Chapter Three:  Tour Management and Guiding

"You can often tell a tour director's experience by how high they hold their sign...."

                                                        Cherie Anderson

Are you ready to manage a tour?

Take the "mini-case" challenge!

Read the following mini-cases and then evaluate the problem.  What did the tour guide do wrong?  Would you have handled things differently?  Reply to these cases in two or more paragraphs.

Mini Case One:

Dear Dottie,

We just returned from an all-inclusive tour of England.  Our tour guide was the worst guide ever!  What should we do?  Our guide waited and waited for several participants who were always running late!  We missed our last dinner because we were waiting on them!  We called the tour company to ask for a refund, but they were no help.  Should we be asking for a refund?  What went wrong?

Mini Case Two:

Dear Dottie,

Our tour guide seems to be forming a relationship with one of the tour participants!  He sits next to her at dinner and only talks to her during the tour!  What should we do?

Mini Case Three:

Dear Dottie,

There are two tour participants that spent the entire tour complaining!  I am writing to request a refund because I was unable to enjoy the tour!  These participants complained constantly about very minor things.  Can we get a refund?

Mini Case Four:

Dear Dottie,

Basically, our tour guide didn't know ANYTHING!  Every time I asked any questions about the tour attractions, she needed some time to research it.  Is this normal?  Shouldn't the tour company be hiring someone that knows the attractions? 

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1.  Should you ever tell someone that they will get a refund?  Why or why not?

2.  Should you every apologize?  Why or why not?

3.  Why is it important to confirm every reservation made with a supplier?

4.  How could a palm pilot help a tour guide?

Book Activities:

1.  Complete the "Chapter Check" (for this chapter) by typing the questions (and your answer) on your document for this chapter to be e-mailed to the instructor.

 

2.  Complete the "Term Challenge" by typing the terms and the corresponding definitions on your word document for this chapter.