Yellow Cab

Okay so this is my first review on Unilocal,and to be honest I came here in a search to find out how/​where to complain about a specific driver. I saw how low the rating is for Yellow and decided to write my own experience (not the experience I had this morning which was awful, but about my opinion of Yellow Cab overall). I’m in National City and most of my taxi trips have been in this area. Usually I have friendly (or at least comfortably quiet) drivers who drive nice, well-​maintained Priuses. There was a point in time where I called a cab 2 – 3 times a month because I had missed my bus to Euclid trolley station, and one of these times I was super late and asked the driver if he could possibly make it to Euclid in x amount of time and he managed to do it – he also allowed me to pay my fare while we were waiting at a stoplight so that I could get out quickly and run to catch the bus as soon as the taxi had pulled into the station.
Ordering a cab is pretty easy – I’m hardly ever on hold when I call, and the couple times that I had to hold, it wasn’t for very long at all. For my last two trips, I got text notifications letting me know that my driver was on the way, and you could reply with «where» at any time to get an update on how far away the driver was, or reply «stop» to stop receiving update messages. The first time I used this texting system was very helpful, but this morning it never told me how far away the driver was so I’m guessing it might depend on interaction from the driver himself, whether or not he chooses to be consistent with updating his status. I was able to call and have an operator tell me exactly where the driver was, though, and the operator was friendly and apologetic about the unusual wait time I was experiencing.
Unfortunately this morning I had a bad experience but in my case it was an anomaly. I like Yellow Cab enough to keep using them, and their number is especially easy to remember: 444‑4444 in both area codes. Also, in case anyone is wondering, the number to call for comments on your service is 619−239−8061. Definitely don’t call the MTS Taxi Administration service because they apparently don’t care if you have a bad experience with a driver.

Worst cab company EVER. I Waited forever for a cab. When the guy arrived he was very rude, he drove around in circles as the meter was running. Then kicked me out of his cab when I told him he was driving in circles

Don’t bother to try to reserve a cab to pick you up at a specific time. They won’t send one! I pre-​booked a pickup for an early morning flight. When the cab didn’t arrive on time, I called the dispatcher. They had my reservation on file, but she didn’t have a timeframe on when one would actually come to get me. I let her know that I needed to make a flight. She still couldn’t give me any estimation on when someone would be there and made zero efforts to help resolve my issue. I contacted Lyft and had a ride in a matter of minutes! I almost missed my flight due to this company being completely incompetent. I will never use them again and I highly suggest you NEVER book them!

Our driver to the airport was David, and he was a really cool dude. He wasn’t like most cab drivers I’ve had drive me in the past. (I’ve had some VERY weird ones, especially in Chicago.)
This guy picked us up right at our hotel room door, since I told him I didn’t have a car and we had a lot of luggage. He told us to just take a seat and then loaded the luggage from the room, including my one VERY HEAVY OVERSIZED AND OVERWEIGHT suitcase in the trunk and we were on our way to the airport.
David was cautious, courteous, polite, funny and talkative. I needed the talkative to wake me up, since we had such an early flight. Lol.
All in all, I’d probably call them again since their number is easy to remember: 444.4444.
He got us there (in traffic) in less than I expected, unloaded the suitcases for us, and we were on our way. Price was competitive with what Über quoted me. Plus, I didn’t have to mess around with downloading Über’s application and enter CCRD information.
A true gentleman! Thank you, David!
REMEMBER: CASH MAKES NO ENEMIES ;)

I don’t know why this place
has a less than three star
review because we actually
had a good experience.
Our cab drivers name was David.
The morning of our first
flight David came to pick us up
and take us to the airport.
He was one of the most unusual
cab driver I have met in a long
time. I usually don’t like small talk
in the morning but this time it was
a unique one. I think we were just
so happy to leave.
It woke me up and
I was rearing to go.
We didn’t have to wait a long
time for him to pick us up. I
was quite shocked at how fast
he got to the hotel.
David had no problem handling
our heavy luggage. It was a nice
gesture though because we had
to pull them inside the airport to
check them in.
He saved us a lot of energy
because we had two suitcases
to check in and one carry on.
After the heaviest one was
checked in we had a sigh of relief.
Deep Breath = *Phew*
and off to security check we go.
David made sure we got there in
time. He drove at the right speed
and not too fast where I have
seen many cab drivers do in the
past.
He unloaded our luggage when
we arrived at the United
Terminal for drop off and pick up.
We said our goodbyes and off we
were to start a new chapter of life.

I really don’t like negative reviews but here we go.
I will never take another yellow cab again. Earlier this year I left my wallet in the cab and I called and asked the driver if I could get it back, he wanted $ 50+ reward. I understand if you need to drive all the way to see me, I don’t mind paying for that but this was ridiculous. I got my wallet back but he also charged my card $ 100, which is fraud. I didn’t authorize anything.
Fast forward to now, you think i would have learned my lesson but no, alas, I took yellow cab again. When paying for my ride I had exact cash but nothing to tip so I asked to use the card machine. The driver had one but said it didn’t work (I don’t understand the point of having one of it doesn’t work, the kicker is that I requested a taxi with a card machine too) I ran the card but the driver said it didn’t go through, as no receipt printed. He said to run it again, I did and no receipt. Finally peeved, I tell the guy sorry I have exact cash, although I was roughly 60 cents short. Driver said no problem and took the cash. But guess what, those card swipes did go through. So on top of paying double the fare, the driver got a fat 50% tip.
Never again, just stick to lyft or über. The drivers still doing taxis are the worst.

I was forced by circumstance this morning to use Yellow, for the second and last time, if my life depended on it. The driver could NOT speak a WORD of English, was unfamiliar with using GPS. I could tell he was an illega immigrant. What usually costs me $ 6 tops on something like Über usually runs me $ 10 – 12 with Yellow, ended up costing me $ 27, the driver even took off with my change despite me knockong on his window. He would deliverately miss vital turns and end up readjusting he map, it went from 4 min ETA, tp 11 ETA, to 15 minutes ETA, it tooks us 33 minutes. I called customer service and I was shut down. Vehicle ID 725, driver ID ****3815 725. Use Über, they are more timely, cheap and professional.

I had a really bad experience with one of their drivers and when I called to issue a complaint my phone call was never returned.

0 stars if I could Abyssinia cab number 717 constantly cut us off, flipped us off and drove in both lanes down the street so we couldn’t get around him.

Unbelievably rude. unhelpful, uninformed.. if I am not sure of the address help me find it don’t roll your eyes and shake your head… besides my GPS knew exactly where it was. Über next time… drver. was Negus. .something

If I could give no stars i would! A lot of these taxi service company’s are complaining about the likes of Über and Lyft etc, but I never feel ripped off or taken advantage of when I use them, so today I tried a yellow cab again. Unfortunately I feel this way from my trip today — the driver did not run the meter and when I asked him he said don’t worry it’s $$ and I said well you need to run the meter. The fee he wanted to charge was nearly double which I pay using über. Once I complained his attitude changed and was very rude and even practically threw my shopping out of the trunk. Unfortunately this is not my first bad experience.
I will never use a yellow cab again if I can help it!

My last 2 experiences have been scary to say the least. Although the 2 drivers were polite and courteous, they are INSANE drivers!
Both nearly got into car accidents, and talking on their cell phones (2^nd one used an ear piece), but the 2^nd one was the worst. Speeding, tailgating, cutting off people and nearly causing a wreck. My anxiety is through the roof. I’m surprised neither gave me whiplash from their insane speeding up then suddenly braking.
I’ll stick to Über or Lyft from now on.

If i could give ZERO stars i would. Berehe T Tade cab driver charged me 10X what my ride should have costed. $ 60 from Mission beach to Pacific beach, and there is no way to get ahold of their customer service to find this guy and figure out what happened.
They rip you off!!! take a lyft or Über whenever possible since they email you the receipt for proof. There is nothing anyone can do without a reciept and thats how they know they can rip you off.
Rediculous

I have used Yellow Cab for years and they are still the only ones I trust to get me to the airport on time, especially in San Diego. Yellow Cab drivers know all the backstreet ways to get to the airport and upon my returning to SD, know now to get me back home. Last time I flew into SD, I took another cab company. His meter was not going as fast as the meter on the gas pump at the gas station, but it was not much slower than that. The taxi driver did not even know how to get to my house. I live on a major street. He was a tool and tried to rip me off. It usually cost $ 10 and I tips $ 10. Well this guy used up to all on the fare, so no tip for him! Haha!
I never have that problem with Yellow Cab. Professional, friendly and on time,

My last numerous experiences with Yellow Cab have not been positive. The cars were not in good condition, the drivers were terrible drivers, one of them driving directly on the little lane bumps the entire time, even though I reminded him that the goal was to drive in between the lane lines, and many of them having no idea where they were going — even to such popular destinations as the airport. Also, if you happen to live within 5 miles of the airport, and you pick up a cab to take you home, they are frequently visibly pissed off that they’re not taking you further; even though I can’t really help that my home is where I live and want to go.
Ever since I started using Über, I have to admit that it’s superior to Yellow Cab in every way, including quality of drivers, cars, driving ability, attitude, price, response time, and general experience. I only take Yellow Cab now when there’s no other alternative — such as from the airport, since Über is not currently permitted to pick up there, and even though I have to deal w/​my Yellow Cab driver sighing in disgust that I don’t live further away.

Rude and disrespectfull when I called. There is too many taxis out here I dont recomend this rude service. Start by firing the phone operater

So I was out on Coronado last night and am in the left hand turn lane. This cab pulls up along side of me on the RIGHT side [cab #32]. I’m watching traffic [expecting the cab to turn right], finally an opening comes along and I start to move out. The Yellow Cab guns his engine and turns LEFT from the RIGHT lane, directly in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and barely avoided an accident. Then the jack-​hole driver is driving in excess of 80 MPH in a 65 zone on state HWY 75 out on Coronado. I placed a call to their dispatch and the lade I talked to said that she would radio the driver, pull him to the side of the road and have a talk with him.
I don’t know what came of it but that was by far the worst display of driving I have seen in quite a while. I would not use this service as the drivers are obviously unsafe and have total disregard for the rules of the road.
Just call Über as we’ve never had a bad experience with them.

If you can get past the rudeness on the phone, you will experience the same disrespectful service on the ride. There are other better options.
Thank goodness for über!

Weekend before St. Patrick’s day, Yellow Cab of San Diego had people downtown handing out vouchers for $ 10 off a cab ride «for a safe ride home», valid on 3÷15÷14 & 3÷16÷14. Nice! So after enjoying some beverages I called for a cab using the number on the voucher (858−444−4444). Unfortunately, when the Yellow Cab picked me up the driver says nope I won’t honor that. I asked why and he says because I’ve never heard of this voucher. By then I was in the cab, so, though annoyed, I took it home, paying full price on arrival.
I called Yellow Cab again to find out what’s the deal and, wouldn’t you know it, the operator also supposedly had never heard of it. Anyone else get scammed by this? I assume (but please correct me if I’m wrong) the «Taxi Voucher» was issued by Yellow Cab of San Diego, as it shows their Kurtz St. address, name, 858 number above, and also 1−800-TAXICAB, which is them.
I tried Über the next time. Car was clean, driver was friendly, arrived to pick me up in minutes, price was good, and no fake vouchers that I know of (in fact they honored their $ 25 new customer credit). Great learning experience. Thankfully, these better options exist in these modern times.

I’ve taken Yellow Cabs in San Diego my entire life. I’ve known the phone number by heart since I was fifteen. That’s a damn long time ago. And I realize that cabs are not like, the pinnacle of cleanliness and that language barriers are often a problem, but seriously: Unique Cab 1013 was a hot mess.
I called ahead to order our cab for 5:30pm. The call center person was very professional and helpful. When the cab driver arrived at the apartment complex gate, he called and we said we’d be out momentarily, but then he started saying he w as somewhere else and couldn’t tell me where that was. Then he said he was here. Then he wasn’t. Then he just sat there going, «uhhh… uhhh…» and finally I said, «Sir, we’re coming out. Please just stay put.»
He was nice enough. But the cab was in yuck condition. There was loads of red glitter all over the backseat, since Halloween was 2 days before. But he had two days to vacuum that crap out! I spent my birthday night covered in some stranger-hoochie’s red glitter.
In the armrest/​door handle of the right passenger side there was a used Kleenex. And the piece de resistance… immediately behind the driver’s seat was what I can only describe as a «love stain». I half-​expected NPH was going to appear and suggest we go pick up some trim. (+5 if you get that.)
OH! And he was on his cell phone for half the ride — no bluetooth. And the credit card machine was mounted to the inside of the front passenger seat, so it was impossible to see the screen and swipe your card without crawling through the middle seats and into his lap or getting out and going around the front — and he refused to swipe it for you.
The cab ride was over $ 35 to go 7.1 miles in minimal traffic. That seemed a little high to me, but it’s been a while since I’ve taken a Yellow Cab. I can see now why businesses like Über and Lyft are making such an impact.
Hell, if either of their business models was simply «no jizz», they’d be one up on Yellow Cab.