Bummed out, big part of it was on me, but I am bummed they couldn't help us out with more than they offered. I'll try to make this story short.
Booked with Chase Rewards
Got a confirmation email the day we booked. 10/1/2022
Got to Kauai on a Tuesday 10/4/2022
Thursday afternoon 10/6/2022 we go to get our voucher ready for our trip Friday 10/7/2022 (or so we thought)
Realized the trip was for Thursday 10/6/2022 literally happening as we we preparing...Yea thats on us for "no showing" and thinking our trip was the wrong day.
Called the tour operator and was told they tried calling us, but the number was an 866 Viator number so they had no way of contacting us to see if we were coming.
We never got a reminder from Viator or the tour operator about our trip.
Tour operator offered a friends/family discount to buy another ticket and get the 2nd free (BOGO), which is cool I guess. Tour Operator suggested to call Viator to see what they could do.
I called Viator and the lady said she would check with the tour operator. She put me on hold and called the tour operator and ended up speaking to the same lady I spoke to. She got back on the phone with me and told me I would have to rebook 2 tickets and pay another $400....
So I called tour operator back to see what what the deal was and she told me yeah since it went through the third party they couldn't do anything and since the tour was already out on the water and had us listed as no shows on the manifest she couldn't go into the system and rebook. She said she would still give the me BOGO deal for the next day, Friday 10/7/2022. I then asked who got paid the $400 and she said they did (tour operator).
I mean cool, yeah thanks for the BOGO offer, and yeah completely our fault for getting our days mixed up, but damn I cannot believe ya'll couldn't just rebook our spots to the next day since you had space open. You literally just took $400 for absolutely no work.
I think there was a couple hiccups on all parties here.
1. Viator for not sending out a reminder email and not collecting our contact information for the tour operator to contact us.
2. Tour Operator for not sending out a reminder email or trying to get contact information from the 3rd party for their guests.
3. Us for getting our days mixed up and missing the tour.
Wish the tour operator had some better island vibes for an honest mistake especially since they had open spots the following day and since the "3rd Party" didn't give them our contact information.
I understand it from the business side of not giving us the spots on Friday at no charge because another couple could potentially show up Friday and pay the $400 on the spot, so that would have been the tour operator missing out on that sale, BUT since this was partially a 3rd party issue by not giving the tour operator proper contact information for their guest I would think they see the honest mistake and make the accommodation no charge.
What I think should have happened is they should have said "Hey show up tomorrow for the tour and if the spots are still open at the start of the tour you can take them at no charge since you missed the previous day. If it fills up sorry but we can still give you the BOGO for another day. IF THEY HAD JUST TRIED TO MAKE IT RIGHT, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A 5STAR review type situation/customer service.
Anyways lesson learned and I will remember this one because its a $400 sting.
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Oct 2022
Your frustration is shared by us as well. Third party bookings are challenging. Not only do we have to wait what is often 2 months to get paid on expenses we incurred, third party booking are often anNonimized so we have a very difficult time in contacting clients. Numbers are hidden and emails are driven through portals. Not to mention additional “fees”and vastly oversized entities. Rebooking to an open boat can be dome. That however requires there to be an open boat. We are often full to capacity and as such there is no seat to rebook to. We understand that things go stray once in a while. We do what we can when we can to smooth out the wrinkles. Thats what makes the world go around. Third parties have contracts and often are less flexible on when refunds or rebooking are offered. They can also be quite petulant when they want to “look good” for the client. We are most often between a rock and a hard place. Thats where and why policy is established. Some less than favorable comments come when we dont issue a timely refund when one is due. For others out there… if you book third party, we dont have they payment. We cannot issue the refund. It has to come from the party with whom you made the booking. Thought I would take the opportunity to address that as well while I am here. On another point, I can no longer easily respond to reviews. I need to have my phone with me next to a computer to verify my identity. Its challenging in my occupation. Just one more hurdle. I have some catching up to do. Book direct. Double check your date. Get up on time. Have a great day on the water.