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"The Dramas" and "The Stuff-Ups"

Thursday 29th April 2004 - from Tanya to The Fanatics

I am sure that you have heard about the dramas that happened with Fez while we were on tour and I thought I would make some comments too.

First of all, Ledge was great.

He tried to deal with the stuff-ups like
----no accomodation booked
----the crappy bus
----the luggage compartments not closing and backpacks falling out along the road
----the unedible food
----the drunk tour guide
----the dodgy staff at the hostel in Canakkale
----the stray people that were just put on our bus
as best he could.

Anyway after spending $500 on the trip I was disappointed about a few things.

I would rather have had all entrance fees included.

And that we brought our own food.
It really was bad.

I was quite frustrated that I had to wait two hours at the airport after arriving in Istanbul to be transferred to the hotel although I know that I was luckier than some people who weren't picked up at all!

I was also disappointed in the shirts.
They have no date on them and despite completing the booking form with a size I got one way too big for me.
The shirts for the soccer (which I attended and very much enjoyed) were a lot better and there were over 500 of them that had to be made.

CJ told me that I would be getting my shirt and travel wallet when I arrived and when I asked Ledge about the wallet he said that I should have been sent it before I left.
It wasn't and I would appreciate that being forwarded to me here in London as soon as you can as I have a bit of travelling to do and they looked great.
My address at work is 77/83 Upper Richmond Road, London SW15 2TT.
Please ensure that it is clearly marked to my attention and let me know when it is on its way and I will let the postroom know to expect it.

I understand that a lot of things were out of The Fanatics' control but I would strongly suggest that you don't use Fez again.
The service they provided was completely unacceptable and has probbably damaged your reputation with a few Fanatics first timers.

Finally could you please thank Ledge for his efforts over the week.
I would have done it myself but was too tired (and maybe even slightly hung over) and fell asleep and missed the final goodbye on the day we arrived back in Istanbul - I did have a 3.30am wakeup call the next day!

I would appreciate hearing back from you.
Tanya.

Friday 30th April 2004 - from The Fanatics to Tanya

Hey Tanya,
I hope this finds you well.

I have just spoken to Ledge & understand there were an incredible number of screw-ups on the recent Anzac Day Tour.

Please understand we are also bitterly disappointed with it and the fact that you guys had to put up with so much trouble.

We first looked into the prospect of running tours to Gallipoli for Anzac Day in 2002 due to the large number of enquiries we received.
So in 2003 we ran our first tour in which there was the odd problem but overall it was very successful so we were happy to continue to offer this tour.

Like you guys, we appreciate the importance of the event to all Australians and were really keen to make it part of our regular tour schedule.
The biggest obstacle for tour companies stems from the fact that it's not possible to secure rooms or coaches during the ANZAC Day period when Gallipoli numbers swell from the usual 500 visitors per day to around 14,000.

As such the majority of ANZAC tours run through Turkish based ground operators, primarily FEZ travel.
These Turkey based companies have all the accom & coaches locked up year to year & as the largest tour company in Turkey, FEZ usually have a good record with their hop on, hop off buses - so we use them as our local ground operator.

The Fanatics tour to Gallipoli is all about bringing young Aussies together for a special day in a magical place but this year’s experience has left us questioning whether we will run the tour next year.
We know it’s a once in a lifetime chance to get to Gallipoli but perhaps it's not worth promoting something that's going to have endemic stuff-ups.

This will be one of the questions we ask in a questionnaire we send next week.

On Tuesday we will be emailing you again with a list from Ledge on what he thought & was told were the main problems with the tour.
We have approached Fez Travel about the problems you guys encountered & have informed them that we'll be putting together a detailed list of our gripes & suggestions that we've already received, and expect to receive.

First and foremost, however, we understand that your comfort and enjoyment rests with us and in no way do we intend to shift that responsibility.
We have always prided ourselves on the fact that every tour has been a sensational experience & knowing what has happened on this tour compromises this.

So as a sign of our appreciation for what you guys went through we would like to offer each of you one of the three following options.
Please let us know which one you'd like to take up:
----$100 per person - we can pay this directly back onto your credit card.
----French Open Tennis - if you're in this part of the world we have a limited number of centre court tickets available for the first few days of the French Open, held in Paris on the 24,25,26 May.
We would be more than willing to provide you with one of these tickets if that is more your style, however these are limited & must be picked up by that person in Paris.
----Or for those in Australia we're offering you each a ticket to the upcoming Socceroo matches vs Turkey if you would prefer a ticket to either of those.

Thanks again for coming on tour with us & we plan to give more of an update early next week.
Enjoy your weekend and we'll be in touch soon.
Regards,
Woz & CJ

Friday 30th April 2004 - from Tanya to The Fanatics

Thanx for getting back to me.

I understand that a lot of the dramas were out of your control.
I had a lot of friends on other tours and they had dramas too although none seemed quite as drastic as ours.

My day at Anzac Cove was fantastic
and I did enjoy the overall Turkish experience...ie the Bazaar, and the cruise and the Mosques and Assos etc.

As much as I would love to go the French Open I will unfortunately be at work and Australia is too far for me to travel at the mo.
Therefore I will have to take up the offer of $100 back to my credit card.
I really appreciate your offer.

I will fill in the questionnaire when it arrives as best I can and will be quite interested to hear what FEZ have to say about it all.

Also - can you please let me know about the ticket wallet as I was looking forward to receiving that.

Thanx again.
Tanya.

Monday 10th May 2004 - from Tanya to The Fanatics

Hi again guys.
I haven't heard anything from you since the standard email that looks like it went to everyone came out.

It didn't actually respond directly to the comments in my email and I would like you to get back to me with regard to the queries that I mentioned in the email sent to you on 29 April.

Thanx and I look forward to hearing from you soon as I am going away on Wednesday night would appreciate a response before then.
Tanya.

Wednesday 12th May 2004 - from The Fanatics to Tanya

Hi Tanya,
Thanks for your email.

I very much appreciate your feedback and honesty.

I'll certainly pass on your kind words to Ledge.
He's a great bloke and we're really excited at the prospect of having him working with us, so it's really nice to get that sort of feedback about the big fella.

Your frustrations and suggestions about the ANZAC Tour are very valid and together with the feedback we're encouraging from everyone on the tour is greatly assisting us in our whole tour debrief.

There was obviously a number of pretty serious stuff-ups that you guys had to put up with so I'm really grateful that you've offered such an honest appraisal of the whole situation.

Regards your travel wallet, will be my pleasure to send that to you - I'll package it up after I finish work today and get it on its way.
Can you provide me a contact address.

Once again thanks for your feedback and I look forward to meeting up with you at your next Fanatics event in much happier circumstances.

Cheers,
Woz
Warren Livingstone

Wednesday 12th May 2004 - from Tanya to The Fanatics

My address is
77/83 Upper Richmond Road, London, SW15 2TT
This is my work address.
Please send mark it attention to me.

Are we still getting the questionnaire that was mentioned in the first email to me?
Like I said I would also be interested to hear the explanations that Fez give for the problems.

Thanx
Tanya.

Monday 24th May 2004 - from Tanya

The Fanatics ticket wallet arrived.
They also threw in a t-shirt that does actually fit me!