unreliable car company

ScarletLSG

The spamming aspect is actually why I am VERY wary of posting any recommendations. While **I** certainly was very pleased with the Safe Voyages service I received, I would never want to be pushy about anyone else using them. I spoke at length with Mr. Banewal (Raj) during my two weeks in India. I told him very candidly that IF his company's services were top-notch ... and they were ... I would have no problem making personal recommendations for him. BUT, that I wouldn't post his information here, there, and everywhere. I think that just gets tedious -- both for the poster and the readers.

I wasn't aware that his company had, in the past, been one of the spam offenders. Wonder if he sees himself that way? You know what I mean ... does he see it as a "good practice" for his company? I think he MAY NOT realize that it can, in fact cause more people to turn away from his services.

Nick-H

Karuna speaks of 'fake reviews'.

We see them often. A first post that almost seems to follow a set script: "We have just returned home and want to tell you how wonderful....". They claim to come from someone in Italy, UK, America, but we can see that the post originates in India. The English is always Indian English, not British or American English.

These are not recommendations; they are lies. As such, they are a far less palatable form of spamming than the guys who freely admit who they are and want to openly advertise their own services.

But, increasingly, the script seems to be being left behind, and the posts are coming from the places they claim to coming from.

I would be most interested to know if anyone has been encouraged by their agent or service provider to give a mention in this, or other, forums; I'm sure it happens.

We delete it anyway. For a start, we ask ourselves why anyone would want, having spent three months in India, to devote a whole post to their driver, or agent, or a guesthouse they stayed a couple of nights! Especially if it is their first post here?

Ah well... I guess this is off-topic.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

ScarletLSG

Gosh, I think it is perfectly ON TOPIC.

I was absolutely asked by Mr. Banewal if I would recommend him to others that I knew were traveling to India. He didn't specifically ask if I would post anything on IM. I was VERY candid with him that I would make recommendations on a one-to-one basis. I agree that there is SOOOOO much more to my India trip than my car service ... BUT ... at the same time, having good transportation contributed immensely to making the entire trip the amazing experience that it was.

I sympathized with the OP's situation of getting multiple quotes from the service she originally intended to use. I too went through that situation. NO JOKE, I "interviewed" no less than 50 different services, whose websites I found online, through forums and various personal recommendations. At least 45 were eliminated after the second communication because the price changed from one quote to a higher quote. 2-3 were eliminated because I just had a bad feeling. The two that were left were Namaste India Tours and Safe Voyages. I WANTED NIT (based on IM recommendations), but they were already booked. Safe Voyages gave me a rate that NEVER changed and ended up being a good choice for us.

machadinha

Thanks, really. Speaking as a moderator, that's all I need to know. And my guess is it won't make the mod team look more favorably on such future posts.

ps Yes, maybe that's natural for service providers. But the web has changed all that, and it soon gets iffy.

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

ScarletLSG

Mach,

I was thinking exactly along those lines. I know that IM has the specific spot on the site for Hotel Reviews ... wish there was one for other services like restaurants, tours, transportation, etc. Then I'd feel comfortable placing ONE review there and users could read or not read as they chose. Otherwise, I know that I feel better asking posters to just PM me if they want my opinion on these things.

machadinha

Hm yes. It's been under discussion for a long time, and may appear somewhere in the future.

It has the drawbacks that have already been pointed to.

karuna

Scarlet if you click the links in my earlier post you can see examples of the kind of thing I mean- the original posts end up getting deleted but you can see the conversation around it. Here's another one from them on TripAdvisor, for example.

What I don't understand is, since you say they were very good, why they feel the need to do this? If you like the service you'll recommend it to friends without being asked.

ETA: There was one hilarious one from some other guy (not Safe Voyages) who posed as a tourist and thanked himself, personally, for his help and gushed about how wonderful he was. It's so cluelessly shameless it's funny.

machadinha

If I had something serious going I'd know how to present it better, yes. It's bad PR, plain and simple.

ps That example of yours would be hilarious -- if it weren't the kind of sh*t we're discussing as we speak, and all the time.

ScarletLSG

Karuna,

I am in COMPLETE agreement with you!! Having developed a relationship with the owner of Safe Voyages though REALLY made me believe that he THINKS this is a good way to go about advertising his services. I believe he thinks that the "throw a bunch of sh** against the wall and see what sticks" is good business acumen. I sent him a VERY long e-mail this morning though in which I explained to him how he (and his company) can be perceived by doing such things. I even copy/pasted comments from users back to him to elucidate my point.

Not sure WHY I really care. I guess what I see is that the ACTUAL in country service was good and he COULD have a very successful business ... IF ... he followed better business practices (ie - like that of NIT). I'm interested to hear his response to my "scolding" AND to see if I/We see any future spamming attempts.

Nick-H

If you like what we do please tell others...

Is not so unreasonable as a request, although it depends how it is put, and if any pressure is brought to bear.

What I feel is happening is that there are certain conversations going on along the lines of,

"Do you know about Indiamike [etc]?"

"Errr, No. What or who is that?"

"It is a website giving a lot of useful information about travel in India."

"Right. Yes?"

"We'd love to get a mention there, and you already told us you're very grateful, blah blah blah..."

I sometimes wonder if some sort of inducement may be offered too. Or some sort of moral pressure from the small businesses, such as pointing put that, by the customer's next visit, their family may have already starved.

ScarletLSG

In my case, I wasn't asked to post on any one specific travel site ... or even on travel sites. Just if I knew anyone that was traveling, would I be willing to give a positive review? I didn't all feel a moral pressure of any sort. Personally, I'm just one of those "do-gooder" types. Of course in this situation, the moral conflict is in trying to "do-good" by the car service while balancing the "do-good" by the amazing members of IM.

karuna

Hehe- that made me laugh because I got that story from a t-shirt seller in Jaipur. Whilst he held his hands out in "What to do?" pose, revealing his large gold watch...

Scandojazzbuff

Has anyone had any experience with this car hire firm?

www.hirecarinindia.com

I would like to do a Rajasthani tour and their prices seem consistent with other parts of India, quoting all inclusive rates for different cars.

detang

I have been trying to find a suitable driver as well. Having primarily looked at Tripadvisor, I am overwhelmed by the responses I've been getting and likely consider some of the spammers / not so reputable outfits. Can someone give me the contact of Andrew from your genuine experiences? I am in the process of planning a Rajasthan trip for 15 days in Nov (don't have much time left)

THanks