At times, I have difficulty evaluating the impartiality of TripAdvisor reviews due to not knowing who the reviewer is and their knowledge of travel. In response to my own stated concern, I hereby present my credentials to assist others in making an informed decision regarding the impartial veracity of my review.
I have globally traveled eight times per year for the past 28 years as a current 62-year-old Doctor, who has also attended law school. I am well-educated, and strongly feel that I am an excellent judge of character, a gentleman, kind, fair, patient, and take 100% responsibility for all my actions. I very rarely write negative reviews, except when the principles of decency and trust are violated along with a lack of empathy and denial of responsibility as an expression of greed.
My story... I booked a private tour with ArtenCordoba on 31 August 2016 for the date of 02 October 2016, for 146.60 Euros with a start time of 4:00 pm. The three hour tour was to include three components, that is, a tour of the Mezquita - Cathedral, Synagogue of Córdoba, and Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. I depended on ArtenCordoba to organize the tour with knowledge and expertise, including any closing times of the requested historical sites.
On the day of the tour, when the two of us were led to two of the scheduled tour sites (the Synagogue and Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos), they were closed. I requested verbally and in writing a refund of 50%, i.e., 50 euros. My logic was simple - I contracted for a specific set of services and such was not provided due to a lack of knowledge by the provider (Artencordoba) regarding the availability to contract for the requested tours. Further, the tour lasted only 1.5 hours as a result of the closures of the tour sites. I wrote directly to the English speaking wife of the owner and the person I originally contracted with, i.e., Pilar Ramirez, Director of Programming and Organization at ArtenCordoba. Her miserly response was:
"From: Reservas Artencordoba
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2016 4:32 AM
To: Ronald S
Subject: Re: October 02, 2016 Tour. Ref no. AC16/000303 v1
Good morning Ronald,
The price you paid is for the service of the guide + the tickets. Ana, the guide, told me that she refunded you the price of the tickets (10 euros)."
Pilar Ramirez's response is nonsensical.
First of all, Pilar Ramirez is an owner of the company. She makes the decisions with her owner husband. Second, the obvious greed and dishonesty in her refusal to provide a refund is representative of how Pilar Ramirez and Artencordoba handle business in regards to necessary refunds.
You, the tourist, are at risk for such deceptive and dishonest behavior. For example, if you, the reader, contract for 146 euros (service=100 and parts=46) with a auto repair shop to repair your car, you are employing the mechanic AND service that he/she will provide. When you return for your car on the specified day, the mechanic reports that he has only fixed one of three items because two of the three part shops were closed. He proceeds to refund 10 euros for the unpurchased parts and keeps the remainder because in the logic of the mechanic/Artencordoba, I employed a mechanic (guide), not a service. It does not matter if the work/service was completed or provided. This type of thinking is dishonest, greedy, and manipulative with a lack of empathy that the tourist has traveled thousands of miles and expended thousands of dollars in reliance of ArtenCordoba's and Pilar Ramirez's promise of services and expertise.
Adding insult to injury, Pilar Ramirez at ArtenCordoba has a history of denouncing negative reviews as the writings of competitors attempting to destroy her business; and at other times, making excuses to avoid doing the right thing.