Can someone help me with a contact number or email address for Michael Osman in Paris
 

We are traveling to Paris in March (if NW doesn't strike) and I read about a month or two ago about Michael Osmond doing tours. Iregeo and keelx2 both said they took tours from him. Are these walking tours? How could I contact him and what does he charge? Thanks for the help.

..and his forum

http://groups.msn.com/destinationpar...sageboard.msnw

I wrote to him over a month ago & I have heard nothing- be prepared to wait for a response.

Oh, yeah, Michael doesn't answer his e-mail. Read that on another thread. ((b))

I have reserved his services for March and he did reply very helpfully to my emails, sometimes it took a week for him to get back to me. I assume he's not at his desk but out on the streets guiding others! Good luck!

Thanks everyone - I just sent him an email and I hope to hear from him soon.

Michael Osman has not answered an E-mail or returned a phone call in months. I booked him for a day in May. The couple E-mails in the beginning were encouraging and I had looked forward to him guiding my husband and I through Paris for a day.

Should I just forget about it? In my book this is flaky at best.

Same here- I e-mailed him in Jan. & last month with no response. I say move on to someone else.

Hmmm, How ironic. I just got an E-mail from him after a long silent stretch. Sounds like he's just really busy. He probably needs a secretary at this point. I guess try him again.

If you are willing to be patient, you will be rewarded. We just spent a wonderful day with Michael a few weeks ago. Do not hesitate to send him another e-mail. He is out all day doing tours - he spent from 9:00am - 7:00pm with us. A few times I just had to send him a 2nd e-mail.

If he booked a date with you I am sure it is on his calendar. He is hardly a flake. A month or so before we arrived I had asked him if he knew anything about the Musee Galleria a fashion museum, as I knew my daughter would be interested in that. He let me know that they were only open when they had special exhibits which they currently did not have. When we met with him in Paris, without me even bringing it up, he said that the Museum had an exhibit now, and he had even gone through it to make sure he thought it was a good one that he could recommend. Michael is great!!

Hi, No, I AM excited to be touring with Michael...wouldn't have booked with someone I didn't know was reputable!! The probably inappropriate term, Flaky, was a reaction to E-mailing and even making a long distance call for months with no reply.

I am thrilled to be getting a chance to see Paris with him and as I stated, he did finally reply yesterday, ironically the day I posted my concern on this site.

Back from Europe and wanted to day that Michael Osman was worth his weight in gold. He was easy to be with and chock full of historical knowledge. I highly recommend him.

I have also booked a day with Michael but haven't heard from him since, I might send him an email with an interesting photo to pique his interest !!
;)

Marko, my daughter has been in touch with him, she booked a couple of days with him for November. He told her he was so very busy and behind in emails, I think he will get to you before your trip to discuss what you want out of your visit. I am glad she took my advice ( for once lol) and booked him. :)

The good far outweighs the bad, by maybe 10:1. Each of us, no matter how "normal" we think we are, has idiosyncracies; Michael's is that he's not anal about responding to e-mails. As jgg pointed out, you will be rewarded.

i suspect that Mr. Osman doesn't respond to e-mails because he doesn't need the work. I also suspect that when he DOES need the work he will respond much more quickly, anal or not.

Michael probably does need a secretary! He's absolutely worth the wait, however. DH had never been to the Louvre and with Michael's guidance he saw, and understood, more than he ever would have with just me.

If Mr. Osman is that busy taking tourists around, then he can afford to hire someone to respond to e-mails. This just demonstrates a lack of respect. No one is that good.

He completely ignored my 2 e-mails a few months ago.

Michael must be a lurker here, he replied this morning, our day with him is coming along nicely!

Michael is worth putting up with a bit (even a lot) of email-shyness. I had a fantastic day with him in which he fitted in all the places of interest I mentioned and others based on what I said I liked to see. Frankly, he was very very reasonable in his charges for a private guide and some private guides charge more for 2 hours than he did for 6 or 7 hours, even allowing for the cost of coffee breaks and lunch - for which I was happy to pay for such pleasant company. He is busy because he is good and he is great value in all respects and that is why he cannot afford a secretary - the costs would go through the roof. He is worth giving a lot of slack and as someone mentioned, once he confirms, unless something very serious occurs,, illness etc, he has booked you in and you can rely on him. Also keep in mind that he does not require you to secure your booking by a credit card or advance payment so he is risking a lot in booking you.