Dec 22, 2017 02:48 PM
5718 Views
Hi,
I had read so much about WOW group and had been following them for a while that I thought of trying it out once, though I have always found their trips to be atrociously expensive. I went to Iceland sometime back with WOW.
The staff handling this trip was completely ignorant and unprofessional in her communication. Whenever I asked a query, if it was related to the itinerary, it was usually ignored. But whenever there was a communication required regarding money, I always get a prompt response. While I can understand ignorance on the itinerary as these guys are no experts on Iceland, the least I would expect is to connect me to someone who can give the right assistance or find out on their end itself and reply accordingly. But they simply chose to ignore my emails.
Secondly, they created a lot of additional effort for me by giving improper communication regarding Visa requirements which was completely avoidable. The staff didnt even seem to know how to clearly write in English what is required to be done and what is not.
Coming to the worst part:
I had paid the entire amount for the trip as per their expected schedule. When the trip was advertised, the INR was at 70 to the Euro. A week before the trip was to begin they sent an email asking for Rs 5000/- more stating that the INR had depreciated against the Euro. They also stated that upto Rs 2 depreciation, they usually absorb themselves. Now I am a capital markets professional myself. I checked the exchange rate at the time of booking and at the time of their email, it had depreciated from Rs 70 to Rs 72. Given this, the cost of the trip as a whole should have increased by Rs 4000. First of all, they mentioned that they'absorb' upto Rs 2/- which was a blatant lie. Secondly, they overcharged despite the actual cost going up by much lower. Thirdly, when I questioned them with data and numbers, instead of clarifying the math they tell me "no woman has ever questioned us on this, you are the only one who is doing so". So they expected a customer who has paid lakhs of rupees to simply put up with all this crap without even getting an explanation? The most unethical tour organizers they are. Oh, and as it later turned out, all the other women passengers also had complaints on this random price rise without an explanation, so it was not just me who'questioned' this.
As for the trip itself: Iceland is an extremely scenic place to be in, 'magical' would be an understatement. But guess what, the entire trip all we did was sit in the bus with 27 others for 8 hours in a day and doing nothing else. The tour was organized in such a way that one gets to spend 2 hrs a day outside - at scenic places, at lunch, tea etc all put together and the remaining 8 hours was spent in the bus. This was the case for 6 out of 8 days. Iceland is a place that provides immense scope for activities which WOW did not provide for. Thankfully, I extended my trip by three days to do all the things that one is supposed to do in Iceland - glacier hiking, caving, ice tunnels and many more. Those three days more than compensated for the 8 whole mundane days spent with WOW.
Needless to say, my first and last trip with this group.
