CitySights NY

Review: I bought a New York City Pass through [redacted], which include bus tours provided by City Sights NY, on Feb. [redacted], 2015. On the day of tour, April [redacted], 2015, I couldn't find the voucher for the bus tour, which would be necessary to get the tickets. I only could find the receipt of the purchase. I approach a street representative/street vendor of the City Sights of NY, named [redacted], who told me that I had to buy another set of tickets and later get a refund from City Sights, because I had misplaced the voucher. Later that day, I went to the City Sights office to request my refund. I was informed by the manager, [redacted], that I had first to fill a complaint and wait two weeks to get the refund. Since the end of April I have been calling the company to find out when I'll get the refund of $236.00. The only answer I get is that someone will contact me. After calling many times they gave me a case number: [redacted], but it seams that no serious approach has been taken to stop such fraudulent practice of the mentioned street vendor of City Sights and to refund me.Desired Settlement: These companies represent the tourism industry of New York City, they should be selective when hiring people, give them a uniform, and the authority to make decisions about their products. They are basically stealing money from people of good faith who believe in their promises. I expect my money back, because I paid twice for the same service.

Business

Response:

Good Morning,I am responding to the complaint filed by [redacted] ID # [redacted]. We have reviewed [redacted]’s case. We at City Sights NY would like to thank [redacted] for bringing her concerns to our attention. We would like to apologize for any inconvenience [redacted] may have experienced with regards to the City Sights tour and hope she chooses City Sights NY for her next sightseeing experience. We have processed a refund for [redacted] and sent her an email informing her that it was done.We consider this matter resolved at this time. Thank you [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: On July [redacted], 2014 my husband, son & I visited Wash Dc and wanted to take the bus tour. We specifically asked the driver to confirm that we would stop at monuments & Arlington Natl Cemetery. He said we would so I paid him $135 by credit card.

Another family got on the bus & he told them the city was shut down for the parade & all monuments were closed to bus traffic as was the cemetery.

I immediately requested as refund. He made a phone call to the office & assure us it was taken care of. We exited the bus. I saw the charge on my credit card statement but no refund so I called the WASH DC office - no answer. I have sent several emails and letters. Eventually [redacted] contacted me from their corporate office in NY. She said she needed proof of purchase, so I sent her a copy of my credit card statement.

I reached out to her several times, before she finally said that was not good enough & I needed to send the original tickets. I do not have them.

What the driver did was extremely poor customer service, bordering on FRAUD. I am owed a refund of $135 for services that were not provided as promised or advertised.

I appreciate your assistance in this matter & can supply copies of my correspondence if needed.Desired Settlement: Refund of the $135 paid to City Sights a company of [redacted] - contact [redacted]

Case #[redacted]

Business

Response:

Good Afternoon [redacted],We thank you for bringing [redacted] concerns to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience that [redacted] has experienced while touring with us. We have reviewed [redacted] complaint and find that [redacted] was asked by [redacted] to return to us her original tickets as per our policy for any refund request and consideration. [redacted] was unable to provide us with those tickets.We have found on the day of the tour we did run our tours with some route changes. Based on this information we are unable to offer [redacted] a refund, however as a good faith offering we would be happy to provide [redacted] with a complimentary voucher to try our tours again. The voucher would be valid for up to one year from the date of issuance.Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.[redacted]

Review: I´m from Brazil (the adress that I put here is of a friend of mine) and I was on vacation in Ney York three weeks ago. I had bought a ticket to Phantom of the Opera in the City Sights NY, the one that is in Madame Tussauds ([redacted]) and the company charged me 149,99, but they give me a ticket of 95,00. So, I´d like the difference back in my credit card. (54,99) The girl, called [redacted], that sold me the ticket told me that the price was the same of the box office in Phantom of the Opera Theatre, and it was not. The worse was that she told me that the most expensive ticket was the only one available, but I would be in the best place on the theatre, and she showed me in an plant theatre my seat in the second row. Then she told me to wait for 15 minutes for the ticket arrive there. So, I told her that I was on the museum and I would take the ticket in the end of my visit. I went out of the museum a little late to go to the theatre (It was 7:50pm and the Phanton started at 8pm), so I just took the mailer with the ticket with her and went out without open the mailer. I just did it on the theatre and I saw a ticket of 95,00, with the seat ** (very far of the statge, and she told me that I would be in the best place). So, I was really upset and went there in the next day to explain what happened and try to get my money back. But the attendent told me that I should be back in the next day, cause the manager was not there. I explained that I couldn´t, cause I would leave early. So, he told me to fill a complain filed to be delivered to the manager and they would be in contact with me in one week. But it didn´t happened. And it was not the only thing!!! In the same day that I bougth the ticket to go to the Phantom of the Opera, I scheduled a shuttle to go to the JFK airport 2 days after. The same attendent ([redacted]) told me to be at 5:05 am on the Pan Station Subway that the shuttle would be there. But it didn´t happen. I almost lost my fly! I had to pay for another shuttle to go to the JFK airport. I payed 21,75 to City Sights NY and I want my money back too!! This company doesn´t seems to be honest and serius. What happend was an absurd! Please, I need your help to try to take my money back!!! I have all the receipt. Tks, [redacted] ,Desired Settlement: I want 76,74 back on my credit card! (54,99 of the Phantom of the Opera + 21,75 of the shuttle).

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by City Sights NY regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,

Review: I stayed at manhattan club for a few nights last week. As I was walking along times square I was approached about purchasing the sight seeing bus tickets. I did purchase. however I was unable to take full advantage of the tour as I had to be at a show that evening. I was told I could continue the next day and do the brooklyn tour as well which I did. I started out on the tour early as I needed to complete before rush hour to finish my travels. All bus tours were great with the exception of the final attempt to take myself and my children onto the bus that would take us back to our final destination where we infact initially started Times square. when I gave the ticket collector the tickets he said one second and went to see a woman who was [redacted] was the name her badge read. she was unusually nasty for someone working in a customer market. she told me I couldnt get on as my ticket time expired. the time as the man explained was over at 2:34pm it was at that time 2:50pm. What I did attempt to explain to all of the workers involved was that in fact I had just stepped off the bklyn tour and that took longer than originally told to me. Either way I couldnt believe I wasn't allowed to get on the bus with my children. it was quite frankly the worst of my nyc experience with zero customer service which took me completely off guard. I would like management to contact me as soon as possible regarding this experience to find a viable solution to the issue named at hand.Desired Settlement: The reason I would expect either a refund preferred or a new ticket for myself and each family member that had the awful experience is because the workers were extremely rude and ruined the trips experience. They would not allow me to get on at least 4 buses after telling them I would contact the police which I was going to I was finally allowed with my family to get on the bus...the bus driver of that bus actually threw the ear plugs at me because I told him I didn't need them....

Business

Response:

Good Afternoon [redacted],

Thank you for taking the time to contact CitySights NY. We appreciate you bringing [redacted] concerns to our attention.

We have sent [redacted] an apologize for any inconvenience she and her party has experienced with regards to the CitySights tour. We explained that the isolated incidents that occurred were not representative of what our company represents. We are unable to offer [redacted] a refund because the tour did run and service was rendered. We have offered [redacted] a voucher for six persons for one of our single loop tour. I requested that [redacted] send me her proof of purchase.

We do our best to provide our guest with an excellent experience. We are sorry that we fell short of that expectation on this particular day. We consider [redacted] a most valued customer and hope that she can appreciate our position in this matter.

Thank you

[redacted]

Twin America ¦ Customer Service Manager

Review: I planned this trip to NYC with my wife and mother knowing that we would have limited time to see what we wanted to see. I had a finite time to begin, a finite time to return to Times Square and specific sights we wanted to see with just a small amount of flexibility. Upon arrival at the tour operators location to receive the actual tickets, ther agent wrote on our map that the Statue of Liberty tour was available from 8:30 to 4:30. I knew that the last ferry from Liberty Island was at 5:00 PM and the last bus from Battery Park was at 6:00 PM. We planned our day to arrive at Battery Park between 3:15 and 3:30 to catch the ferry, allowing us time to see the island and catch the 5:00 PM ferry back. Imagine my shock and disappointment when I arrived at Battery Park at 3:30, only to find the last ferry to the island is at 3:30, not 4:30 as we were told by the tour company agent. Because of this missed activity, we elected to see lower Manhattan from a different perspective, causing us to miss the last tour bus from Battery Park at 6:00 PM (if if the agent could be believed on this fact). Missing this bus caused us to spend extra dollars and more walking to catch the NYC subway system, which we are totally unfamiliar with. The walking was probably the worst, my mother is ** years young, I am a senior with a [redacted] and my wife, although younger, is also [redacted]. The final detail of the mis-adventure that causes me to ask for a full refund has to do with the tour guides and the audio system on the tour buses. I was looking forward to hearing details about NYC and the history behind the areas and the buildings. The audio system on two of the tour buses were so poor, we could not hear the tour guides’ descriptions of the areas and buildings, it was full of static and when there was no static, there was no sound. The third bus, where the audio system seemed to work fine, had a tour guide intent on telling his personal story, where he lived, how he got to work on the days following hurricane Sandy, and even pointing out the store where he buys his inline skates. Frankly, I don’t care where he buys his skates, I simply wanted to see the city. In my view, these events ruined the NYC tour for my party, and I do not feel I should pay for the type of (non) service we were provided, and actually feel entitled to pain and suffering compensation to ease the disappointment.Desired Settlement: Refund of full amount ($186.30) paid for this fiasco.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have been contacted directly by City Sights NY regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I believe the business is engaging in delay tactics by requesting, again, the same information as previously provided, receipt for purchase, copies of tickets and the narrative of the complaint.

I have, again, provided this information, this time by US Postal mail.

Sincerely,

Review: My family and I went on the Fireworks Cruise provided by CitySights NY - 8 passengers total. I feel that the service was so awful it warrants not only an apology from the company but a refund as well. Firstly, the vouchers we received as our tickets instructed us to be a the pier to line up for boarding at 5:30 for a 6:00 departure - once we arrived (at 5pm) it was a total mess. There was no line, no order or even signs or people telling us where to go or what to do. There was literally a hoard of hundreds of people all trying to figure out what the heck was going on in the sweltering heat. Secondly, upon boarding the boat our vouchers were taken from us, which would prove to be problematic when trying to redeem what was promised on them - which was a hot dog, french fries and a soft drink per person. The people working the concession stand refused to give us these and said we needed to present our voucher...which we no longer had. They then proceeded to run out of water, hotdogs and most of the soda only an hour and a half into the cruise (when we boarded the beverages were hot as if they had been sitting in the sun for the past several hours). Not only is is unprofessional to run out of items at a concession stand, it is dangerous in the heat that we experienced (90+ in a boat with no air conditioning and only a few openable windows). I am only thankful no one passed out or suffered other health problems from this. Also, not only did the concession people NOT allow us the things we were promised on the voucher, they were rude and condescending the entire time. Thirdly, this cruise was specifically to see the spectacular NYC fireworks on the Hudson River...however, the captain of the boat decided that instead of pointing the bow towards the barges where the fireworks are, he pointed it towards New Jersey, obscuring the view for most of the passengers. I would not be as upset if these tickets were $20 or even $30 per person, but they were instead $150, and my family and I are heartbroken at the lack of quality, service and professionalism that she received.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of the money - as the services that we received were not what was described (http[redacted]) - namely the view of the fireworks as well as the free items promised (hotdog, french fries - which were not present on the boat - and soft drink) as well as because the service that /was/ provided was hideous - rude crew members, snarky concession workers poor execution of the whole operation.

Review: A friend and I were visiting New York for business and pleasure and only had 1 day to see the sights. Upon doing some research, we found City Sights to be the most desirable way of touring New York City with the time we had. We boarded the bus on our arrival date and realized very early on that the tour was going to be less than desirable. The tourguide sat directly in front of us and bad-mouthed the driver the entire time, did not offer the plastic seat covers that we needed since it had rained the day before and our pants were getting soaked through from the seats, counted her tips in front of everyone, and continued to make the same jokes and commentary the entire tour. The bus was horribly littered and in very poor condition. Regardless, we continued on the tour, as we, again, only had that day to see New York City and were hoping to make the best of things. About mid-afternoon, we stopped at the ferry stop to visit the Statue of Liberty. We asked our tourguide if we should get off at that time (around noon) to see the Statue, or come back later to use our included ferry tickets. She said that they were open until 6 pm, and that we should stay on the bus and finish the tour. We took her advice and stayed on the bus. Our tour ended around 3:30 pm, after several 'nudgings' from the tourguide to tip her, and we paid for a city bus to take us straight to the ferry for the Statue of Liberty. We arrived a few minutes after 4 pm, only to find the City Sights kiosk was closed. The other main ticket kiosk was open, but could not honor our City Sights tickets. This was our 'last straw.' The Statue was a main feature that we were very excited to see, and because our tourguide completely misguided and mislead us, we were unable to see it. This is when we made our initial call to City Sights to report the poor service and request a refund for our Statue Tickets. [redacted] took down all our information and let us know we would be contacted within 5-7 business days. After a few weeks of not hearing anything, I called back. [redacted], again, said to give it another 5-7 business days and we would hear from someone. Another few weeks went by and no word. I called again and spoke with [redacted], who told me that I would need to send in my original tickets, but it would be another 5-7 business days. A week later I called again and demanded to speak to a supervisor after that person told me I would have to wait another 5-7 business days. She sent me to [redacted], who requested I mail the original tickets, which I did, along with sending an email to let her know the tickets were sent. That email was sent September **, 2013, more than a month after our tour date of August **, 2013. Since then, I have sent [redacted] emails and left her messages, and still have yet to hear from her. It has been over two months since we took our New York trip, and still no resolution to these number of problems.Desired Settlement: Originally, all we were requesting was a refund of the Statue of Liberty portion of the tickets we purchased. After all of this horrible customer service, taking time to call and email the company, waiting on the holds they put me on only to be told to wait longer... we want a full refund of our tickets. The tour, along with the service, of City Sights NY is appalling. I have never been treated so poorly by any one company. Our total was $138 with tax.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by City Sights NY regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,

Review: City Sights NY knowingly gave out old brochures with the winter schedule to unsuspecting customers in the month of July!!! Then, refused to refund the money to those who were affected and missed the boat as a result of their misinformation.

Here is personal experience. I found these tours in [redacted] and I purchased two [redacted] for a downtown bus tour and twilight boat tour combination to show my friend from Spain around. In the City Sights NY ticket window, at the Madame Tussaud's location, we were given our tickets and a brochure with all the information, the map, the stops, etc.

We started early in the morning with the bus tour. The guides were great (the first one better than the second one), we were hopping on and off seamlessly... everything was going just fine. When we finished the bus tour we went to eat and then we sat at a park eating an icecream and relaxing as I was confident we had plenty of time before heading to the pier for our 7:30 PM boat tour. My friend then looked at the brochure we had been given that morning at the ticket counter of City Sights NY and said "oh, oh, the boat tour was at 6:00 PM and it is already 6:45, didn't you say it was at 7:30? " I took the brochure and looked at it in misbelieve. It did indeed say the departure time for the twilight boat tour was at 6:00 PM!! I could not believe it! I had really messed this one up!

But I was so sure I had read 7:30 was the departure time when I purchased the [redacted]. My cellphone battery was dead by then, so I asked my friend for her phone and since she only had wifi we went to look for the nearest Starbucks. I went on [redacted] and read the info again. There it was!! 7:30 PM!! So I called the City Sights NY customer service number.

When I called to ask how come the departure time for the boat tour listed in the [redacted] website and the one they listed in their brochure differed by one and a half hours, their customer service representative told me "Yes, I know, I apologize, that is because the brochures have the winter schedule". She knew right away what I was talking about and she acknowledged it, so obviously, I was not the first one calling about this issue. City Sights NY was knowingly giving out old brochures with the winter schedule to unsuspecting customers in the month of July!!!

At that time it was about 7:15 PM. My friend had come all the way from Spain and she was leaving the next day so there was no possibility for us to re-schedule the tour. So we flagged a taxi, the driver said it would take about 15 minutes and we got in hoping the traffic wouldn't be too terrible. It was. We ended up hopping off the taxi at 7:40 still 10 blocks away from the Pier. I was so mad about the fact that they were totally aware they were giving old brochures with winter schedules in July that my friend and went in person to put a complaint asking for a partial refund of the boat tour portion of our tickets. They made us fill in a form and told us they'd call me (my friend was leaving the next day) in 48 hours. Noone called me. I called a week after and they told me I had to write an email explaining everything again (even though I had already explained everything in the complaint form we filled in at their office), because "the information on your complaint form was probably never inputted into our computer system" (In plain words, they wiped their butt with my complaint). Three and a half weeks after my email I finally get a response "we cannot honor your refund because we provide our customers with all necessary information" (yes, outdated and wrong information) "from multiple sources" (yes, the info on one source contradicts the other) "and we give customers the opportunity to re-schedule the tour at any point during the following 96 hours" (yes, if my friend was not leaving back to Spain the next day we would have done it, but she was). They caused the problem and now refuse to make ammends.Desired Settlement: At this point I would like to be refunded the total price for both tickets in addition to the $15 we paid for the taxi.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have been contacted directly by CitySights NY regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here] I sent my complaint to the company headquarters in the UK and I was contacted by Hannah T[redacted] soon thereafter (on August [redacted]). Her emailed said that she had forwarded my complaint to their operator for investigation and that she would get in contact with me again when she had more details. However, it's been more than 3 weeks since that email and I have not heard from them again. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.Sincerely,[redacted]

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,