This tour of Grant Park was spectacular, no question. Our tour guide, Bill was gracious with his knowledge and love for his city. Without this tour, we would never have seen half of what we did, or have even an ounce of understanding about the art and community of Chicago. The question I'm hoping to answer by writing this review is this, would I recommend this tour to others visiting Chicago? No, probably not. I would urge you to use one of the other Chicago Segway tours offered. Here's why. The owner Steve, is a talker who isn't interested in the "little details" that customers appreciate, but more interested in doing whatever to attract more business, the business I'm sure he's loosing to the other, larger tours. The chatter among the few employees discussing recent flat tires happening while on tour (bad) to the Segways present with obvious BALD tires (huh, possibly the cause of the flat tires) raised a few concerns. Also, you need to know that you push these machines a short, but uphill, distance to begin your lesson. While on this tour, one couldn't help but notice the other Segway tours tooling along with well oiled machines, their tires actually had tread, little bags attached to ALL their Segways providing storage for the riders belongings, smart safety vests on to warn pedestrians of their presence, all the while advertising for that company with their name printed on the storage bag.
Now, all this said, we still loved the tour. We LOVED Bill, the guide (p.s. go find a job at another company where they actually might provide for your safety!) we LOVED Chicago. There is an element of danger riding these, so place that danger in the hands of a company that actually might provide that extra touch to ensure you and everyone around you, safety.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Management Response
(Management representative)
Jun 12, 2009
Interesting. Did you just read the same review I did? It certainly sounded like a five-star review, with a few odd complaints and one safety concern that might knock it down one star to a four-star review. This reviewer had nothing but high praise for our tour and my tour guide Bill. As well he should! Bill is an excellent tour guide and I am lucky to have him. Lucky, but not in the way this reviewer would expect. Bill isn't going to leave Steve's Segway Tours and go work for another Segway tour company because I treat and take care of my tour guides far better than any other owner. This isn't a boast. At Steve's Segway Tours, the tour guides are an integral part of our operation. My great tour guides -- the best in the business -- are not expendable or interchangeable. Please read the "About Us" page on my web site. No, I am lucky to have Bill because he got so inspired last year doing Segway tours, that he has started his own wonderful walking, historical and architectural tours of downtown Chicago. His company is called Chicago Redcap Tours, and you'll find a link to his web site on the "Stevie's Recommendations" page of my web site. I am lucky to have Bill because the busier he gets with his walking tours, the less he will be available for my Segway tours (except for the special Sunday architectural Segway tours we jointly do).
Now for the complaints and concern:
Complaint 1 -- I'm a talker. Yes, I, Steve, the owner of Steve's Segway Tours am a talker. But how did this reviewer know that? Was it when calling to make a reservation? Maybe, because as my customers know, calling Steve's Segway Tours means calling Steve, and I am available to take reservations and answer all questions, any time day or night. Or did this reviewer discover I was a talker when arriving for the tour and was greeted by me, or helped by me with the paperwork. No, it was probably that I did the safety and instructional demo. Tour guide Bill does this wonderfully, but I was probably trying to save his voice since it involves shouting sometimes to a large crowd. Anyway, I think you get the idea I'm trying to convey.
Complaint 2 -- Bags not on ALL Segways. We have standard Segway bags on more than half of my Segways. This is more than enough to accommodate everyone almost all the time (remember, not all tours are full, even though I would love them to be -- LOL). These bags DO affect performance, and not everyone wants one on their Segway.
Complaint 3 -- No advertising on bags. Seriously? One of this reviewer's complaints is that I don't advertise my company all over the Segway bags and Segways themselves? Well guess what -- I do intend to tastefully advertise Steve's Segway Tours on the front of the bags. And by the way, every one of my Segways does have my logo quietly placed on the steering column.
Complaint 4 -- No "safety vests". I'm sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but this one makes me laugh out loud and shake my head. First, you can call them "safety vests" if you want to, but in what way do they actually make you safer? Answer -- none. Second, there is only one Segway tour company in Chicago that wears them. It is their "thing". Fine. But quite frankly, most of their customers don't like wearing them and feel self-conscious in them. If I had a dime for every time one of my customers has commented, "thank goodness you don't make us where those", after encountering their tours...
Complaint 5 -- Pushing Segways . Yes, we have to push our Segways out to the training area, and yes, this is a bit uphill. However, at all Segway tour companies in Chicago customers have to push their Segways out to the trading areas, and the distance we push is the same or shorter than for the others.
Concern -- Flat tires. This is a legitimate concern for a customer to have. However, why couldn't/didn't this customer/reviewer just ask about the tires and voice this concern? I am very upset that this reviewer made it sound like ALL our tires are bald, when in fact I change tires all the time and most of them have decent tread. By the way, tread doesn't matter at all in terms of safety for Segway tires. At Steve's Segway Tours we go through tread on our tires far faster than our competition because WE RIDE HARDER AND PLAY MORE than anyone else. We get more flats because most of them are from punctures caused by riding over sticks, wood chips, etc. in our off-road riding. Do we get more flats because I can't keep up with how quickly we wear through tread by riding our Segways in such a playful manner? Most probably because the tires thin and are easier to puncture. But don't be worried. Getting a flat on a Segway tire, even a blowout, is no cause for alarm. When it happens, customers often don't even realize it. Often flats are discovered by customers telling the tour guide that their Segway is "riding funny".
Finally, this reviewer's comment that I am "more interested in doing whatever to attract more business, the business I'm sure he's loosing (sic) to the other, larger tours" is just plain slanderous. Hopefully, all of you reading this will help keep me from "loosing" business to the other tour companies. Thank you.
Steve
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
