Review: Careem Taxi Service, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Originally Posted on Thursday, February 5, 2015

 

Msg from Careem: Join Careem with SAR 30 free credit, Need a reliable and pleasant ride? Check out Careem.com - I think you will love it!

Careem is Middle East's most awesome private car service. You can make bookings online at www.careem.com, ride in fancy cars with friendly drivers, pay by credit cards, access receipts online, and rate the drivers. You will get SAR 30 in your account when you sign up using the link: http://careem.com/signup/2WZSALX7V0

 

Review: (Posted on 8th April 2015)

 

I came to know about Careem Service on 5th February 2015 through an email from flynas:

I had a flight with flynas on 23rd Feb so I registered with Careem and tried to book a Taxi using the above promo code but it didn’t work, I raised this query to Careem Support the same day and just in 30 minutes I got a response (which is very quick!)

 

BISMILLAH IREHMAN NIRAHIM

Assalamualikum Careem Support

I have received the following email from flynas, based on that I created a new account with user name nauman.khan@inbox.com , but when I am trying to book my free ride it is giving me the following error, plz fix this issue so that I can claim my free ride.

Error:

Email from flynas:

flynas guests can enjoy a free scheduled ride to the airport with Careem by entering the promo code #flynas to driver on Careem website or mobile application

Moreover, they will receive a credit of SR 75 when signing up for the first time using the code flynas75

This offer is available for the period from 5-9 Feb 2015 Note: Careem services are available in Riyadh, Jeddah & Dammam The free ride is up to the value of SAR150

Nauman Khan

---

Dear Nauman,

Please be informed free airport trips are valid only for the next 2 weeks ( travel date ) .

Regards,
Dinu Joseph
Team Careem

 

So I thought to maybe use this service some other time. I created the above blog post in order to spread a word about this service. On 25th February 2015 I received the following email from Careem:

 

Hi Nauman,

We see that you have unused credit (SAR 75) sitting in your Careem account and wanted to remind you that these will be expiring in 9 days.

Don’t miss out - you can use your credit across any of our services: Careem Economy, Careem Business, Careem First or Careem Kids (where these services operate) and across any of the cities we are in.

Don’t forget to use your free credits and be sure to select the “credit first, then credit card” option in the payment method section when you are booking a ride.

We hope to see you soon,

Careem

 

This was a pleasant surprise and again I had a flight on 17th March so I immediately booked a Taxi from Riyadh Airport to An Nuzah District using the option “credit first, then credit card” and as per booking details the max cost would have been SAR 11 after using the credit. I received a confirmation email:

 

Dear Nauman,
Thanks for booking a Careem. Your booking with the following details is confirmed.
Booking ID: ***

Passenger information
Name: ***
Email: ***
Mobile: ***

Trip information
Car type: Economy car
Pickup time: Tue, Mar 17, 19:00 (GMT+0300) SAU
Pickup location: RUH T2 Arrivals: King Khalid International Airport Terminal 2 - Riyadh
Pickup comments: Please call him and he will drive up to Pillar number 18 located outside the airport
Dropoff location: An Nuzhah - An Nuzhah - Riyadh - Riyadh Province
Notes to driver: XY 661
We wish you a pleasant ride.
Regards,
Careem Team

 

While booking I gave a time of 45min after flight landing time. I didn’t know Riyadh Airport has improved so much and we were out of the Airport in just 15 minutes. I called Careem if they have the Taxi already available and it was already ready. Another sign of good service! I received following SMS as well:

 

Your Careem car is on the way. Driver, ***, will wait at Please call him and he will drive up to Pillar number 18 located outside the airport with a Careem sign. Careem hotline: ***

 

Your Careem driver, ***, is waiting at Please call him and he will drive up to Pillar number 18 located outside the airport with a Careem sign. Car is Honda Accord, Brown, ***. Careem hotline: ***.

 

Accord? I have not seen any Accord as a Taxi yet so this was another pleasant surprise. It was indeed a new Honda Accord.

 

Your Careem is on the way. Driver, ***, will wait at Please call him and he will drive up to Pillar number 18 located outside the airport with a Careem sign. Hotline: ***.

 

Your Careem driver, ***, is waiting with a Careem sign at Meeting point: Please call him and he will drive up to Pillar number 18 located outside the airport. Car is Honda Accord, Brown, ***. Hotline: ***

 

The timings of these SMS were not correct, I was already in the car when I received most of these SMS. The driver was friendly and the ride was good, he didn’t know the way that well and took a wrong turn so I had to guide him but it was ok for me. After 2 hours I received the following email from Careem:

 

Hi Nauman,
Thanks for taking Careem for the following trip:
Time: Tue, Mar 17, 19:00 (GMT+0300) SAU
Pickup: RUH T2 Arrivals: King Khalid International Airport Terminal 2 - Riyadh
Dropoff: An Nuzhah - An Nuzhah - Riyadh - Riyadh Province
Driver: ***

Cost: SAR 97
Payment method:
Visa ****
You can access the receipt online at:
https://app.careem.com/receipt?tripId=***
Regards,
Team Careem

 

SMS: Your Visa credit card number *** used with Purchasing transaction in CAREEM NETWORKS FZ LLC on 17/03/2015 with SAR 97.00 and the remaining credit limit is *** SAR and during your travel we recommend when paying with your Credit Cards not to pay by

 

Now this also came as a surprise but this time it was not pleasant. I was expecting a deduction of at max SR 11. I sent them the following email:

 

Hi Team Careem

There are few mistakes in the billing which are as follows:

1. I had SR 75 credit and while booking I chose “credit first, then credit card”. Plz refund my money accordingly.

2. The estimated cost was SAR 80 – 86 then why this ride has cost me SAR 97?

3. 36.6 KM has been travelled because driver didn’t know the way and he took a wrong road. Actual route is 28.4km. That’s why the travel time was longer as well.

4. 07 min waiting time has been mentioned but in actual there was no waiting time, I was waiting for the driver at pillar 18 and as soon as he arrived I got in.

Plz rectify the bill. Thanks.

Nauman Khan

 

This time the response came after 2 days:

 

Dear Nauman

I hope this finds you well and thank you for your email. I will make sure that our Fleet Team follows up with the concerned driver about this issue of navigational aspect. I can assure you that this is an exception.

Nauman I can also see that your credits of SAR75 was expired previously on 2015-03-07. An email was sent well in advance to notify you of this. In any case on behalf of Careem, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and discomfort that was caused on this. Nauman I have credited your account with SAR20 the extra charges on this ride. Please note you may use these credits before April 15, 2015.

If there is any other feedback you would like to share, please do let us know.

Yours sincerely,
Amit
Team Careem

 

I replied:

 

Hi Amit

I have no issue with the driver making the mistake as anyone can make a mistake but I won’t like to be changed extra for that.

I had received the attached email on 25th Feb and I made the booking on 26th Feb and chose “credit first, then credit card” then why my credit was not used?

As the cost of the ride was at max SR 86 and I was changed SR 97 thus I am looking for a refund of SR 86 on my credit card (SR 75 credit + SR 11 charged extra).

Thanks.

Nauman Khan

 

And I got the response immediately:

 

Dear Nauman

Thank you for your email. I have gone ahead and refunded the full charges back to your credit card. This will take up to 5 working days to reflect back into your credit card account.

Please feel free to reply back if we can assist further.

Regards
Amit
Careem Team

 

And Careem refunded whole amount, they didn’t even charge me SAR 11. I received the refund in 15 days. This has been a great service! Mistakes happen and anyone can make a mistake but what matters is how you rectify it and Careem did an excellent job. I recommend this service to anyone looking for a convenient and easy to use Taxi Service.

 

You will get SAR 30 in your account when you sign up using the link: http://careem.com/signup/2WZSALX7V0

 

Careem   Order a chauffeur-driven car in the Middle East on the web, and through Careem's iPhone and Android apps. Reliable service, premium cars, friendly drivers, and credit card payments.     careem.com/signup/2WZSALX7V0         View Now

 

-urShadow