The Q: Limo companies charge so much for 3 hours, however in my research I see that hiring the same limo for 5 hours non wedding related is so much cheaper. The companies admit they are the same limos. Would i get in trouble if i just said i wanted to rent limo for family related transportation instead of saying its for a wedding, so that i could save some money?
thanks for your help.
The A: This sounds almost as much like something for The Ethicist as it does a question for me. I see your point and know it to be true (to a point) but I don't know that I condone lying, period. One could say that the limo companies are unethical because they overcharge because it's a wedding, but in my experience, the service levels for wedding related use and non-wedding are very different.
As anecdotal evidence, a limo company we know to be very reliable, had been doing excellent work for us on wedding days. Truly outstanding. Limos were in great condition and clean, and the drivers were courteous, knew where they were going (seems a pre-requisite, but it sadly isn't) and reliable. One day we needed to book a limo for a Saturday night for one of our clients. Same time frame as a wedding, but it wasn't a wedding. We let them know it wasn't a wedding to save the client some money. The Limo was dirty, the driver was CRAZY- got lost and never bothered going to pick our client up after starting an argument with her about directions.
Needless to say, we stopped working with that company, BUT it also showed me something about saying that something is for a wedding: it generally inspires vendors to put their best foot forward. Sometimes that means the best/ oldest drivers are sent. Sometimes that means the car is checked and cleaned specifically for your event. Whatever it is, I think that you don't just pay a limo company for a car that fits lots of bodies. You pay them to facillitate transportation on this important day. I find that tends to happen with more care when for a wedding event.