My partner and I have taken many private tours though Viator, [and others], all of which have met or exceeded our expectations. I don't often comment with a negative review but because of the terrible experience I felt compelled so no one else has to go through the experience we did. Our driver arrived 15 minutes early for our tour and we weren't quite ready, but he was. We left our hotel without water but wasn't concerned as there is usually some bottles in the vans. The driver, [I don't think he gave us his name], greeted us with my name on a sign, had asked someone take a picture of us, [I think for proof that he had picked us up], provided us with a 2 minute explanation of our day ahead, and rushed us outside to stand and wait well he went to retrieved his van, [which took a while - we had wondered if he'd left?]. Once in the van we requested he stop for some beer prior for our 1.5 hour journey to destination 1. It was 45 minutes and thousands of obvious stops later that he pulled in to a gas station, all the while very busy talking on his phone, talking, texting and even face timing. I asked the driver why we were stopping for gas on our time and not his own he explained that this was the "bathroom stop", [we didn't have to go because we had nothing to drink]. Watching him fill up with gas wasn't fun so went to check out the washrooms. Upon entering quickly realized this was not the standard flush toilets we are used to but instead the ones where you squat over the hole on the floor and no toilet paper is supplied. The gas station had no beer available either. We left the gas station with nothing and the driver had gotten his tank filled and came out with bottles of water for himself. I took the picture in this review for safety reasons - I was not confident with this driver wouldn't just leave us somewhere. Once I realized all this driver wanted to do is talk, text and make future taxi appointments with other customers I became frustrated and annoyed. It was obvious to us that his goal on the trip was to force us in to taking a picture with him at each stop to prove we were he had taken us and run off, [we had to constantly look for him]. Needless to say I purposely frowned in one pictures and then refused to take further pictures with him, [my partner much more compliant]. I want to very clear this "tour" is NOT a tour it's a "driver/taxi" only. If you are expecting a conversation regarding history and culture do not take this tour.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We are very sorry to hear that your tour did not meet your expectations and that you encountered several issues during your time with our driver, who is also a licensed guide. We take your feedback seriously and we will be looking into these issues to ensure that they do not happen again. We appreciate your honesty and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. Our goal is always to provide our customers with a positive and enjoyable experience, and we are disappointed to hear that we fell short in this instance. Please be assured that we will take the necessary steps to improve our services and to ensure that our customers receive the high-quality service they expect from us. Thank you again for your feedback, and we hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the future. Best regards, Woonsen
