I was going thru' my pending file and came across an item that I wanted to bring to your attention on returning to the US.
The guide for Delhi assigned to us on the Compass paperwork was Sudeep but when we got to Delhi, we were told that we would be assigned to a different guide. No big deal. Our guide in Delhi was a Sikh gentleman, Rajinder (don't have his last name).
Unfortunately, Rajinder was not the kind of guide we were used to by then, with Compass. For one thing, he asked us to give him money for his entrance fee to the monuments. It was my understanding that we were not responsible for the entrance fee of the guides. But I did not want to belabor the point with Rajinder, so I went ahead and gave him the money.
Rajinder also asked my husband for money saying that he would give us the money back later in the evening. Needless to say, we did not get the money back.
You can check the veracity of this information with Rajinder. His cell phone number is 09891478919. He should have known better than to get money from us in this fashion. We averaged tips of Rs. 400-500 per day to our tour guides and went ahead and gave him a good tip as well since we did not want to be cheap towards our guide.
I thought you may want to have this information as Rajinder may swindle other clients as well and give Compass and Indians in general a bad reputation.
Sincerely,
Name : Marianne DeMers, UK E-mail : thedemers@hotmail.com Year : 2006, June
Hi Durjay,
Well it has taken four weeks, just to get home and get back to work and all those mundane things that you have to cope with after a bit of time away.
Well to start off, Thank you for a wonderful holiday, everything you said would happen did, all our planning (mostly yours) went off wonderfully and you made our trip one of a lifetime!!!
The accommodation was excellent, drivers were well informed and accommodating to our needs and transfers were all arranged all with a minimum of fuss to us. A special thanks must be given to "BOB", our driver for 17 days. He was so helpful and friendly, while being very professional in all his dealing. Nothing was any trouble to him in the way of helping us out, so if you could pass that on to him it would be very much appreciated.
I feel that by taking your advice on the places to visit and time needed in each location we used our allotted month very wisely, thus without your help I am sure we would have muddled around for the month missing so many things. It is without a doubt to best way to go to still be able to travel independently, but all the little things organized. In saying that I would like you to know that it is especially noted that all those little things that you had covered really made the difference in my trip, actually it is without a doubt the best organized trip I have ever been on.
So Dujay, thank you so much for all the planning, and putting together a great trip of India for us and if ever anyone would like to contact me in regards to a trip they are planning with you I would be more than happy to relay to them of the wonderful time you gave to us in our country, and I can not recommend you enough to any person interested in travelling in India.
Thank you once again and if I can be of any service to you it would be a pleasure.
Kind regards
Name : Robyn Fenwick, AUSTRALIA E-mail : rfenwick@optusnet.com.au Year : 2003, September
Dear Durjay,
We all arrived back home safe and well, but tired. We enjoyed our trip.
The North Tour was exceptional and although hectic, we managed to visit most of the places we had earmarked.
The hotels were all excellent and so was the driver and his assistant.
We would have loved to spend an extra day both at Jaipur and Haridwar. May I just make one observation regarding the charity collectors at haridwar. For tourist's sake the authorities in charge at the ghat should limit the number of organisations collecting for charity. Maybe this will be good for tourism and as you are very much involved in the industry you may wish raise this matter with the appropriate authorities. Also there are too many priests touting for business. It appears that they want you to perform a pooja ceremony either out of guilt or fear!!!
We arrived safely in Mumbai on Xmas day. It appears Air India did not ring you regarding the alteration of our flight number and time.
The South Tour was just as memorable, but I must confess that Tulip Star was a big disappointment. The room facilities were abominable. They will only give us one towel for the double room, no hand towels etc. We had to request for these amenities on a daily basis, if not once but twice to the duty managers, before they would accede to our request. They also did not offer sea facing rooms, but after complaining they allocated one room, and another the next day, but as we were settled some of my party did not want to change. Anyway I was responsible for changing from Sun and Sand to Tulip Star!
Goa and Bangalore was relaxing. Although I personally still prefer to spend more time in Mumbai (but not at Tulip Star). The guide and drivers were all very helpful.
However the family did some useful shopping in Mysore and Bangalore. I will have no hesitation in recommending Compass to my friends and family here in Sydney if they wish to use the services of a tour operator.
We ourselves are planning to return in two years time, provided our health is OK.
Regards to you and to your staff
Name : Jagdish, AUSTRALIA
Year : 2005, February
cohen trip
We all enjoyed the trip very much and wish to thank you for the wonderful organization and thought that went into our travel arrangements. We are all still talking about the trip.
Our driver from Agra to Udaipur was great and made us feel as safe as possible on wild Indian highways and crazy city streets. He was always smiling, his pants and shirt always pressed and he was available for us if on occasion we wanted to go out in the evening. Even after he drove an entire day the few times we went out in the evening the driver seemed happy to take us into town, etc.
We were equally impressed with the quality of the guides. We all learned a lot from them. One very minor issue, we did not especially like being taken to "tourist" type shops by the guides as part of the tours. In all the guides without exception made out touring very enjoyable and a great learning experience. In some cases at the end of the day we almost said take us back to the hotel, "not another temple", but when we arrived at that last temple or site, it was always WOW we were happy we went! The lunch and dinners selected by you were a nice touch. The camel ride and dinner FUN!
The hotels were (except as noted) all special. We will always remember the Amervillas in Agra. The Laigarh Palace and the Jaj Lake Palace. Nothing equals the service and class of the Oberi hotel chain. We were not really impressed with the Taj Hari Mahel, it was average compared to the other hotels. The one and only problem with hotels was the Grand in Delhi. When we checked in they provided us with a room where the A/C was broken (it was about 30C in the room!). The staff knew the A/C did not't work as the porter informed us it was warm in the room when he brought the bags. When my wife called down to the front desk they advised they would send a repairman. When she asked for a new room the front desk simply hung the phone up. My wife had to go to the front desk and demand a new room. They simply did not want to move us. The room the finally provided us with was a very small single room. It took about an hour to move rooms and luggage. Given we were only in the room for a few hours it did not really matter as to the size. You should demand a refund of any money paid to this hotel and if you get it please donate it to a local charity.
In summary we were impressed at the quality of your services. Your organization made a good trip GREAT. We were well taken care of from our arrival in Delhi until we walked into the airport in Delhi for a flight back to Toronto. The only safety related issue was our train trip (I have great pictures of the window if you ever wish to see it!)
If you ever wish to refer a prospective client for a recommendation on your travel services please do so.
Regards and once again
THANK YOU
Name : Lawrence Cohen, CANADA E-mail : dustali@look.ca Year : 2006, October
Dear Mr. Sanjay,
My husband and I would like to thank you once again for the special care you had given us yesterday and the refund of US$ 120.
We returned safely to Islamabad. The flight in Delhi as well as in Lahore left on time.
For your information: the Ladakhi driver union only took over shortly before the camp in Tsokar.
Up to there, we were driven by (excellent) Pawan, i.e. from Wagha to Tsokar. If you would like to read more about our impressions on hotels, camps and services during the trip, please let us know. It might be helpful for your company, above all when hotels are concerned you booked for the first time like the K2. Compared to other A Hotels in Lehr, the K" is certainly not an "A".
Thanks again for the presents you offered. Having met Mr Sanjay yesterday and feeling his sincere concern about the well being and satisfaction of your clients we shall certainly get into business again sometime in the future.
Rajasthan and Orissa are places we consider visiting while living in the neighbourhood.
Before concluding we would like to commend you once more for the excellent tour guides, Asif and Karma.
With kind regards
Name : Christina Peter, SWISS E-mail : cmpeter@swissinfo.org [mailto:cmpeter@swissinfo.org Year : 2007, June
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