Ratt vs Julie Taxi
 

I have seen many threads that contain info on both of these services but I think it would be helpful to have a thread that contains info for both of these services.

Total cost of each for 1/2 day and also for full day?

Comfort of car?

Timeliness? Were they on time/dependable?

Sense of humor?

Value of information given?

Little extras provided?

Suggestions on "off the beaten path" things to do (meaning, will they suggest things)?

What do they do while you are dining/exploring?

Good suggestions on restaurants?

Do they receive commissions from store owners when they bring shoppers by?

I have read the answers to some of these questions but posted them so this info can all be on one thread.

Cheers!

I used Julie Taxi on my latest trip. Emma was our driver. I don't remember the exact price, I think it was 300 baht per hour (for the Volvo), it's less for the Toyota. (tolls are always extra) The Volvo was, of course, very comfortable.

She was on time, and she called ahead to our (difficult to find) destinations and got instructions.

I employed Emma as a driver to get us to and from the Prasart and to and from an antiques store (Amantee) out by the airport. I didn't want or ask for suggestions on places to go or places to eat.

ratt prefers to book whole days...she has changed her pricing structure as she had several bad experiences with people deciding to cancel at noon or 1PM when they were scheduled for a whole day and thus she lost 1/2 her earnings for that day...understandable...she also probably turned away other people...

her fare used to be 225 B per hour in town but i think she now charges slightly more....outside of town she adds a 1B per kilometer for mileage...

she has tons of suggestions and is always offering things based on your questions and expressions....

she was about 3 minutes late for our pick-up....not a problem....she followed up with a gift at our hotel of some blank CD's after she heard me talking to my wife about them....

i can't imagine not liking her service...

i have read one or two service problems in the past for her...

her toyota corolla is a regular yellow and green taxi....it is comfortable and she always has cold water in the trunk....

she bends over backwards to assist you in every way....she also has a mercedes van available which her husband drives....it costs more of course but holds more than the 2-3 people that the toyota holds...

she now has associates who assist her...differing levels of experience and talent and language skills i believe....i have no experience with them...
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her sister poon services clients in chiang mai through rat's address....she gets very very good marks from fodorites...i know she has use of an older mercedes...she will travel with you to the north if you like (golden triangle)...

i think that you would be very happy with either julie or rat!!!

Using them both in next two weeks. Will let you know.

Gpanda, looking forward to your report!

euro---you are the only one who is...

And why is that, Bob?

Euro - because Bob is joking - just another incidence of ongoing banter between Bob and Andy (Gpanda) that keeps this forum lively.

I have not used Julie but I will comment on Ratt.
Price- you can see her website.

Comfort of car -- find for 2 or 3 people. No more.

Timeliness -- she was always on time and enormously dependable. What I really loved was that she would find us in temple complexes -- she'd show up with a water or umbrella. Also liked that she gave us a cell phone to call her when we were ready to leave a place or if we needed her for any reason.

Great sense of humor

She's not a guide but she gave a huge amount of information.

Extras-- water, umbrella, cold towels plus a willingness to show us something unique or off the beaten path. She also researched places i wanted to go to (like the dog spa) and even checked it out so she could tell me if it was worth going to.

She would often go and park her car and then come to meet us. If we dined at a cheap restaurant she might join us -- if not she would go off somewhere and come back -- always long before we were ready to leave.

We did no shopping with her except at the JT outlet. She made no attempt to take us to any stores.

craig is correct....i love to pull andy's leg....neither of us has a good sense of humor....

We used Ratt for a day and half in Bangkok last month and absolutely loved working with her:

1) She was on time waiting in the lobby of our hotel both days

2) She drives a Corolla, small but clean, cool and comfortable and she always has cold water bottles ready to go

3) She found us in the temples - gave us a cell phone so she could locate us easily

4) She was really fun with a great sense of humor and I always got the sense she wanted us to have a good time and enjoy her beloved city

5) Took us places that were interesting that we might otherwise not have found - but only after asking us first if we were interested

6) Made sure we got to see everything we wanted at the optimal times of day

7) She waited while we had lunch at Jim Thompson house, but joined us on the boat at the floating market

8) Provided great conversation on the long drive to the floating market and gave us a good perspective on local Thai life

I would highly recommend her to anyone visiting Bangkok

I don't think you can go wrong with either service. The advantage of Julie's taxi is that she has several drivers. We have had both Emma and Julie and were very satisfied both times.

ratt now has several drivers also...

We hired Ratt this past September and she was outstanding. She is a great human being who offers a great service

Just back from Thailand and will post a report but on your specific question, I would recommend Julie Taxi over Ratt. Our experience with Ratt was extremely negative. When we contact her from the States, she told us that she was not available but would have another driver to service us. In a phone conversation we had in Chiang Mai with her she told me that she would have her husband service us. At the airport a young man showed up (obviously not her husband) in a tiny Honda. When I called her she said there had been a sudden change of plans and she had not bothered to let us know through her sister Poon, who we were with in chiang Mai. The young man (who she charged us extra for because he "spoke English") could hardly speak English and had little idea about doing the things that guides are supposted to do. Ratt seems to get good reviews from people on Fodors but my suggestion is unless you are using her specifically, keep away. Although in light of my family's experience I would not use her or her company again. Since the young guide's car was too small to take us and luggage to airport on return to US, I asked Ratt by phone to send us another driver. First she tried to force a van on us although we just needed a larger car, when I agreed out of lack of alternative, she said that she would call us back the night before our departure to confirm. She never called back. Having already had a bad experience with Ratt, we decided we could not trust her to call back adn made alternative arrangement with Julie's taxi who sent us a volvo on time to take us to airport at a much lower cost.

Turned out that the young driver she sent us was a classmate of Ratt's daughter who was free lancing as a guide.

Based on this and other posts I suspect that Ratt is having growing pains with expanding her business. When she was just doing it herself she usually delivered outstanding service- its hard to find people that will work with the same level of service- so I think we are going to hear more of such stories.
All good things come to an end at somepoint.

monsoon99-I've suspected there were others in cyberspace who'd had a negative experiences with Ratt. Glad you were able to give us your opinion & details. Provides some balance to the subject of Ratt. Something lacking previously. Good luck & happy travelling in 2006 & beyond.

Just one reminder to everyone: Neither Ratt nor any of her drivers nor Julie nor any of her drivers are GUIDES. All are drivers.

i received an e mail from ratt today...i had sent her an e mail yesterday...she answered someone else's question, even though my question was attached to her answer....

i am disappointed with this...i sent her back a message and referred to my question...i will let you know what happens...

i will state my experience with thai small businesses: i find that if you ask for an opinion or ask a lot of questions, that the reader gets confused and cannot answer easily and frequently only answers one or two items....sounds like a sterotype but this has been my experience with several hotels, with ratt and with others...minds work differently...

i will be interested in gpanda's full report on ratt...