Since January I have been using Greyhound Bus to commute back and forth from Orlando to Tampa. I have seen buses running late, skip stops and employees lying to cover up mistakes. I purchase most of my tickets a week in advance to take advantage of the companion fare. Buy one ticket and companion rides free. I pick up my daughter in Tampa on Friday and return her on Sunday. Bus is suppose to leave at noon and arrive in Tampa around 3pm, then a bus leaves from Tampa back to Orlando at 3:30pm arriving in Orlando around 5pm.in over 30 of these trips I have made, the bus was on time twice. How it usually goes. The 12:00 bus leaves between 12:30pm and 1pm as late as 3pm. Arrives in Tampa between 4pm and 5pm. Same goes for the same schedule on Sunday. Once you miss the 3:30pm bus back to Orlando, next bus leaves at 5pm.in these 30ish trips on the bus, 5pm bus was full three times leaving no choice but to take the 9:30pm if its on time arriving in Orlando at 11:30pm if its on time. Making it an 8 hour round trip. I once went to the bus station to pick up a friend. He said that he will catch the 3:15 bus to Orlando from Tampa arriving in Orlando at 5:30pm. I get to the station at 5:30pm waiting for the bus. I ask the women at the counter if the 5:30pm bus from Tampa had arrived yet. She replied no. Ok good, I didnt miss it. 6:30pm rolls around and no bus. I ask the women at the counter about the 5:30pm bus from Tampa, She replied that bus is running an hour and fifteen minutes late. I replied, ok so it should be here in about 15 minutes then, she replies yes. 7pm no bus. I walk out to the docking area and ask a driver about the 5:30pm bus from Tampa, he replies. Yeah that bus was already here. Im thinking, well if it was already here then my friend would be here waiting for me. I tell the driver that the lady in at the counter said the bus was running an hour and fifteen minutes late and that it was 2 hours past. He replies that bus was here about an hour ago. I said ok and walked back inside, thinking I been here for two hours and no bus. I figure the next bus from Tampa is due at 7:30 and wait patiently. 8pm no bus from Tampa. I start to wonder what is going on. I walk out to the dock and over to the dispatcher and ask about the 3:30pm bus from Tampa. He replies "That bus was cancelled" I said "what" he says That bus was cancelled, next bus is due in at 11:30pm. I said your kidding me, and proceed to tell him that I have been sitting in the lobby since 3:30pm asked the lady at the counter and she said the bus was running an hour and fifteen minutes late, I ask the driver on the dock he says the bus already came, and your telling me the bus was cancelled. Now im mad. He calls barney five over (security gaurd) has me escorted back into the lobby area. I go to the counter and ask the women why she told me the bus was gonna be an hour and fifteen minutes late and the driver said the bus was here, when the dispatcher told me the bus was canceled. She then denys telling me this and yells for the security gaurd. Security gaurd was about the nicest most honest person I met to this point. I discussed the issue with him and he fully agreed and claimed he sees this happen all the time there. I then request a phone number of the person in charge or the main Greyhound office. The lady gives me a number and I call it. I explain the situation that I have been waiting for a friend for five and a half hours (its going on 9pm now and no bus) and I need some explaination. I have my cell phone on me and not even a call from my friend. Which leads me to believe he is in route or at a bus station with no change for a pay phone. The person I spoke with starts looking up the busses on the computer and tells me, yeah I see here that the 3:30 bus had arrived in Orlando at 4pm. I said thats impossible, because I was there at 3:30pm and no busses from Tampa had arrived. He then tells me hold on a second, yeah there is something funny about this. I said whats that. He replied, its showing a bus arrived there at 4pm, but there was no passengers on it. Then he explained that the only information he had was the information sent by each bus depot. Then he said that the next bus was due to arrive at 11:30pm. I told him thank you for your time, but its not getting me the information I need. 11:30pm no bus, 1am hey look its a bus from Tampa, yeah my friend is finaly here. My friend tells me that from what he understood that the bus was cancelled and that the next bus never left Tampa Until Midnight. I bight my tongue every time I have to use the Greyhound bus lines in Orlando. If you try to talk to anyone about the poor service in Orlando or Tampa, you will get most like get a we don't care attitude. I order my tickets online as I said before, The first time I ordered tickets, using my bank card and my name. I did'nt realize you needed a confirmation number from the time of purchase. I went to get my tickets at the Orlando bus station that I had purchased online. I step up to the counter after waiting in line for 45 minutes, bus leaving in fifteen minutes (or suppose to be) I ask for tickets and she replied, I need your confirmation number. I didnt have one, can you look up my name or bank card number. No she replied, I cant do anything without the confirmation number. I replied, are you serious. I ordered the tickets under my name with my bank card. How can I get the confirmation number. She gives me a number to call and some papers to fill out. I thought you gotta be kidding me, my bus is leaving in 10 minutes I need a ticket now, she says, you will have to buy one, I said sure, one way or the other I have to be on this bus, because my daughter will be waiting for me. So I break out the bank card and buy another ticket. Bus was running late, lucky for me or I would of missed it. I get on the bus and immediatly call the 800 number in search of my purchased online tickets.in a matter of 5 minutes I had the confirmation number needed to pick up my tickets. I thought, I cannot believe this lady left me hanging to buy another ticket and spent 20 minutes arguing with me about it and didnt even take 5 minutes to call and get this confirmation number. I get to Tampa and give them the number at the counter and get my tickets. I tell them what happened and they replied, that ticket was an advanced purchase and not refundable. Ok you mean I just paid for the same ticket twice. His reply. Yep thank you for choosing Greyhound. What a cocky SOB. Thats only a few instances that I have had with Greyhound Bus. God bless you all.
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