Business ProfileforGrand Traverse Tours, LLC

Grand Traverse Tours is terrible at booking your reservation. I reached out back in April to reserve a spot for a booking this fall. On their website it says request a reservation. I filled out the information, requested my date and vehicle size. From there I was corresponding via email with an associate. After that I spoke on the phone with someone from the company and confirmed my date time vehicle and number in my group. I confirmed my date and time via the phone conversation. Nowhere on the website, in the email or on the phone conversation was anything explained about the necessary steps to confirm my booking officially (leaving a card on file, down payment or any further information) no one in the company asked me for more information to confirm my booking. I was led to believe that my booking was complete and payment was due upon arrival after the conversation on the phone in April ( for an October date) I contacted them 5 months later a couple weeks leading up my event to make sure I had the contact information and pick up time correct. That is when the company for the first time told me I should've had a confirmation number and a down payment number to prove my booking. I told them nothing of the sort was ever explicitly told to me at that time I originally sent my reservation request and confirmed my date and time and pick up with associate on the phone back in April. They continued to tell me it was my fault for not asking the right questions. He stated their associate surely would've told me about the booking fee if I asked the "right questions". He continued to tell me because they get so many calls and inquiries about their tour company when people ask the right questions, that prompts their associates to remind customers about the down payment. Not only did I send a reservation request via their website, I ask questions about date, time, pick up location, and vehicle. How are those not the right questions? He continued to explain how "businesses typically work." He was very condescending and took no responsibility for the associate not doing their job to confirm my booking. Their company did not complete the sale or transaction, explain or confirm that I was booked or wanted to book. Clearly I wanted to book. They did say they would put be at the top of their call back list and gave me a list of wineries I could drive myself without a reservation. Thanks, but we don't need that; we needed a DD. They also told me to call if I needed to talk to someone. I called multiple times over the course of multiple days. They did not answer. I left a message. They did not call back. I do not appreciate the way I was treated. They did not take responsibility for their lack of knowledge of their own policies. Do not book a tour with them.

We thank our guests for sharing their experiences with Grand Traverse Tours even in those rare instances where they are displeased with our service. When our staff is in the office or behind the wheel, Grand Traverse Tours takes great pride in providing each of our guests with first-rate service and customer feedback plays a tremendous role in helping us to achieve that goal.

With that goal always at the forefront, our office staff happily assists potential guests each day by first answering their general questions about vehicle availability, pricing, and itinerary options. Assisting guests who are in the early trip planning stage in this way is an essential step before guests secure a reservation with our company. Delivering the customized private tour packages that are enjoyed by so many of our guests start each time by first answering their questions.

In this circumstance, our staff attempted to answer initial questions in the typical way, assisting a potential guest both by email and later by phone with their trip-planning prior to finalizing their reservation. If our answers to the questions that accompanied the guest's initial inquiry were mistaken for an actual reservation, we are sorry for their experience. We would certainly like to have earned their business by first answering all their questions, then proceeding to create a reservation by securing a standard $99 and providing the guest with a confirmation number. Unfortunately, at no time during this everyday process did we understand the guest's confusion about her reservation status, believing that we were only answering typical questions that occur prior to nearly every booking.

below is a copy of the only single email inquirery back on 4/17/21. Grand Traverse Tours replied the same day with tour options in October..

From: Grand Traverse Tours
Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2021 7:55 PM
To: ****************
Subject: Re: Reservation Request

As busy as October is in northern Michigan.. with a lunch stop, you will visit 1 winery, lunch and 1 distillery in 4 hours for the first tour of 10:30-2:30..

Additional time available for the 3:30-4:00 tour if you need additional time visiting wineries and distilleries.

Either time you choose, you will only visit 3 stops in 4 hours with all the Covid restrictions.
Grand Traverse Tours
[email protected]
231-947-7433

On Apr 17, 2021, at 5:49 PM, **************** <************************** wrote:


Okay thanks! Is it possible to add a lunch stop into the tour? Is there is a brewery or distillery that has lunch options?
What is the cost if we wanted to add on extra time after the tour hours? Is that possible?

You offer pick up? We will be staying 469 Peninsula Trail, Cabin #5, Traverse City, MI 49686, United States.

We are also wondering if we can do both tours of winery's and a few distilleries


Thanks ****!

****************
************

On Sat, Apr 17, 2021 at 5:27 PM Grand Traverse Tours wrote:
Vehicle requested is available for 10/9.. lunch would have to be separate stop as wineries have small plates and not lunch options. Tour times are 10:30-2:30pm or 3:30-7:30pm on Saturdays.

Thank you for your response. I understand what what we spoke about during the email conversation. Via your website I had reached out under "request a reservation" which lead to the conversations via email. That is when Greg reached out on the phone on 4/17/21 to talk about, date time, group size and pick up time and location. At that time I feel it is on grand Traverse wine tour company to inform customers that if they want to confirm their reservation they need to book with a down payment. At that time on the phone nothing was said about moving forward my booking confirmation with a deposit of $99. It should not be the customers job to determine between when to proceed to the final process of booked after initial inquiry. My biggest problem is that your company isn't taking responsibility for not doing their job this process, and placing blame on a customer for the "miscommunication".