Tour Guide Mike

[dogcatcher]

I see he sponsors this thread. He has kind of a nice site but zero customer service. Had to move my trip from May to September so I sent 3 seperate e-mails about getting my account set back up for 2 weeks. First e-mail I offered to show medical bills or whatever they needed.

More the principal of the thing than money - should be sold as an annual subscription instead of "per trip". Also, it does state up front that it is per trip but does not remind you in the "have a good trip e-mail" that your service ends - only after it ends do they offer a "special renewal rates for VALUED, returning guests"....

Oh well, I found that tourningplans has a 12 month subscription and 45 day money back guarantee - is almost as good (but not quite).

Too bad they ruined a decent site.

Buyer beware....

 

[jeffberg]

Could never get a hold of anyone he seems to want to sell sell sell but not offer service. I will NOT be using his service ever again.

 

[MartDM]

I found his customer service to be abysmal too. It only added insult to the injury of his site being outdated (free sites had more current info) and disorganized. I don't understand where people see the value in his service.

 

[Sandy321]

I just found his twitter page -

http://twitter.com/tourguidemike

on the page he mentioned problems with email -

VERY happy that our email messaging system was just fixed moments ago. Go ahead and use the Contact Us page on tourguidemike for assistance.

but he's been out of town dealing with a family member in critical condition in the hospital - she is improving based on later tweets -

On Thu they said Karen wasn't going to make it but Fri she had two minor improvements. Today her liver is functioning. Baby steps better.
2:41 PM Aug 29th

adding prayers

 

[mechteach]

but he's been out of town dealing with a family member in critical condition in the hospital - she is improving based on later tweets -

I think that Karen is his sister.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Karen is his sister. As for changing your dates you can do that on your own Cutomer Service doesn't need to do that for you.
I'll try to walk you through it.
go to the website and sign in.
On the left side of the home page once you sign into your account you will find a block that says: HELP click the part that says: CLICK HERE TO CHANGE ANYTHING ON YOUR QUESTIONAIRE
scroll about 1/2 way down to where it says VACATION DATES.
In that block called vacation dates click on the part that says CHANGE ANSWERS
That will take you to a page that says Step 1
The Second block on information thaere says YOUR VACATION DATES
You can change your dates ther either by clicking the link that says RESET MY VACATION DATES or by just changing the dates on the drop down in that same box.
One you have changed your dates, scroll down to the end of the page.
click SUBMIT
It will go to a screen that says CREATING YOUR AUTOMATED VACATION PLANNER. It may take a bit but be patient and it will process your change. It will then take you back to the previous page where you can make other changes or it will redirect you back to your TGM home page.
You should be all set after you do that

You also should join the forums over on the TGM site. You don't have to post all the time or at all but you may get quicker answers by posting right on those forums than you would coming to another forum and posting your question that is TGM specific. Whether it be tech problelms or planning questions there is usually someone there that will answer you pretty quickly and help you in anyway they can.

 

[FirstTimeDisneyDad]

I see he sponsors this thread. He has kind of a nice site but zero customer service. Had to move my trip from May to September so I sent 3 seperate e-mails about getting my account set back up for 2 weeks. First e-mail I offered to show medical bills or whatever they needed.

More the principal of the thing than money - should be sold as an annual subscription instead of "per trip". Also, it does state up front that it is per trip but does not remind you in the "have a good trip e-mail" that your service ends - only after it ends do they offer a "special renewal rates for VALUED, returning guests"....

Oh well, I found that tourningplans has a 12 month subscription and 45 day money back guarantee - is almost as good (but not quite).

Too bad they ruined a decent site.

Buyer beware....

What a great first post...thanks for stopping by to trash somebody's livelyhood.

 

[vicki_c]

More the principal of the thing than money - should be sold as an annual subscription instead of "per trip". Also, it does state up front that it is per trip but does not remind you in the "have a good trip e-mail" that your service ends - only after it ends do they offer a "special renewal rates for VALUED, returning guests"....

Not sure what your complaint is here - just because you don't like TGM's business model? As you said, it's spelled out right up front, so I'm not sure what your issue is - not enough reminders?

And you can join TGM basically years before your trip (I think 2 years might be the limit) for that single trip price. So if you only go every other year, your subscription lasts a LOT longer than a year subscription anywhere else. He really makes his money on regular TGM members that go multiple times a year, like me!

And anyway, as someone already stated - what you were looking for you can do yourself - you can change your dates as many times as you want for no charge and no customer support intervention needed.

And yes, Mike has been traveling and out of touch except for some Facebook/Twitter updates due to his sister's illness and hospitalization.

 

[sigmaphi289]

If he is going to advertise on this site, people should feel free to discuss their opinion of his service. Way to condemn somebody for giving their honest opinion.

 

[DisneyBrat]

If he is going to advertise on this site, people should feel free to discuss their opinion of his service. Way to condemn somebody for giving their honest opinion.

I agree with you! Diser are great most times but man oh man if you dare have an opinion other than some of them stand by to stand by.... I've seen it so many times... I personally want to hear pros and cons not all the TGM is great... I am a first time subscriber for our upcoming trip and on a whole have liked his site... its a little confusing but I am learning to decifer it I also have the unofficial guide book too and don't care for some of their criss crossing factors ....

 

[rlahsin]

What a great first post...thanks for stopping by to trash somebody's livelyhood.

TGM offers a service....one that people PAY for. The OP has every right to voice his/her opinion on the subject.

 

[W.E.D.]

TGM offers a service....one that people PAY for. The OP has every right to voice his/her opinion on the subject.

No kidding. I say this somewhat with my tongue in cheek, but please, all newbies (like me), also remember to not criticize Le Cellier, and never admit it if you like Stitch.

 

[luvsJack]

TGM offers a service....one that people PAY for. The OP has every right to voice his/her opinion on the subject.

True, but maybe he should have checked his facts before trashing TGM. He didn't need customer service to do what he wanted, it is very clear when you sign up when your service will end and like someone said you can actually get the service for more than 12 months--he had nothing to fuss about.

 

[rlahsin]

No kidding. I say this somewhat with my tongue in cheek, but please, all newbies (like me), also remember to not criticize Le Cellier, and never admit it if you like Stitch.

Psst......I have a secret.....Yachtman's Steakhouse is much better than Le Cellier. I'm going to don my flame suit.

 

[W.E.D.]

Psst......I have a secret.....Yachtman's Steakhouse is much better than Le Cellier. I'm going to don my flame suit.

yeah. I'm staying clear of you for awhile! Heretic!

 

[rlahsin]

yeah. I'm staying clear of you for awhile! Heretic!

That might be wise. I also think that it's perfectly fine to pull one's children out of school to go to Disney at an off-peak time. Clearly, I'm both a heretic and the World's worst parent......at least according to some DISers.

 

[W.E.D.]

That might be wise. I also think that it's perfectly fine to pull one's children out of school to go to Disney at an off-peak time. Clearly, I'm both a heretic and the World's worst parent......at least according to some DISers.

Now that we've completely hijacked this thread...

[ahem]

I've never used TGM, so I would be willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, but it's obvious some people are happier with his services than others. To each their own, IMHO.

 

[Sarilas]

I used TGM for our first trip in January-February (10 days) of this year; he was spot on in his best parks to visit scenarios. We're planning a spontaneous second trip for November and the first thing I did after booking was run (not walk) to TGM for my returning member code. The park attendance calendars alone make it worth my while.

I've never personally had an issue with email/customer service, so chalk me up as a more than satisfied customer!

 

[carolmp]

I don't really understand how this works. We are going for Thanksgiving week. I'm expecting mild to moderate crowds for the week, with the crowd level growing the closer we get to Thanksgiving. I know that Thurs, Fri and Sat will be a lot busier than the earlier part of the week.

I won't have a computer with me. If I put in my trip dates, do they have touring plans for the days that I will be there? I just print them out and bring them with me? Do touring plans change day by day? Do they actually give you an order to do the park in? Are you criss-crossing around the park, or is it fairly straightforward?

Will it really save me a lot of time? We've been there several times before, but it has been 5 years since we were last there. We know how to use FP and are familiar enough with most of the rides to be able to determine if a wait time is OK or not. We will be there for 8 days, and we generally will wait at least one time for something, and then decide if it is worth it to wait again. Our theory is always that "we'll see it again the next time we come". I know to plan our heavy hitting for before Thanksgiving, and just see what we do the other three days.

TIA!

 

[vicki_c]

I don't really understand how this works. We are going for Thanksgiving week. I'm expecting mild to moderate crowds for the week, with the crowd level growing the closer we get to Thanksgiving. I know that Thurs, Fri and Sat will be a lot busier than the earlier part of the week.

I won't have a computer with me. If I put in my trip dates, do they have touring plans for the days that I will be there? I just print them out and bring them with me? Do touring plans change day by day? Do they actually give you an order to do the park in? Are you criss-crossing around the park, or is it fairly straightforward?

Will it really save me a lot of time? We've been there several times before, but it has been 5 years since we were last there. We know how to use FP and are familiar enough with most of the rides to be able to determine if a wait time is OK or not. We will be there for 8 days, and we generally will wait at least one time for something, and then decide if it is worth it to wait again. Our theory is always that "we'll see it again the next time we come". I know to plan our heavy hitting for before Thanksgiving, and just see what we do the other three days.

TIA!

If by "this" you mean TourGuide Mike, no it doesn't work the way you're describing. There are sample/example plans from which you can create your own plan, but it's not automated which is what it sounds like you're describing.

RideMax is an automated type touring plan.