Ola Cabs — Poor service, apathetic to Customers

I had prebooked a sedan on 7 February 15 for 1245 hrs. The booking was confirmed vide ref noCRN37385506. On enquiry 25 kts before scheduled departure, I am informed that the driver details would be sent shortly. This was followed by a message saying that the taxi would be delayed by upto 30 mts from the confirmed time due traffic. The drivers details were given.On contacting him, I am told that he is about ten km away and that he would be on his way soon.At 1245 hrs, I called him again and he told me he was stuck in traffic and would take another thirty minutes. As the appointment was an important one, I had to cancel the booking and take my personal car . The driver seemed relieved at the cancellation. I took the same route the driver said was jammed and there was minimal traffic. What was told to me was a lie and my cancellation would have been recorded as attributable to traffic and resolved as unavoidable! Ola has caused me a lot of avoidable discomfort by their careless approach to service. On complaining to them, I got a meaningless apology with a credit note for Rs 300 to my Ola account. But the point really is that they are irresponsible in the first place accepting commitments they cannot fulfill as they do not have control of the factors involved in the service they undertake to provide. Ola has a long way to go in order to be a reliable service provider. Till that time, they will be a source of harassment to gullible customers who believe they are opting for dependable service. Regards, Ramesh