Incompetent firm

Doubts about buying a tour in this travel agency arose from the moment I visited her office. The bus tour was chosen by us in advance (originally it was a tour of Italy) and my husband and I came to pay. The manager was so busy with another customer that he only greeted us after a fifteen minute wait. The service of this client was carried out for a long time and resembled more a conversation with a friend, moreover, in a very loud and familiar tone. As it turned out, this was an acquaintance of another manager, who was also in the office and was free at that moment, but, unfortunately, was not involved in issuing vouchers. For more than half an hour, we watched the conversation of three people, which concerned not only the purchase of a ticket, but also his personal life, relations with his mother, etc. Having somehow withstood the violation of all the rules of corporate ethics, we found ourselves in front of the manager.

Within the first five minutes of communication, we were interrupted by two phone calls. She had to communicate in detail on the phone with clients, delaying us further. Probably, the travel agency saves on employees. Having paid for the tour back in October, and some time later, having handed over the full package of documents, we were waiting for a call about the readiness of the visa. Once visiting the Bontour website, we did not find the tourist product that we chose and became worried. Called and then visited the office. In early December, it turned out that the tour was not booked and we had two options: to take the money and not go anywhere, or to choose another, but less interesting one. I wanted to go and we chose a tour to Germany - Switzerland. The first unpleasant moment at the beginning of the trip was an uncomfortable stay on the bus. We ordered seats in rows 3-4, but ended up opposite the main entrance, and the seats are too tight (knees rest against the seat in front).

After two days of travel, our guide (Yulia Morozova) began to campaign for the purchase of additional excursions, adding that if we don’t do this, then she is very sorry for us, but while those who paid are going to these beautiful places, the rest will have to wait for the bus to return at a gas station or bus stop , and no alternative was offered, as is usually the case - those who wish go, the rest walk through no less beautiful places on their own. Having paid for a transfer (35 euros) to the Bavarian castles, we traveled in a full group, and then it turned out that not everyone paid for this trip and ended up there anyway. What happens: a trip to the castles was carried out along the way and all almost 50 people pay 35 euros for the transfer, and there is nothing in the program besides the castles. In my opinion, this is a financial crime on the part of a travel agency with super profits.

A ticket to the castles is paid separately (13 euros for 20 minutes of listening to the audio guide). The path to the castles also caused annoyance and indignation that all the beautiful views outside the window could in no way be seen and photographed by tourists because of the dirt on the windows. The day before, the tourists reminded the guide about the cleanliness of the windows, she said that upon arrival at the hotel, the drivers will fix it. That did not happen. Having approached the Bavarian castles, I was not the first to rush to the drivers to remind them of their duties. The driver with an impenetrable look, almost without looking at the interlocutor, referred to the dirty roads, lack of water and tools for washing windows. He added that it needed rain to wash the windows. I said that all this should be in his use, he shrugged his shoulders and said that we can buy a brush and tools, but he does not have them. The complaint was made to the guide. She also confidently and without a hint of embarrassment answered that the late arrival (at 20:30!

) to the hotel in the evening prevented this procedure. But still, it had an effect and from the elevation we observed the driver with a brush in his hands and a bucket of water. Some tourists paid for a transfer to the Rhine Falls (15 euros), we did not. The guide also lamented about the "deprived", who have to wait somewhere there. As a result, everyone went and, we are sure, more than half of the tourists did not pay for it. We found out the ticket price at the box office for the waterfall - 4 euros. In addition to the waterfall at this time, again, nothing is offered. Even without buying a ticket, we were able to see the waterfall from another observation deck, accidentally finding a path and going down it. But we still paid for the transfer to the two towns of Montreux and Vevey, even managed to frighten us with "three hours of waiting for the departing group near the toilets of the Chillon castle."

The Swiss Riviera is a wonderful place, but the guide did not even mention the alternative of walking to it on your own or using other transport (10 minutes! from Chillon Castle), as well as the possibility of an equally beautiful walk along the lake for those who do not want to go. The next unpleasant moment was very little free time in the visited cities. Arriving in Zurich, a two-hour walk in the city was announced. We spent the first half hour waiting for the guide and half of the group at the pharmacy (because half of the bus got sick). I suggested to the guide to increase the time of our stay in the city, part of the group also agreed. Yulia did not give me the opportunity to conduct a dialogue with her, turning away and not looking into my eyes, she said quickly that it was impossible, to get up early tomorrow and in general it was necessary to talk about this on the bus. It was not possible to continue the conversation, because.

she didn’t turn around in my direction anymore, but was already speaking into the microphone. Having led us through the streets of Zurich, she let us go for a walk on our own, which was half an hour before the bus left. As a result, we arrived at the hotel at 20:00. Wouldn't it have been better to devote more time to exploring the city. I can't remember anything other than the train station. Listening to the conversations of tourists, we realized that almost everyone wanted to stay in the city, but no one wants to tell the guide about it, preferring to express dissatisfaction among themselves. After Zurich, we arrived in a beautiful town where our hotel was located. And they were able to make up for the lack of impressions by walking in its vicinity and exploring the ancient castle. It is a pity that this is also not mentioned by the guide. We lost an elderly tourist in Bamberg.

Everything ended well, she was able to connect with the group in front of the ferry, but if we had photocopies of the city map with a bus stop mark on our hands, this could have been avoided. It was also illogical to arrive after a walk around Stockholm at the ferry terminal an hour and a half before its departure (wouldn't it be better to increase free time than to stand in anticipation). The last day of the trip also caused bewilderment due to the absence of any excursion program - “At 7:00, arrival in Turku. Departure of the bus to St. Petersburg, on the way it is possible to stop in a smokehouse. Arrival in St. Petersburg in the evening”, this is how the travel agency described the content of the last day. But we are buying a 9-day tourist product! We arrived in the city at 5 pm.

After talking with different tourists from our group, I did not hear a single positive review, and the claims were identical to mine.

However, in the questionnaires handed out to us at the end of the tour, the majority preferred to simply tick the box, without highlighting the details of their claims. I urge people who pay money and receive a product that does not meet their expectations for them, to be more active and defend their rights, at least by making verbal contact with representatives of the travel agency. If everyone keeps silent, then, as always, we will receive what we receive, and the Service Seller will continue to sell us what suits us. But if we are silent, then how will he know that this is not so.

Positive impressions do not concern the merits of the travel agency, the beauty of the Alps, as well as other places we visited, was created without her participation)))

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