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Checker Cab
Rating Details »
12 reviews for Checker Cab
Whenever I'm going out on the town for the night on the weekend and its going to be out of my walking range, Checker Cab is the only cab company I'll call. They're even in my phone's saved numbers. Because even though I have the number memorized, well yeah sometimes I do get THAT drunk.
Sure every once in a great while they dont show up....maybe 1 out of 15 times. Then again I've called them and then decided to stagger across traffic while flagging down some other random cab driver. So it all evens out.
Sure, there might be some weird cologne smell or the like in their cab, but I could think of a lot worse smells one could face while in a cab. On the other hand I've never had a cab driver in a bad mood and most are more then eager to talk about whatever.
For instance a lot of the time you can learn about other cultures while riding in a Checker cab. Last time we had a Haitian cab driver. So of course we had to see if he was familiar with the Steely Dan song "Haitian Divorce", which he was not. See what I mean?
Last Thursday I called Checker and scheduled a cab for a sweet elderly acquaintance of mine. I called several hours in advance and scheduled a 5:45pm pick up for her. Called back at 5:30 and the dispatcher confirmed that the cab was on its way. My friend waited and waited and waited and waited and eventually missed her 6pm dinner reservation because the cab never showed.
Epic taxi FAIL!
This is what I wrote to the BBB (Atlanta) on 11/24/09:
I have been a long time rider with checker cab in Atlanta. For the most part, I have ok experiences with the drivers. However, as of late, I have been experiencing being stranded by drivers because they do not want to use my credit card because of them being taxed 10 percent or a refusal to pick up the call from the dispatcher to pick me up. I have been stranded twice by them or if not stranded, the drivers, not all, have been rude. Even the dispatchers are having trouble with some of the drivers. I have been in some serious trouble being late for work or family illness situations because of their refusal to pick me up because they do not want customers to use credit cards. I have never been rude or nasty to any of the drivers but this has got to be brought to the attention of Jeff Jackson, the general manager, who never seems to be in when I have a complaint. I am sure that other customers are facing the same problems as indicated by the dispatchers. The service level is extremely poor and uncalled for when you leave good, reliable customers stranded or refuse to pick the call up from the dispatchers.
Sat on the phone today for 20 minutes listening to a recording telling me that someone would be right with me... didn't happen. I actually called from a second line while I was waiting just to make sure that nothing happened to my call. Still no luck. I have had some great drivers and some awful drivers with Checker, but my biggest beef is that I don't know if they will answer when I call.
Last night I called 3 hours in advance to order a cab. With the crazy crowds on Halloween, I thought it'd be much better to cab it than fight for a parking spot. I gave the dispatcher all of my relevant details, including my name, cell phone number, and the fact that I tried to reserve online and when I entered my address it didn't recognize it, and resolved to somewhere entirely different, with a different zip code. He told me he knew "exactly where it is" and I provided the apartment complex name, just in case. The cab never showed up - even though we waited in the cold and rain - and when I called to find out whether they were still coming, I was put on hold so long that I gave up. We wound up driving instead. I never received a call from the cab company. UGH!
My experience with the Cab was good however what is completely unacceptable is the WAIT TIME on hold with the dispatcher. 18 MINUTES on a Tuesday at 8:00 PM. Totally unacceptable! It took the cab less time to arrive than it did for the dispatcher to answer her phone!
This review will be short and sweet:
Great website.
Automated phone service that gives you choices about what you need- corporate order, personal pick-up, etc.
Super-quick arrival.
As the cab arrives, an automated phone call to you that announces your cab's presence and asks how long you want the driver to wait!
Professional, polite driver.
I'm sold!!
I have a unique experience with Checker Cab Company to share. In the fall, one of Checker's cab drivers rear-ended me in a Midtown residential area, when I was braking for a pedestrian, illustrating that this particular driver is fond of riding other motorists' behinds.
But, I digress. I am not writing this review to comment on one Checker employee's driving incompetence. I instead would like to detail the company's overall courtesy and pleasantry in dealing with the repairs to my poor little Civic.
The cab driver indeed followed through in providing me accurate information (his actual name and the true address of the cab company). The driver, whose name I have forgotten, asked that I request to speak with a specific person at the office about fixing my car. So, I went to the front desk and asked for that person, whose name I also have forgotten. Anyway, it turned out that no one with that name worked at Checker Cab Company, much to my surprise. When I explained to the manager, Tracy, the incident with one of his drivers, he shouted something like, "I told so-and-so that if he hit one more car, he's OUTTA here!"
I find it amusing that this driver, of some sort of Caribbean heritage, had been going around hitting other people.
Tracy made arrangements with me to drop off my car at Checker Cab Company that Friday, and it was fixed by the next day. He also made sure that I received a complimentary cab ride home, when I dropped off my car.
The repairs were quick and flawless.
I believe that I have peered through a unique window into Checker Cab Company's customer service and was pleasantly surprised--although I would have preferred for the cab driver not to have smacked into my bumper in the first place.
I appreciate Checker Cab. Why? Because they remember me. Actually, I'm not sure if that's good or bad and depending on the evening it can be pretty amusing. I called them Friday night and the operator asked "are you at Swinging Richard's?" Nope. Not this time. Actually, I don't remember being there recently, so I guess I'm extra glad they picked me up.
Their telephone number is extremely easy to remember (four oh four, three five one, eleven, eleven) and they even take credit cards. Please note that they will not pick-up on street corners. You must be at an actual address.
Holy unprofessionalism. Called Atlanta Checker Cab this evening for a cab to arrive at 11:30. The cab arrived at 10:30. The driver asked that I call back at 11:15 - no problem...I call back at 11:15 and no answer. Call at 11:20. No answer. Call at 11:30. No answer. Decided to just go ahead and walk to the front of my neighborhood and wait because certainly this guy is going to show up. Me and my friend are standing around looking like two hookers trying to turn tricks. We wait and wait. I call Check Cab back and speak to a dispatcher who says someone will be there in 5 minutes. 5, 10, 15 minutes go by. Decide to just forget my plans for the evening because I am so irritated by this whole scenario. It is now 12:15 and I was supposed to be where I was going before 12:30. That wasn't going to happen so I just decided to forget it. Right as I decide to forget it I get a call from the cab driver saying he is here - mmm hello, I'm at the front of my neighborhood and I don't see you so clearly you aren't here. I told him to forget it, I don't want the cab anymore and this is when things get even worse. The cab driver proceeds to speak profanities to me and tell me that I have wasted his time. Yeah, I wasted your time? I have been standing around like a prostitute for 45 minutes!!! Screw it - I just decide to hang up because I have never had some stranger yell at me like that. I call the main checker cab line back and speak to the "Supervisor." He was pretty useless but said that he'd note it in a report. Never use these unprofessional jerks.
Checker Cab is very reliable and really is the only cab company I call for pickups. They can get very busy during peak evening times and also on Monday mornings (when I used to require airport rides) so be sure to call with plenty of advanced warning during these times. You can also call and schedule a pickup - I used to call the night before. They have really good tracking when you call to inquire about your cab and the dispatcher will hunt down the driver and find out exactly where they are. Usually my cabs get here very quickly (or before I am actually ready), but sometimes I do have to call and check. When they arrive, they will have the automated system call you to tell you your taxi has arrived and ask if you want the taxi to wait - I like this.
They state that all their cabs have credit card machines but I think it is worth telling the dispatcher that you plan to pay with credit card just in case one car has a broken machine or something. As was also stated in another review, the dispatch number is 404-351-1111 - call this number to get your taxi.
I play favorites when it comes to cab companies.
Atlanta's nowhere near the level of New York, where the streets are painted in yellow and black cabs awaiting your hail, so I like Checker enough to program into my cell - they've always come for pickup in a reasonable amount of time and have my previous pickup locations saved.
If you'd like to charge it, be sure to request a car with a credit card machine, and they have vans for groups, too. Drivers vary just like any other city - but you could get an entertaining story from the cabbie, and there's also the really cool female driver with the afro.
Whether you need a cab to be your ride home after a debaucherous night out, or just for a more innocent trip to the airport, check out the Checker. The business listing is their office, but the dispatch number you need is 404-351-1111.
