Firstly, we would like to thank Ms Seet for her feedback; she has indeed highlighted a flaw that is present in the local travel industry till date.
Most, if not all of the group tours conducted are in Mandarin. This unfortunate situation is prevalent not just in Sino-America Tours (SA Tours) but other travel agencies as well.
We are glad that this issue has been pointed out and we certainly will not rest on our laurels in rectifying this.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight to the public that most accompanying local tour guides are bilingual to an extent. However, for a local tour leader to accompany a group overseas, we would require a minimum group size.
This is to account for the additional costs incurred because our overseas operators' tour guides would usually suffice and even so, at peak seasons when we are really short of manpower, we may face deployment issues.
Singapore has evolved into a vibrant cosmopolitan city through the years and so should her people - especially service staff. Unfortunately such progress requires time, it cannot be achieved in short span of a year or so.
In recent times, we have observed that the leisure market has a more sophisticated segment heading for group tours. Although we have not received strong feedback in this area - as most of the guides are effectively bilingual - it does not mean this loophole does not exist.
We appreciate Ms Seet pointing this out so that SA, as a leading travel agency, can use this to leverage and encourage fellow travel agents to relook the way in which group tours are conducted - mainly in Mandarin - especially those to Asian destinations.
We would like to dispel the misunderstanding shown in Ms Seet's letter - we did highlight that this particular Japan tour package would be conducted in Mandarin.
According to our staff, it was highlighted to Ms Seet and her friends whom went ahead with the booking. It is thus extremely perplexing to us that in her letter, she claimed that the entire tour was conducted in Mandarin without her prior knowledge.
If we really did not mention this to her then it is uncanny how a few of our staff overheard the entire conversation between Ms Seet and a staff member, in which the former was clearly told that the tour's commentary would be in Mandarin.
The staff also remembered it as an interesting question posed to her.
The language medium of the tour was also clearly stated on our website and the "Terms and Conditions" (T&C) found on the back pages of our printed brochures.
However, as we ran out of the brochures, a loose sheet was photocopied for Ms Seet's reference and for her to review the itinerary while we were printed a fresh batch.
Our staff and manager did contact Ms Seet via the phone numbers provided within two days of receiving her complaint, to inform her that we were in the midst of attending to her.
We definitely did not "refuse to entertain your complaint" as Ms Seet had put across.
We also encouraged Ms Seet to write in to us so we could look into the case formally. However this suggestion was rejected by her.
We have also gathered from the tour guide that he did make a deliberate attempt to assist Ms Seet in gaining as much as possible out of the tour, by specially translating part of what he conversed in Mandarin to English.
At the end of the day, we are thankful for the continuous support and patience of travellers who allow us the space and time to groom our staff - to always strive to be better for you.
Whether in suggesting travel destinations, or being able to conduct tours in English in the near future, please be assured that we are putting in the effort to constantly improve, and we can never do it without constructive input from you.
Ms Ruth Lim
Manager - Marketing & Communications
for Sino-America Tours
