Gate1

We were contacted by the client while traveling that they wanted to depart the tour early however we were not advised of the issue that they are now mentioning about the lost wallet and passport. This information has been forwarded to our Customer Service department and they will be conducting research into these concerns.

anonymous2bee

you guys are funny. as I stated above I do alot of travelling and before i do alot of things I do alot of research, I simply searched for review and came accross this. I simply don't do this but it is really amazing that people are so paranoid about stuff like this. I guess I can't blame you as well as you are right companies have been known to do this...aka Sprint (long story)

I took the tour with Salih and I just didnt think it was fair and I just couldnt help but register to give my view. Yes, I personally like Salih as he was my guide, yes, I travelled with Gate 1, and as you can you see above Gate 1 already replied. I am reading OP all the time? who is OP? or what is it?

adrienne

Yeah - now I'm wondering how Gate 1 knew to chime into this post so quickly. Oh...maybe because of all the trolling they do here.

OP = Original Post or Original Poster

anonymous2bee

Thanks Adrienne, I thought this was going to be a fair forum but OK people will believe what they want to. is the purpose of a forum to see different view and discuss it or just have 1 side and have a festivities of complaints? also why is the focus on me instead of the issue? I dont get it. seems like I am not helping your side of the story so I will stop posting.

Michel_Paris

Anon,
Since you are new, you will not have read a lot of posts over the years. Many here have.

There have been several suspicious postings and replies time.

Being a 'name', it is reasonable to accept that where people come looking for advice, miscreants and troublemakers will appear to plug their company or "crap on" a competitor. A lot of time, they sign up just to post a complaint.

To assume otherwise is...naive.

Some here have better 'antennae' to pick this out.

Michel_Paris

The 'name' being Fodor's, of course!

adrienne

<< is the purpose of a forum to see different view and discuss it >>

Gee...I thought we were discussing the problem. And yes, people do believe what they want to believe. Don't you?

Patricia_KelleyEarp

Hello again, I am not a first time poster. I signed in with Facebook hence patricia kelley earp. My other posts are under pjsparlor, name of my salon. I have in the past posted a lot on fodors. I have gotten amazing information and love trip reports
Paris is my favorite city.
The reason I posted this is because it was so bizarre.
I don't know who anon is lol. Thank you anon who ever you are and please don't go away!

I am getting feedback from Karen who was corresponding with me in europe,and gate one is looking into this situation. Which they should, they have been a reputable company.

I am getting feedback on facebook too

I came and posted on fodors because of he wealth of fellow travelers experiences

We were late joining the bus In pammukale but in general we weren't always late.
I am not being defensive,

I have to say gate one is doing their part looking into this, so it is only fair to keep the fodors community aware how the situation will be resolved
This was an escorted trip with optional tours

I don't think it is unusual to do your own research and book private tours. I used tripadvisor, cruise forums and fodors to find my guides. I loved my guides by the way!

I apologize for the bad writing! I just got back yesterday and wanted to follow up with gate one and start posting on forums.

Thank you!

nytraveler

What exactly does "we weren;t always late" mean. does it mean this was the only time you were late? That you were late 10% of the time? 25%? 50%?

Obviously we don't know the exact situation - and differnt people have different perceptions about scheduling/timing.

But I must admit that dawdlers (among many other things) is one of the reasons I would never take another tour. My vacation time is very limited and I'm dammed if I'll sit waiting 15 or 20 minutes for people who just can;t get it together to stay with the program. (This is one reason we often do road trips versus trains or flights - we want to be in control of our own destiny.)

Sassafrass

I doubt the guide meant it as a joke. He probably just forgot about it in the stress of getting everybody on the bus and on their way, then remembered when he was at the hotel. He may not even have known you were looking on the bus for the passport.

I would not have left the tour if everything else was going ok. I would have talked with the guide to try and smooth things over. I would have made absolutely sure I was not late again, even by a minute. I would make sure everyone in my group had their passports securely tucked into a passport holder, not with their wallet.

I have traveled with several large groups, and have no sympathy for the loss of a passport unless it is absolutely stolen from you. And - yes, I've lost things before, very important things, but do not expect anyone else to worry about my problem due to my own carelessness. It is nice if they do, and if they can/will help, but I don't fault them if they do not.

As to being late - even once. Fifteen minutes doesn't seem long when you are the one who is late. It seems like an eternity when you are sitting on a bus waiting. Multiply that by 20 or 30 people waiting.

There is another big problem with being that late on tours. Meal times for the group have been set at restaurants and hotels. There may be a tiny bit of allowance for delays, but the whole restaurant staff is inconvenienced by a big group that is late, and the quality of the food will certainly suffer as a result.

I know, it seems so little a thing, but the big picture is that one person 15 minutes late inconveniences 30 to fifty people.

It was an upsetting incident, and I am sorry to rag on you but, honestly, I would probably have returned to the bus a few minutes early to deal with it before everybody else got back.

Patricia_KelleyEarp

I appreciate all the feedback.


There is no question, our guide was very aware of the situation.

We made the right decision to leave the tour.

I posted this because it was bizarre and unsettling

I will post a trip report Loved turkey! This incident didn't mar our trip. Just escorted tours

I am impressed gate one is investigating the incident

thursdaysd

I'm with nytraveler and Sassafrass. Few things are more inconsiderate than keeping people waiting. Serve you right if the bus left without you - Rick Steves' tours actually claim they'll do that. Remarkably prompt groups they have...

And if your friend had been wearing a money belt this wouldn't have happened.

Patricia_KelleyEarp

Tardiness equals stolen passport and wallet. Lol. Fodors group is pretty darn funny!

Patricia_KelleyEarp

I didn't think this wa pertinent to the thread but I will add one more detail. My husband has type 1 diabetes and he wears a pump. Sometimes the connection can disengage. It is rare. His sugars were in the 300s so we knew there was a problem. He discovered he needed to reconnect. Life happens and ther are things that are out of your control. We were late and Told Salih about the emergency. So not sure why the joke continued for my friend and Salih withholding her passport and wallet. I still think he was bizarre and I am surprised how judgemental this forum is

nytraveler

I think everyone agrees that his behavior was inappropriate. But from the first description - which was confusing and didn't include information that you have just revealed - it seemed that there might be a rationale - althouth not a good one - for what happened.

Patricia_KelleyEarp

Thank you new York. Poorly written op but I will edit and let you know the outcome. Gate one has been a reputable company in the past and I hope that we can reach some kind of compromise. Did I say how much I love turkey!

Patricia_KelleyEarp

To the top

Patricia_KelleyEarp

I am starting a new thread. My turkey trip. And all it's wonders and fab guides! Sorry Salih you won't be mentioned

anonymous2bee

Hi everyone, sorry been busy and finally I am back. Hi Patricia, from the looks of it above things are falling into place and at least there is some sort of communication taking place. Turkey is an AMAZING destination, what I loved the most was the food. I can still smell the bosphorus and the fish market....wasnt a big fan of the grand bazaar however. I'll read your feedback and dream about the times I had there.

Patricia_KelleyEarp

We didn't even venture in the grand bazaar. We did like meandering aronund spice market. We loved this restaurant called 5.Kat. Waiting on gate one and the main thing is Salih did not ruin our fab time in turkey. Posted this incident for the obvious reasons!