Trinetra Tours
Reviews
Brunei
“Good tour but hidden costs”
Tours can indeed be customised. Emails are verbose so always re-read your final itinerary. All tours start at 9am. This means if you are faced with a long drive ahead, you will end up spending more than half your day in the car. Traffic outside of Delhi is not atrocious and driving within the speed limit along the highways earlier in the morning (say 7-8am) would mean we could have more free time in the afternoons. Allow for hidden costs - in any citytown you will be greeted by a 'local representative' who will 'ensure' your travel plans are good. Nowhere in the initial emails we are expected to pay 100 rupees for this service, until we read the welcome pack brought by the first representative. It also says 500 rupees to be payable to the local guide (different person from the local representative) for each day, and 300 rupees to the driver for each day. We wish Trinetra could have been a little bit more transparent on this. Besides, can't these hidden costs be included upfront into the total tour costs? We become cynical towards the end about people's well intentions as a result of this rampant tipping culture. Our local guide in Jaipur appears to be helpful by trying to assist us in issues relating to our flight tickets, but we later found that he only nodded and say 'yes' without actually doing what he has promised. Our driver for the whole week is courteous and helpful. Checking in hotels are well taken care of. The tour company has been very helpful in arranging our airport transport considering there was a last-minute flight change on our part. TRINETRA TOURS MANAGEMENT POST tapasbanerjee, Owner at Trinetra Tours - Private Customized & Day Tours, responded to this review 2 days ago We are thankful to the guest for traveling with us and making the effort to review us. I do notice the point about starts at 9AM. The decision to start our day depends upon the engagement that we have for that day. If we are to have an early morning tour, our former guests would vouch that we start early. We also have to bear in mind that breakfast service at most hotels commence at 7.30AM. Hence, departing earlier would mean that we do the tour with breakfast boxes. These are fairly measly and, when cold, you could find the food unappetizing and unfulfilling. The philosophy guiding our tours is that we have a full breakfast, a light lunch and then an early dinner. Our daily itineraries are laid out accordingly. Our specialization is in customizing the tours. Hence, if guests do let us know that they wish to start early, why should we have a problem ? I have noticed the guest comment about hidden costs. In all humility, but, with a sense of hurt, I will like to say that there appears to be a mis - communication. First, when a guest books a tour we share with them a pre-departure information. Here, we talk about books to read, electricity, currency, customs etc. and, yes please - TIPS too. I will plead with all our prospective visitors to either read through what we send, or do seek clarifications on anything and everything. Several guests do. They ask us about entry fees, meals, tips, spending money etc. Second, the tipping guidelines are also listed in our welcome letter, However, there is an important point to note, and, I will request readers of my response to verify this with all our former guests if they have any doubts. Whether it be in our pre-departure information, or in our welcome letter, we always let guests know that the TIP amounts mentioned are only guidelines and suggestions. One does not need to comply with these. We have very clearly maintained that tips are only customary, but, they are not mandatory. One can choose to avoid or overlook our guidelines on this matter. We have offered these only because several guests have insisted that they need to know whom to tip,and, how much. One is certainly not obligated to tip and we make that amply clear. At the end of the day, India is a developing country where the masses have aspiration. They look at the foreign visitor with a sense of awe as well as admiration. They have a belief, rightly or wrongly, that the outside world is more privileged and better endowed than theirs. They look at guests perhaps for a little 'leg up' so that they can add a supplement to their meager incomes. Tourism is there only for about half the year. The other half is lived upon the savings made when the sun was shinning. India is a great travel destination that teaches people to better appreciate the accident of their births. Everyone in this world is born the same way and without their choice, but destinies are determined at birth ! Hence, if a dollar or a Pound here or there gratiates the recipient, then, perhaps this gesture is more powerful that the strongest prayers. Having said so, we are certainly not touting for tips on behalf of various providers of services. I just wanted to add a perspective. I will repeat as I said above - tips are always discretionary. I am sorry the Jaipur guide could not occasion help with flight tickets as, inspite of his efforts, the job was beyond his sphere of competence. I am happy the guest remembers the assistance we provided at the Delhi airport. The guest made an error in communicating their arrival information. As a result they arrived a day before and that too in the middle of the night. Thankfully the guest called us and we were able to arrange a pick up very quickly. If any reader desires further clarifications, we will be most willing to offer the same. Report response as inappropriate
Posted on:
23/02/2014
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Visited on:
February 2014
Contributed by:
Ms. Y S Sian
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