Musafir — Armenia Quarantine Package

Website:

musafir.com

7.8.21

Dear Team, Musafir,

After 7 exceptionally well customized holidays with you, it is now time for us to part ways. The last few days have depleted my finances, my energy, my time, my patience, and my faith in the quality customer service I attributed to you. It is such a shame.

Let me clarify first off, I don’t have a problem with your policy, I understand that the grant of visa is not something you can guarantee. However, I want to spell out in no uncertain terms my displeasure for the mixed messaging, lack of communication and delayed response time, exceptionally slow turn around and lack of clarity of process and/or expectations. This is the first time I have had such a horrible experience with Musafir.

For your information, I was considering my trip with Akbar Tours and Sun Tours at first, but changed my mind because I trusted Musafir more even though Musafir’s package was

a) more expensive
b) without all meals provided in the price range I chose

My loyalty to your service, led me to choose you over other providers. I even recommended you to 5 other colleagues who needed a quarantine option to return to the UAE, please check.

Strangely, it is so ridiculously uncanny that all my colleagues who travelled with Akbar and Sun Tours

a) received their travel documents in advance
b) received the details of their Armenia contact person in advance and
c) are currently enjoying themselves in Yerevan

I on the other hand had to follow up constantly for information and spend 1.5 hours at the airport off-boarding and clearing a range of procedures and having to explain that I was supposed to travel to Armenia even though I had no documents to prove it! When I made a request for some proof via WhatsApp, I received radio silence. On returning home at 2:00 am, Your team sent me a message to as ‘if they should send some documents by email’. Wasn’t that the expectation when I first got in touch after being made to exit the departure gate? This is what I mean by exceptionally slow turn around and lack of communication, and is only one of many examples I can but will not go on to provide.

Please keep in mind all this took place against the backdrop of pandemic restrictions, curfew in Kolkata streets and exorbitantly priced PCR testing which is now of no use to me. I also have to find and make another booking to get back to the UAE.

As travel advisors in a service industry – your role is to advise, to guide, to reassure us, to walk us through processes and possibilities. That is why we pay for you to do the planning for us. If we didn’t need your support, we would all be planning our own trips by ourselves. I have been to 23 countries in 14 years, I can do my own planning but I consciously select Musafir each time because for the last 7 countries I have been to, members of your team took care of all the details and allowed me to focus on my research, planning and my travel blog.

Please understand I have no issues with any individuals, but this has been such an exceptionally poor-quality experience with your team that I am appalled at how the last few weeks have panned out.

Kindly issue me the refund AED 7384 (Package + Domestic Fare Charge) so that I can close this chapter with Musafir once and for all. I would like to know when I can expect it, the faster the better.

Once a loyal customer, now I am not so sure.

Sydney Atkins