Recommend Cab Driver

[tt32003]

Hi, u call or email mr chiang?

I called first but he said he was on the road and asked me to email again to confirm.

 

[emokia]

I called first but he said he was on the road and asked me to email again to confirm.

hihi,

thanks for the prompt reply

i am worried that he will be quite busy, so i emailed him on tuesday, but didn't receive any reply

hope he replies me soon!

 

[Mskmouse]

I agree his quotation is cheap as compared to other drivers and is prompt in replying. Although he is young and has just started out, I think he tries hard to do a good job.

I'm not sure if some misunderstanding occured? He print screen the whatsapp conversation and sent to me, hoping that the misunderstanding can be cleared. It was true that something happened at home. He was apologetic and recommended his friend xiao xie to take over him for two days. The client said ok.

I have booked a trip with him in Dec. Will give him the benefit of doubt and update when I am back.

Thanks for sharing. I wonder if anyone else had experience with him.

3d2n for 11500 is cheap i guess. i've had quotes from other drivers for 2d is already more than 11000 (think it's 8 or 9 seater).

Xiao Yi is quite young right? Think i came across his fb or something. From the way he handles emails and transactions, i feel he just started out not long ago.

I intend to book him for one way transport only. Was about to confirm him when I saw your post so a bit hesitant. Guess I will still give him a try but will standby another contact in case he fly my aeroplane.

My trip's in dec. I will post a review of the drivers when I return

 

[ralnbow]

long rant about LIU XIAO YI

GUYS, PLEASE DO NOT ENGAGE LIU XIAO YI FOR HIS SERVICE! PLEASE THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU ENGAGE HIM! i'm sorry if this post is really long, but it speaks of my experience with him during my recent trip to taichung and i hope it helps the rest of you in making a more informed decision.

like many other forumers around here, my fiance and i went through all the comments posted online. there were many mixed reviews about him, both good and bad. but as all the other more popular taichung drivers were already engaged during the time we started looking for drivers, we decided to engage xiao yi since he was the next available one whom i managed to contact.

instead of replying to my email, he whatsapped me instead. i thought to myself, that should be a good start. but hell i was wrong! first of all, it was really a pain conversing in traditional chinese with him even though im pretty fluent in chinese. his replies were really fast as though he was very free. when i took a while longer to reply, he would ask if i am still around. quite irritating, but then on the positive side, i thought it would be much clearer to list out everything in black and white.

there were a few places that we wanted to go (eg carton king, xin she, mushroom farm...few more others but i cant recall now), but it seemed that most of them were scattered all over. i had actually mapped most of them on google maps and it was true that some were really far from each other. as i had only 1 day to spare in taichung, we decided to take his advice and went for the taichung-puli winery-18deg choco-carton king-cingjing farm (i particularly insisted that carton king and the cj farm were the places that i MUST GO, which was why it's in the list. xiaoyi suggested puli and 18deg choc).

for some reason, he kept insisting that we should go to sun moon lake and for upteenth number of times, we told him that we really dun fancy sightseeing as we dun really have much time to spare in taichung.

and so, the price and destinations were confirmed at least 3 weeks before my trip (it was NT3000). but 1 week before my trip, he whatsapped me again to ask me for my itinerary and the price he quoted cos he "reinstalled whatsapp". and i had to go through all the hassle typing in chinese and going through the itinerary again. i thought as a driver, it should have been his responsibility to note down his customers' itineraries for his own planning instead of troubling us to remind him again.

during the journey, as what other forumers have experienced, he kept boasting about his services and how BUSY HE IS. seriously, if he is so busy, he wouldnt have much time to keep whatsapping me right? and for some reason, he kept insisting that he doesnt manage any websites online, which most of you know by now, he has a website. he kept asking where i got his contact from and i just told him i read some positive reviews about him. then after that, he continued to boast about how happy his customers were, which in fact by now, as i continue to read more, i feel there are more negative than positive reviews.

i didnt want to spoil the trip so i just continued to act blur and didnt expose him. then he went on to say that he prefers japanese tourists cos they seem to be more open to paying higher prices for the taxi services. WHAT THE HELL? even if he truly believes so, and even if it is the truth, he shouldnt be sharing such stuff with his customers right? he kept critisising why we had to choose starry minsu as it was out of the way and "expensive". he claimed that he could recommend some cheaper and better alternatives.

along the way to puli, he dropped us at a pastry warehouse for us to try the most popular pastries in taichung. it was apparent to us that the place was a "carrot head" place as there were only tour buses and tourists there. when we stepped into the warehouse, he immediately went to tell the staff there that we were his passengers. perhaps he would have gotten commission if we bought anything from the place, but i guess to his disappointment, we did not buy anything.

so we moved on to his recommended places - puli winery and 18 deg choc. puli winery bored us to death as it was clearly another touristy and "carrot place" unless u r truly a chinese wine fan. 18 deg choc was just a chocolate and ice cream shop, but not much complaints about that as i really found the ice cream to be nice (didnt try the choc though).

and moving on to the last part of my trip. the epic moment of all.

he drove us to carton king and small swiss garden (both were next to each other) and told us he would wait for us outside. but within abt 30mins time, he called to ask if we were planning to eat lunch at carton king or this other place at cingjing which he recommended earlier. so we told him we preferred to try some local food at cingjing and would not be eating at carton king restaurant. but within another 30mins later, he called again and requested for us to meet him outside. as my fiance needed to visit the toilet, we took abt another 15mins to walk out to the entrance. just before we reached the entrance, he called YET AGAIN to rush us and asked if "we had lost our way". that comment sounded really sacarstic. i asked him what the hurry was for and told him to tell me on the phone as i walked out. but he insisted to tell us "face to face".

guess what? when we met him, he told us that he could not wait for us anymore as there were two more tourists who were in an "urgent situation" and he had to attend to them. he referred us to another driver and said he would transfer our backpacks to him on his way down. seriously WTF. we had already engaged his services weeks before our trip and he dumped us like that. we were quite hesitant but then again, xiao yi's services really sucked and it would be good to get rid of him too.

thankfully, this other driver that we were referred to made our day. i do not have his namecard with me now so i do not have his details. initially, we were skeptical about his sincerity towards us after the horrible experience with xiaoyi. but he proved us wrong and he really went out of the way to please us when he learnt that we booked xiaoyi weeks in advance and was dumped by him.

throughout the transition from cartonking/swiss garden to cj farm, he did not mention anything about the journey's fees at all. only until my fiance asked him, he told us that xiaoyi had already collected NT3000 from him and he was sending us free of charge. he waited for us outside cingjing farm and suggested the things we shd look out for when we are inside.

when we came out of the farm, he gave us some cut fruits to eat and asked if we wanted to check out some fire dancing celebration (which happens only once a year) that would happen on that evening. we were quite tired and so we opted out. i was still doubtful about this fire dancing thing but i realised that he was telling the truth when i came across a brochure that listed all the activities that would be held to celebrate some event.

at the end of the day, he sent us to starry minsu without any grumbles. the starry minsu was quite inaccessible as there was a short but very steep slope to the minsu. he was very caring as he kept asking if im afraid of the height, he would drive slower. when we reached, he presented us with 4 big persimmon fruits and kept apologising for our bad experience. my fiance paid him NT100 more as a small tip but he kept forcefully rejecting it. come to think of it, the 4 big fruits he gave us already easily cost more than NT100.

this is a really long post but i hope it has shed some light on xiaoyi's terrible services. you can pm me if you want to get the contact of the other nice driver we got... but i will have to unpack my luggage and find the namecard first

 

[blueice06]

Thanks for sharing. I wonder if anyone else had experience with him.

3d2n for 11500 is cheap i guess. i've had quotes from other drivers for 2d is already more than 11000 (think it's 8 or 9 seater).

Xiao Yi is quite young right? Think i came across his fb or something. From the way he handles emails and transactions, i feel he just started out not long ago.

I intend to book him for one way transport only. Was about to confirm him when I saw your post so a bit hesitant. Guess I will still give him a try but will standby another contact in case he fly my aeroplane.

My trip's in dec. I will post a review of the drivers when I return

I agree his quotation is cheap as compared to other drivers and is prompt in replying. Although he is young and has just started out, I think he tries hard to do a good job.

I'm not sure if some misunderstanding occured? He print screen the whatsapp conversation and sent to me, hoping that the misunderstanding can be cleared. It was true that something happened at home. He was apologetic and recommended his friend xiao xie to take over him for two days. The client said ok.

I have booked a trip with him in Dec. Will give him the benefit of doubt and update when I am back.

Hi, I personally have taken his service when i was in Taichung in Oct'12. In my opinion, i find him quite ok...Just that probably he was young, hence tend to focus topics more abt himself...I guess it cld b his way to engage customers and make them feel at ease? Intially i felt the same that he's like boasting abt himself, but after the end of the day, i do feel that hes quite a good driver...

After my SML trip, he actually bought 2 big cups of milk tea for me and my hubby for us to try! i thought that was quite a nice gesture..and prior my trip he has also quoted me TWD3500 for SML->CingJing-> Swiss garden-> Taichung and to be completed within 8hours...however, smhow we exceeded the no of hours but he did not charged more...and he even volunteered to bring us to try authentic local dinner (went dutch although we offered to treat him)...

Not sure if there was some miscommunication but he also sent me an watsapp screenshot to prove his innocence haha...and smhow it shows that the driver xiao xie was recommended by him...Anyway, i tink every1 expectation is diff?? in terms of safety, i tink hes quite a safe and nice driver la

Lastly, juz to share my own experience while sourcing for cab drivers...i also took up Mr Chiang for my Taipei trip...but i have my hiccups with him too..haha...he reassigned another driver to me without informing me though he has called me a day b4 the trip....And i got to know on the day itself when another driver called me...was abit disappointed..but i still went ahead...and it turn out that the other driver he assigned was quite a nice uncle...even recommended some local food joints that we tourists will not know...so i guess these recommended drivers will not want to smear their own reputation by assigning any tom dick harry...so if u happened to share my experience...stay calm and dun be too skeptical abt them..overall taiwan drivers are quite nice and friendly

 

[vlrenee]

I want to share my experience in Taichung Trip (few days ago) I had hired Xiao Yi for my trip.

My Trip
1ST Day - Taipei
2nd Day - Tai chung
3rd Day - Tai chung
4th Day - Tai chung
5th Day - Taipei

Because I wanted to have dinner with my friends in Taipei , so the frist day of my trip
, I stayed in Taipei , I told Xiao Yi i would arrived at Taichung at 10a.m. and let him to pick me up , but he told me that might have not enough time to play , he suggest me to arrived before 9 a.m. he is so honest , responsible and professional . he is really good and help us have an enjoyable trip in Taichung.

 

[Verawan]

I'm really so disappointed seeing so many multiple a/cs created TODAY (WOW) just to post "testimonials" about Xiao Yi's service.

I'm going to taiwan in Mid Nov, I actually contacted Xiao Yi a few wks back to engage him for my day in Taichung. After seeing a few good reviews about him on various forums, I whatsapped him. Conversation wise, nothing too pushy or arrogant. I told him exactly what places I wanted to go , although he suggested CJ Farm and SML, I rejected it bcos it doesn't fit into my schedule. He was fine with it too.

So I confirmed my arrangement with him.
Lo and behold, so many negative reviews suddenly popped out! Of course, I will get worried. After all, this is my first trip to taipei and I'm planning for my BF and his mum too, I don't want any negative experience to spoil the trip.

So despite feeling bad about it, I explained to him that I wished to cancel our previous agreement and of course, I told him honestly that it was because I came across multiple negative reviews.

I felt if he was really misunderstood, I had to give him a chance to clear himself , because it's quite sad if his business is affected and the power of these reviews on forums are HUGE.

So of course he also explained his side of the story to me.. blah blah and sent me a screenshot of the whatsapp to prove his innocence. He even went as far as CALLING me but I didn't answer bcos I didn't want to end up in a lengthy conversation of him explaning himself to me.

It's just the wrong thing to do lah, Xiao Yi. I believe if you rly provided good service in the past, your ex customers will help you "clear your name" here automatically.

Your actions somehow "Yue Miao Yue Hei"... Zzz. I've alr engaged another driver so thank God these negative reviews of Xiao Yi didn't come out too late. I still had time to get another driver

 

[cutieboy86]

wah you also just created account half a yr ago with just 2 post leh

 

[Verawan]

Nothing constructive to post so no posts..

 

[janmhice]

I'm really so disappointed seeing so many multiple a/cs created TODAY (WOW) just to post "testimonials" about Xiao Yi's service.

I'm going to taiwan in Mid Nov, I actually contacted Xiao Yi a few wks back to engage him for my day in Taichung. After seeing a few good reviews about him on various forums, I whatsapped him. Conversation wise, nothing too pushy or arrogant. I told him exactly what places I wanted to go , although he suggested CJ Farm and SML, I rejected it bcos it doesn't fit into my schedule. He was fine with it too.

So I confirmed my arrangement with him.
Lo and behold, so many negative reviews suddenly popped out! Of course, I will get worried. After all, this is my first trip to taipei and I'm planning for my BF and his mum too, I don't want any negative experience to spoil the trip.

So despite feeling bad about it, I explained to him that I wished to cancel our previous agreement and of course, I told him honestly that it was because I came across multiple negative reviews.

I felt if he was really misunderstood, I had to give him a chance to clear himself , because it's quite sad if his business is affected and the power of these reviews on forums are HUGE.

So of course he also explained his side of the story to me.. blah blah and sent me a screenshot of the whatsapp to prove his innocence. He even went as far as CALLING me but I didn't answer bcos I didn't want to end up in a lengthy conversation of him explaning himself to me.

It's just the wrong thing to do lah, Xiao Yi. I believe if you rly provided good service in the past, your ex customers will help you "clear your name" here automatically.

Your actions somehow "Yue Miao Yue Hei"... Zzz. I've alr engaged another driver so thank God these negative reviews of Xiao Yi didn't come out too late. I still had time to get another driver

Oh well, he tried to call me ytd, saying he wants to explain things to me, saying that I actually make him lost alot of deals because of my comments online. I'm quite surprise that the news actually got to him quite fast. Its either he has an acct here and check on it everyday, or he really have that much of friends to share with him the news instantly.

I refuses to reply him, since I ald ended my trip. I thought that I have the freedom of speech here, just sharing my true exp with all the forum-ers here so you guys can have a more enjoyable trip. And of coz, some still can choose not to believe in me, and cont to engage him as a driver and exp the trip yourself.

I didnt know that he is so desperate to prove his innocence by doing a screenshot of my conver with him to other travellers, now I start to wonder did he actually intrude into my privacy, since my number will be shown on the screenshot.

I did not know that my sharing here will cause a big hoo haa to his business as I really just want to share my experience since everyone is like having good reviews abt him.

And if I want to make things worst, I can actually screenshot the conver that he say he needs to service another grp, tgt with the day that he say he got something on at home. Both of the dates actually tally. So if he continues to intrude into my personal space just because I make him lost so business. I can do so. Come to think of it, why do I need to speak negative things of him to make him lost his biz? I don get anything in return anyways.

Hope this will have a good ending, whoever is right, whoever is wrong, I don't think that is impt now. I do not want to spoil his business and I do not know that a genuine reviews will cause so much impact on him.

Whatever it is, I do hope that you guys believe in yourself, and choose a driver whom you believe can and will do a good job despite of all the reviews...

 

[ralnbow]

Oh well, he tried to call me ytd, saying he wants to explain things to me, saying that I actually make him lost alot of deals because of my comments online. I'm quite surprise that the news actually got to him quite fast. Its either he has an acct here and check on it everyday, or he really have that much of friends to share with him the news instantly.

I refuses to reply him, since I ald ended my trip. I thought that I have the freedom of speech here, just sharing my true exp with all the forum-ers here so you guys can have a more enjoyable trip. And of coz, some still can choose not to believe in me, and cont to engage him as a driver and exp the trip yourself.

I didnt know that he is so desperate to prove his innocence by doing a screenshot of my conver with him to other travellers, now I start to wonder did he actually intrude into my privacy, since my number will be shown on the screenshot.

I did not know that my sharing here will cause a big hoo haa to his business as I really just want to share my experience since everyone is like having good reviews abt him.

And if I want to make things worst, I can actually screenshot the conver that he say he needs to service another grp, tgt with the day that he say he got something on at home. Both of the dates actually tally. So if he continues to intrude into my personal space just because I make him lost so business. I can do so. Come to think of it, why do I need to speak negative things of him to make him lost his biz? I don get anything in return anyways.

Hope this will have a good ending, whoever is right, whoever is wrong, I don't think that is impt now. I do not want to spoil his business and I do not know that a genuine reviews will cause so much impact on him.

Whatever it is, I do hope that you guys believe in yourself, and choose a driver whom you believe can and will do a good job despite of all the reviews...

totally feel your sentiments. it was quite irritating having to hear him boast abt his positive reviews online throughout the entire journey. he kept claiming that he doesnt go online and doesnt manage any websites. apparently, someone must have given him live updates about all the reviews he's getting online.

everyone here has a fair chance of sharing their experiences for the sake of giving other travellors better insights into what they are in for. there's no right or wrong and i believe we do not gain anything from writing either a good or bad review here. if it was truly a wonderful experience, it will rightfully gain positive reviews and does not require any explanation just to salvage the situation.

 

[vlrenee]

Oh well, he tried to call me ytd, saying he wants to explain things to me, saying that I actually make him lost alot of deals because of my comments online. I'm quite surprise that the news actually got to him quite fast. Its either he has an acct here and check on it everyday, or he really have that much of friends to share with him the news instantly.

I refuses to reply him, since I ald ended my trip. I thought that I have the freedom of speech here, just sharing my true exp with all the forum-ers here so you guys can have a more enjoyable trip. And of coz, some still can choose not to believe in me, and cont to engage him as a driver and exp the trip yourself.

I didnt know that he is so desperate to prove his innocence by doing a screenshot of my conver with him to other travellers, now I start to wonder did he actually intrude into my privacy, since my number will be shown on the screenshot.

I did not know that my sharing here will cause a big hoo haa to his business as I really just want to share my experience since everyone is like having good reviews abt him.

And if I want to make things worst, I can actually screenshot the conver that he say he needs to service another grp, tgt with the day that he say he got something on at home. Both of the dates actually tally. So if he continues to intrude into my personal space just because I make him lost so business. I can do so. Come to think of it, why do I need to speak negative things of him to make him lost his biz? I don get anything in return anyways.

Hope this will have a good ending, whoever is right, whoever is wrong, I don't think that is impt now. I do not want to spoil his business and I do not know that a genuine reviews will cause so much impact on him.

Whatever it is, I do hope that you guys believe in yourself, and choose a driver whom you believe can and will do a good job despite of all the reviews...

There are many kinds of costumers ,they like different kinds of things too. we should not blame to the driver .

 

[emokia]

hi guys,

those who took mr chiang's tour before, did he pick u all from hotel and send u guys back to hotel?

行程：野柳→基隆廟口→陰陽海→黃金瀑布→鼻頭角→金瓜石→九份→十份瀑布→放天灯

i requested for pick up and drop off from hotel, but he didn't state in his reply. does that mean he would not be doing the pick up and drop off?

thanks

 

[tt32003]

hi guys,

those with took mr chiang's tour, did he pick u all from hotel and send u guys back to hotel?

行程：野柳→基隆廟口→陰陽海→黃金瀑布→鼻頭角→金瓜石→九份→十份瀑布→放天灯

i requested for pick up and drop off from hotel, but he didn't state in his reply. does that mean he would not be doing the pick up and drop off?

thanks

Sure pick up at hotel and drop you one lah as long as it's within the 12 hours period.

 

[blur_pig]

My Review

Just came backTaiwan trip (with rainbow) and these are the 3 cab drivers we encountered during our 12 days trip:

From top:

Xiao Yi (CingQing) - Flew kite midway even though we had booked his services for the whole day.

2nd name card (CingQing) - He was the replacement driver Xiao Yi got to cover him. If Xiao Yi is hell then he is heaven, wonderful cab driver who offered to bring us around CingQing through the night at no additional charge (Original deal with XiaoYi was to reach our mingsu at around 5pm).

3rd name card (Taipei / Jiufen / Yeliu) - He accompanied us to all the sights in the rain and became our part time photographer. Honest and down to earth. Price wise he quoted us TWD2000 for half a day but he did not show any sign of unhappiness or impatience or asked for more $$ when in fact we took close to 5 hours of his time. (and for that I tipped him another TWD 1000)


My Chinese is crap so I cant read their names from the name card but I would gladly recommend the cab drivers from the 2nd and 3rd name card.

 

[janmhice]

Just came backTaiwan trip (with rainbow) and these are the 3 cab drivers we encountered during our 12 days trip:

From top:

Xiao Yi (CingQing) - Flew kite midway even though we had booked his services for the whole day.

2nd name card (CingQing) - He was the replacement driver Xiao Yi got to cover him. If Xiao Yi is hell then he is heaven, wonderful cab driver who offered to bring us around CingQing through the night at no additional charge (Original deal with XiaoYi was to reach our mingsu at around 5pm).

3rd name card (Taipei / Jiufen / Yeliu) - He accompanied us to all the sights in the rain and became our part time photographer. Honest and down to earth. Price wise he quoted us TWD2000 for half a day but he did not show any sign of unhappiness or impatience or asked for more $$ when in fact we took close to 5 hours of his time. (and for that I tipped him another TWD 1000)


My Chinese is crap so I cant read their names from the name card but I would gladly recommend the cab drivers from the 2nd and 3rd name card.

Im actually surprised that so many of us got flew kite halfway. Thanks for the info sharing for fellow travellers. And Im also surprise why nobody review abt him so far..Maybe its only recently that this kind of things happen..

And I'm glad that I'm not alone.

 

[entrery]

Supposed to have engaged meeky but last minute some changes so he recommended Mr Shi, Miss Yu and Mr Hong instead. Anyone have prior exxperience with these drivers? A little last minute as my trip's next week lol

 

[cdo_saturday]

I agree his quotation is cheap as compared to other drivers and is prompt in replying. Although he is young and has just started out, I think he tries hard to do a good job.

I'm not sure if some misunderstanding occured? He print screen the whatsapp conversation and sent to me, hoping that the misunderstanding can be cleared. It was true that something happened at home. He was apologetic and recommended his friend xiao xie to take over him for two days. The client said ok.

I have booked a trip with him in Dec. Will give him the benefit of doubt and update when I am back.

Why did he print screen the whatsapp conversation and send to you to clear the misunderstanding? Did you have any misunderstanding with him that he wants to clear with you? Because you posted with no head no tail, I don't really understand and I think most here don't as well.

Suddenly so many reviews about him. Be it good or bad, it has created a lot of confusion and from my POV, sure makes one think twice.

I'm not here to stir. I posted with the intention to find out more before I engage a driver but now

 

[tt32003]

So anyone got good cab driver to recommend for Hualien or not ?

 

[cdo_saturday]

So anyone got good cab driver to recommend for Hualien or not ?

The drivers Mr Li Te-Ming or Tiffany have you checked with them? Sorry I can't rem if you've checked with them already

IIRC that I read from the other threads, they are husband and wife. Mr Li does Taroko and Tiffany takes Hua Lien.

Mr Li +886 937 980 512 teming_li@yahoo.com.tw
Tiffany +886 912 522 118 tiffany_935lk@yahoo.com.tw