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My terrible Dragoman experience in Africa



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 23rd, 2004, 03:28 AM
Nadine S.
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Default My terrible Dragoman experience in Africa

The following is a letter I sent to Dragoman HQ regarding a 5-week
over land trip through east and south Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi,
Zambia, Zimbabwe). Below my letter is their response.

I encourage everyone I know to not travel with Dragoman unless you are
looking for a Contiki (http://www.contiki.com) drink and sex fest
without spending any meaningful time in national parks looking at
'real' animals.

---------- BEGIN LETTER TO DRAGOMAN --------------

August 29, 2003

Dragoman
Camp Green, Kenton Road
Debenham, Suffolk
IP146LA, England


Dear Customer Relations Representative:

Trip East and South Africa
Date: May 2-June 10, 2003
Leader: Bryrony Carne
Co-driver: Greg Hill
Cook: Dave

My friend and I recently returned from an overland trip in "East and
South Africa" lead by Bryony Carne and Greg Hill. We chose to travel
with Dragoman after hearing from friends about their satisfaction with
the package. We thoroughly enjoyed the countries visited on the
itinerary.
However, the crew displayed poor attitude and lacked organization and
leadership skills. The specifics are detailed in the following
paragraphs and will explain how Dragoman's good reputation has been
definitely scarred in our view!

The trip began poorly organized with only one trip leader, Bryony,
prepared to depart from Nairobi, Kenya. We were informed that the
second leader was going to be flying in from Nepal to Kenya as soon as
possible.
Consequently, the progress of our trip was delayed as the whole tour
group wasted a day near Nakuru waiting for the second leader to
arrive. We should have kept to the schedule and let the co-driver
catch up with us instead.

Another problem was encountered at the start of the trip. There was
insufficient number of locker keys available for each and every
passenger.
Bryony was short 3 sets of locker/truck keys. This created a major
inconvenience as some of the passengers had to share keys. Despite
repeated requests to have more keys to be cut as soon as possible,
Bryony took over 4 weeks to make enough keys for each passenger. We
finally possessed our individual set of locker/truck keys on the last
4 days before the end of the trip.

Bryony's personal agenda conflicted with the group's ideas on several
occasions. Changes were made quite frequently to the itinerary by
Bryony.
She chose to not visit Masi Mara because of her fear that we would
likely get stuck in the mud. Despite some passengers' request to visit
an alternate National Park or spend extra day in the Serengeti, she
refused to consider these alternative options. This was extremely
disappointing and inconsiderate especially after the truck got stuck
for five hours in a mud hole in the Serengeti within one hour of
entering this park. Bryony rushed us through and out of Serengeti
National Park the next morning offering little time to appreciate much
game viewing. We have traveled a long way from North America to enjoy
the beauty of the Serengeti and paid a fair amount of money not to be
driven through this park like we were competing in a rally car race!

Bryony's personal agenda again clashed with her passengers later on
the trip when she wanted to spend more than 5 days on lake Malawi (5
days was far too long), as well as staying longer on the houseboats in
Lake Kariba. She seemed much more interested in relaxing and partying
on beaches rather than incorporating quality game viewing time in
national parks as requested by many passengers.

Even to change something as simple as having dinnertime earlier,
Bryony did not want to listen to the group. The change occurred
three weeks later only after John, a frustrated passenger, strongly
stated, "you have to start listening to you paying customers."

Our trust in Bryony was questionable throughout the trip. At the
beginning of the trip, she insisted on managing the "kitty" by
herself. There was no discussion or vote. Furthermore, she directly
refused any assistance offered from Julie, a passenger who's an
accountant. This decision surprised several passengers who had
experienced previous Dragoman excursions where at least one passenger
assisted with managing the kitty.

Her map reading skills were not trustworthy either. Bryony got lost
on the way to a campsite in Kenya. She drove past the turn-off for
over an hour before considering turning around. She had to ask for
help from a couple passengers to find the correct turn off. These two
passengers had been at that campsite only once before a month ago.

We felt that Bryony to be an inconsiderate driver. She demonstrated
poor vehicle control and poor consideration for the group by not
slowing down for speed bumps. Passengers sitting in the rear were
often airborne from their seats as she sped over the speed humps.
Passengers sitting at the back were yelling for her to slow down over
the bumps continuously over the five weeks of the journey.
Furthermore, she refused to stop the truck when a couple passengers
suffered from diarrhea. Despite their urgent request to use the
toilet at the roadside, Bryony insisted and required them to hold on
for another hour. On many occasions, she began driving off before
checking whether all passengers were on board or if the truck door was
closed yet.
Through the national parks, she was speeding and not always stopping
for passengers wanting to take photographs. She also drove right off
the road, into a mud hole and got the truck stuck for 5 hours in the
Serengeti.
Fortunately, some locals happened to come by and helped us out just
before sunset. This was an awful way to spend time in Serengeti
National Park. The next day Bryony drove the front wheels of the truck
into a ditch while reversing out of a parking space. Her poor driving
skills added many stressful moments on the trip. One military check
point guard even said, "I was very scared. I was very scared you
weren't going to stop." To which Bryony laughed in his face.

The leaders of this trip showed communication skills that were
unprofessional and inappropriate at times. Early in the trip, Bryony
and Greg told the group they needed to get a permit to do "on/off
shore drilling." I have enclosed a copy for your viewing. They also
stated that if one did not ask the trip leaders for a permit and was
found out, the punishment was to run around the truck in the nude. A
few days later at dinner, both Bryony and Greg ran around the truck
naked to advertise that they have copulated.

One morning in Victoria Falls, the trip leaders took the truck for
maintenance without letting anyone know that they were planning to do
this or for how long. This lack of communication was a huge
inconvenience to the group. Had we been told in advance, we would
have removed needed articles and money from the truck prior. We,
amongst many other passengers, were greatly inconvenienced by not
having money or camera for the day and evening activities because the
truck had still not returned by 5pm.

Bryony lacked leadership in maintaining that respective individuals
satisfactorily completed the assigned truck duties. As a result the
truck, stayed filthy for most of the trip because the truck sweepers
were not urged to do their assigned task. When the back locker crew
were throwing the backpack and bags around like potato sacks, I asked
them to be more careful as there may be breakable items in any of the
luggage bags. Bryony told me to remove my breakable items without
requesting or encouraging the back locker crew to handle the bags more
considerately.

The community projects high lighted in your brochure were for the most
part very disappointing. The community visit in Malawi included a
walk through the village, visiting the exterior of an empty medical
clinic after hours (no patients or staff,) and visiting a school after
hours (no classes in session.) Money was donated to the community but
no opportunity to participate or directly interact. In Tanzania we
visited a Masi village and observed men and young children singing and
dancing. Then we were encouraged to buy handicrafts from the women's
market. In Zambia, a visit to an anti- poaching program, and medical
clinic was organized. Again, money was donated but there was little
to no interaction.

The meal plan on this overland journey lacked variety. Dave basically
cooked the same food each night. This consisted of some kind of
"tomato sauce" with rice or pasta for dinner. Our chef master which
was advertised on your brochure did not introduce us to any
interesting local cuisine. He would refuse to buy more fruit even
when several passengers and the leader requested it. In addition, he
demonstrated poor hygiene while cooking by not washing his hands
before handling food. He also used the same spoon to sample foods
multiple times, and even picking up items with his hands then licking
his hands and then continuing to touch more of the food. This might
not have been a problem except for the fact that a gastrointestinal
bug circulated through the passengers on the truck over two weeks. At
one point, we ran even out of detol (or an alternative antiseptic).
Most of the time, 19 pairs of hands were being washed in approximately
750ml of water, which was not enough to cover your hands when you
placed them flat in the washbasin. This situation certainly
contributed to the spread of diarrhea problems to the passengers. We
definitely would not recommend to our friends or colleague, to travel
with Dragoman if this is the practice on all of your trips.

Bryony holds a disrespectful attitude. The current situation is thong
underwear with the buttocks cleavage hanging out, see through bras and
tank tops exposing the bra very well. We found it ironic that this
leader was advising other female passengers to cover their shoulders
in Muslim communities while she continued to wear the same tank top
attire. She also insensitively complained about previous trip's
passengers, including an older man who wanted to stop frequently to
look at birds, and a woman Bryony found very irritating.

Finally, Bryony requested the group to complete your comment sheet but
did not provide each of us with an envelope. She informed the group
that she would not give back the kitty refunds until she received a
comment sheet back from everyone. I have enclosed my original comment
sheet for your viewing.

We had saved up for several years to do this once in a lifetime trip.
While we enjoyed finally experiencing Africa, our experience on this
trip has left us in extremely poor taste with Dragoman. We would only
consider traveling with Dragoman again, if we were offered at least
50% discount on future bookings. Dragoman should be sensitive and
aware of how the company is being represented by their tour group
leaders. Only satisfied, valued customers look forward to future
vacations with Dragoman.

--------------- LETTER TO DRAGOMAN ENDS ----------------

************************************************** ******************

--------------- LETTER FROM DRAGOMAN BEGINS ----------------

September 2003

Letter received from Dragoman representative Tom Nugent:

Dear Nadine & Friend,

First of all I am delighted to learn that you both enjoyed travelling
through the countries you visited so much, it really is an amazing
place! I am however disappointed to hear that you have some qualms
about both the trip and the leader. I will endeavour to answer your
questions as best I can.

I will reply to your questions in order for ease of clarification.

We realise that there was an initial inconvenience as Greg was delayed
in joining the trip. Regrettably due to unforeseen staffing issues in
Asia and their knock on effects, Greg became delayed. I agree that it
may have been preferential to have him join the trip at a later date,
but there are important group safety issues involved in running
adventurous trips, especially at the commencement of a trip, when
leaders are unsure of passenger's confidence, and personality. We
appreciate that this is ill fated but the nature of over-landing
through third world areas means that this type of scenario is often
part of the experience.

With reference to locker keys. It is of course not ideal having to
share locker keys, however experience has taught us that getting keys
cut at ‘any old ‘road side locksmiths,' habitually ends with
disappointing results due to the inaccurate methods used by local
trades people. However impractical, in normal circumstances it does
not become an issue, as groups tend to stick together for reasons of
safety or group roles.

The programme trips follow is always liable to variations due to both
the rapidly changing physical, and socio-cultural conditions of such
an area. In this case heavy localised rainfall, and invaluable advise
from local people dissuaded Bryony from attempting to take the truck
into the Masai, conjoined with the fact that there is rarely an
abundance of wildlife following heavy rains. A delay of 5 hours in an
area Bryony had not been advised against travelling to, could have
easily turned into a much more lengthy issue once in the Masai. I
also understand that the group discussed the changes to the route, and
signed accordingly to consent to the changes.

With regard to the timings of the evening meal, there are a number of
variants. It is obviously hinged on the sundown time for that area,
however other passengers are also considered as people commonly decide
to eat earlier on so that they have more of the evening free to
themselves.

I believe that when the issue arose regarding the kitty a
misunderstanding may have occurred. Yes the kitty controller is
generally offered to the passengers, however Bryony had said that it
is a boring time-consuming job, and she would easily complete it on
your behalf. She also thought that asking an accountant to do her
accounts whilst on holidays might have been a little audacious.

Map reading ‘on route' is more often than not all part of the overland
experience, with many passengers preferring that ‘uncertainty' as part
of their adventure. Bryony apologises for any inconvenience, but
recognises that even she cannot remember exact routes for each trip.

Whilst on all parts of Dragoman trip, leaders are constantly aware of
the results of their actions on the environment. For many local
people, and other road users, vehicles pulling over in certain areas
for toilet stops is likely to cause both offence, and animosity, which
will only serve to effect future trips in the area. It is of course
inconvenient especially if it is an emergency stop, but again, there
are wider implications to be considered. Driving the over-land
vehicles is an arduous task, and a vehicle becoming stuck after
dropping a wheel into a hole is not un-common. Road conditions are
obviously not perfect in these areas and small incidents such as this
often occur unfortunately.

Answering you question about the cleanliness of the truck. Bryony has
said that after explaining that the truck will be home for the trip,
keeping it clean and tidy is the groups responsibility. Although a
trip leader will liase between passengers, she admits that she did not
feel as though she had to act as an intermediary.

We agree with you that the leaders idea of introducing ‘permits' was
altogether inappropriate for this group, and as such have reprimanded
their conduct. Although suggested in good humour Bryony has also
expressed regret for this and realises that this may have been an
inapt thing to introduce.

The community project did incur a setback as the visit to the planned
community had to be curtailed due to flooding. Trying to salvage the
situation, the hospital visit was introduced as Bryony thought it
might interest. Again these types of setbacks are not infrequent when
working in the third world; nevertheless we rely on our leaders to
make the best out of the situation. Dragoman are currently trying to
establish greater bonds with more ‘hands on' projects, such as the
re-building of schools etc.

You state that the meal lacked variety throughout the trip. We
believe if anyone can make the best out of local food it is our
African cooks. Cooking conditions are not ideal when cooking in the
field, and the reality of many places is that some foods are both more
readily available, and are more often ‘safe' than others. It is
regrettable that no fruit was available, but I am sure Dave would not
have ‘refused' to buy it, rather avoid buying fruit that he deemed not
worth eating.

Bryony encounters similar problems to other leaders when leading
trips. Working in the outdoors, and also on the truck is a messy
affair. Leaders generally try to keep one set of clothing for clean
times, and one for day work. Combined with the general lack of space
for equipment, appearance can at times appear slack. As to having to
view Bryony's undergarments, she apologises if she has caused offence.

Firstly we thank-you for enclosing your trip questionnaire. We regard
the post trip questionnaires an integral part of every trip we run, as
it is often the key to developing our tours. This may have been
reflected in Bryony's ardour, when trying to acquire the post trip
questionnaires from passengers. The connection she introduced with
the kitty money was purely her way of offering an inducement to assist
her collect reports.

Finally we appreciate you taking the time to offer us invaluable
advice, which we plan to assess as part of our continuous improvement
programme. There are areas on every overland trip where unfortunately
setbacks are incurred, and in the majority we have to attribute it to
the diverse areas in which we operate. Both Bryony and ourselves have
welcomed the feedback you have offered, and hope that we can act on
various points you have mentioned. Regarding any future trips with
Dragoman. Although we have noted your distaste with Dragoman at this
time, we are unable to offer you a 50 % discount on future trips. We
do however hope that you will accept our offer of a 20% discount on
future trips.

Thank-you again for your feedback, and please don't hesitate to
contact me should you have any further questions.

Yours sincerely

Tom Nugent

--------------- LETTER FROM DRAGOMAN ENDS ----------------
  #2  
Old April 23rd, 2004, 04:18 AM
Dave Patterson
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Default My terrible Dragoman experience in Africa

Be sure and read both letters.
The client (obviously) has emphasized the issues
that bothered her. Judge for yourself.

But the response from the Dragoman representative
is offensive in almost every respect. Just one
dismissive reply after another.

You could summarize his remarks easily:

"We don't think our staff did anything wrong,
except maybe that time they created the
'screwing' permits, which they admit may
have been inapt". As for the screwing the
guides themselves did to each other,
he has no comment at all.

  #3  
Old April 23rd, 2004, 05:41 PM
Miguel Cruz
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Default My terrible Dragoman experience in Africa

Dave Patterson wrote:
But the response from the Dragoman representative is offensive in almost
every respect. Just one dismissive reply after another.


I think they've probably gotten a lot of these letters in the past. I would
guess that if only one person writes in to complain about things - and if
that person goes into minutiae such as who managed the kitty, etc.) then
they might be less likely to take some of the points raised with extreme
gravity. There's a "two sides to every story" aspect that was peeking out
here (before I got to the reply), and the laundry list of gripes diminished
the impact of the handful of things that might really have been significant,
by making the person seem like a compulsive complainer (whether or not she
is - it may just have seemed to her like a more effective way to write the
letter).

Still, to me it seems like the leader either (A) had poor communication
skills, at least in dealing with this customer, or (B) really was a bit
shifty in forging after-the-fact explanations for rude behavior. But in the
very likely case of (A) I'm more apt to give the benefit of the doubt.

You could summarize his remarks easily:

"We don't think our staff did anything wrong, except maybe that time they
created the 'screwing' permits, which they admit may have been inapt". As
for the screwing the guides themselves did to each other, he has no
comment at all.


If they did it in private (leaving aside the nude run) I don't see how it's
a legitimate issue.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
  #4  
Old April 23rd, 2004, 06:15 PM
Dave Patterson
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Default My terrible Dragoman experience in Africa

Miguel Cruz wrote:

If they did it in private (leaving aside the nude run) I don't see how it's
a legitimate issue.


Right.
But they did the nude run specifically to show their
guests on the trip that they did "do it".

  #5  
Old April 23rd, 2004, 07:09 PM
Miguel Cruz
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Default My terrible Dragoman experience in Africa

Dave Patterson wrote:
Miguel Cruz wrote:
If they did it in private (leaving aside the nude run) I don't see how it's
a legitimate issue.


Right.
But they did the nude run specifically to show their
guests on the trip that they did "do it".


You won't catch me defending the nude run!

Such things may have their time and place but only if it's very clear that
nobody's going to get offended.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
  #6  
Old April 26th, 2004, 06:54 PM
Rich Clafton
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Default My terrible Dragoman experience in Africa

We had saved up for several years to do this once in a lifetime trip.
While we enjoyed finally experiencing Africa, our experience on this
trip has left us in extremely poor taste with Dragoman. We would only
consider traveling with Dragoman again, if we were offered at least
50% discount on future bookings. Dragoman should be sensitive and
aware of how the company is being represented by their tour group
leaders. Only satisfied, valued customers look forward to future
vacations with Dragoman.


Humm.... interesting, at the risk of upsetting the applecart I have one
query

If the trip was so bad why would you want to travel with Dragoman again ?

Most people ask for a refund if the trip has been appalling and not up to
specification , not discount on another potential horror trip so playing
devils advocate I would question some of the motivation of this complaint
(ducks and waits to be flamed)

Mucky truck - well that was down to the passengers - you can't blame drago,
like you point out they are paying passengers

Rushing thru the serengeti - the serengeti is very expensive - if you
overstay your assigned time you have to pay for another day so you had to
get out ! as for geting stuck - well sh*t happens , its all part of the fun

The pre-requisite for one of these overland trips is a very laid back
approach to life - if you don't have that then the overland companies are
not for you (or even travel in africa maybe)

I have no connection with Dragoman, just done alot of vehicle dependant
travel in africa (independant and overland company) .

Rich





 




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