Gabriel_C, apr. 2024
I would give the tour itself 4 stars. We got to Niagara quickly. The organization was good. I appreciated the information provided by the guide. Niagara itself is beautiful, of course. Additionally, I really appreciated that we were called to be informed that the weather would be bad on the day of our tour and that we could come a day earlier.
However, the guide left me with a generally bad impression. At the end of the tour, he started explaining how tour drivers live off tips and would appreciate whatever we give him, 5-10-15 percent. Then, he stopped and waited for us at the exit to leave him a tip. We didn't have cash on us, so the guide asked, "Aren't you leaving anything for the guide?" I said we didn't have cash, and he, knowing we were Europeans, insisted: "At least euros?" I said we didn't have any, and he didn't even say goodbye, just turned his back.
We have traveled to many countries over time. We've been to Turkey, where leaving a tip is almost mandatory. We've been to Egypt, where the standard of living for guides is so low that many live below the poverty line. Yet, this is the first time in my life that I was directly asked to leave a tip. In Turkey and Egypt, they had a box labeled 'TIPS'.
Moreover, you would think that in a country like Canada, tourists come without cash. It's 2024. If tipping is so important, why not put a QR code where people can pay with a card? I would have paid that way; I wasn't against tipping, just didn't have the means. Furthermore, I understand that Michael is the manager, at least from the description on TripAdvisor. If so, it's not right to say that drivers rely on tips; he's not just a driver, he's a manager. If 10 percent makes a difference to him, why not increase the tour price by 10 percent? I would have paid the extra 10 percent.
Moreover, Michael is surely not fit to reply to client reviews. I read how he replies to negative reviews. He also replied to my review on a different site. All good manners are gone. He doesn't know how to read feedback and is surely not able to learn from it. All I wrote here could easily be transformed to some action points on their side instead of angry replies.