I saw many good and excellent reviews about Alice Wanderer in conducting the tours and decided to pick the Uluru day trip with it.
Alice Wanderer in Alice Springs was closed over the festive season and I didn't have a desktop to access the booking webpage, I have to call the national number for Alice wanderer on New Year's eve afternoon (as per advise on the shop window) to make a booking. I was put to the answering machine everytime I called and I left a message (and I was never called back).
Somehow I managed to make the booking through my iphone and an email of booking confirmation was sent approximately 7 days prior to the trip. I didn't get any calls from Alice Wanderer in between and called them 2 days before to confirm my trip.
Pick up time was 0600 but my husband and I didn't see Alice Wanderer passing by but the Emu Run Tour guide was looking frantically for 2 lost passengers at the hotel entrance. She was looking for someone with the name spelt completely different from mine and she didn't have the second passenger's name in record. I called Alice Wanderer again and the operator said he has had informed me that we supposed to join the Emu Run Tour when I called to confirm my trip 2 days ago, which I believed the line service was pretty poor that day and I might have not heard him telling me so. Emu Run had left us then and had to return to the hotel to fetch us. We could instantly see hatred in other tourists' eyes when we got on to the bus as we have delayed the tour, and you can imagine my mood was totally spoilt in the beginning of the trip,
We could have had a better start of the day if Alice wanderer:
1) had clearer instructions on their webpage/confirmation email that they don't run the tour but all the Uluru day trips are taken cared by Emu Run Tour ( as I learnt from the Emu Run guide). Alice Wanderer is just the booking agent for this particular tour. I also felt cheated because the itenerary given by Alice Wanderer was slightly different from Emu Run's.
2) put pick up time and location on the booking confirmation email (did not exist in my case)
3) Transfer the client's name and details properly! I was still very annoyed that they could have forwarded my details to Emu Run rather than making stupid spellings over the phone. They did not even ask for the second passenger's name nor give my contact details to Emu Run.
4) Always return your clients' calls! That's what an answering machine is for!
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