Des's Adelaide - Hindmarsh, South Australia

Roman W.

Disappointing Value 200% Price Increase in just 12 months!!

We used Des’s Minibus last year for our trip to Adelaide for the Tour Down Under and were very happy with the service, so we decided to book with them again this year.

The quote we received for pick up and drop off from the airport was $805 for a 15-minute trip – 200% more than what we paid last year for the exact same requirements. We had three bicycles and luggage both times, so the additional equipment was no different than before. Even after accounting for surcharges for public holidays and early hours, the pricing felt excessive and unjustifiable.

When we received the quote, our initial reaction was, “Gosh! $276 to $805 in just 12 months!! To put this in perspective, Adelaide Hills Chauffeur & Limo Service provided the same service for 25% of Des’s price – meaning we could have completed this trip four times for the cost quoted here!

We also wrote back after receiving the quote giving the team at Des’s Minibus some feedback on their pricing but no one responded. I'm sure that they will respond now to our feedback given it is on a public forum! What matters is the service you get when no one is watching, before you spend energy writing a response to my review guys spend some time reviewing your internal processes and your pricing structures or fantastic companies like Hills Chauffeur & Limo Service will continue to take business from you.

With the significant price increase, without any noticeable justification. We ultimately chose to look elsewhere and were much happier with the alternative service, which was more professional at a fraction of the cost.

Unfortunately, based on this experience, we can no longer recommend Des’s Minibus.

John P.

Not sure your company would endorse such driving behaviour. Whilst the driver was in a “smoke” store. 3 cars looked to turn left into the street, 2 had near misses with on coming cars. The other just avoided hitting the cab. No parking clearly marked, let alone the risk of causing and accident. Up to you to follow up 🤔 location: corner Downer Ave & Lower Nth East Rd 10:15am 28th. (Driver in photo)

Shea H.

My wife and I were very happy to engage Des’ Minibus for transporting guests to and from our wedding. Des' was amazingly responsive and easy to work with, and their attention to detail ensured our guests were on time and accounted for. They gave the flexibility to choose between buses of different sizes with just weeks to go before the ceremony (as we confirmed final numbers). And when we needed to engage another bus due to an unforeseen circumstance less than two months to the wedding, Des’ rose to the occasion and sorted everything for us. We cannot recommend them highly enough.

Shae D.

Booked two 13- seat buses at the end of my wedding reception to get our bridal party home safely, and the other bus for out of town guests. At the arrival of the buses at the end of my wedding reception I was greeted by two Middle Ages white men who were most certainly not a vibe. Unfortunately the out of town guests had left the wedding earlier and we didn’t require an entire bus. I thought not to worry, they will understand, they’ve been paid! The driver of the bus no longer needed put on a mini tantrum and told us about how far he’s driven. Not sure what he wanted me to do? Wake my guests up from the hotel, bring them back to the venue just to use the bus? Ridiculous. So we send him on his way and the second driver instructs us to walk around the block to get into the bus. 1: the street was not lit, 2: I am disabled and spent all day on my feet for my wedding (I think this was obvious by my wedding dress and the instructions in the booking) but even me telling him multiple times “I AM DISABLED, PLEASE MOVE THE MINI BUS” wasn’t sinking in. At this point I had been awake for 20 hours and just wanted my wheelchair or my bed. First bus that wasn’t needed pulled away from the curb and what do you know, second bus was able to pull into his spot right where we were standing.

Ultimately not the ending we wanted for our wedding night. We wanted to feel safe and celebrated, not silenced and under the authority of a very cranky Middle Aged white man. We actually used this company because my now husband goes by “desi” and we’ve always wanted to use this company for our wedding transport.
I’m just glad we didn’t use them prior to the reception!
We won’t be booking again. Do not recommend.

EDITED: I spoke with Simon the business owner and he was delightful. Completely apologetic, profusely upset at his employees and was just great to talk to. He even insisted on a refund and said he will be speaking to the drivers in question. We will definitely book Des’ again in the future and give them another go. Don’t let my bad experience deter you!

Marie F.

Des's is so easy to work with. I was able to book and pay over the phone for two wedding transfers and transportation for a tour of the Adelaide Hills. Our driver, Nino, showed up ahead of time. He was a cautious driver, great conversationalist, made everyone feel comfortable. The van had good air conditioning, was clean and smelled good. They even called one day ahead to make sure our plans had not changed. We will definitely use them for our future needs.

Sean M.

Des's took a crowd of us from Adelaide to Hahndorf for a wedding. It was 41 degrees outside and the aircon worked perfectly in the bus. However, somehow I dropped my credit card during the journey and only found it missing the following morning. A quick call to Steve at dispatch and he rang back in minutes to say our driver checked his bus and found the card. And then, even though it was his day off, the driver met me at a secret location and handed it back. I'm from a remote rural location so retrieving the card immediately was super-beneficial.
Tremendous service and I can't thank this company enough, especially the driver of our bus.
We have used Des's ever since they started up and it's always been a perfect experience.

Dion T.

We booked a wine tour for a staff show but unfortunately I was rushed into an emergency surgery the night before so we had to cancel.

They refunded the full amount even though it was less than 24hrs notice. We will rebook with Dee’s again and greatly appreciate the understanding.

Champions

Nicola B.

We received a wonderful service for our wedding.

The drivers that drove our guests to and from the venue were fantastic to deal with and very professional. All buses were punctual and clean.

Judith’s brilliant communication and her kind personality while preparing the day was next level and her ability to accommodate our changes not only during the pandemic but also in the weeks leading up to the day was very much appreciated.

We would definitely recommend this company to others.