Smith's for Airports

[Kevin's girl]

We used Smith's For Airports for our entire trip last month. We had five transfers in total. The price was more than what others had quoted, but we were going to a town post cruise that the other companies would not go. We booked Heathrow to downtown London, London to Southhampton, Southampton to Thornbury post cruise, Thornbury back to London, and finally London to Heathrow. Smith's was even better than we hoped. Each driver arrived ahead of schedule, was polite and professional. One had even looked up our hotel and was telling us about the hotel's special guest features. We will be returning to England and will be very happy to book with Smith's every time, no doubt, now worries.

 

Smith's For Airports is well worth every penny spent.

[beechfor]

Does anyone have the website for 24/7 Transport?

[Coastalbreezes]

Question: do you tip your driver or is it included in the fare? If yes, I assume in pounds. Can anyone please tell me how much tip you would give for an LHR to Southampton ride?

 

Thanks,

Tracy

[kelmac]

Question: do you tip your driver or is it included in the fare? If yes, I assume in pounds. Can anyone please tell me how much tip you would give for an LHR to Southampton ride?

 

Thanks,

Tracy

 

Hi Tracy,

 

The standard answer is to "round up" the fare -- 76£ would become 80£; Higher if the driver helps with luggage. Of course, being from the USA, we always feel the need to bump it up a little more. Our rides were in the 78£ range and we gave the driver 90£.

 

I often wonder if the UK Drivers prefer Americans for that reason? In the US, we don't usually get the level of "professionalism" from taxi drivers and car service drivers, as you experience in the UK. In the UK, it's a well respected occupation -- in the US it's a low level job, with many immigrants filling that niche.

 

A NYC taxi driver would go nuts if you gave them $3 extra for a $37 ride. Here is the way an American would handle a $37 taxi ride. Mentally we would double 37 -- 75ish and the tip would be rounded up from 7.50 to an $8.00 tip. Most Americans would hand over $45, or even more if the driver was personable and helped with the luggage.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Coastalbreezes]

Thanks for the quick response, Kel -- much appreciated!

 

Tracy

[John Bull]

Hi Tracy,

 

The standard answer is to "round up" the fare -- 76£ would become 80£; Higher if the driver helps with luggage. Of course, being from the USA, we always feel the need to bump it up a little more. Our rides were in the 78£ range and we gave the driver 90£.

 

I often wonder if the UK Drivers prefer Americans for that reason?

Kel:)

 

Hi Kel,

So with your example you're saying £4 to £12

 

Which pretty-well puts you on the money :)

'Cos the average Brit would make it £5 or mebbe £10, depending on the service and their own personal generosity.

 

And yes, most folk in any service industry prefer Americans because the tips tend to be higher.

So if you plan to tip at the bottom of the scale, to avoid disappointing the driver you need to practice a cockney accent. "Nice one, my son. Here's a couple of quid on me, my old China." :D

 

JB :)

Edited July 13, 2015 by John Bull

[kelmac]

Hi Kel,

So with your example you're saying £4 to £12

 

Which pretty-well puts you on the money :)

'Cos the average Brit would make it £5 or mebbe £10, depending on the service and their own personal generosity.

 

And yes, most folk in any service industry prefer Americans because the tips tend to be higher.

So if you plan to tip at the bottom of the scale, to avoid disappointing the driver you need to practice a cockney accent. "Nice one, my son. Here's a couple of quid on me, my old China." :D

 

JB :)

 

LOL,

 

Good one JB!

[Coastalbreezes]

Got quotes this morning from both Smiths and 247 and was shocked that 247 was twice the price of Smiths so of course I went with Smiths.

 

Tracy

[oceandream]

When would you book a transfer from London to Southampton for a cruise in early September? Do we need to reserve it now? Many thanks

[bonfon]

We used Smiths for Airports to go from Central London to Southampton and again had them pick us up from Southampton back to Heathrow. I have never had such professional gentlemen. They were prompt and their prices were very reasonable. 88GBP from Southampton to Heathrow. That was for 4 people, lots of luggage and a nice large vehicle. I would recommend them to anyone.

[Keith1010]

When would you book a transfer from London to Southampton for a cruise in early September? Do we need to reserve it now? Many thanks

 

I would indeed book it now.

 

We used Smith's.

 

Positive was the price.

 

Con was the size of the vehicle. We fit and so did the luggage but I never would have guessed it when he pulled up.

 

Also, if you book with them followup to be sure you are confirmed and check with them again shortly before the trip.

 

Keith

[John Bull]

When would you book a transfer from London to Southampton for a cruise in early September? Do we need to reserve it now? Many thanks

 

For a preferred choice (eg Smith's), yes - book now.

 

JB :)

[Princess18]

Another vote for Smith's. Based on comments on Cruise Critic, we emailed them for a quote, their responses were always very prompt and thorough. Everything was handled easily via emails, when we made our reservation they provided a confirmation number in the email, and the driver was waiting for us with a sign with our name when we exited London Heathrow customs area. The vehicle easily accommodated our luggage and four adults, and the price was competitive. We used Smith's based on their quick responses to our emailed questions, we would definitely use them again.

[floridababa]

They are reliable, courteous and dependable.

Took them 2 years ago from Heathrow to Southampton and then the return trip. Sent them an email and got a quote. Was surprised they did not ask for a deposit. You can trust them. :)

[pmjnh]

Got quotes this morning from both Smiths and 247 and was shocked that 247 was twice the price of Smiths so of course I went with Smiths.

 

Tracy

 

I am shocked as well as we just used 247 in July and our price was a LOT lower than Smith's!

[Solara]

 

24/7 and Just Airports and Simply airports are probably the three busiest Heathrow to central London operators, and they compete on price in a very competitive market.

Because of that volume they can switch jobs around to cope with delays - but it doesn't always work out, so all get a proportion of unhappy customers amongst the many many satisfied ones. A matter of luck, so after checking for add-ons such as cc charge, waiting time terms, etc I'd be inclined to choose the cheapest of those established operators.

 

JB :)

Which 24/7 are you referring to there's more than one operator in London with 24 7 so I would like to know the correct website?

 

Thanks

 

[Grafton44044]

My first post on C. Critic. I have to recommend Smiths For Airports. We needed a car to take us from Heathrow to Southampton very late at night. Our flight was delayed 4 times and our pilot actually ignored Heathrow's curfew, making us arrive after midnight. I kept in touch with Smiths via emails and to our delight, Steve, our driver from Smiths was there waiting for us. He was fantastic! An excellent driver, a terrific conversationalist and he calmed our nerves and made our first taste of England an excellent one. If we ever need a car in England again, I will without hesitation contact Smiths and if possible, ask for Steve as our driver. I can't recommend them enough!

[bigbinfl]

They are reliable, courteous and dependable.

Took them 2 years ago from Heathrow to Southampton and then the return trip. Sent them an email and got a quote. Was surprised they did not ask for a deposit. You can trust them. :)

 

Ditto. We used them last year from Heathrow to Southampton, return. Both drivers represented there company extremely well. Drivers were on time, and handled luggage. A lot of it. Both were very happy to be employees of Smith and their attitude and willingness to make our trip pleasant was quite evident. Neither expected tip. Ride was so plesant we did tip well.

[jfgdbg]

We used Smiths this past August from central London to Southampton. I would certainly recommend them.

[jeno]

We had booked with Smiths for our transfer from LHR to Beaulieu. I felt the cost was quite high, but knew they were well recommended.

Somewhere on Cruise Critic I saw a post about English Rose Collections. We used them today and our driver,Andy, was fantastic. Communication with office was also very good and the price was much lower.

I'm sure they are both great and you can't go wrong with either, but just wanted to put out another name for people to contact.

[Turtles06]

We've just returned from a westbound TA, and used Smith's for our transfer from London to Southampton. They were terrific, and their great reputation on here is well-justified. It was easy to set things up with them via email, and they always replied promptly to any question. The driver was on time, and he was also incredibly engaging and personable, and we wound up having a wonderful couple of hours talking with him in the car en route, an added bonus.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to use Smith's again.

[flamomo]

We will be spending a couple of post cruise nights at the Doubletree Westminster in a few months and will need to pre-book transport from the hotel to Heathrow. I had been considering Smiths until I read this thread, and now I am a bit confused by all the possibles.

 

So, John, my question for you is .... could you please name a couple of competitively priced London taxi companies that YOU would feel comfortable using for a trip such as that one.

[Underwatr]

My understanding is that Smiths is Soton-based so they may not be the best choice for Westminster to Heathrow.

Edited November 5, 2015 by Underwatr

[John Bull]

We will be spending a couple of post cruise nights at the Doubletree Westminster in a few months and will need to pre-book transport from the hotel to Heathrow. I had been considering Smiths until I read this thread, and now I am a bit confused by all the possibles.

 

So, John, my question for you is .... could you please name a couple of competitively priced London taxi companies that YOU would feel comfortable using for a trip such as that one.

 

We use local taxi operators such as Smiths from our home near Southampton to London's airports, but have never had need of a private transfer between central London and those airports , so sorry but can't help.

 

I can only suggest that you check reputations of the major airport-based operators such as Simply Airports on TripAdvisor etc (don't expect anything like 100% satisfaction for any of them) and choose the cheapest of the better ones. Should be around £40.

Going from hotel to airport there should be no add-ons, except perhaps a credit card surcharge.

 

Or wait til you're in London and ask Doubletree Westminster to book a private-hire taxi when you're there - ask the price at the same time.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cost was a little higher than you can get on the 'net, but the hotel has its own reputation to consider so they won't deal with sub-standard operators or rip-off merchants. Likewise, an operator used by a hotel will be keen to maintain a good service for them rather than risk losing their business.

 

But don't be tempted to simply hail a black cab. They're metered, and altho that's fine for a little two-mile hop in the city the cost of a 15-mile drive to Heathrow will be heavy - possibly double, perhaps even more if traffic is snarled-up.

 

Sorry I can't come up with specific recommendations.

 

JB :)

Edited November 5, 2015 by John Bull

[surebeatssailing]

We used Simply Airports in August 2015 with pickup from Doubletree Westminster & transport to LHR. Cost was 40 or 41 GPB.

Arranged transport on their website.

Driver came into the hotel lobby as stated & helped with our luggage.

Very efficient. Lots of traffic backups & driver seemed to know every detour to get us to the airport promptly.