Giving SuperShuttle and ExecuCar Another Chance

I’ve never actually hit anyone, a fact of which I’m fairly proud, although I have been close to blows a few times. One such time was with a SuperShuttle driver. We were leaving on a long planned, expensive trip to Thailand and Singapore and the van was so late we were in serious jeopardy of missing our flight and ruining our trip. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been quite so angry, and I vowed to never use their service again.

But like a moth to flame, I found myself once again drawn to them, only to get burned again and again. More recently I experimented with their ExecuCar service only to be disappointed. I know that I’m not the only one to have mixed feelings about this lower cost airport transportation, but I also knew I couldn’t just walk away. I decided to give them one last shot.

Working with SuperShuttle, I identified our trip to Australia as the perfect test. We would be gone too long to leave the car parked at the airport long term lot and Washington Dulles isn’t the easiest airport to reach by public transportation, especially after more than thirty hours of traveling and arriving home at midnight on a Sunday. A car service was necessary and I decided that we would give SuperShuttle, through their ExecuCar brand, one last chance. This was it though, I was prepared to break up forever if this didn’t work out. It really shouldn’t be a difficult thing: pick up client at prearranged time, drop off and then repeat in reverse.

On the day of the trip I was getting a little nervous as the clock hands inched closer to the pick up time but just as I was preparing myself mentally for phone calls and anxiety, the car arrived. Exactly on time. The driver was kind and courteous and we drove the 45 minutes to Washington Dulles International Airport. It was a hot day so there were bottles of water and the air conditioning was on high. Overall a great way to make the journey to the airport.

My one major complaint about the service was evident during both trips, the driver’s over-reliance on GPS. Rather than think about a better way (or listen to us) he blindly followed the magic voice in the box, which really wasn’t the best way. But that’s a rather nitpicky detail because overall the major objectives were achieved. We made the flight in plenty of time and the driver was there for us when we returned from our two week foray into the heart of Australia.

This time the experience was perfect and other than the aforementioned GPS issues, I really can’t fault the service at all. Would I use them again? Yes, without question, but always with a little bit of caution. Like a wounded lover, I’m prepared to welcome them back, but you better believe I’ll be keeping my eyes on them.