Travel to Zhangjiajie from Shanghai

Client: Mrs.Belinda Te

Nationality: Filipino

Group Code: TCT-RW-FIT-140413

Pax: 13

Itinerary: Shanghai-Zhangjiajie-Hangzhou-Shanghai

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Dear Ms. Rebecca,

On behalf of our group, I would like to thank you for providing us with a great tour experience in China. Overall, we are satisfied with your service. I would like to commend Ms. Rebecca for patiently revising the tour itinerary to fit our needs. Initially, I was just inquiring about a possible tour to Guangzhou-Guilin. However, due to difficulty in booking flight tickets there, we had to change course. Ms. Rebecca was considerate enough to find ways to accommodate us. Thus, the trip pushed through.
We are realistic enough to know that any trip, no matter how well planned, would not always be perfect. Nevertheless, we had not allowed those minor glitches to overshadow our enthralling memories of a great adventure we had in China.
Since you had requested for feedback, I would like to provide some constructive comments on where you could improve further your service.

1. I suggest that your driver and/or tour guide undergo more briefings or seminars before being assigned to their task. The driver and tour guide assigned to us in Shanghai/Suzhou/Hangzhou aren't familiar with the places they are bringing us to. They spent considerable time asking around on how to reach the hotel, the local restaurants and the scenic spots. Instead of dropping us near our destination place before proceeding to park the bus, the driver/ tour guide would just park the bus and let us take a long walk. They said the bus can't go any nearer, but we saw other tourist buses parked very near the same place we're visiting.

2. Tour guides need to be equipped with handy mobile microphone and TCT flags to be more efficient on the job. Our tour guide in Shanghai did very little explanation of the significance of each place. We were often left to ourselves to stroll around, unlike other tour guides leading other groups, with loud microphones from which we could hear them explain the site's historical significance. As it is, we had to contend ourselves with listening to other tour guides explaining. Our tour guide in Zhangjiajie had a mobile microphone, but it was of poor quality, we couldn't hear well the words spoken. In fairness to our guide in Zhangjiajie, he was a very good guide and diligently explained to us what we see.

3. Some tour guides need to be trained to be more flexible. They need to be realistic in expecting that the nature of their work would entail some nights of late return home from work. Chris was very flexible, but not so with Vicky, our tour guide in Shanghai. We were quite disappointed with her seeming inflexibility, that a simple request as letting the bus pass by "The Bund" at night so we could see the beauty of the night sky was turned down. Her reason, it was not on our way. But later on, I discovered that it's just near our hotel.
After skipping the "Nanjing Road" for an early dinner, we asked if we could visit it after the acrobatic show, she made excuses that the commercial stalls are closed already. However, some of our group members had been to Shanghai before and knew that Nanjing Road stores aren't closed before 10pm. In the end, she relented and brought us there. Apparently, she wants to hurry home already, but she was the one who set the schedule that day to start so late at 9:30am.
On a positive note, Chris, our Zhangjiajie guide, was very kind and flexible. He let us choose what time to go. He even volunteered to bring us to the Bendy Road if time permits. He readily brought us to a grocery store when we requested for it.

4. More coordination is needed for meals and hotel bookings. We requested for non-smoking rooms, but we're placed in rooms with heavy smell of cigarette smoke. We requested for non- oily and non-spicy foods. But almost all the foods were oily and spicy. But the one positive thing is that all meals were served to us so bountifully, as if we're having feasts every day!

Because I care about your company, I've listed the foregoing observations to contribute in some ways to the improvement of your service.
As for the pictures, I shall subsequently send to you because I haven't seen them all. Again, I would like to convey my full appreciation to your group for arranging a great vacation for my family. Thanks and more power to you!

Sincerely,
Belinda