And overtime work is not acceptable. Travel agency: the local driver is not familiar with the road, and tourists in Europe roast that they are left on the streets of Italy late at night | Driver | Italy

I went on a 12 day trip to Europe with the group, but ended up being left on the streets of Italy late at night, with a group of tourists waiting by the roadside. Recently, a tourist sent a video roast about his unpleasant experience of traveling with a group to Europe not long ago. He also said that the driver had taken the wrong road, which caused them to miss some scenic spots during their trip, and some scenic spots were in a hurry, which was seriously inconsistent with the schedule.

On June 21st, Zhongxin Tourism responded that due to temporary issues with the delivery company, they had to temporarily allocate vehicles. As a result, the driver was not familiar with the road, causing tourists to have a very bad feeling. Tourists stayed on the streets of Italy late at night because the drivers were too busy and did not accept overtime. Later, the travel agency arranged for other drivers to pick them up. Previously, travel agencies provided compensation for guests overseas and will further provide better solutions for tourists.

Tourists roast about being thrown into the streets of Italy late at night

On June 19, a tourist sent a video roast that they were thrown into the streets of Italy late at night when the newspaper group took part in the 12 day tour of Europe.

Stranded passengers

Related videos show a group of people standing on the roadside chatting in the darkness. The photographer said, "All of us were thrown onto the streets of Italy by the driver, and it was already 10:30 pm local time."

The video publisher posted that they joined a group to participate in the 12 day European tour of Zhongxin Tourism. On the day of the incident, they were in Italy. In the morning, a member of a tour group opened the navigation and found that the bus driver had taken the wrong road. They pointed it out, but the driver insisted on following the wrong path. As a result, the tour group did not arrive at the scenic spot on time, resulting in a delay in the day's itinerary.

At night, the driver didn't wait for the tourists on the bus, but instead drove away their luggage, causing everyone to be stranded on the streets of Italy. It wasn't until 10:30 pm that the travel agency sent a car to pick them up and return to the hotel. The netizen also claimed that they had two duty-free shops that they did not go to, some attractions that they did not go to, and some attractions that were particularly rushed, which seriously did not match their itinerary.

The settlement plan provided by Zhongxin Tourism is widely circulated online

The video publisher also provided a solution from the travel agency. The plan states that the group will depart on May 31, 2023 as the Peak Glory Europe 12 day tour group. Due to the driver's excessive adherence to local regulations and their own will during the trip, Nice, as planned, was unable to visit. And the driver is not familiar with the road conditions, the execution of the itinerary plan is not smooth, and customer satisfaction with the driver's service is poor.

After the problem occurred, the travel agency tried its best to solve it overseas. In addition to multiple additional payments for transportation and vehicle replacement costs, they also arranged for customers to visit Verona and added the Golden Grand Canal project. The head of the travel agency went to the team's location to sincerely apologize. In addition, we also included a Western restaurant set menu and red wine as gifts, which earned the understanding of the entire group of customers and signed an understanding agreement. Unfortunately, there were subsequent issues with the driver's service, which led to customers filing a second complaint after returning to China. Regarding this, the travel agency will compensate the driver with 5% of the group payment as compensation for their service issues.

For this compensation plan, the video publisher said, "I have gained the understanding of the entire team, but they didn't laugh me to death, and no one has forgiven him..."

On June 21st, Jimu News attempted to contact the video publisher but received no response.

Other tourists roast that they had similar experiences

Jimu News reporters noticed that multiple tourists have reported that they have reported similar experiences with European tour groups that have similar itineraries.

One of the tourists told Jimu News that they reported a tour group departing on May 23rd and visiting France on May 30th. At around 10 o'clock in the morning, a bus of tourists only set off. After the bus arrived at the scenic spot, she and her husband suggested to the tour guide to have a meal at a roadside restaurant and solve their urgent needs because they had not found the restroom for a long time, and lunch was arranged by themselves. At that time, the tour guide agreed, and the passenger also informed the request in the WeChat group. The tour guide replied, "Yes.". When the two finished their meal and were ready to join the tour group, the tour guide called to ask where they were. It took about 8 minutes for the two to arrive at the gathering place, but they were accused by some group members of "leaving the group without permission". "We didn't leave the group without permission and greeted the tour guide," the tourist said. She only learned after communicating with other group members that the bus had already left at the scenic spot, and she and her husband were left behind. Later, the bus returned to pick them up.

In the afternoon of that day, after the tour group arrived at Arles on the itinerary, the bus driver said that because the tour group had to catch a train to Paris the next morning, according to local laws and regulations, the tour group must return to the hotel at 6:30 pm that evening to ensure a smooth departure the next morning. The driver stated that if he continues to complete the day's itinerary as planned, he will not be able to return to the hotel at 6:30 pm, so he is unwilling to continue to the next attraction. Finally, the bus was stranded in Arles for 3 hours, causing them to miss the trip to Avignon. "At the end, we didn't arrive at the hotel until after 9 pm," said the tourist and other group members.

The tour group arrived at the hotel only after 9 pm on May 23rd

Another member of the tour group told Jimu News reporters that they understand that drivers must comply with laws and regulations, but tour guides need to fully consider these issues to arrange their itinerary. However, the driver has almost always exceeded the time limit, so everyone thinks there is a problem with the itinerary arrangement.

After returning to China, some members of the tour group are still negotiating with the travel agency.

The travel agency claims that foreign drivers do not accept overtime work

On June 21st, Jimu News contacted Zhongxin Tourism, and the relevant person in charge responded that she has been handling complaints about the travel group that departed on May 31st for the past two days. As for the travel group that departed on May 23rd, she still needs to go and understand.

The person in charge stated that European tourism has just recovered, and many chains need to be reorganized by travel agencies. On the day of the incident, the company responsible for dispatching the car encountered a temporary problem. The travel agency temporarily allocated the car, but the driver was not familiar with the road, which caused tourists to have a very bad feeling. As for tourists claiming to be thrown on the streets of Italy, because in many European countries, especially Italy and France, people here cannot accept overtime and cannot exceed the daily working hours. In addition, the relevant local laws and regulations are very strict, which also takes into account safety issues. So, the driver did not wait for these tourists on that day. Afterwards, the travel agency dispatched other vehicles to pick up tourists, and the person in charge of the local delivery company rushed to the location of the tour group to apologize. The delivery company also punished the driver involved.

The person in charge stated that the travel agency has already made up for the guests overseas, such as arranging other itineraries, offering free seafood meals, and giving gifts. But when the tour group was about to return to their home country, they sent a new car to pick up the guests. However, there was another car accident on the way, and bad things happened together. After the guests returned to their home country, they reported a bad experience online, and the company understood very well. The customer complaint department of the company attaches great importance to this and has been maintaining communication with customers these days to provide better solutions.

The reporter asked why other travel groups have also reported similar experiences. Can we avoid these issues in advance in terms of itinerary design and vehicle arrangement, so that tourists can have a better experience? The person in charge stated that they will consider these issues and optimize them.