Bad Experience - Nam's Taxi

[Coffee215pm]

Hey guys -

I've seen nothing but good reviews about Nam's, but I had a bad experience that needs shared.  I booked two sessions,the first (BKK to Pattaya hotel) was fine.  The second (Pattaya hotel to BKK) was the issue...

Scheduled for 2:30am via email.  Got/sent 2 verifications.  At 2:40am, my hotel concierge called Nam... no aswer... called again 5min later, she answered and said they dont have anyone lined up for me, said never got my email and I was on my own.  It is not easy to find a taxi last minute at 3am.  After trying without success to contact 4 taxi services via my hotel, I ended up booking an "illegal" taxi for 1600bt, cutting it relatively close for my flight.  Worst part? There was a DUI checkpoint on the highway and my driver was in tears as we approached telling me "we are friends, not taxi!!!"... terrible experience for me...

I forwarded the email thread (where I booked her service and confired twice afterwards) to Nam and her response was "girl fell asleep" with several sorrys and sad emoji faces... ooooookay...

I know it is anecdotal, but I will never trust this service again, certainly not at this hour to catch a flight home...

[rickyroo]

5 minutes ago, Coffee215pm said:

Hey guys -

I've seen nothing but good reviews about Nam's, but I had a bad experience that needs shared.  I booked two sessions,the first (BKK to Pattaya hotel) was fine.  The second (Pattaya hotel to BKK) was the issue...

Scheduled for 2:30am via email.  Got/sent 2 verifications.  At 2:40am, my hotel concierge called Nam... no aswer... called again 5min later, she answered and said they dont have anyone lined up for me, said never got my email and I was on my own.  It is not easy to find a taxi last minute at 3am.  After trying without success to contact 4 taxi services via my hotel, I ended up booking an "illegal" taxi for 1600bt, cutting it relatively close for my flight.  Worst part? There was a DUI checkpoint on the highway and my driver was in tears as we approached telling me "we are friends, not taxi!!!"... terrible experience for me...

I forwarded the email thread (where I booked her service and confired twice afterwards) to Nam and her response was "girl fell asleep" with several sorrys and sad emoji faces... ooooookay...

I know it is anecdotal, but I will never trust this service again, certainly not at this hour to catch a flight home...

Not good,  but the experience approaching the airport was probably more terrible for the driver than you.

All you had to say was he's a friend. 

Re, getting a cab isn't that difficult and you were shafted at 1600.

[Monger D. Luffy]

Sorry to hear. Nam has a lot of drivers and it’ has to be difficult to organize all of them. I hope she learnt about this mistake and don’t repeat it in the future.

 

[Coffee215pm]

3 minutes ago, Jous said:

Sorry to hear. Nam has a lot of drivers and it’ has to be difficult to organize all of them. I hope she learnt about this mistake and don’t repeat it in the future.

 

Yeah... I almost didn't want to write about it, because she's so popular on the board...

[thumper64]

I must admit, I have not seen any other reports like this on Nam.

One report is a disappointment. Let’s see if we get anymore.

 

[Coffee215pm]

7 minutes ago, rickyroo said:

Not good,  but the experience approaching the airport was probably more terrible for the driver than you.

All you had to say was he's a friend. 

Re, getting a cab isn't that difficult and you were shafted at 1600.

I'm not new to mongering but this was myfirst trip to SEA. For a newbie to Thailand, who was about to miss a flight, I can assure you it was terrifying for me too lol...  But you're right, I felt bad for this girl...

I know I overpaid by a few hundred baht, but that's all I could find at the time and I wasn't about to question an extra $15 in (what appeared to be) a sellers' market...

May I ask - what would you have done to find a taxi, last minute, at 3am?

[deano4598]

@Encora Mate as you are close to Nam, can you please check this. I am allowing it to stay as it seems kosher and this would be a very rare event for Nam's service.

[rioman]

As much as I use Nam whenever I fly into Suvarnabhumi and am always impressed with the service I get - one person meeting me with sign and hustling me into car that pulls up in front almost immediately, - there are cheaper options to consider when leaving Pattaya.  You can get private car type taxi from stand on Soi Lengkee for 1100b to swampy.  I had one oddball time this past trip(1am) prearranged and as schedule worked out decided to see if could leave bit earlier so went to stand and they were able to call driver and come 30mins earlier.  

[dan2016]

Had the same thing happen to me but its was PT taxi which is known as another good reputable taxi service. Booked for 4:00am to go to airport. Waited 4:15 no show, called the driver no answer. Didn't want to miss my flight so I had to wake up the Mrs. to driver me to second road and Pattaya Tai intersection where there were a few Bangkok meter taxis on standby. Paid 1,200bht to Swampy. Funny thing half way on the highway the origanil taxi driver that I booked calls me, I ignore him and hang up, he keeps ringing me for another 10 minuets until he gets the hint that I'm not going to answer. Its just pot luck getting a driver to come pick you up at that early in the morning as I'm sure a lot of them havent even gone to bed yet.

[deano4598]

3 hours ago, rioman said:

As much as I use Nam whenever I fly into Suvarnabhumi and am always impressed with the service I get - one person meeting me with sign and hustling me into car that pulls up in front almost immediately, - there are cheaper options to consider when leaving Pattaya.  You can get private car type taxi from stand on Soi Lengkee for 1100b to swampy.  I had one oddball time this past trip(1am) prearranged and as schedule worked out decided to see if could leave bit earlier so went to stand and they were able to call driver and come 30mins earlier.  

I agree there are cheaper options rioman, but most guys pay that little bit more to avoid getting the white knuckle racing driver talking constantly on his mobile or falling asleep enroute.

 

[Queef_Sniffer]

Something similar happened to me years ago (Not on Nams or other known taxi service). 

I booked a 3am pickup for a 700am departure. I’ve always been the type to show up 3-4 hrs early for my flights, just in case I’m in a car accident or driver is late. Needless to say, my driver never showed. I waited till 330, called, and nothing. 

Mat that moment, I went into holy shit mode. There’s nothing funnier than seeing a Falang running down second road at 340am, looking for a taxi to swampy - while hauling luggage. 

Luckily, I found a cab and he took me for 2k baht (at least he included tolls). I could’ve probably found something cheaper, but I was desperate and in near panic mode. I was so desperate, I would’ve likely paid double that if absolutely necessary.  I made it to the gate with 10-15 mins to spare before they started boarding.

The lesson learned, NEVER take AM flights again. Take either daytime or evening flights. Finding a late min cab is a hell of a lot easier at 9pm, than it is at 340am. 

[Bernie Num Nums]

I hope this is just an aberration and not the norm. I have booked her for next month.

I must say communication has been very good so far.

 

[Mr Wombat]

8 minutes ago, Bernie Num Nums said:

I hope this is just an aberration and not the norm. I have booked her for next month.

I must say communication has been very good so far.

 

Confirm again the day before you fly. They are only human - things get lost after 2 months

[Ohyesuare]

I think you can use grab from pattaya to airport and it’s a set rate. I used Nam’s this trip from BKK to Pattaya and have no complaints except they don’t seem happy with just a 100 baht tip.

[ChiFlyer]

5 hours ago, Coffee215pm said:

Yeah... I almost didn't want to write about it, because she's so popular on the board...

Sorry to hear about this as well. Also @Encora please check into this.

I have been using Nam's service for years and never had a problem. There were one or two drivers (out of 30) that I was not that fond of. One tried to go independent and suggested that I bypass Nam and deal directly with her. She went out of her way to drive directly past a street scene in Bangkok, despite the fact that I was with a GF. No big deal, but I did not like her appoach to things.

To the OP, I use Line to reconfirm with Nam/Chandra on the travel days. 

Nam has grown her staff considerably over the years. Quality control for any business can be a problem at times. Part of getting good service is being a good customer. Communicate frequently, especially near the travel date.

[Arnie85]

Hard to believe you couldn’t find a Grab taxi, did you try?

[Taa_Saparot]

Used Nam's Taxi for years and only have good things to say about it.

But we all know that Thai businesses are notorious for taking their eye of the ball, once the enthusiasm wanes.

[ShaneFalco]

8 hours ago, deano4598 said:

@Encora Mate as you are close to Nam, can you please check this. I am allowing it to stay as it seems kosher and this would be a very rare event for Nam's service.

You are "allowing" it to stay ?

I am a bit confused here, as i havent seen any mod write like this before on the forum. Even if a company have overall great reviews, there are bound to be a bad one once in a while.

The way your post reads, to me at least, is that you dont really believe the poster and has to have someone get confirmation from the company that they did actually mess up 1 (One!!) order.

I hope i have misunderstood your post, and if so, i apologize for that. 

[Scuba+]

That's why i always used Mr T taxis, he has loads of drivers available.

I tried the Bell Travel Service recently and its very well organised bus service, 280 baht, but doesn't run through the night

[flioflop]

As others mentioned before: Check this App.

 

 

[Cerberus]

9 hours ago, deano4598 said:

@Encora Mate as you are close to Nam, can you please check this. I am allowing it to stay as it seems kosher and this would be a very rare event for Nam's service.

I have had 3 incidences of varying problems, and the response I received was similar. Following the last I ceased to use this lady's service, it is easy for a company to lose sight of customer service once they become popular.

 

42 minutes ago, ShaneFalco said:

You are "allowing" it to stay ?

I am a bit confused here, as i haven't seen any mod write like this before on the forum. Even if a company have overall great reviews, there are bound to be a bad one once in a while.

The way your post reads, to me at least, is that you don't really believe the poster and has to have someone get confirmation from the company that they did actually mess up 1 (One!!) order.

I hope I have misunderstood your post, and if so, i apologize for that. 

I have to agree with this.

[tenpro]

Had a minor issue with Nam's Taxi a few months ago (driver showing up late). Thankfully, I didn't miss a flight, but I use alternative services now.

[SteveX08]

1 hour ago, flioflop said:

As others mentioned before: Check this App.

 

 

I used Grab for transport from Mo Chit to Don Mueng - 240 baht ( no tolls).   Metered Taxi fare for the same route and same travelling time - 138 baht.   If in Bangkok do your research first.

[striderman]

sometimes in life things go wrong. but it's a real bugger when it happens in the early hours and swampy is the destination.

[deano4598]

2 hours ago, ShaneFalco said:

You are "allowing" it to stay ?

I am a bit confused here, as i havent seen any mod write like this before on the forum. Even if a company have overall great reviews, there are bound to be a bad one once in a while.

The way your post reads, to me at least, is that you dont really believe the poster and has to have someone get confirmation from the company that they did actually mess up 1 (One!!) order.

I hope i have misunderstood your post, and if so, i apologize for that. 

ShaneFalco, mate I generally start by removing such threads till a bad review is confirmed. I do this as many times in the past, what is posted is far from what actually happend and only one side of the story, so unfairly running down a business and as you will be aware, some shit sticks.

Do not be confused mate, if I had seriously not believed the poster you would not have seen it.