PuertoDISE: Private Taxi Service in Playa del Carmen – Senor Agustin Cruz

After reading so many reviews on TripAdvisor about Senor Agustin Cruz, we decided to give him a try.

As I mentioned in my previous post titled No Car, No Problem, we do not own a car here. With affordable public transportation, it did not make sense to have a car in this walking community. However, as I have also mentioned, when we plan on taking a shopping trip to Costco in Cancun or some other store where we may need the additional space, we take a taxi.

Normally, we would take the colectivo into Cancun, and then take a short and inexpensive taxi ride to Costco. Load up on all the items we needed, then wait at the curb for the first taxi that provided the correct fare from Cancun to Puerto Aventuras. But this time was different. We had several stores we wanted to visit, and just wanted one driver to chauffer us around. Hence, our contact with Senor Cruz.

We contacted Senor Cruz through WhatsApp and heard back from him immediately via a voice message and then a WhatsApp text.

In our initial contact with him, we provided our itinerary for the day, the approximate locations of the stores and asked about his availability and pricing.

By the way…he speaks perfect English.

Here is the message we sent him:

We were referred to you by reviews on TripAdvisor. We are interested in hiring you for a shopping trip in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, on Monday, October 9th, 2017.

The stores are:

Costco – Cancun – general shopping for non-perishables

Home Depot – Cancun – lampshades and wall tile

DAC – Playa del Carmen – tofu

Liverpool – Playa del Carmen – for lampshades, if not at Home Depot

CFE – Playa del Carmen – to pay bill in advance

We live in Puerto Aventuras, but could meet you at the ADO Station on 5th at 10:00 a.m. However, you would be bringing us back to Puerto Aventuras at the end of the trip. We would need you to provide us with your taxi number, so that we would know which taxi is yours.

Are you available on this date? What is the estimated cost for this type of trip?

Thank you,

He graciously sent us a voice message and text message thanking us for selecting him, provided a price of $2,300 pesos (approximately $120 USD, which we paid at the end of the day), and telling us where to meet him. Please note that your cost will be based on your activity for the day. Although he is not authorized to meet at the location we suggested, his pickup location was even better. We met him on 10th Avenue just to the north of Avenue Benito Juarez at the little taxi bump out pickup spot.

In addition, he provided a photo of himself and his taxi showing his taxi number. The day before our shopping trip he sent a WhatsApp to confirm our appointment, and a few minutes before our scheduled pickup time, he sent another WhatsApp to make sure we had found our meeting place.

Senor Cruz with his taxi, #2781

Let me just say this and then you can stop reading right now, if you want. Senor Cruz provided exemplary customer service from our first WhatsApp message to the minute he dropped us off at our condo in Puerto Aventuras.

We spent the entire day laughing and talking as if we were lifelong friends. He asked appropriate questions about our shopping trip so that he could assist us. Our first stop was Costco to do our normal bulk shopping (no perishables). We assumed Mr. Cruz was just going to sit in the taxi and wait for us…WRONG. He came in with us, pushed our shopping cart around and helped us load up. We were beginning to understand why so many people had so many nice things to say about him and his service.

Our next stop was Home Depot, and that’s when things got tricky;

Stained and yellow lampshade

let me explain. We needed to purchase two lampshades to replace two we have in our bedroom We thought that surely Home Depot would have lampshades. Well, they don’t. They only sell lamps with lampshades, but no separate lampshades. My husband and I were so disappointed. So, while we were standing there trying to figure out what we were going to do about the lampshades, Senor Cruz asked some of the Home Depot staff about other stores in the area that could help us. Additionally, we also wanted to purchase wall tile for a small project and had a sample piece with us from the United States. We knew they probably would not have the exact tile, but we were hoping for something similar. Needless to say, Home Depot did not have any tile that we liked, and their prices were much higher than we were willing to pay. Again, Senor Cruz inquired into other tile places in the area and off we went in search of tile and lampshades.

Now keep in mind, that driving all over Cancun for lampshades and tile was not on our list of things to do. But Senor Cruz wanted us to be happy, so he drove us to several other stores. We eventually gave up on the tile; it was just too expensive. But the lampshades turned into an adventure.

Senor Cruz ended up driving us to three other lamp stores. Each time inquiring into another lamp store that could help us. The last store was a winner – Lamparas & Decoracion! They had beautiful lamps, and lampshades. And although they did not have the size we needed, they make custom lampshades there! We were so excited and could not believe that we had finally found a store that could help us. But our excitement turned to dread as we started worrying about the potential cost of custom-made lampshades. Well, we worried for absolutely nothing. Both lampshades, in the material and color that we wanted, with a rust resistant frame, would only cost a total of $980 pesos (about $51 USD) with a turnaround time of a few weeks. We paid for the shades and obtained our receipt. We were elated!

But then we quickly realized that we were in Cancun and would need to come back in a week or so to pick up the lampshades. Well before we could protest, Senor Cruz said that he would pick up the lampshades for us and bring them to Puerto Aventuras. Oh my gosh…did I tell you that Senor Cruz was going above and beyond with customer service? We were just so happy and excited that he was willing to do that for us. He indicated that since he lived in Cancun, and worked in Playa del Carmen, it would be easy for him to pick up the lampshades. And when he picks up a fare that’s going into Playa del Carmen (which is all the time), he would send us a quick WhatsApp to let us know he’s on his way to Puerto Aventuras to deliver them. We told him that would be wonderful and negotiated a small fee for his expenses from driving from Playa del Carmen to Puerta Aventuras.

Tofu dish

So, with the lampshade dilemma taken care of, it was time for our next stop, lunch at 100% Natural, where we introduced Senor Cruz to tofu. He had never eaten it before, but was willing to give it a try. We enjoyed a relaxing lunch with more laughing and talking, with a side-order of Spanish lessons.

Lunch with Senor Cruz

Now it was time to complete our list of things to do. Senor Cruz inquired into why we needed to go to CFE (the local electric company) in Playa del Carmen. Once we explained to him that we just needed access to the CFE automated machines, he explained that we could use any CFE kiosk. He took us to the CFE in Cancun, came in with us, stood on the line and helped us use the machine. We had only used a CFE kiosk one other time since we had moved here and purchased our small condo (four years ago), so we appreciated the extra help he provided in using the machine correctly. We put several thousand pesos on our account at a time, which eliminates the need to go to the office every other month to pay the bill.

The next stop was DAC (the local fruit and vegetable market in Playa del Carmen). We love DAC for several reasons, but the primary item we buy from them is tofu. Our local Chedraui does not sell it, so we typically will buy as many as the store has on its shelf. There were only a few on the shelf, but Senor Cruz cornered one of the staff

members, inquired into more tofu in the back of the store, and we ended up with three cases. Once again, having Senor Cruz with us really helped us get things done.

With the taxi loaded up with items from Costco, the lampshade and tile situation under control, the CFE paid for the next couple of years, and enough tofu to last until Christmas, it was time to head back to Puerto Aventuras.

There is one more thing that I would like to mention here. While we were driving around and chatting, Senor Cruz mentioned that he had a small condo in Playa del Carmen that he rents out from time to time. As I listened to him describe it, I remembered that we have a family member that was interested in coming to Mexico to rent for six months to see if they like it enough to move here permanently. I started asking questions about the community in which his condo was located, and he quickly said that on our way to Puerto Aventuras, he would stop and show us his place. He was gracious enough to take us and show us around. And although it’s not going to work out (too far from Puerto Aventuras), the fact that he was willing to stop and show us, and not just talk about it, spoke volumes.

This entire post is not just about our list of things to do, but more of a personal testimony of how Senor Cruz provided exemplary customer service, is very friendly and personable, and went above and beyond with assisting us with everything.

His willingness to “think outside the box” and collaborate with others to identify additional resources and problem resolution for us only illuminates the importance of having someone with you that knows and understands the culture, language and community.

So just in case you are wondering if we would use his service again, and/or recommend him to others, the answer is a resounding, YES!!!

Senor Agustin Cruz would love to hear from you.

He can be reached by WhatsApp at: +52 (984) 125 – 9299 or Facebook

Senor Cruz business card - front

Senor Cruz business card - back

His services include: airport transportation, private tours (local attractions in addition to tourist sites), shopping trips, and any other service that requires a vehicle.

Happy Riding!!!

QUICK UPDATE:
Senor Cruz delivered our beautiful, new lampshades, as promised, to our home in Puerto Aventuras on October 29, 2017. While he was with us, he bravely indulged in my chocolate mousse, made from…you guessed it, tofu.