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Sept 27th Tour - Any advice or any fellow travelers ?
We are booked on the Sept 27th tour oF Bellisima Northern Italy. Are there any fellow travelers out there ? Any comments or suggestion regarding this tour. By looking at the reviews it seems there have been issues in the past, here's hoping they have been resolved. Thanks
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Going to Geneva first for a few days. Then a day early in Milan.
Didn't know about issues. Please tell.
On my Classic Italy tour someone complained to me on their room assignments at hotels, even after the TD more than once explained she gives the names to the hotel and has no control over the view you get. He made it sound like the hotels were doing it on purpose. From hotel to hotel he did not see they would not have know if he had a view or not. He said to me I PROBABLY HAD A GOOD VIEW like I had any control. I did not tell him that particular hotel I had a fantastic view.
Tauck does look at the comment cards we fill out at end of tour and if a TD got bad reviews from most on tour they would address it with the TD or get rid of them.
Out of interest, I checked the reviews for this tour. There were 2 reviews, both for September 2013, and one in July 2011 of the total 25 posted that were what I'd call bad reviews. The earliest one complained that there were …"too many churches." Maybe this guest would be happier in Disneyland than Italy? They'll know for next time, though, won't they.
Of the most recent negative reviews, they complained that the "Director" (the other guest apparently had a "Program Director") lacked organisational skills. One of the curious things I noticed is that for both these reviews, Tauck posted a response, indicating they would be in direct contact with the guests. And that Tauck were transparent enough to leave the reviews & responses on the site. No other reviews since September have mentioned organisationally challenged TDs. This would seem to indicate that any genuine issues have indeed been resolved, kcfromkc. Another thing I have noticed over the 18 Tauck tours I've taken is that if you do find fault with the TD, it won't be for their organisational skills!
What's the bet that these 2 reviews were a collaborative effort, huh?
Cheers,
Jan
The roles for the tour director are many. As organizers, the tour directors I have seen have been great. If they see an issue, they solve it quickly and in a manner that is beneficial for the majority of the people on the tour. As problem solvers, they have been "quick on their feet" to fix problems, readjust the day's schedule if there are conflicts, work with the hotels, and give guidance to the bus drivers. On an island in Greece we arrived on a Monday and a museum we were supposed to visit was closed. The tour director and tour guide got on the phone to one of the restauranteurs and the next thing we knew, we had a fantastic lunch (not scheduled) at his establishment. Quick thinking and reacting. I put it on his evaluation and hope his boss read it.
However, sometimes I see them as having to herd cats--getting people on the bus, meals, and venues on time. With some travelers this can be their most challenging task. Situations are not nearly as challenging as people. Almost everyone I've seen is easy going and do what they can to make things go smoothly. It is just a small handful that present hurdles that the tour director must clear.
Tauck, it seems to me, does a great job of training their staff--from call centers to tour directors--in customer service. As Jan pointed out, they don't hid their "warts" and work with travelers to correct any mistakes. They even carry their mission of customer service to their vendors. I had a problem with a neighboring guest at the Royal Horseguards (not a Tauck guest) and I was moved from our very nice room to the upstairs apartment for the last three nights of our stay there. That was far more than I expected, but in line with Tauck's expectations. At Loch Erne I was going to play golf but they had a Junior Tournament going on. The golf pro gave me a cart to drive around the course and take pictures and watch some very talented, young golfers compete. I also got to meet Nick Faldo in the bar...not a Tauck benefit...just good timing.
Overall, my feeling is that Tauck's mission is achieved all but a few times and they do their best to fix it when it isn't accomplished. I think a very few guests--very few--just have expectations that can't be fulfilled, no matter how hard anyone tries. I look forward to my next three trips and have plans to make many more. Hope to see some of you on them. I enjoy reading some of these posts and I love the sense of humor many of you exhibit. That is what makes you fun to travel with.
Happy Trails.
Thank you for all the wonderful comments about our TDs. We all work very hard to try to give everyone on our trips the best experience possible, and yes, like ndvb said, sometimes things happen that are beyond our control, but when they do, we do our best to adjust. I can assure you all that, just like crackers54 said, we do read the comment cards, and we take them very seriously; when we find out that there was some kind of issue, we always do our best to respond to it so our guests leave happy, and make corrections so they won't happen again.
If you have any concerns at all, kcfromkc, please reach out to us.
Thank you,
Tim
I guess the trick is to spot the pebble before someone chucks it in a pond. And it's a pretty rare situation when this type of situation escapes Tauck HQ's expert scrutiny.
Cheers,
Jan