Yesterday I did the Yosemite 1 day tour with my boyfriend, this is the 4th tour I have done with Extranomical including doing the same tour last year. I booked with Extranomincal again as my previous experience with them had been fantastic however after yesterday we were both left disappointed.
The first half of the tour was great and both my boyfriend and I were in awe of Yosemite. Unfortunately, the epic grandeur and peace of the day was spoilt when our guide Aoka miscounted the number of guests on the bus and we spent 30 minutes waiting for the guest to be found only for him to already be on the bus! The frustration of the guide was obvious with her mood reflected in how she highlighted that she read his name "5 times" and asked everyone to "take a deep breath". Had she not miscounted and/or learned to pronounce foreign guest names correctly, the error may not have occurred.
What should have been the last of it, unfortunately, wasn't. At a subsequent stop, she told another Extranomincal guide that she "needed a hug" and then got off the bus to obviously talk about what had occurred and was seen talking to a couple of American guests about what had happened also.
On the whole what was a problem was made bigger by her reaction and it left us both feeling disappointed by what was meant to be a great day. The guide mentioned that she was "sassy" but both this and other problems throughout the day with airconditioning and late returners created a tension in the experience that we could have done without.
We were glad to get off the bus and only left a tip due to the length of the day, not a job well done. I will think twice again before booking with Extranomincal the next time I'm in town.