Dear guests of Ukraine.
Last time our service had saome problems with meeting and transportation our clients from Odessa airport and from Odessa hotels to Kherson.
1st case - one our client paid by credit card for transportation from one of Odessa hotels to Kherson.
Our driver went to hotel reception and ask about that client.
While he waited for client on hotels parking, one of hotel administarive girls called another local taxi service and gave client them. When that client arrived to Kherson he knew he need pay in cash bigger amount he paid to our service by credit card.
2nd case - our driver waited for a client in Odessa airport. Our client paid money by credit card for our service. He had a paper with clients name in his hands. One smart guy saw a name on paper and catch a man when he went out from customs. When our client arrived to Kherson he knew he need pay in cash bigger amount he paid to our service by credit card.
In both cases we returned money to our clients.
In both cases clients paid additional money to smart (scam?) people.
For saving our money and nerves, money and nerves of our clients we will change methods of work.
Also wil be interesing to hear ideas of Ukrainian guest about intensification of security on transportation.
Hi Leon, who are you? do you provide any assistance in UKRAINE, I am thinking of visiting soon, maan this UKR is turning out to be a night mare. What is the truth now - the msg board is flooded with 90% horror stories!!!
if your customers pay by credit card surely they must have an order number for the service that you provide. If the driver and customer are both provided with an order reference number that they must confirm to eachother before the customer gets in the car then this may cut out this problem, the driver must provide a matching reference number for the customer. Howether if the customer is stupid enough to not know it was not the car he paid for then more fool him.
Those damn ODS airport taxi drivers, they are more of a pain in the ass than their Borispol equivalents!
1. Once your client has prepaid for the transport you provide him with a receipt, and you print off a copy of that receipt to provide to the driver:,
2. Your driver waits inside the airport arrival hall with the client's name written on a large card and you have forewarned your client of the risks of getting in to a wrong car and that your driver may identify himself by showing to the client a copy of the receipt and that no further monies shall be payable for the journey.
Lockand, I am from Kherson, Ukraine
My job is accomodation In Kherson and Nikolaev and transportation service,
if you want know more about my service - write me PM or see my profile.
about nightmare in Ukraine (if you write about swine flu) - in Kherson and Nikolaev no epidemical problems. Alot of people guess swine flu (or something same, maybe ordinar flu) it is a way for politics to have additional voices on elections.
figgis, Smart Martin
many thanks for your advices, frankly speaking, I worried nobody will answer to this topic
I am in a Ukrainian hotel, and I want to go out. I don't want to bring all my money because I might get robbed. How safe is it to leave some of your money in your hotel room, if you hide it? I guess it would be the same in other hotels, but what do you guys do in this situation?
It's the same anywhere you go.
I've never been mugged. Perhaps because I look like a mugger and not a muggee.
But since you can never be too careful I normally carry the money I have in various pockets around my person.
Never in rear pockets and never in a bag of any kind.
I never have more than fifty quid in my wallet. It's enough to get rid of potential muggers.
I never leave money in either a hotel room or a hotel safe. (In fsu anyway)...I could never find anywhere in the room that didn't seem an abvious place to hide.
These days I don't go into areas where there is potential and I haven't been to fsu for over a year now....no real intention of going back unless for business.
Guys going to Ukraine are more likely to be mugged by the ladies.
I can advice use credit cards.
The number of services who accept credit card from Internet are getting up.
And alot of cash machines in Ukrainian cities .
Try to only withdraw enough cash from ATM for the next day or so, I've often carried around excessive cash but away from my wallet, stashed in an inside jacket pocket but I would never be walking down dark alleys etc.
i use credit cards but i had problems at a few atms, maybe because i am a bit dodgy but who knows. An old army trick was have 2 wallets one with your real cash in that you keep somewhere where a mugger dont have time to check and the other for the mugger full of bits of paper and old credit cards somwhere where he has time to check. Best thing to do is not get mugged.
LOL. I also probably also look like a mugger. Kirkland, that must mean you don't have more than 50 quid at any time in the FSU, and use ATM machines a lot. Keeping the cash in three places sounds smart. I kept mine in my inside jacket pocket. I let my gf handle the cash. She kept it underneath a blanket in the closet. I never had any problems either. I was just wondering if any theft has ever happened in the hotel rooms.
No, dansing. She has not asked a ticket back to Ukraine or money for herself. She has asked about my ticket to Ukraine and her paperwork for a visa. She also said she will wait.
Regarding the topic of this thread - I know of a guy who was totally green when it came to foreign travel. When he landed in Donetsk and got a taxi to his hotel - he was told the price would be "50". It never dawned on him that the taxi driver was asking for 50 GRIENVA. He just assumed the price refered to Euros, so he willingly handed over 50 Euros. ANd the driver just as willingly took the Euros as an even trade for the grievna (wasn't that accomodating of him?). Only later did the guy realize his error and feel quite foolish.
Regarding money - I never keep more than few hundred dollars worth on me at one time. I have hidden some in the lining of my locked suitcase in the past when I had more than I wanted to carry. But now I simply use my ATM card to replenish my funds as I spend them.
Before the Euro the Eastern Block only accepted the USD or German Mark.
Many years ago I travelled to Prague, my home currency at the time was the Luxembourg (or Belgian) Franc, I would be drawing all my Czech money out on a card but as a back up I took from a Luxembourg ATM some German Marks.
Once in Prague, whether it be Czech or German, it was all 'funny' money to me and, one day, in error I paid in German Marks thinking it was Czech money, I recall an expression on that taxi driver's face but she didn't say anything ..... unsurprisingly!
I tend to get money from an ATM as and when i need it, i give my cash to the gf and she keeps it with her if we are out and about, general rule never flash the cash and only carry what you need. Pay in advance for Hotels and apartments.
I called all of my credit cards and ATM banks and told them that I will be in Ukraine. Still, after one transaction, one ATM quit working. Thank goodness I took two ATM cards from two different banks.
I don't like to spend when I don't have to. The total transaction fee for an ATM, my bank and the ATM is an excess of 7 USD, and all ATM's that I found only gave $250 USD in grivnia. I think it was Gemini that told us of some that gave more in downtown Kiev.
Jetmba, that taxi guy sounds really foolish. Not knowing Boryspil airport provided transportation, I once took a taxi for a block. He charged me 20 grivnia. A 50 grivnia ride doesn't sound too far.
The situation I describe happened in 2007, at that time I think ot was more like 4.5 grievna to the dollar - so 50 grievna was about $11. And as I recall the airport in Donetsk is much closer to the hotel in question, than Boryspil is to Kiev.
Still, being charged 20 grievna for a ride the distance of a typical city block IS excessive. No offense - but you were literally "taken for a ride".
Yes. I told this story before and I was told that. I didn't know there was a shuttle to the Boryspil Hotel and I was out in the airport parking lot and it was snowing. It was about 5.5 grivnia for a USD, so the taxi ride was about 3.6 USD. If it was a scam, it was a cheap one.
Also, I had two large baggages. I didn't understand him when he told me how much, so I opened my wallet and showed him. Stupid, I know. There wasn't much there, but he could have taken anything he wanted. He took the 20.