16 Jul 2022
I have used Viator in the past with good results but this time I feel quite violated. Our tour guide was pleasant but quiet and didn’t really know what she was showing us. From the beginning of the tour it was evident she didn’t know how to guide a group. We had one person with disabilities and was assured it would be possible. It was difficult but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was at each stop our guide didn’t seem to know how to gather the group and then speak with enough volume that people could hear. The person being trained for tours knew more and explained the errors she was telling us. At many stops she would say a quiet few words and I had to ask is there anything more that you would like to tell us about the buildings or history with no additional response. How is this acceptable. How is the answer to what was done in the building where the king used to reside, “I’m….king stuff”? Or, incorrectly identifying the building where the Supreme Court worked? Or when asked a question simply pointing to a plaque for us to read? After continual frustration at each stop we finally requested we skip the last few sites and proceed to the eating experience at the end knowing that the following sites would be more frustrating. She agreed and took us to the place where we were to receive a traditional treat. We sat outside the restaurant for 25 minutes then brought inside where she found a table full of dirty dishes. We sat waiting for that table to be cleared for 20 minutes, never even got to sit at it. Then waited another 15 minutes wondering if we had been left by the guide. At one point one of the group was hungry and gluten intolerant so she and her dad left to find her something to eat with no worries about that but we were soon to find the guide talking to the people behind the counter with what appeared to be our food. The guide was being repeatedly told we do not take credit cards. It appeared they were having difficulty finding a way to pay for the food. The plates were taken away. By this time we were getting close to an hour waiting. We were done having our precious touring time waisted. So we decided to leave. The guide tried to convince us to stay saying they were cooking new rolls for us. We had had enough. We were never rude but assertively asking for what we were promised when we signed and paid for. In the end my very polite but assertive sister in law got on the phone with Sophie the organizer of the tour explains some of the concerns and frustrations we had. The final kick in the shorts was the response I got from the organizer mis representing and mis characterizing the whole experience. We are a jovial and polite family but to a person this tour frustrated us very early on. We could see the embarrassment on the face of the trainee. This tour company needs to care a lot more about the people they are supposed to serve. Avoid this group you will get more out of reading the plaques. I have never left a negative review for anything before this experience. I wish the tour group and Viator would have made this right. We all felt taken advantage of.