Deteriorating Car Service

Service deteriorating

I have been a regular first Taxify and then Bolt customer for a few years now. I lived in the Cape and now back in Durban. There are two things I write in this review. 1. State of motor vehicles I have regularly used your service and find that the vehicles are not up to scratch. I have noticed some cars with cracked windscreens. Others are not in a clean condition. On one occasion I used a car whose inside door handles were missing. The driver explained that his car was hijacked. I can empathise but why was the car on the road if it was not up to standard? There have been exceptions like yesterday where the car was in an immaculate condition. How is it possible that some owners keep their vehicles in a decent condition and others who do not and are allowed to be on the road?

2. Customer service While I have had great conversation with the drivers,hence I generally give them a five star rating. What is perturbing is that some do not go the extra mile. If there is luggage being carried they do not get out the car to open the boot. Some drivers receive calls and have conversations while driving. I feel that there is a lack of training in effective customer service given to drivers. As a passenger, it's as if I am having to take what I get. This behaviour is unacceptable.

3. Drivers cancelling the requested rides I have experienced this on three occasions. Last Friday the driver informed me that had he seen I was paying by card he would have cancelled the trip. This was revealing in that I wondered why this happened in the past. His reason was that Bolt takes long to pay for the trips to the owners so they prefer cash paying customers. My sister informed me that when paying by cash there was a discrepancy between what was estimated and what the driver charged. The drivers seem to cancel the ride under the guise of saving data, and then charge a higher fair is charged with the customer not having a record to dispute the claim.

4. Vehicle registrations or drivers not matching with information received on the app Vehicle registrations or drivers not matching with information received on the app. This situation has happened more than once. I find myself waiting for the car with the specified registration. What appeared was a car with a different registration or driver. In our current climate in SA, this is a security break with potential harmful consequences - more so for women. I do not know if someone will look into these points, but if so it will sure go a long way in improving the service.