Charito23 5
22 Sep 2018
17 September 2018
I just want to clarify what really happened on the trip to the Great Ocean Road. The story goes like this:
It was marketed as a SMALL GROUP tour to the GREAT OCEAN ROAD but to be honest 30+ guests is not considered small, it is HUGE! Due to the size of the group, it took a long time for Kelly to finished the pickup. Four of us joined this tour booked through Viator operated by Autopia Tours which was led by Kelly. We were picked up on time and at the place agreed upon at the time of the booking. All instructions were stated crystal clear on the confirmation page sent through email. All went smoothly until 3 of the 33 customers on this small group tour decided to choose their own seat even if the majority of the customers already settled on their seat on the first part of the tour. We were on our first stop at the Brighton bathing boxes when a lot of the customers on the bus noticed that their seat was taken by another person when they got back from the beach (Luckily, i left my backpack on the seat so we were not displaced). There were families, friends and solo travellers on this tour ( all race, shapes and sizes). On our second stop, another changing of seats happened again, this time its WORST. Two elderly ladies were displaced and one of them was forced to take the seat at the back to keep the group from waiting any longer. We were shocked and angered with what happen.
On our way to lunch, one customer whose seat was displaced, asked Kelly to address the issue because we cannot be having this problem every time we get off the bus. So, Kelly spoke to the family of 3 nicely stating the reason why they cannot take other people’s seat just like that. He even asked them if they were seated separately at the back and they replied NO!. The reason behind it was, they don’t want to seat beside the guy that they referred to as “the BIG GUY” (which I believe is blatantly rude and extremely disrespectful). The “big guy” they are referring to is willing to move to accommodate them at the back (btw,he is travelling alone ) Kelly was left with no choice but to to give them 2 options, to get off the bus or take their original seat at the back. It took almost half an hour for them to decide, they even took video of Kelly asking them to leave or get the police involved. Kelly stepped off the bus and decided to let his company know what’s happening, while all of us waited and asked the family of 3 to get back to their seat so we can leave and go on with the tour but they stubbornly decided not to.
We left the spot where the argument happened and Kelly then returned to the bus and drove off (seating issue not yet resolved). We reached this place before Apollo bay and the family decided to alight at the bus stop (not deserted, NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, they even have the option to take the bus to go back to Geelong). Immediately after they decided to get off the bus, All customers inside the bus rejoiced, applauded and thanked Kelly for standing up for the majority of us (total 30 guests). We reached Apollo bay to have lunch, while at the restaurant, the gratitude for Kelly’s actions poured in.
The rest of the tour went so well and we had a GREAT time! If not for Kelly’s bravery risking his job just to be able to resolve the issue the family of 3 could’ve ruined our trip for a simple seating issue. We went to the places as planned. Kelly is a very nice guy, effective tour guide and most importantly POLITE and HELPFUL. He is a handy photographer too. He gave us a lot of suggestions to where are the beautiful spot for photos. He loves the Great Ocean Road so much that he had so many good memories to share while on the road. His playlist was also mentioned but there’s nothing wrong with it. I’m considered a gen X but can still relate to his playlist (is Hotel California considered a bad choice of song?🎶).
The issue here is not about how much is inside your pocket, not your race, and not even your shape and size. The real issue here is how to be COURTEOUS, RESPECTFUL and being CONSIDERATE to other people. If you think you cannot get along with other people, why not book a PRIVATE tour where you don’t need to deal with the “big guy” on the bus. There are a lot of bad things happening around the world already, being KIND to one another is the only best thing we can do❤️❤️❤️. You don’t have to be an ***HOLE to prove your point. 😜
