I don't often leave such extensive reviews especially for poor service, but a friend tried to organize a group tour for us to Mt Ijen from Bali through Trev Travels & Ijen Backpacker last week and this was one of the absolute worst experiences I've ever encountered in my life.
At first we were supposed to be picked up by a driver at 1pm. And then, 20 min before our pickup time, we're told that the van is delayed by 4 hours till 5pm. We all still waited as they requested.
As we all patiently waited hours outside with our bags till 5pm, there was still no driver to be found. But we kept waiting. Eventually we learned that the driver went to the wrong location (he had one job…) and wouldn't answer our phone calls. And, by a miracle, at some point between 6–7pm (and thus an additional 1–2 hours delayed), the driver shows up to the right location that we initially gave him. All just for him to tell us there's *not* enough space in the van for everyone to join the trip!
When I asked the organizers for help with finding another van (e. G. By ordering us a Gojek) to somehow still salvage the trip for our group despite being several hours late due to their errors, they acted as if it was impossible. They said they would call their own driver instead (yet they couldn't contact him nor confirm any updates…) and then later made the excuse that their other driver was in an accident. All just lies. No accountability. All they want is money.
It's been over a week and we still haven't received our deposit back. Nor even a basic apology for all their mistakes. Instead the driver just stopped speaking and acted like he didn't understand at all. And then walked away without giving any answers. Insanely unprofessional. And the entire service (especially the callous driver) was one of the most inept I've encountered on the globe. Still can't believe it all happened.
They ruined a vacation for an entire group and took everyone's time away. They left us on the side of the road with nowhere to go. Don't let your vacation be ruined, too. Save your time and money and stay elsewhere. Be better.
At first we were supposed to be picked up by a driver at 1pm. And then, 20 min before our pickup time, we're told that the van is delayed by 4 hours till 5pm. We all still waited as they requested.
As we all patiently waited hours outside with our bags till 5pm, there was still no driver to be found. But we kept waiting. Eventually we learned that the driver went to the wrong location (he had one job…) and wouldn't answer our phone calls. And, by a miracle, at some point between 6–7pm (and thus an additional 1–2 hours delayed), the driver shows up to the right location that we initially gave him. All just for him to tell us there's *not* enough space in the van for everyone to join the trip!
When I asked the organizers for help with finding another van (e. G. By ordering us a Gojek) to somehow still salvage the trip for our group despite being several hours late due to their errors, they acted as if it was impossible. They said they would call their own driver instead (yet they couldn't contact him nor confirm any updates…) and then later made the excuse that their other driver was in an accident. All just lies. No accountability. All they want is money.
It's been over a week and we still haven't received our deposit back. Nor even a basic apology for all their mistakes. Instead the driver just stopped speaking and acted like he didn't understand at all. And then walked away without giving any answers. Insanely unprofessional. And the entire service (especially the callous driver) was one of the most inept I've encountered on the globe. Still can't believe it all happened.
They ruined a vacation for an entire group and took everyone's time away. They left us on the side of the road with nowhere to go. Don't let your vacation be ruined, too. Save your time and money and stay elsewhere. Be better.