Ola Cabs turned out to be the worst service taxi that I had ever taken in Chennai. I happened to book their taxi from Thoraipakkam to Chennai central on Aug/22 6:45 pm.
I was told that if I book my ride with the mobile app for the first time I would get 200Rs and I successfully refer a friend, I get 300 Rs. While both of these were true for me, it showed me Rs. 300 as Ola Money in the my account page!
Basically, Rs 200 discount for first time booking using coupon code MOB200+ Rs. 300 for referral. I called up their customer care office to clarify whether these discounts were really working ones. The service representative said that I have Rs. 500 in my total money. So my greed took turn and decided to book this taxi for which the overall discount from Ola was Rs. 500 and the cab fare would be around Rs. 440.
At 6.30, I get a message ’We expect a potential delay of about 30 minutes due to unavoidable circumstances’, however the drive turned out at the correct time. Once getting into the car, the driver started proposing alternate routes. I told him to follow the Thoraipakkam-Tidel-Beach-Central route.
On reaching the station I was expecting a zero fare, however the driver said the amount was Rs. 460 including toll.I told him about the 200 Rs. offer but he said his device was not showing. I called up the customer care and the CSR said, pay 200 less and he wanted to talk to the driver. The driver started foul language after a while and ordered me to pay full amount. I told him about the offer but he was not in a mood to listen.
My take: If you get a Rs 200 discount code, apprise the driver before starting the journey.
Call the taxi before an hour if you really wish to book one.