ComplaintsforBoston Duck Tours, L.P.

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Tuesday April 18th, 2023 I purchased on the phone group tickets for my family. I emailed Boston duck tours directly prior to that to group sales explaining that I am getting married on 5/19/23 and will have about 18 people from ************* and ***** needing a tour of Boston in *******. The representative was very nice and curious explaining we will need to get the bus from the ***************** seeing that those buses have a ******* translation. There were emails back and forth until I finally called and spoke to the rep about ordering the tickets and paying for them ahead of time. I again explained I needed the ******* translation and he assured that the ***************** would be the stop. On Saturday 5/20, we went to the ***************** to catch the bus only to find out the tickets reserved were for the aquarium. Never did I hear or did the rep mention the aquarium as my point of stop since I needed the ******* translation. They would not even try to get ** on a bus and we did not make the aquarium stop since its a distance from museum of science. We had about 5 cars of people all paying for parking and I bought the tickets already being assured I would get on at the *****************. Why would I ever order tickets for the aquarium stop if I had only ******* speaking family members??? I am not happy with the service.

  Customer response

  06/05/2023

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  

  Business response

  06/05/2023

  Hello,

  Customer reached out on March 28th at 1pm asking to set up a group tour and asked if there were tours in Spanish. Boston Duck Tours responded on March 28th at 225pm discussing that tours from the ***************** departure location Ducks are all equipped with Spanish translated tours. Customer called sales office on April 18th to book tickets. Customer booked tickets from the ******************** and received confirmation of those tickets on April 18th a 2:27pm. Guest showed up at the ***************** departure location instead of the ******************** on the day of the tour. Guest spot with our sales center. Our sales center offered to rebook their tour, customer declined. We offered to mail them complimentary passes and the customer hung up on **.

  Customer response

  06/07/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]

  I reject this statement only because as you can see I only wanted a tour with Spanish translation. I made it quite clear that my wedding party did not speak English at all. 
      When I spoke to the gentleman who assisted me, I explained how necessary it is to have the Spanish translation and he assured me the ***************** would be perfect because they were equipped with Spanish translation. Why on earth would he book me out of the Aquarium? Not once on email or on the phone did he mention the Aquarium being our pick up location.

    When I called the organization after my wedding to talk to the gentleman, he insisted that the tickets were booked for the aquarium and was not letting me explain how I would of never booked if I didnt have the translation. It didnt make sense? I also explained that I would not need the 20 tickets and instead maybe I could get a partial refund since I already explained my reason and got very frustrated since he said that there was nothing he could do since he booked it for the aquarium and has been working for over 20 something years. 
      I have always been very clear with my requests and it just infuriates me that I made it clear I needed Spanish translation which was the ***************** and he reassured me it was available. 
      When we arrived at the location we asked about the tours and they were not able to accommodate ** until later in the evening/next day which we already had other reservations for dinner for. Its very frustrating because I do not try to make trouble but it is heartbreaking how I had family fly in (20 people) to make that weekend special for my wedding and it didnt work out for **. 

   
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ******

   

   

  

  Business response

  06/09/2023

  The original point of contact was on March 28th from this guest, and the next point of contact was April 18th. The tour information/availability that was relayed on March 28th likely changed in the 20 days between the next point of contact from the guest. Moreover, when this guest called to reserve tickets on April 18th, our sales reps went over the options that were available at that time. A booking was made at 210pm EST on April 18th and a confirmation was sent to the guest at 227pm EST listing the ******************** as the departure location (email attached here). We can see that this guest opened the email at 230pm EST on April 18th. There was no further contact from this guest until May 20th (the day of the tour). To say we are not willing to do anything is false. The offer still stands to rebook for another date, or be mailed complimentary passes that do not expire. Thank you.

  Customer response

  06/12/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 
  

  hello,

     Yes, I requested a quote through their website on March 28th. And began speaking on email with the representative. I uploaded the conversations and made it quite clear i needed Spanish translation since my family was flying in from outside the country and ONLY spoke Spanish. Why on earth would i ever accept a reservation for the aquarium if from the beginning i made it clear i only need Spanish translation. You can see in the last couple of emails from the 18th, it shows the representative saying from ***************** he had certain times but stated the wrong date. So i responded as you can see that i needed May 20th not 19th. So when i spoke to him on the phone, not once did he mention the pick up would be at the Aquarium when i kept saying i needed spanish translation. Yes, i know i received the tickets on my email, but i trusted the gentleman in knowing i ONLY needed the museum of science. Stupid of me to trust a company i suppose but i still do not want tickets for the duck tours which my family is not flying in anytime soon or in the near future. I would like a half refund or full refund please. I understand mistakes happen but it was not made clear to me that i would be needing to go to the Aquarium when i needed the Spanish translation. Please help with this. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ******

   

   

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