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| - This is going to be a long one . . .
I used Grayline twice during my Vegas Vacation. First, as transportation to and from the airport. . .tip. . DO NOT BOOK ONLINE AHEAD OF TIME. Just get your tickets at the airport---I was charged $2 extra because I pre-booked (price online $16 price at airport $14). The shuttle to the hotel was very hot, sweat stains were visible on every seat--very appealing. . . The return trip was better, but was cooler and they were prompt for pick up.
The second time I used Gray Line was for the "Deluxe" tour of the Hoover Dam. . . there is NOTHING deluxe about this tour. The reason I am giving 2 stars instead of one is that Tony was my driver and he was awesome! He made the day fun. Gray Line uses the same shuttle to pick up at every strip hotel (over 50 people, this alone took over an hour). Then, you are shuffled off of your bus and in to a building about 10 minutes away from the strip. Here you wait in a line to hear a short presentation. . . .then you wait inline to check in. . .then you wait in line to board the same bus you came to the building you just exited 30 minutes ago. You are encouraged to stock up on snacks, water and junk in their gift shop at this spot because their prices are "much better" than the Dam. Hey, I already bought my ticket, just give me my tour---stop trying to sell me junk.
I was traveling alone so I sat in the first seat on the bus. I could see the "check engine" light was lit. I asked the driver if the bus was safe and he assured me all was well. After pulling on to the highway, the driver had to pull over, turn the bus off and turn it on again (It appeared to be getting stuck in gear). 3 times we stopped to restart the bus, on the highway, I felt like we were destine to be hit by oncoming traffic. Each time, our driver called Gray Line and reported the troubles but nothing was done. About 10 minutes from Boulder City, our bus just stopped working. Stopped, stranded in the middle of the dessert--in a dangerous part of town. The driver said that we would have a new bus in 20 minutes. After and hour of sitting and waiting for our bus, I called Gray Line directly to ask what was going on. They informed me that they would have a bus there in about 30 minutes but could not guarantee the time. They were extremely rude and unhelpful on the phone--shuffled me around to 3 different people. They just kept telling me things happen (you are in the tour guide business, you should have a plan for things like this...especially if you knew the bus was in trouble before we left---i'm no expert but "Check Engine" in usually and important problem). After approximately 90 minutes, sitting in the middle of the hot desert (temp was 103 degrees) another bus arrived. This bus looked to be about 20 years older--there was duck tape on multiple places on the roof, it looked like it was falling apart). After this fiasco, I was hot, tired, and stressed. It was difficult to enjoy any aspect of the tour from this point on.
-I was picked up from my hotel at 9am. . .I arrived at the Hoover Dam around 12:30. 3 and 1/2 hours . . .on a bus to go a few miles. . . interesting
The driver was informative along the way and very funny. I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with Tony (our guide/driver). He remained, calm, friendly and helpful even through our break down. I heard him pleading with Gray Line to help.
After that, the tour was enjoyable. I can't really speak to the Hoover Dam tour here because tour guides at the Dam took over, not a Gray Line employee.
After the Dam, you are taking to a "deluxe" buffet lunch in Henderson. . .the price tag advertised for this "deluxe" lunch was $7.00 in a low budget hotel. The lunch consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos and other fast foodish items. Most items reminded me of TV Dinners.
My advice to Gray Line:
-Run multiple shuttles for strip pick up.
-Cut out the pointless check in stop. . .just pick us up and head to the Dam. . .I know you want to try to sell us your snacks, water and tacky souvenirs but please, spar us.
-Update your busses. Do not let busses go out that are unsafe. We knew the bus was broken before we boarded. Breaking down was inevitable, unsafe and irresponsible on your part. We were in a bad part of town, we were lucky nothing happened--a bunch of stranded, unarmed (no weapons allowed at the Dam) tourist is a great target for criminals.
-Take us to a better lunch or don't take us at all. The $7 buffet was an insult.
-Offer some type of compensation when errors on your end occur. I asked for some type of compensation for my troubles and horrible experience and was basically told to eat dirt.
-Work on your customer service skills. Everyone I spoke with (excluding the awesome driver) was rude and unhelpful.
I hope you pay your drivers well, they are the best thing you have going for yo
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