Dear Jeff,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We respect every guest’s right to express their experience and would like to respond with clarity, balance, and factual information.
First, we would like to emphasize that the driver assigned to your tour, Mr. Raju, is a senior professional with over 16 years of experience in tourism services with IBCAD. He has consistently received excellent reviews from our guests. Throughout your journey, his conduct remained polite, supportive, and professional. Both the driver and guides cooperated fully to assist you and ensure safe and smooth travel between destinations—standards of service that have long been appreciated by our clients.
Regarding guide services, we would like to clarify that a guide was not included only for the first half day, which had been communicated in advance. For the remaining days, licensed local guides were arranged in Delhi and Agra. In India, guides are city-based and are briefed according to the confirmed itinerary on the same day. While there were discussions regarding pacing and feasibility due to traffic, crowds, and monument regulations, your visit to the Taj Mahal was successfully completed, and no entry was missed.
We respectfully deny the allegation of any intentional misconduct or prioritizing profit over guest safety. Guest safety and satisfaction are core values of IBCAD, and we have proudly served international travelers for many years.
Regarding compensation, we would like to present the facts clearly. The professional guide fee is INR 2,000 per day, and only a half-day guide service was not utilized. Despite this, a request was made for compensation amounting to 50% of the total tour cost, which is disproportionate to the actual service variance. Additionally, INR 4,000 was deducted from the agreed tour cost prior to the tour without mutual agreement, yet the tour was still fully delivered.
We are also concerned that we were informed a negative public review would be posted if the requested compensation was not paid. We believe reviews should reflect genuine experiences and not be used as leverage.
Furthermore, after the tour, an additional refund of €65 was requested with the assurance that the negative review would be removed upon payment. In good faith and in an effort to resolve the matter amicably, we complied and paid the requested amount. However, the review has not been removed. This situation is concerning, as requesting payment in exchange for removing a review may reasonably be interpreted as undue pressure.
Additionally, following our previous public response, we received a direct email stating that due to past involvement in the travel industry, there would be efforts to broadcast this matter and contact associates with the intention of causing reputational and financial harm if further compensation was not provided. While we remain open to fair and respectful dialogue, we do not believe that threats or pressure are constructive or appropriate means of resolution.
That said, we did acknowledge certain operational gaps in good faith and extended an apology directly, demonstrating accountability—not intent to mislead.
While we sincerely regret that your experience did not meet expectations, we must respectfully state that the portrayal of deliberate negligence or misconduct does not reflect the complete and factual situation.
We wish you and your partner well and genuinely hope your future travels are more pleasant and memorable.
Sincerely,
IBCAD Team