06 Oct 2024
The good news first. Our driver communicated with us before arriving punctually. He relieved us of our luggage immediately and put it in his Audi Quatro. He also carried our two heavy suitcases up the stairs and into our destination hotel. He got us to our destination safely and on time. He was polite and professional.
But looking at my voucher, I see that I was promised an English speaking "driver/guide" and that water would be provided. Your on-line ad said that I would have a choice of 3 places to stop and site see along the way. I chose Melk. The implication was clearly that the "driver/guide" would be familiar with my choice. Why else use the word 'guide'?
First of all, our driver did speak some English...enough to get by. Second, he had never been to Melk and knew nothing about it. So, he couldn't guide us at all. He asked us where we wanted to be let off. Fortunately, I had done my homework and knew about the monestary, so we had him take us there. Third, there was no water provided for us passengers. The only water was in the giant bottle that our driver had for himself.
I don't blame our driver for never having been to Melk, and I don't blame him for not knowing to provide us with water. Maybe this was his first time or maybe he was a sub. But I do blame the company that Viator chose to use to provide this service.
All in all, our experience was good, but not as good as our other Viator experiences. We have used Viator dozens of times in the past, and this is the first time we did not get our money's worth.