*TRIP REPORT* Very interesting "welcome" to Negril for first-timers...

[Lola]

Hi CDN_79, I had thought about going to Jungle last Thursday to meet you, but had the chance to visit another town for a few days so guess where I went ☺ Its good to hear you had a great vacation despite the confusing start (no one wants to face that!)

HEY ~ I have a quick question for clarification of your OP: Was the hotel-arranged driver who showed up at the airport, the same person as your "mom's friend's husband's brother"?

I have a response to contribute but it changes depending on the answer to my question.

THANKS!

[gerryg123]

IMO, you should also name the hotel.

I won't give it away, but the hotel is not a particularly well-known property .... If you do a search and press a few buttons, you can figure it out.

[cdn_79]

Hi CDN_79, I had thought about going to Jungle last Thursday to meet you, but had the chance to visit another town for a few days so guess where I went ☺ Its good to hear you had a great vacation despite the confusing start (no one wants to face that!)

HEY ~ I have a quick question for clarification of your OP: Was the hotel-arranged driver who showed up at the airport, the same person as your "mom's friend's husband's brother"?

I have a response to contribute but it changes depending on the answer to my question.

THANKS!

Hi Lola, I ended up going to the Jungle and having a good time, met some nice people, it was cool
As for your question, no it is not the same driver. My mom's friend and her husband are the ones who recommended the place to us, thats where they stay for vacation when they are here...he (the husband) is Jamaican and they visit his family in Mo Bay then go to Negril for vacation. His brother, who we originally thought we would use, we found out lives in Ocho so we didn't want to ask him to do the Mo-Bay to Negril trip as we thought it would be too far to make it worth his while. My dad used him last year for a day trip when he was in Mo Bay with his friend. So no, not the same guy at all...that would have made perhaps a tiny bit of sense, as my mom had mentioned to the owner on the phone that we would likely be using him.

[cdn_79]

I won't give it away, but the hotel is not a particularly well-known property .... If you do a search and press a few buttons, you can figure it out.

Thats why I didn't feel the need to name the property, particularly since I was still in Negril when that was written. I figured if someone really wanted to know they could look at my previous posts, there aren't too many to go through as I only signed up here when we booked our trip.

[Lola]

Thanks CDN_79. I'm so glad I asked before I responded, lol! The hotel was wrong to send an un-requested and un-confirmed pickup driver, especially when they were told you might use a specific somebody. Our first stay in Negril, I think the hotel asked our flight information too, and they had no hand in our transportation.

[Sophie2012]

I'm so nosy and such a lurker that I had to go back and look through your posts to see where you were staying Sorry that all happened. I will be in Negril my first time in June and would hate to have things start out that way.

[beccajean_ca]

Cdn sorry to hear about your situation.Glad you had fun though after that..nothing like having a crappy time when your on vacation.

[SweetSue]

Thats why I didn't feel the need to name the property, particularly since I was still in Negril when that was written. I figured if someone really wanted to know they could look at my previous posts, there aren't too many to go through as I only signed up here when we booked our trip.

You did the right thing. A lady I am friendly with who has a guest cottage in Negril posted something a shade negative about one of the beach bars. It was not a horrible thing, just an account of less than stellar treatment. She was there at that place again (with guests from US) about a week later and they BANNED her from the property. Which was probably not a good move on their part either. But my point was that I understand you not wanting to expose yourself to any negative back wash, especially while still in Negril.

Peace.

[BrenJaLee]

Wow, can't believe they would ban her from the property. As a person who has worked in marketing and public relations for 20 years, they did the absolute worst thing they could possibly do. Now they've alienated a customer, not to mention the people she could recommend to the place and perhaps a whole host more people that will hear about it on the internet. Instead, they should have welcomed her with open arms and proved to her that her previous experience was not the norm. They could have turned her around into a appreciative customer and one that could send her even more customers. That's how you do business. It never ceases to amaze me how people in Jamaica just simply don't seem to understand what customer service is. And especially how simple it is to turn an unsatisfied customer into a satisfied one. In this day and age of the internet when the good and bad is widely reported, you'd think places would be a little more concerned with how to have more good stories reported than bad.

[Rasta Stan]

Glad your trip turned in to a good one after all. I wish you'd told me of your troubles when we met at the Canoe.
look forward to your trip report.