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Toby Tours Reviews (3)

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]

I have copied the last response that I made to the last letter that I received regarding the Atlantic Adventures Tour.  This letter is from Julie who sent her letter after I had already responded to similar letters from the complainant. I responded to every paragraph and then let her know...

that I was forwarding a copy to the group leader ([redacted]), the [redacted]s, another lady in their group, and to my tour director, [redacted]. I attempted to address every single issue and hopefully put an end to their campaign. Regardless of their threats to blast my company on social media and the demoralizing way they have repeatedly responded to me with assumptions and character attacks
I simply do not know how else to acknowledge, apologize, or offer a solution that would satisfy any of them.
[redacted], the group leader, made it clear after we spoke with her on the phone and responded to her emails, that she "in no way expected any compensation."
I did offer a discount on any future tour; as I was not going to send out random refunds to everyone on the trip for meals or attractions that they did not miss and only a few people complained about, and I do not believe the small refund associated with their complaints would have satisfied any of them.
I based my responses on the actual and past driver and director logs, the comment sheets that I read from every passenger, conversations that I had with the driver and director, conversations that I had with my tour coordinator, and my own personal travel and business experience. Any help with this situation is appreciated.
Thank you,
[redacted] Toby
 
 from On Tue, Aug 18, 2015 at 9:43 PM, [redacted] [redacted] wrote:
I decided to wait a while before I wrote you regarding my tour of the Eastern Provinces of Canada.  I was too exhausted and angry upon my return to think I could be fair. This tour was either not planned for timing or was not allotted enough days.  2600 miles is a long way to ride in a bus in a week. Since I did not turn in my evaluation form I will use that format to tell you what I experienced.  We spent so much time sitting that everybody’s feet swelled.  We even started comparing the sizes!
The Atlantic Adventures has been a popular tour for many years and provides our travelers the ability to fly instead of drive the additional 8 days, to see much of what is included on our 16 day Nova Scotia driving tour.  I personally have been on that tour at least 10 times over the years. There is quite a bit of scenic driving included, as well as major Canadian cities and landmarks. The breaks generally are every 2 hours, and at the most every 3 hours.
 First of all, I worked with [redacted] on my reservations and payments.  I never spoke to Toby Tour directly but I was very satisfied with the information I received from their Texas representative.
I have heard nothing but great comments about [redacted] and the good job she has done bringing everyone together from Texas. 
The coach was new.  It was clean and supplied except for enough ice one day and water to flush the toilet one day.  However, the cup holders would not support a cup and the seatbacks need a net compartment for all the papers, maps, etc. we collected each day.  I would recommend that the busses include a step stool for times when the bus cannot kneel down enough and leaves the step down too far.
We did send one of our brand new motor coaches and I appreciate your feed back on what would be more accommodating. I specifically requested that it have cup holders, but they may not hold every size drink. I will consider ordering some form of magazine holder and I will check into why the step went down too far.   
I found the hotels satisfactory.  However the lack of hot breakfasts being provided was upsetting.  In the past all my tours used hotels that provided a substantial hot breakfast every day.  Most of these hotels either did not have any breakfast at all, or only had a few donuts (not enough for the whole group), or charged full price for a buffet (14.95) even if you only had oatmeal and toast.  We were left with no alternatives and didn't stop anywhere we could get fast breakfasts either.  We rarely had time to eat lunch.  At the most we'd be given 2 hours to find food, eat, and return to the bus.  I cannot eat that fast without becoming sick so I rarely got to eat the food I had to pay for. Or you could spend some time looking around the town you were in without eating.
This tour did not include breakfasts, and many hotels in Canada do not offer the traditional Continental Breakfast that we are familiar with in the United States. We do try to make sure there is a restaurant available if there is not anything at the hotel. Food prices are generally higher in Canada, especially at destination hotels. Normally, if it is just a lunch stop we only allot one hour, but with larger groups we may add more time depending on what is available. At destination restaurants it varies.  
If we are to be responsible for our on dinners, the hotels need to be close to some restaurants.  Instead the best we could do was order pizza delivery.  At one stop we were told we had no dinner options but the hotel even though, as we later discovered, there we places in the town if the bus would have dropped us there.
We do provide transportation to restaurants if there is not one at or next to the hotel. Our drivers would not be able to get their rest if they were required to take everyone out every evening. 
The [redacted] Lodge was a huge disappointment.  Even though we were expected, (we were late) there was no more bread for the sandwiches (our only choice), the soup was almost gone, I had to ask for plates because there were none at the buffet, they ran out of tea and were very rude when people asked for some. Finally they "made some more" but it was just brown water, no flavor, I think they just reused some old teabags for color.  This location wasn't worth the time or travel to visit.  And the meal was less than I'd expect from McDonalds 
Our tour coordinator will be addressing these issues with the restaurant.  Unless they have moved the Lodge I can not imagine anyone denying the value of visiting the [redacted] Lodge and the magnificent view it affords. Please don't let bread and tea determine that it is not worthy.
Requiring us to eat on the ferries because we would not have time to stop anywhere when we debarked was not acceptable.  The food was expensive and disgusting.
Again, you were in Canada, a different country where things are different. The ferry rides from Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia and from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick offer an opportunity to eat so you don't have to take that time after and they also afford an opportunity to watch for whales and dolphins.  Just as any cruise along a waterway, their meals have to be brought on board and prepared which will reflect in their pricing. 
Even the Lobster dinner was a flop as we were 2 hours late so the food was cold, the location was dark, windy, foggy, and cold.  There was a strong incline with loose gravel and no light we had to use to access the meal location.  A lot of people had to hold onto each other trying to prevent falls.
I apologize for the lateness of this meal, as the ferry times were changed and we should have eliminated this meal altogether, We added it because it was the last night of the trip and thought it would be appreciated. As far as the weather, you will have to take that up with God.
Our driver, [redacted], was courteous and helpful above and beyond the call.  I'd definitely ride with him again. 
[redacted] is an excellent driver and takes safety very seriously. He has loved the trips to Canada that he has made over the last years.
However, our escort is a different story.  I've been told she's done this tour before but you sure couldn't tell that.  She was always looking to maps and books to determine where she was and what might be nearby. She was not prepared nor did she have any information about the areas we traveled through that would have made riding so much at least more enjoyable.  The scenery was beautiful but eventually it gets monotonous after hours on the bus.  Most people just took naps but what an expensive place to do that!
[redacted] has worked for me for many years and she has taken this trip, as well as other Canadian ones.  She was given an extensive director log to follow (some times were changed due to ferries and such). I have discussed the comments from the Texas group with her and she contends that she was not at her best and believed there wasn't much she could do to please the group. This trip does involve quite a bit of driving and a lot of different areas. She did elect to leave at the traditional departure time of 8 am most mornings as apposed to the 7:30 departure time that previous directors have done to get in earlier at the hotels. I did not see a big discrepancy in her arrival times at hotels verses the ones listed on her director log. As far as the later arrivals at a few of the destinations,she worked with them to still accommodate the group so as not to miss anything.
She only handed out room keys on the bus.  This caused confusion, frustration, and bottlenecking at the bus door.  It would be better to exit the bus first and then pass out the keys.
The "on coach" verses "off coach" is strictly left to the director. A combination of each works well on the longer tours depending on the location and how long everyone has been riding. We have found this to be something where we are not going to be able to please everyone. 
She spoke into the microphone with candy in her mouth gifting us with slurping and sucking noises.
I don't know quite how to address this, but I would say if she needed a mint any loud slurping and sucking would be distracting. 
She forgot to move the microphone away from her mouth to laugh and it blasted out into the bus.
Again, I do not know what to say about her laughing; but I suppose when you have already decided she can not do anything to please you every little thing annoys you. 
She always underestimated the time to get anywhere.  We were always late.  Sometimes to the hotels we would be so late we couldn’t even eat anywhere. 
Again, I did not see where the arrival times were later than usual, except the first and last night of course.
When we did stop she always went to the head of the line for food or bathrooms instead of first making sure her tour group was cared for.
It is always the tour director's job to make sure everyone is seated first if they are eating as a group. It is customer first at restrooms as well. I will reiterate this to her as well as all of my tour directors. I may allow a driver to move ahead of everyone if he needs to be back at the coach before everyone finishes.
We had to argue with her to get her to leave for the airport earlier and even then we almost missed our planes.  I got through security as they were closing the plane door.  They had already tried to find me to board.  I was a nervous wreck.  Can you imagine if all 50 people including [redacted] missed our flights?  A nightmare barely averted!
It is always the director's job to make sure everyone is taken care of first.  Her job did not end at the airport. This is something I will address as well. 
Employees at the venues stayed late on several occasions just to wait for us so of course we all hurried to see what we could and not keep them too long.  This happened at the Green Gables House, the Evangeline Museum, and even the Lobster bake (they waited 2 hours for us).  We missed the tide change at the Reversing Falls so there wasn’t much to see there.  We missed the tide at Devils Hole so we did not hear it echo.  The Magnetic Hill was interesting but not worth the extra mileage since the reversing falls weren’t reversing anyway.  The Cabot Trail was lovely in places but we either needed more time for various stops at shops and such like at the [redacted] College( instead of only allowing only one  stop at a designated store) or this distance is too long for the benefits of driving there.  We were late for our reservations at the Silver Dart Lodge so instead of pushing the times back on everyone’s reservations  they decided to just take the first twenty-five people off the bus regardless of who made reservations when.  So once again, even with proper planning on our part, we didn’t eat dinner until after 8pm.  
We have addressed the few destinations that made accommodations for the group due to any delays.  Adding more shopping along the scenic Cabot Trail would have put the group in even later.  And again, I will have to defer you to speak to God about when the tides change and the rivers reverse.
Bathroom stops were not planned and usually only came when someone finally couldn’t wait much longer and asked for a stop.  At one stretch it was 4 hours without a stop.   The bathroom on the bus as for emergencies as is usual but at least once it didn’t even have water to flush it when it was used.  Gross!
Again, the breaks should be between 2 to 3 hours apart.  I did not see any 4 hour period on the driver or tour director log.The restroom is for the customer's convenience on board, but should be avoided on winding roads, in traffic or city driving due to safety. I will address the flushable toilets water issue. 
There's more could say but I'm sure you get the picture.
 Other than the very close call at the airport, I think my biggest complaint has to be that we arrived at each town so late we never had free time to explore. Many times we arrived too late for dinner out.  I do not feel like I saw the towns of Charlottetown, Pictou, Baddeck, [redacted] Cove or any others except Bar Harbor.  We did have a good amount of time there.  This was the most expensive 7 days “bus ride” I’ve ever had.  And I travel on tours buses at least twice a year.  I feel like Toby Tours should refund the money I spent on tickets to venues (Green Gable House, Evangeline Museum, the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, etc) and the lunch at the [redacted] Lodge as that was a huge flop. 
We can design trips that do afford more time at destinations to explore on your own; but this trip would require additional days be added or destinations removed altogether. I had offered [redacted] and [redacted] a discount on a future tour, even though [redacted] made it clear she was not asking for a refund of any kind. Her main concern was that we take the critiques and make any adjustments necessary.  [redacted] will read the letters and we will go over all of the details once more to help her do a better job in the future. I will not be sending any refunds as I believe nothing was omitted that we advertised. 
I believe that all of the above items are fixable and will make for a great tour in the future but as for this tour, I cannot recommend it; nor will I ever travel again with Toby Tours.
I understand if we are not the right fit for your travel needs. I do hope you continue to travel with someone and realize you left home to explore something or somewhere different than you are accustomed to, and not every trip is the perfect fit for every person. I will be forwarding this to [redacted] and [redacted]. 
Respectfully,
[redacted] Toby
Toby Tours
 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]
 
 We feel Toby Tours needs to be responsible and offer a refund.  We arrived late at every attraction.  Contrary to her statement, we missed the waterfront and Parliament Building in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island which was part of the advertised tour.  When we compare what was promised in the brochure to our experience, we did not get the trip that was advertised.Toby Tours still refuses to take any responsibility for the delays, etc. on the tour even though our daughter e-mailed and spoke to [redacted] Toby by phone on Day 2 of the trip to tell her about the long days, lack of planning and inadequate meals and bathrooms breaks.  [redacted] Toby promised over the phone that things would get better which did not happen. Specifically, we find these points to be inaccurate in her response.   The insinuation that we have replied with assumptions and character threats is unfounded.  Dissatisfaction was mostly the topic of conversations and it was                   not limited to the Texas group as was implied in the response.  Both the group from Kentucky and Texas were dissatisfied.          As to generallly two hours breaks with at the most three hours as she stated, they need to revisit their logs and talk to the Tour Director again                   because this statement is false.         Saying they try to make sure there was a restaurant for breakfast if there is not one provided by the hotel is false.  The tour director's exact words when there                  were not enough donuts or coffee the morning in Bar Harbor were "Well, folks, that is the way it goes!"  The tour director knew there were [redacted] in the                 group when this statement was made.        Her comment saying she could not imagine anyone denying the value of visiting the [redacted] Lodge and the magnificent view it affords would be correct if we had                 not arrived for lunch 45 minutes late and had to leave immediately after lunch.  We did not get the advertised visit to the [redacted] Lodge.       As far as watching for whales and dolphins, the ferry operator told us it was not the season to see them.     We arrived late on a consistent basis to promised attractions.  It was their closing time and they closed the doors exactly when their hours said leaving us with                no opportunity to fully enjoy.  Grand Pre'National Historical Park greeted us by saying, "Lady, we are closing!"  We only had fifteen minutes at [redacted] of Green Gables                and they closed the doors in our face.  Toby Tours stated that the tour guide worked with the attractions but that was not the case.      In reference to our group leader, [redacted], asking for no compensation - it would be very awkward for her to do that since she basically worked for them on this trip.We made this complaint because we feel Toby Tours did not provide the advertised tour and was reckless in handling the medical needs of [redacted] on the trip by not providing access to regular meals.Furthermore, in attempting to resolve this with [redacted] Toby we have found her responses to be unresponsive to the issues raised, falsely stated information that is easily verified by asking participants onthe tour and belittling of the problems experienced.Thank you for your help on this matter.[redacted] and [redacted]

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