from laguardia airport, driver was early and communication was superb.
Return to laguardia airport was in a suv. Again, driver was early and with superb communication.
Great service and no hassle. Couldn’t have expected more.

Horrible through out. Don’t go with them.
1. I booked my trip the day before on phone all was good.
2. Next day 4.00 am i get a phone call and the driver asks exactly where to pick me up. I tell him the address once more, albert einstein college of medicine.
3. 4.30 supposed to be picked up. No car. I call Carmela’s and they don’t find my reservation and tell me there isn’t any. Just when I become angry and say there is they change their mind and say, oh yeah driver is 2 blocks from you.
4. 4.45 car still isn’t there to pick me up. Standing and waiting to be picked up to the airport outside is pretty unsafe, and there are many cars honking at me and stopping over. I call carmela’s again and request to be picked up NOW or else I’ll take a cab. The guy I talk to says I don’t have any reservation yadayada and then the bus comes and picks me up.
5. Out comes an idiot driver, that: isn’t able to speak english, yells at me for the address which he has absurdly misunderstood (instead of apologizing), doesn’t help in putting my luggage in the car.
6. We’re on our way to jfk. 4 miles from the airport the car stops. «You paying by card or cash?» «Card or cash?» Me: eh, aren’t you supposed to drive to the airport. Him: I drive once I got the money. Me: that’s really strange…
7. I give him the payment in cash. He doesn’t give me a receipt even though I inquired for it.
8. He drives the remaining miles to the airport and stops. No help in taking luggage out of car.
9. Guys, NEVER EVER GO WITH CARMEL’s.
10. PS. not inly could the driver not speak english, he was really rude and disrespectful. Wonder if all cabs would stop in the middle of the route and make you pay… Moron!!!
11. Avoid carmel’s. I would rather walk.

I used to love Carmel but my last two experiences were HORRIBLE. I agree with D.A. A’s review; it’s not what it was even a year ago.
They still owe me 20 bucks on my last fare the day the Pope came to New York and screwed with everyone’s travel plans. The odds of my flying to DC the day of the Pope’s visit had to have been about nil (I rarely go to DC and when I do it’s early in the morning).
But with three weeks of luggage en route to LA after a wedding, there was simply no way to take the subway to Penn Station or get to one of those heinous buses on the West Side.
It was Friday night so people told me to leave two hours to JFK from the Upper East Side. It took 37 minutes on the Van Wyck and the whole experience was a disaster.
But generally, this is about 10 bucks cheaper than a cab and much, much nicer. Some of the drivers have chargers.
I keep using Carmel but the honeymoon is over. If they give me my 20 bucks back, maybe I will bump up to 4 stars.
I do like the people on the phone, though. And while you’re supposed to book 24 hours in advance, if you fly into JFK you will likely get a car very quickly after calling from baggage claim.

Well… I was ready to book 2 roundtrip rides for clients at work, and when I went to submit payment I kept getting an error. I called Carmel Car Service to talk to a representative, and they said that they weren’t having problems and it was probbaly my card… except for the fact that I kept getting a ‘zipcode error’ message. I kept trying to explain this, continued to ask if we could try something different, and they then just went silent and hung up on me. Ok, cool. Keep treating your customers like that and you’ll go out of business! Not cool at all.

Wow! I am surprised at the negative reviews. I do a lot of traveling for work and take car service around the city when I have an appointment.
So far, Carmel has been great! Clean cars, friendly drivers and reasonably priced. They have been on time and very communicative as to the status of their cars.
I am a big fan!