Overall, this tour was alright. Gray Ghost winery was awesome and we got lucky enough to have a member of the family who owns the winery available to give us a tour and do our tasting. We then went to Narmada winery which was fine, but sort of fell flat after the first amazing experience - the wine was decent, but instead of an actual tasting we purchased 4 bottles and split these among the entire group. The tour group called me earlier in the week and told me that we were such a large group, that we would not have to have any other groups with us. Unfortunately the day of, we left 40 minutes late because there was another group with us and they were late. So we sat on the bus patiently awaiting their arrival for 40 minutes. I would have thought since we had a time limit for the day, we would honor a grace period for late comers so we were not rushed the rest of the day. The snacks we were provided included stale oyster crackers, stale chips, and I didn’t bother trying anything else. With this price, it’s sort of shocking that there is no real food included. We were told we would be driving an hour away, and two hours later we arrived. It was not due to DC traffic, either. When we pointed out this was going to be a two hour drive, Angela insisted that was incorrect and it was an hour and five minutes - despite holding up my Google maps and pointing out this was not the case. If the ride is really going to be that long, it would’ve been nice to at least have some commentary on the scenery we were passing and/or some wine history instead of the silence (no radio). I’m not sure our driver had ever driven this bus before, but if this was not her first time then I’m even less impressed. Stop go, stop go, for two hours isn’t cute. One of my favorite moments was when we pulled out of the first winery and cut someone off at 50 mph. I’m not really sure what the purpose of our “guides” were except to ask us to write a review every 15 minutes in exchange for a reusable grocery bag, because I didn’t receive much knowledge from Angela. We had Will as our guide as well, and he was very knowledgeable and seemed to read the room well. Will being good at talking but not being overbearing, and Gray Ghost are the reasons I will give this tour 3 stars instead of 1.
事業者からの返答
Dear Vanessa! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback and impressions. We are truly sorry to learn that the tour did not meet your expectations. And while we find a lot of inaccuracies in your review, we are just sad that you did not enjoy your tour as much as we always hope our guests will. We always strive for excellence in all our winery tours. So, I'll take some time to address your concerns and hopefully you'll join us again in the future, having a better understanding of your concerns and our approach.
1. Informative Tour features: You state in your review that you were "lucky enough" to get a tour and tasting led by a member of the family that owns Gray Ghost winery. This is not luck, but an essential feature we built in the Informative tour, which you chose after our conversation. The Informative Tour includes 1. Informative Stop, where you get a tour of the facility and the cellar and informative tasting, led by a member of the family, in order to learn about wine tasting and the different wines and 2. a Relaxed Stop, where you receive a flight of wine and can order and enjoy your lunch as well as connect with the members of your group. This is not supposed to be a grilling wine education tour, but a fun experience overall. It's a cohesive experience where you get to learn about wine and also get to enjoy your lunch and the company of your friends. While we provide information, we also don't want to overwhelm our guests and want to leave them with time to connect and have fun. That is especially true in your case as you were all celebrating a bachelorette. At Gray Ghost Vineyard, our guests receive a tasting (small pours of 7-12 wines), while learning about the different wines, while at Narmada our guests receive a flight (larger pours of 3-4 wines), so that guests can relax and enjoy lunch and connect with the members of the group. This is exactly what happened on your tour as well and our tour guides explained the entire tour and rationale before and during the tour. Our helpful partner staff presented the wines and then our knowledgeable guides - Angela and Will poured the wines for you. Will got to seat in your group and personally share more about his experience and insights, while Angela sat with the other group, which is why maybe you feel that Will was more knowledgeable.
2. Wine Knowledge and Expertise: We are the only wine tour company in the area that actually has licensed wine experts leading the journey into Virginia’s wine country and in your case, you even had two wine experts on the tour – Angela and Will. Angela shared with you information about the tour, Virginia’s wineries and the specific wineries you’d be visiting and she asked you if you wanted to know more, to let her know. No one said anything and asked no questions, so she assumed, that the bachelorette party wanted to talk amongst themselves and enjoy each other’s company on the drive there. On the drive back, the tour guides talked to the people who had interest and the rest took a nap, which is common on most drive backs from the wineries. We cater to the needs and desires of our guests. If they request music, we provide it. If they want to learn more, our knowledgeable experts are more than willing to share their insights. If no one in your group speaks up and says anything, we unfortunately, can’t respond to something we don’t know. Our tour guides don’t want to overwhelm the crowd and talk too much, so they try to respond to the level of interest from the group.
3. Delays: Your tour left D.C. at 10:15am (just 10 minutes after it was supposed to leave 10:05am), because we extended the same courtesy, which I'm sure you'd expect as well, to a guest who was running late. While we ask all of our guests to arrive at least 10 minutes early – around 9:50am (in case guests need to use the facilities or get a coffee prior to the trip), the tour is not slated to depart until 10:05am. Thus, I’m sorry that you ended waiting 30 minutes in total prior to departure, but that is simply to ensure there’s enough time for guests to use the facilities and everyone to gather. Still, the tour guides adjusted the times at the wineries accordingly to ensure that you have extra time at the wineries and your tour returned to D.C. at 5pm, rather than the time tours usually return – which is 4:30pm.
4. Travel time: You arrived at Gray Ghost at 11:47am – just 17 minutes delay from the time we were expected there at 11:30am. You chose the informative route and we shared information about the wineries we’d be visiting well in advance, and if you had any concerns, you should have mentioned them at that time, rather than on the bus while on route to the first winery. You mentioned in your review that you confronted with the tour guides that it would take 2 hours to arrive at the first winery. We track the vehicles and transactions and we had two tour guides on your tour, who all verified that you reached the first winery at 11:47am. Furthermore, as anyone can see, GPS shows that the time between Convention Center in DC and Gray Ghost Vineyard is about 1 hour and 25 minutes. We always take the shortest routes and our transportation uses the toll lanes. On Saturday, the drive took 1 hour and 30 minutes, which is what we budget and which is what the tour guides told everyone prior to departing. (Angela was correct when she gave you the time to arrival.) Further, we choose wineries that are close to each other so that we can minimize the time you spend in the car and once you’re out in Virginia wine country, you spend more time enjoying the scenery and the wine, rather than driving between wineries.
5. Private vs. Public Group: When we spoke earlier that week prior to the tour, we told you that you that you were such a large group in the group tour that you could choose the route, not that you would be the only ones on the tour. You booked a group winery tour, which means there may be other guests on the tour and guests sometimes book last minute, which is ok by us. You did not book a private tour, which would ensure it’s just your group. If you wanted to be the only ones on the tour, we advise you to book a private tour next time.
6. Price: We provided snacks on the tour, which is a lot more than the other wine tour companies provide at that price. You booked directly through our website a group tour, which at the time costed you $155/person – to include transportation, wine expert, snacks, and tastings, a lot more than other wine tour companies provide. We offer the lowest prices in the industry. For that price, you can only book transportation from other wine tour companies – no expertise, no snacks, no tastings.
6. Snacks: You state the chips were stale. We didn’t provide you with chips. We provided PopCorners, which are not fried and we believe are a healthier alternative to chips. Granted, they are different than chips, but they are crunchy, delicious and are definitely not stale (the expiration date on the package was March 2024).
7. Drivers: We work with professional drivers and executive transportation. However, we cannot control other drivers on the road. So, if we are driving in traffic – there will be lots of stop and go motion, or if we are on the highway, and someone suddenly breaks, the drivers have to respond accordingly to avoid collision. Same, they make calculated decisions as appropriate. If you were uncomfortable, you should have said something to the tour guide, who is there to ensure your maximum comfort and work with the driver to adjust the temperature, music, and drive to your liking. Unfortunately, they are not trained in reading minds and cannot respond accordingly.
If there is anything else that concerned you that we have not addressed, please don't hesitate to reach out and give us a call to discuss. We always hope to provide excellent customer service and a fun and delicious experience. Hope you'll join us on another winery tour soon and thank you again for your thoughts and feedback.
Cheers,
Doni
