Tour Company or Own Driver?

shashank.aggarwal · May 22nd, 2007, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozpaul

Thanks for that barodian (and others)... How much can one expect from a driver? I have had a quote for an A/C 4wd for $65/day. I presume on this basis the car & driver is available to us as we require to travel between cities and to do local tours ??24hrs/day. I also presume a good driver will know all the local sites of interest and can suggest what is reasonable to do in a day... Would we hire a guide for a day or just pick up guides at particular monuments as needed? So many questions. Regards Paul.

Please do not be under any kind of assumptions..I would advice you to check each and everything before you hire..PLease DO NOT ASSUME..

And lemme tell you the Smallest reason, 4WD is something that is not wide spead in India. So most of the people actually do not know what a 4WD is and they assumes that if its a 7 - 10 seater..MUV (Multi Uility Vehicle) it qualifies as 4WD..

So there might be a lot of differnece between the service you are used to and actually the service you get...

if you can ask them which vehicle they would be providing and post it here..i might able to give you a better Idea..(for Eg. Toyota innova, Tata Sumo, Chevorlet Tavera, Mahindra Scorpio etc)..

ozpaul · May 22nd, 2007, 15:20

Um yes.. A toyota innova... I'm sure you are right about the assumption part. I'm trying to get people to explain what may or should happen or what we should reasonably expect to negotiate. Regards Paul.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.aggarwal

Please do not be under any kind of assumptions..I would advice you to check each and everything before you gire..PLease DO NOT ASSUME..

And lemme tell you the Smallest reason, 4WD is something that is not wide spead in India. So most of the people actually do not what a 4WD is and they assumes that if its a 7 - 10 seater..MUV (Multi Uility Vehicle) it qualifies as 4WD..

if you can ask them which vehicle they would be providing and post it here..i might able to give you a better Idea..(for Eg. Toyota innova, Tata Sumo, Chevorlet Tavera, Mahindra Scorpio etc)..

shashank.aggarwal · May 22nd, 2007, 15:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozpaul

Um yes.. A toyota innova... I'm sure you are right about the assumption part. I'm trying to get people to explain what may or should happen or what we should reasonably expect to negotiate. Regards Paul.

Toyota innova is not a 4WD, its just a large MUV.

$65 seem to be on the higher side for the same..but not too much..depends a lot on other factors...

You might want to negotiate on that and anything in range of Rs.1800 to Rs.2000 per day, would be reasonable (not cheap)...

I would advice you to expect anything from the driver..other than driving..infact chances are high that he might not even be aware about all the roads..but he will manage somehow..

and I am might have a different experience with my tour company and driver and some other person might have a different one..

even if we hore from the same company we might not end up getting the same driver and no two humans have same nature..

I again..just haggle over the price and confirm evrything in advance..dont pay huge advance..not more than 25-30 % if any...you can pay once are done with the tour..

Nick-H · May 22nd, 2007, 16:43

Do not even assume that a driver will be able to speak English!

You must specify that you want an English-speaking driver, and that you want him to act as a guide. And, given that you want him to do all these things, be a little generous with the tip

ozpaul · May 22nd, 2007, 17:15

Only fair, I think. I think I'm getting a clearer picture. Ta.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Do not even assume that a driver will be able to speak English!

You must specify that you want an English-speaking driver, and that you want him to act as a guide. And, given that you want him to do all these things, be a little generous with the tip

barodian · May 22nd, 2007, 21:51

Ozpaul, I think $65 a day is high. When we go to India and hire a person, it usually runs us at about $40 to $55 bucks a day. That is with a driver and a Tata Sumo. From my past experience, haven't found any driver who are familiar with all the locations and roads. They will manage to get to the destination.

Make sure to inspect the vehicle when you sit in it. One time we got a Tata Sumo and the owner got another Tata Sumo from someone else. Well it turned out there was gasoline smell was coming inside from the exhaust. It was very bad!

shashank.aggarwal · May 22nd, 2007, 22:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by barodian

Ozpaul, I think $65 a day is high. When we go to India and hire a person, it usually runs us at about $40 to $55 bucks a day. That is with a driver and a Tata Sumo. From my past experience, haven't found any driver who are familiar with all the locations and roads. They will manage to get to the destination.

Make sure to inspect the vehicle when you sit in it. One time we got a Tata Sumo and the owner got another Tata Sumo from someone else. Well it turned out there was gasoline smell was coming inside from the exhaust. It was very bad!

Toyota Innova is a far better vehicle than sumo..

Sumo is a old product and innova was launced few years back only..

Nick-H · May 22nd, 2007, 23:02

I'm afraid I'd go so far as to say that any Toyota would be better than any Tata.

(...A Tata Indica Owner

Until the day after tomorrow

)

shashank.aggarwal · May 22nd, 2007, 23:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

I'm afraid I'd go so far as to say that any Toyota would be better than any Tata.

(...A Tata Indica Owner

Until the day after tomorrow

)

Thats a fact..Toyota have a history in the field and they are the pioneers...

TATA's are the new comers in this industry..

anyways related to travel..Innova is far superior and comfortable to travel then any other SUV you can get in that range..

barodian · May 23rd, 2007, 00:00

Quote:

Toyota Innova is a far better vehicle than sumo..

Sumo is a old product and innova was launced few years back only..

I can not compare since I don't live in India and only can input from my own experience. Till date I haven't had any bad experience with Sumo except the gasoline smell. I am sure Toyota Innova is a far better vehicle than Sumo but I personally can not judget it.

Ozpaul, if you are particular about a vehicle you might want to mention that with the car rental. Not all rental company have every single car that is out in the market.

noflylist · May 23rd, 2007, 05:25

I have seen (not Toyota, not Tata, but... Mahindra ads in Texas, and I mean Texas!

OP, atleast get quotes from 2, 3 different people, and get 'everything' clarified, Please. We want you to go back home (if you go back) smiling.

kmalik · May 23rd, 2007, 06:32

Paul - You've got a lot of good advice already. As folks have indicated, either way can work just fine: direct hiring of driver and vehicle can reduce the expense, but a tour operator can help you with other things. What is important in either case is to verify early on your expecations and mechanisms to remedy them if and when the delivery falls short.

Some of your expectations may also need adjustments. On this circuit - it is reasonable to expect that the driver will know the route, but may well not know specifics of the hotels you might use. Also, it is perhaps too much to expect that they function as tour guide. You might get someone like that - but a long shot in my estimation. It is a good idea to ask for an English speaking driver - but not expect limited abilities all the same.

A source of disappointment that has come up sometimes is that the drivers end up taking you to commercial establishments where they get a commission. You might want to explicitly forbid such a practice. Also, I'd not turn over money until I was happy with the vehicle and driver at the start. And, have a clear understanding and protocol with the tour operator (if you are using one) as to how to complain and remedy the situation if an issue/complaint arises en route.

noflylist · May 23rd, 2007, 07:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmalik

A source of disappointment that has come up sometimes is that the drivers end up taking you to commercial establishments where they get a commission. You might want to explicitly forbid such a practice.

True, but on the flip side, sometimes a knowledge of the driver ends up getting a better buy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmalik

Also, I'd not turn over money until I was happy with the vehicle and driver at the start. And, have a clear understanding and protocol with the tour operator (if you are using one) as to how to complain and remedy the situation if an issue/complaint arises en route.

True, read the big brouhaha here

Extremely disappointed in NamasteIndia Tours
about what and if things go wrong.

ozpaul · May 23rd, 2007, 08:06

"Paul - You've got a lot of good advice already. "

Thanks everybody - your comments have been very helpful - and recently quite entertaining too - so at the moment we are asking several operators for quotes and we will try to nail down the details as much as possible. One thing that has come up is a loophole for changing the price in the event of fuel costs increasing (almost certainly not the other way round!) or other unforseen difficulties. I can understand where they are coming from but it makes me a little nervous.... Thanks again, Paul.

shashank.aggarwal · May 23rd, 2007, 11:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozpaul

"Paul - You've got a lot of good advice already. "

Thanks everybody - your comments have been very helpful - and recently quite entertaining too - so at the moment we are asking several operators for quotes and we will try to nail down the details as much as possible. One thing that has come up is a loophole for changing the price in the event of fuel costs increasing (almost certainly not the other way round!) or other unforseen difficulties. I can understand where they are coming from but it makes me a little nervous.... Thanks again, Paul.

All these vehicles run on Deisel, just make a note of the current price of the same in the particular state as of today..

and even if the price of fuel foes up, it will increase maximum by 5 % (That has been the trend)..so maybe if actually the price increases you can increase the amount you pay them by the same percentage..that should be reasonable to hiring company and you..

May 22nd, 2007, 16:43	#19
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,763	Do not even assume that a driver will be able to speak English! You must specify that you want an English-speaking driver, and that you want him to act as a guide. And, given that you want him to do all these things, be a little generous with the tip __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

May 23rd, 2007, 08:06	#29
ozpaul Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 11	Thanks "Paul - You've got a lot of good advice already. " Thanks everybody - your comments have been very helpful - and recently quite entertaining too - so at the moment we are asking several operators for quotes and we will try to nail down the details as much as possible. One thing that has come up is a loophole for changing the price in the event of fuel costs increasing (almost certainly not the other way round!) or other unforseen difficulties. I can understand where they are coming from but it makes me a little nervous.... Thanks again, Paul.

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May 22nd, 2007, 21:51	#21
barodian Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: California Posts: 166	Ozpaul, I think $65 a day is high. When we go to India and hire a person, it usually runs us at about $40 to $55 bucks a day. That is with a driver and a Tata Sumo. From my past experience, haven't found any driver who are familiar with all the locations and roads. They will manage to get to the destination. Make sure to inspect the vehicle when you sit in it. One time we got a Tata Sumo and the owner got another Tata Sumo from someone else. Well it turned out there was gasoline smell was coming inside from the exhaust. It was very bad!

May 22nd, 2007, 23:02	#23
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,763	I'm afraid I'd go so far as to say that any Toyota would be better than any Tata. (...A Tata Indica Owner Until the day after tomorrow )

May 23rd, 2007, 05:25	#26
noflylist Account Closed on User's Request Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Houston Posts: 840	I have seen (not Toyota, not Tata, but... Mahindra ads in Texas, and I mean Texas! OP, atleast get quotes from 2, 3 different people, and get 'everything' clarified, Please. We want you to go back home (if you go back) smiling.

May 23rd, 2007, 06:32	#27
kmalik Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 460	Paul - You've got a lot of good advice already. As folks have indicated, either way can work just fine: direct hiring of driver and vehicle can reduce the expense, but a tour operator can help you with other things. What is important in either case is to verify early on your expecations and mechanisms to remedy them if and when the delivery falls short. Some of your expectations may also need adjustments. On this circuit - it is reasonable to expect that the driver will know the route, but may well not know specifics of the hotels you might use. Also, it is perhaps too much to expect that they function as tour guide. You might get someone like that - but a long shot in my estimation. It is a good idea to ask for an English speaking driver - but not expect limited abilities all the same. A source of disappointment that has come up sometimes is that the drivers end up taking you to commercial establishments where they get a commission. You might want to explicitly forbid such a practice. Also, I'd not turn over money until I was happy with the vehicle and driver at the start. And, have a clear understanding and protocol with the tour operator (if you are using one) as to how to complain and remedy the situation if an issue/complaint arises en route.

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