Dear Gia,
Thank you for your note regarding the Victoria Tour on October 5. I apologize that you feel your experience was poor that day. We are shocked to hear this considering you had one of our senior guides, Tim, with over 20 years of experience. Please allow me to address your comments and concerns. I am truly sorry that you were under the impression that you are required to stay at the Westin Bayshore because it is the meeting point for this tour. We have set the default meeting point at the Westin Bayshore because it is one of the first hotels that we pick up at, allowing you more choice in seat selection. It is, however, noted that this is simply the default pickup location, and that we pick guests up at their hotel of choice, as long as they contact us with that information before the day of the tour. They are then provided with pickup time depending on where in the city their hotel is. These pickup times downtown can range from 7:25 to 8:00AM.
I have spoken with your guide, Tim, and reviewed the GPS tracking of Tim’s bus and see that he did not, in fact, have a guest who was 15 minutes late. He arrived at the Sutton Place Hotel at 7:42AM, which is well ahead of schedule. The pickup time for this hotel is 7:55AM. He departed this hotel at 7:56AM, and departed from downtown Vancouver after picking up his last guest at 8:04AM.
Perhaps there is some confusion regarding the ferry, but we have a reservation for our tour buses on the 10:00AM ferry, not the 9:00AM ferry. This is to ensure that the bus arrives at the ferry terminal on time, with a buffer for morning rush hour traffic and road conditions. In the rare circumstance that everyone is on time and your guide is able to efficiently navigate traffic to get everyone to the ferry terminal before 9:00AM, BC Ferries will allow us to board that earlier ferry *IF* there is space available. I see that on this day, the ferry was full. Tim arrived at the ferry terminal at 8:48AM which is excellent timing (typically our buses arrive there closer to 9:15AM-9:30AM. Arriving so early would have guaranteed him a spot on the 9:00AM ferry *IF* there was space available.
Regarding Butchart Gardens, our brochure and website listing states that guests will spend 1 hour and 30 minutes at the Gardens. Sometimes we are able to spend a little longer, which in this case it would appear that you did get a few extra minutes.
I have noted your concerns regarding the temperature in the bus. On group tours like this it can be difficult to regulate the temperature effectively, depending on how many people are on the bus.
Further to my review of the bus GPS, I see that Tim was able to plan his route on the way back into Vancouver so that you were the third guests that he dropped off (at 9:36PM). You are right, typically the first guests to be picked up end up being the last to be dropped off, so I am happy that Tim was able to get you back to your hotel at a reasonable time. I have spoken with Tim regarding his commentary - the Story of Francis Rattenbury’s career and how he came to design the Legislature building is a little scandalous and can be difficult to tone down; however, he is an important part of the architectural history of Victoria.
Again, I am sorry that you had a bad experience. I will ensure our guides are reminded to be more clear regarding timing and expectations for the day so that there are no misunderstandings.
Sincerely,
Stuart K.