Travel At It's Finest

Complaint/Response to Totally Disgusted Online Post Amtrak July 20 – August 3, 2016 Complaint: After riding the train all day and all night, we arrived in Chicago and waited an hour on the street for bus and immediately take a drive by tour of Chicago. The next morning it’s back on the train for a 36 hour ride to Arizona. Response: The train left DC Union Station at 4:05pm and arrived in Chicago by 9:00am the next morning – which is not all day and all night. Due to security measures at the Amtrak in Chicago, the busses must remain offsite until boarding time which has been documented that it took 12-15 minutes for the first bus to arrive and the second bus arrived 10 minutes later. The group was boarded within 10 minutes. Complaint: The next morning it’s back on the train for a 36 hour ride to Arizona. Response: Riding the train, none of the destinations are 36 hours. Complaint: Each destination we were put up in the cheapest hotels in town. When we got to California, instead of lodging in Los Angeles, we stayed in Ontario, CA in the middle of nowhere in a bedbug, roach infested filthy smelling hotel (The Radisson). There was nowhere to walk to or anything to do. Response: Being placed in the cheapest hotels downtown very much untrue. Chicago – Crowne Plaza Downtown – 1st class hotel Flagstaff – Holiday Inn – another 1st class hotel Las Vegas – MGM Monte Carlo – another deluxe 1st class Ontario, California – Radisson Hotel – another 1st class Albuquerque – Marriott – 1st class None of the above hotels were cheap. Flyer and itinerary stated Ontario, California. Complaint: The next day we did another drive by tour and then back to the train. This was a total waste of money to spend six days on a train ride only to spend a few minutes at each location except Las Vegas. Response: Much of the complaints were riding the train and getting back/forth to each city. The trip was advertised as a Cross Country Amtrak trip not by airplane. Each destination was indicated on the itinerary by how many hours it took to get to the next destination providing nothing went wrong with the train. Complaint: The leaders were very rude and treated us like second class citizens. We were dropped at one restaurant to eat and the tour leaders ate someplace different. Response: Travel At Its’ Finest (TAIF) is one of the most respected travel companies in the Nation because of its professionalism, leadership and hard work, providing what we promise and being professional at all times. Each tour leader need to be able to deal with lots of people, sometimes up to 40 or 50 are in a tour, caring for them, answering questions, and handling emergencies, creating safety procedures and taking charge. Complaint: Luggage was lost and damaged and the leaders had a very nonchalant attitude. I have travelled for over 40 years and this is the first time that I’ve ever been expected to stay at such a disgusting hotel. Response: The client’s luggage was found by the bus company. You as customers did not follow the luggage policy provided earlier during the briefing and in your packet. The driver had placed that luggage under the bus in his own personal space due to the amount of luggage he had to place in the luggage carrier. Complaint: Before the trip was over with about 20 people returning home by airplane at their own expense. We were not told in advance that two of the destinations were five hour bus rides. Response: Three months prior to departure on this trip, we had clients traveling from Harrisburg, PA and Texas that requested transportation from last destination so they did not have to stay overnight in DC. It was a total of 9 people. I received a call from 3 people while in Las Vegas prior to going to California and Albuquerque that they wanted to fly back and receive a refund due to leg problems. I wrote down their names and emailed Amtrak so there were only 3 people who decided during the trip requesting to fly back – not 20. Complaint: If you like being stuck on a train for days at a time with no showers, nasty bathrooms and limited food options, then perhaps this is for you. Never again for me. Response: This Amtrak trip went according as scheduled.