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| - My friend and I booked 2 back to back combo tours. We started out at 9am on a Saturday morning for the 90 min insight tour and then took the 11am desert walk tour. Both of our guides were very pleasant and professional, we thoroughly enjoyed the actual tour and loved the Taliesin West property. The gift shop was beautiful and interesting, full of very unique items, and we ended up buying a business card carrying case and a book after leisurely browsing after our tours.
There was only ONE part of the day that reflected very poorly on the staff of Taliesin West. Our first tour had more than 20 people in it, so my friend I didn't really have an opportunity to take many pictures of the patio and outdoor gardens during the tour since we were ushered along at a rather rapid pace. We planned to come back and snap a few pictures after the tour when we had more time. At around 1pm, when we tried to take a few mins to take photos, two staff members (one female one male) very rudely came out and told us we were NOT allowed to proceed any further without a tour guide. We politely explained to them that we had paid for 2 back to back tours and didn't have the time to take any pictures due to our larger tour group. They told us we could only be in the front part of the garden area within their sight for a few minutes. So we proceeded to do so. Another tour guide (female) rounded the corner and saw us taking some pictures in front of a tall cacti and immediately asked us what we were doing and after we told her we had paid for a tour, she went into the office to "report" us to the other staff members. The original female who said we could take pictures in the front within her eyesight came out and demanded that we leave immediately. She told us rudely that we were violating their policy, etc. She did not seem to remember or care that she JUST told us we could take pictures in the front as long as we were within view of them. Now, I understand what the policy is all about -- it makes sense that visitors should book a tour when visiting Taliesin West. The thing is, we booked not just ONE but TWO tours and it is NOT our fault that we were hurried along at a pace where we had to choose between listening to our tour guide or taking pictures (due to our larger group of 20+ people). If these two staff members understood what "customer service" even meant, they would have taken a few minutes out of their time to escort us quickly around to allow us to not violate their "policy". It would have taken 5 mins of their precious time but instead they chose to talk DOWN to us, embarrass us, and cause us feel unwelcome at Taliesin West. They spoke to us with ZERO empathy as if we were trespassing on their own private property. Our point of visiting this site was to admire the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and to gain insight on his architectural journey and philosophies, not to be humiliated by the staff. I hope that this review will reach the managers at Taliesin West and help them realize how they managed to color our experience in a very negative light after having enjoyed our tours and overall experience there.
Recommendation for future visitors of Taliesin West -- TAKE AS MANY PICTURES AS POSSIBLE during the tour because there is NO WAY they will allow you to take anymore at the end. TRY to be in a tour group that is less than 15 people or you will be hurried along at a fast pace, especially if you are one that enjoys soaking up the atmosphere.
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