rajven

Its sad that you had to go through such a bad experience when you were traveling to countries like Nepal where people go to free their mind. Did you also had bad experience with Nepali travel agents? Sorry if you mentioned it in your earlier post

I hope you will be more careful in next time and please do not discount Nepal from your next probable vacation list because of bad experience.

Cheers!

Vinnie1981

Hi Rajven,

No, everyone local in Nepal was very good to us. It was the people in the Ottawa office that gave us all the trouble.

em1984

Hi Vinnie1981,

I had a similar experience as what you are describing. My husband and I booked and attended information nights, and researched for over a year speaking with other people who had travelled with WE. My husband had also previously been to South America with WE and raved about his experience.

Unfortunately we were left disappointed in Nepal and our whole group got together to compare notes and make sure that we were not expecting something other then what we were promised.

The booking process was messy, they put pressure on us to "secure spots" and make payments. We only received our information pack the day we flew out! I went into the office a 2 weeks before to ask for a list of what we should take and was told to "check the website". When I emailed a week out for our vouchers/pack was told it was on its way. During the trip we bought up a few concerns we had about the effect on the environment, the populated trail and our basic disappointment of the trek with our guide. He literally hung his head and said he "knew this was coming". Apparently every group he takes says something similar. The poor guides and porters are the ones that cop the brunt of the disgruntled customers while the office staff dismiss it. We have travelled extensively and with a variety of tour groups. We know the drill, and know that what is written can vary to the experience. Our feedback form at the end of the tour was VERY clear how we felt - as was the rest of our groups.

We have all taken to forums to warn other travellers. The after sales support from World Expeditions has been non existent and they are hiding behind their policies and procedures.

I believe WE was a great company once, however, it has possibly expanded too quickly and lost touch with the many countries and tours that it now operates. I hope they find their way back to their roots again, until - be warned!!

And I would also look forward to any feedback from WE that involves something other the PR spin.

em1984

Prachuap

I find it strange that one would pay before getting an itinery. Its also much cheaper to book tours on the ground. Western coys just hire locals and pay them little while they pocket a juicy profit for themselves.

chocolatebread

Thank you for sharing your experiences. For as many negative experiences there are, I'm sure there are numerous positive experiences with World Expeditions. That said, I just started researching trips and itineraries this weekend and found one that was very appealing to me on World Expeditions site. But spending $10K is a big commitment for me as it is for most people. I cannot take the chance after a response like that from World Expeditions (empty words after the fact) that customer satisfaction is a priority.

rolopolo123

I had the worst experience with them and was threatened with legal action from the Manager if I posted what I wanted to on my trip. Really awful!!!

rolopolo123

That said, maybe it was down to bad luck and bad experience, as they do come recommended.
So be it, that is just my personal experience.
P

worldexpeditionsuk

I am responding to the post written by Peter in my capacity of World Expeditions UK manager. It is extremely rare that one of our adventures does not meet or exceed the expectations of our travellers. Our policy if this does occur is to immediately conduct a thorough review of the feedback with our local partners in country as well as the tour guide and ask other members of the group to assess if the feedback was consistent with others. A full written response addressing the feedback is then provided. 99% of our travellers in this case express gratitude for our thorough research of their matters. World Expeditions uses careful judgement in such matters and is not shy of providing compensation to our travellers where warranted.

We can only recommend that travellers looking to undertake a mountaineering trip should read carefully the trip notes and ensure they are fit enough for the expedition and mentally prepared for the rigours of such expeditions as per our guidelines. I would like to end this post by recalling that others on the writers expedition expressed their satisfaction with their Mont Blanc expedition and that five of the six members reached the summit.