24 Mar 2025
We booked multiple tours/ events on-line with EMO Tours in Cairo. We had issues with every pickup, where drivers went to the wrong pickup location and/or were significantly late. At the heart of these issues was EMO not providing either client or driver with the other’s contact information. We later learned that EMO forbid sharing contact information in fear that a client could setup future tours directly with a guide/ driver without EMO getting the revenue. Instead, we had to communicate with the EMO front office acting as the “middleman.” This “relayed” communication became even more fractured outside of regular business hours.
The above resulted in delays and miscommunication, along with our anxiety and escalating frustration. For one evening event; we would’ve been at least ½ hour late for a one-hour Sound & Light show. With an absent driver, we cancelled and asked for (but never received) a refund. I documented and registered a dispute with my credit card company using a WhatsApp log as evidence of the smattered communication we had with the front office (either the driver was lying to the front office, or the front office was giving us affirmations while being ignorant of the situation).