Review: Family Trip to China, Hong Kong Beijing, Guilin, Great Wall Hiking, Li River Rafting

I don't think I would change anything. It was a nice balance between the cities and countryside. I would insist on a new driver after the first day in Beijing and not listen to two days of Bickering.

We thank you for the quick responses and attention to every detail to be right. We had a wonderful trip but I did think that one driver needed to be brought to someones attention. I appreciate the professionalism and we would use you again. Things sometimes go wrong but it is how a company treats it that shows the quality of the company.  

Travel Company's Comments:

Dear Meg,

Thanks for your detailed review on the trip. We have checked with our local operator for the problems you mentioned in the first time. First of all, we are so sorry that the problems brought you a very bad experience and influenced your holiday. The trip should be excellent and interesting.However it is damaged by the driver in Beijing. I'm really sorry for it.  Secondly, for the waiting time of 45 minutes, our local operator checked with the guide and told us that it happened on the day 4 after you finishing the Yuyuantan Park for the Cherry Blossom. It was the truth that the car was not allowed to park close to Yuyuantan Park as it was too crowded for the tourists/visitors on the day. It's the objective reason that it makes the waiting time longer than normal. But the main reasons are that the driver didn't cooperate with the guide's job well and the bad communication between them. They should be aware of the traffic condition ahead of time, find the best location to get on the car and let you know the situation ahead of time. Thirdly, regarding to the arguments during the trip, it was absolutely not allowed and quiet impolite in front of the clients. It is the main reason to make the trip a "disaster" for your family. The driver and guide should always keep good relationship in the duration. They should be always friendly and nice to meet with the guests' requirements.
 
Based on your feedback and compliant, we will take the measures to control the service quality in the future. The followings are the solutions for your case. 

1, We will urge our local vehicle provider to do more training on driver service and improve the the client's experience in the future. Moving forward, we will not use the driver again. 
 
2, We will ask our local vendors to do more training on the guide service. Although you were satisfied with the guide in Beijing, he is still responsible for a portion of the arguments with the driver. He should not argue with driver in the duration. If there is a problem for the communication with driver for any reason, he should inform with our local vendor ahead of time other than argue with the driver in the front of the clients. It's not professional and polite to do so.  We will urge our local vendors to emphasis on the problem in the future and prevent it from happening again. 
 
3, As the problems brought you a bad experience and influenced your trip, our company would like to make a compensation with 250 USD for your family. We know it not possible to bring back the excellent travel experience in Beijing to you, we hope the compensation can partially make up for your unpleasant experience on April 5-6.
 
Again, we highly appreciate your feedback and support on the trip. As a responsible travel agency, we always emphasis on the feedback from our guests,improve our service and try to make each trip great and excellent. We believe that we should always put the guests' requirement as the #1 priority. 
 
Thanks for your understanding!