Service rating :
This was supposedly a VIP 5 star tour. However, you are basically paying for slightly better hotels, which in most cases were poorly located and in one particular case (The Sheraton) more like a 3 star. The cabins on the cruise were as shabby as those offered to everyone else. The restaurants were mediocre, and the minibuses they used to transport us internally had seen better days, or of a poor standard. I accept this is China but what is the point in paying substantially more if this is the best China can offer.
Product :
The national guide was a lovely girl but spoke very poor English which made things very difficult at times. We were advised by the local tour guides that it was safer to only buy in the approved shops which we visited. VERY BAD ADVICE, we were totally ripped off in the Shanghai Silk Museum. After a lot of badgering by the sales assistant (which happens in all their “approved” shops) we bought a duvet and a silk cover which was supposedly on a special offer. We were told three times it was 800 yan (£80). There was a lot of confusion at the cash desk as people were buying various duvets etc. I admit our barriers were down as we had been assured this was a reputable place to buy. Our tour group by this time had completed their sales so we rushed to join them (nobody else was daft enough to buy the cover). On returning we discovered that £917.36 had been debited form our credit card. To make it worse my husband (who is meticulous about receipts) couldn’t find our copy receipt, it made me wonder if the museum had taken advantage of the rush and confusion at the till to keep it. We contacted Wendy Wu who subsequently contacted the museum. They insisted my husband signed for this amount – so we were liable. Not having our own receipt we were not in a position to dispute it. My husband has asked Wendy Wu at least three times to get us a breakdown on how they managed to arrive at £917.36. They have singularly refused to do this.
Wendy Wu eventually said we could have a refund if we returned it to the museum in China. I simply do not trust the silk museum to arrange a refund. I asked if we could return it to the Wendy Wu London office and they could confirm receipt before it went back to China – they refused. I finished our holiday feeling duped and unsupported by Wendy Wu. The internet is littered with negative reports on this silk museum similar to our own experience. Why then is Wendy Wu still taking customers there and promoting them.
Our Response
Thank you for posting your comments following our recent correspondence regarding your situation.
As discussed during our telephone conversations and emails, experiences such as this are extremely rare as demonstrated with other purchases made within your group without incident but, we take such situations seriously and appreciate this would have been a distressing time for yourself.
As previously mentioned, although we cannot take responsibility for the purchases our passengers make, we will always help get to the bottom of any queries or disputes bought to our attention and assist our passengers the best we can.
Please rest assured that we have spent numerous hours investigating the circumstances surrounding your purchase and have managed to secure a receipt from the Silk factory which was signed at the time of purchase which we have previously sent over to you. Although we have contacted the shop for a breakdown of the costs, we have been unable to obtain this.
We are sure you can appreciate that we would not be in a position where personal purchases made by our passengers, can be sent to us for our care and responsibility. Alternatively, we have recommended you arrange a reputable courier service to return your items.
Both the U.K and our China office have been happy to help facilitate clarification into your purchase and further to this, a refund as agreed by the silk factory following your uncertainty about details of your purchase.
We sincerely regret your feeling of disappointment, as we feel we have tried our utmost best to support you with your grievance and remain available to advise and assist you further.
Experiences such as these are very rare for our customers as feedback is generally positive regarding experiences on tour and shopping opportunities offered. Regardless of this, we have duly noted your current and previous comments and placed them on file where we will closely monitor future comments and experiences from our passengers in relation to the shopping opportunities offered.
If we can provide any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.
Kind regards,
Junior
