First we would like to thank our guests for taking the time to write a thorough review of their experience, and also express regret that their experience did not match their expectations.
Satisfaction of our guests is of utmost importance for our company, and we always try our best to organize a memorable experiences for our guests.
After the tour in question we organized a meeting with the guide to go over the points our guests made and find ways to improve our service in the future.
I would like to stress that good communication with a guide is paramount on a private tour, and that all our guides have a great deal of experiences, and will always do their best to listen to their guests and adjust aspects of the tour to their guests' wishes. The guide in question has over twenty years of experience as a tour leader and has never had a complaint like this.
In the meeting we heard the guide's side of the story, and would like to address the points made in the review.
At pick up our guides will go over the itinerary with their guests and see if the guests have any questions. Our guide assures us that he presented the itinerary when he picked up the guests.
On the way to the market, driver made a short stop to check the car, at which point the guide asked his guests about their wishes regarding food on the tour, and was assured that guests had no special wishes.
The guide did sit in the front of the car to give his guests some privacy during the ride. However after reading this review, we have asked all our guides to sit in the car with their guests unless their guests express that they would prefer to be alone.
We have also asked all guides to invite their guests on our future tours to go shopping in the market with them. The reviewer's suggestion to do this is great, and it will give our guests a chance to be involved in meal planning if they wish to be.
Itinerary for the reviewed tour clearly states that 45 minutes are spent exploring Chiang Dao caves. We cannot spend more time at this location if we are to reach the village where we spend the night before dark.
We had no way of knowing that our guide won't be able to cross the river with his guests. Had we known this in advance, our guests would have been notified and the trekking route would have been changed. However this year we had drought in Thailand, and it only started raining shortly before the reviewed tour took place. Once heavy rains come, rivers rise rapidly. In these circumstances, the guide took a road on the other side of the river as there was nothing else to do. We have already changed the trekking route for all our future tours.
When guide and guests reached the village where they would stay overnight, guests took a shower and retired to their room. Their guide took this as a sign that they would like to rest after the trek and did not wish to disturb them by asking them to help prepare the dinner. After the dinner was ready, he called the guests, who came and ate, but retired to their room afterward. Their guide did not want to bother them, and left them to rest.
Since the guide was assured that guests had no special wishes regarding the food and since the guests retired to their room, he prepared dinner on his own, and hoped the guests would like the dishes.
He also prepared a western breakfast for them in the morning. Afterward the guests told him they would like more authentic food and he listened to them.
The guide is an expert for Chiang Dao and Mae Taeng areas and he led another tour to this area only a short while before the reviewed tour. However he was not informed about the changes regarding school visits during the previous tour as he visited the school early (new visiting hours are before 8 AM and in the afternoon) and was within the visiting hours. We are now aware of new school rules regarding visitors and will follow them on all future tours.
Visits to elephant camps are optional on most of our tours (with the exception of Two-day elephant experience) and if the guests wish to skip the visit, they can do so. We have offered to do a jungle cooking class instead for this tour, however the cooking class was not possible in the open due to the rain. The class needn’t be canceled as it could still be organized under a roof by the elephant camp or in a nearby village, and we have talked with the guide to see why he chose to skip the class. Again he was not under the impression that his guests were looking forward to this class, and because of the rain and need to look for a new location for the class, he made a call to cancel it. As the cooking class was in the itinerary, and should have been carried out regardless of the weather, we asked our guests how much they would like us to refund for it, and promptly refunded the stated amount. We have also made sure that our guides carry out all points of the itinerary in the future.
Mama noodles (instant noodles) are a staple food in Thailand, sold on food stalls and in restaurants. Guide stir fried them with vegetables as they are usually prepared.
Village home-stays are authentic and there are hardly any frills for the visitors. As on the previous night, guests retired to their room before and after dinner, and their guide did not wish to disturb them. We have met with all our guides and instructed them to introduce home stay families with guests in the future.
We would like to point out once again to our future guests that communicating your wishes about all aspects of the tour is paramount to the tour's success, as every traveler has different wishes regarding food, interaction with locals, and all other aspects of the tour. Your private guide is there to listen to your wishes and prepare best possible experience for you.
On the other hand it is also a guide's responsibility to make sure he knows his guests' wishes, and we have discussed this with all our guides who will now try even harder to establish a good communication with their guests, and to follow their wishes.