21 Apr 2024
The tour guide Petra M was very rude and unprofessional. There's no excuse for yelling at the member of your tour and calling them a pig.
Towards the start of the tour, Petra yelled at me in front of the whole group for leaving the remains of an apple near the window of my seat after eating it. She was harsh and loud "OMG, I can't believe it, this is ABSOLUTELY UGLY! Come on, look at it! It is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE! Do you see the sign?! This is why we do not allow food in the coach! Can you pick it up and put it in the bin?!"
I was shocked by her dramatic reaction, apologised and put it in the bin, but felt very uncomfortable and embarrassed as it was not intentional. I did not notice the bin/no food sign as we left early when it was still dark and I slept for most of the drive, nor were they mentioned in the briefing. I also forgot to take it with me when we stopped for breakfast as I was only half-awake when I got off. It was not placed near any other passenger as the coach was mostly empty, and I was going to dispose of it when I got the chance. I did not think it needed to be such a huge deal, and that I deserved public humiliation and condemnation.
It was hardly a nice start to the day tour, but I soon put it behind me as other members of the group were friendly and bonded with me as I was travelling solo.
At the end of the tour, I tried to give her some feedback so I got off last and spoke to her when other members have left. Coming from a good place, I was going to suggest adding the no food policy / bin on coach to her briefing, and address such matters in private if needed in future. To my horror, things got even worse.
I started by "Hey Petra, I think you were a bit harsh on me this morning..." and she did not even let me finish that sentence. Instead she started yelling at me again, with her spit flying onto my face: "Come on, I've never seen anyone do anything so DIRTY! I was going to PUKE! It is DISGUSTING! Can't you read the sign?! The driver said don't let you eat the apple and I told him it's fine! Why didn't you take it with you when we stopped for breakfast?! I was treating you as a person but you act like a PIG!"
I was horrified and tried to say my suggestions, to which she said "YOU STOP ACTING LIKE A PIG!" as she jumped on the coach and left. The driver said to me "Sorry but I don't have time" and drove the coach off.
I can see that there are many positive reviews about Petra, I don't understand why she was treating me this way. I don't want to make assumptions that it has to do with race etc, but I would NOT recommend going with this tour company. It ruined my Granada experience, it was absolutely unacceptable behaviour that I would never expect from a licensed hospitality professional. I will be lodging a formal complaint to Junta de Andalusia and I demand an apology from Petra personally.