Cardinal Cab

The cab driver was rude and over charged. The cab fare to downtown was $ 22. It was $ 70 to get home. He said he was being a nice guy. The cab driver called the cops because he said I didn’t pay my fare (we did). I called the company and they admitted they over charge and yelled at me. I took pictures of the cab. The cab driver told the police that he waited 20 minutes because I wouldn’t pay my fare. The police told me to contact the better business bureau and to take über from now on.

called on a saturday night for a pickup. i had to call the dispatcher several times and she kept saying the driver was ten minutes away. eventually she gave me the driver’s number. he also told me he was a few minutes away, but he never showed and eventually ignored my calls. it got so late that it wasn’t even worth going out anymore. the dispatcher was nice enough to offer me a complimentary ride the next time i called, but it isnt even worth trying to use them again.

I called early this morning, and I was told that they would be there in 30 minutes. They never called or showed! I was totally stranded.

Called early in the day for a pick-​up. They didn’t show on time so I called, they said they will be there in 15min. — 45 min later they finally showed up. This after 4 more calls. They can driver was lost. I will never use them again.

The guy I had and keep having every morning for the can is excellent. I didn’t have money for one time and he let me go free for $ 10.00 that day. The next day which is today he only charged me $ 8.25 from YESTERDAY BECAUSE I OFFERED. The. He only charged me. $ 7.25 today lower than normal rate. Cardinal Cab is on time and they are friendly people. They are my first on my contact list and even in time crunches they get me on time. I LUV CARDINAL CAB.

There is usually a 15 – 30 minute wait for a cab to arrive, but I usually plan my trip with this in mind. The most frustrating thing is the lies I get from dispatch or the cab operator when inquiring where a missing cab is (45+ minutes late)…they are always «5 minutes» away (In reality, almost always another 15 minutes). In addition, what is this new additional $ 5 fee if your pick up and drop off spots are both in Cary? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in a while.

Wow, can some of these comments get a little more douchy and racist, please?
Cardinal isn’t the best, but they’re far from the worst. Their drivers are all pretty nice folks, and I’ve certainly never had a problem with understanding or being understood by them. There’s one dispatcher who is pretty rude and surly, and they can be slow sometimes. But otherwise? I’ve never had a problem with them.

These guys cannot or will not comprehend English… go somewhere else and let this west african syndicate fold.

Recently I called upon Cardinal Cab for a pick-​up. The driver was soon sitting outside a neighbor’s house but didn’t call to announce his arrival. I called to inquire where he was, and that’s how I found out he was already there. Later in the evening I called dispatch and wasn’t informed of the approximate wait time, basically just told a guy would be there as soon as he gets there. I called back to try to cancel the cab after over 20 minutes had gone by with no sign of a cab, since I had already found other means home and I didn’t want to disrupt their flow. I proceeded to get two more calls from them looking for me, wondering where I could be found. Contrast this to when I called Green Cab and my driver immediately called me to let me know EXACTLY where he was and how soon he would be arriving. I don’t think I am willing to try to rely on the Cardinal Cab dispatcher again.

We called for a cab at a residence 1.4 miles from a downtown hotel. The driver proceeded to take us on a 4+ mile jaunt. Wish we’d walked.

Cardinal cab gets NO stars in my opinion but Unilocal is making me put at least one. I’ve used them many times and there has never been one good example of good customer service. Phone reps are rude and cannot spell and all of the drivers that I’ve had are fresh off the boat from Nigera or somewhere, cannot speak English, cannot use gps and don’t know anything about Raleigh. Oh and the cars are all junkers too! Epic fail! Just the smallest competition will hopefully shut them down!

So I’ve ridden with them many times now and all of my rides have been pleasant, the drivers are very friendly and the cabs are clean and comfortable, however I’m not big on the van, they ask which way you want them to go to your destination which is nice and the rates are consistent.
Edit:

I sent this email to Cardinal Cab within a couple hours of the events; Cardinal Cab has not responded in 10 days.
I feel that it is my obligation to share the story and make it as public as possible.
Hello,
I am writing in regards to an event that occurred on 2÷25÷2010 at approximately 6:15pm with a Cardinal Cab (License Plate TA-​****) driver.
1. After providing the driver with our destination address, he asked us where it was located; we explained that it was near Poole road. (A central and very long road)
2. After driving for 5 – 10 minutes, he asked if he should turn left or right on Poole road; agitated, I explained that this is his responsibility and he should use the GPS to avoid confusion and minimize our travel cost. (We recently moved to North Carolina and do not know our way around)
3. The driver promptly told us that he would drop us off (in the middle of the street) and that we should pay for the distance thus far.
4. We refused payment and refused to leave the car in the middle of nowhere in 35 degrees weather.
5. He parked the car at some random driveway and insisted again that we leave the car. He kept insisting that he did not have to do anything and that we should leave the vehicle.
6. After refusing a second time, I promptly called Cardinal Cab and explained the gravity of the situation.
7. While I was on the phone with Cardinal Cab, the driver started yelling with frustration and kept insisting that he would take us back to Walgreens (our pick-​up location) but would not take us to our destination.
8. I insisted that he lower his voice and continued to complain to the Cardinal Cab operator. At this time, my girlfriend was extremely scared and I was filled with anxiety.
9. After talking to the operator, the operator called the driver in an attempt to mediate the situation. The driver would not listen to the operator and continued to drive us back to the pick-​up location. The driver insisted that we leave the car, otherwise, he would call police so that we would be removed by force.
10. I mentioned that I would report this to the Better Business Bureau; he laughed and said that this was too small for him
11. I mentioned that he could get fired for this; he laughed as if Cardinal Cab had no authority.
12. I asked for his driver identification number, he refused.
13. I told him that I need to take his license plate; he agreed (in an attempt to get us out of the car).
14. I went behind the car to take a picture of his license plate with my phone; he backed up his car in a threatening manner (as if he was going to run me over). He kept laughing the entire time.
I like to think that this was an isolated incident with an isolated driver; Cardinal Cab was prompt to send a second driver to take us to our destination.
I am disturbed by these events and request, in writing, the following:
1. An apology
2. A course of action that will be taken with this particular driver
3. Some assurance that this driver will never come to the destination address that was provided.
Thank you.

Cardinal Cab is a love-​hate relationship for me. They’re certainly not perfect but I’m not sure if there’s anything better in the Raleigh area for cabs. So here’s how tonight’s conversation goes:
(Ron gets in cab)
Cab driver: You didn’t pick up the phone…
Ron: Geesh, I just got out of work, my cellphone was in silent mode. I picked up the second call a minute later…
Cab driver: So how do you want to drive to your place?
Ron: (Noticing the lack of GPS) Take a right onto Western, blah blah…
Cab driver: So do you have any small change? I only have a $ 20
Ron: Dude, are you kidding me? You’re a cab driver. Don’t you have any change?!?
Now I like to think of myself as pretty easy-​going but here we’ve got a cab driver that’s trying to make me feel guilty about not picking up the phone, needs to ask me for directions and wants change (or a $ 20 bill) from me. Are you joking? What happened to customer service? C’mon now. In the end, Cardinal Cab may get it done but just barely. There have to be better cab options in the area. Is this really the best you can do? Argh!

I called Cardinal Cab the night before to schedule an early morning pickup. 6:15. no show, so I call. The phone rings about a hundred times, finally the surly dispatcher puts me on hold for literally 5 minutes. I call back again at 6:20… surly guy says «cab will be there in 5 minutes». 6:35 — no cab. 6:40 finally, I see lights at the end of the street, going running in the rain, find a cab outside the wrong address.
The cab was clean, the driver was nice and apologetic (he was not the original driver, but sent after I called the third time), and he was a safe and cautious driver on a rainy morning. But the dispatcher was a serious jerk. I would not rely on Cardinal Cab if you want to be anyplace on time.

I’ve got the number saved in my cell phone for those nights when I’ve had one too many. Cardinal has always been reliable and relatively fast when I need them. Raleigh as a city is severely lacking in public transportation as of yet, so it’s nice to have a good way to get home if you need one.
Another plus is that the cabs are cleaner than some of the other taxi services in the area, which can be hit or miss and have older, dingier cabs. Every time I’ve called Cardinal I’ve gotten a fairly new and clean vehicle. As far as prices go, cabs all have the same price (regulated by the city) so wouldn’t you want to ride in a clean cab?
Also, remember to tip your driver!