Actual vs Intinerary Stated by Focal

Focal Travel Actual Schedule
Rushed us like mad! Insufficient shopping time!
Excessive time wasted at their "commission earning place" which is compulsory even the whole group does not want to go.
Super long sleeping time- send us back to hotel as early as 4.30pm!
Bad planing - squeezed all day 1-4 incomplete schedule into day 5 last night, and keep asking us to skip some place which we want to go.
Food stated in itinerary was not delivered. we did not get to eat Korean BBQ and Shabu shabu and Daejanggum meal.
Focal tour guide insist that their Korean BBQ= Squid in water.
We complained to local Manger Jerina; she did not explain nor give us any compensation for food after 1 month

Date	Time duration	Total time		Own Experience
23/Jan/09			Dinner Mushroom steamboat; all vege no meat	Tour guide ask us Sleep after dinner on 1st day
24/Jan/09	11.41 - 3.40pm	4hr	Everland	Include self paid lunch time
24/Jan/09	4.41pm – 5.06pm	25mins	Nansangol Hanok village
24/Jan/09?	5.50pm – 7.20pm	1hr 30min	Dongdaemum Doota	1hr is the tour guide given time; we bargain and only get 1.5hr Only enough to walk to skinfood and missha and choose and queue and pay and need to run back. No time to even take a pic!
24/Jan/09	7.30pm		Ginseng soup no taste.
25/Jan/09	11.23am - 12.03am	40mins	Teddy Bear Farm
			Lunch So called “Korean BBQ” To us it a squid in water hot pot but Korean Tour guide insist this is their BBQ.	Aren’t Korean BBQ supposed to be grill Why is ours in water?? And see Other tour Korean BBQ Hong Tai
25/Jan/09	1.23pm – 2.41pm	1hr 18mins	Shinheungsa Temple
25/Jan/09	2.58pm – 3.28pm	30mins	Daebohan Seafood Market	David says there’s nothing much to see. Just walk the street for the experience since we are there.
25/Jan/09	4.41pm – 5.21pm	40 mins	Rental of Ski equipment & jacket	For those who don’t ski, you can stay on the bus.
25/Jan/09	5.30pm – 6.20pm	50mins	Dinner Disgusting Octopus Steamboat	Go back hotel to rest after dinner
26/Jan/09	9.30am – 4pm	7hr 30mins	Ski	For those who do not ski. Sorry u stay at the ski resort or stay at the hotel without going out!
26/Jan/09	4pm – 4.30pm	30mins	Waiting on bus for a missing family Dinner Another steamboat which my coll commented look like .. wat do you think	DID NOT bring us to outlet and Dongdaemum on that day and send us back to hotel to change at 4.30pm!! Dinner at 5.30pm! After which, go back hotel and SLEEP! Reached hotel at 6.40pm. Next day rush us till mad!
27/Jan/09	9.05am -10.10am	1hr 5mins	Hanbok, Kimchi making & Ginseng farm	Squeezed into our 2nd last day schedule
27/Jan/09	10.45am – 11.30am	45mins	Premium outlet	Squeezed into our 2nd last day schedule. Rushing all around caused our mother to fall down on ice.
27/Jan/09			Lunch Bibinbap	Finally we get a decent meal that was promised on the itinerary which was after 5 days. AND What happened to the other local delicacy Shabu Shabu, Korean BBQ, Daejanggeum Set and etc that was promised on itinerary??? Tasty of all is their white rice. The only food my mother ate during the meals provided for the trip.
27/Jan/09	1.28pm – 2.07pm	39mins	Shinheungsa Temple
27/Jan/09		Around 30mins	Corderycep Selling	Squeezed into our 2nd last day schedule
27/Jan/09	3.22pm – 3.52pm	Around 30mins	Ginseng Selling	David’s face turned black because non of us bought anything.
27/Jan/09			Faceshop	We were given ample time here as David can earn commission! He did not rush any of us and looked so happy as we made our many purchases! David lied that the Faceshop he brought us to sells items at cheaper price compared to other Faceshop! And also if you bought earlier at other faceshop branch (which give more free gift) he will be attitude to you which some1 brought and this is Not in our schedule!
27/Jan/09	5.50pm – 7.10pm	1hr 20min	Shinchon	David took up 10mins of our precious little time to collect tips USD 24 before allowing us to alight from the coach; He also said that Myeondong and Naedaemum is actually the same so hinting and telling us there is no need to go both places! We objected violently so he has no choice but to bring us to both places. He threatened that if we are late, he will deduct the time from the other shopping area.
27/Jan/09	7.24pm – 8:16pm	52mins	Casino
27/Jan/09	8.20pm -9.40pm Bus left at 9.40pm sharp based on Bus clock; if ur watch slightly later or u are lost; it ur own business. Stranded in Korea Freezing Cold and LOST	1hr 20min	Myeondong and Naedaemum	1hr 20min is including Dinner (self paid). I told tour guide that my parents follow them back to hotel and we will continue walking since he cannot give us more time! But he left them stranded while other tour group buses are still waiting for their members. And the place closed at 10pm not 5am. David lied! We walk around like idiot looking for opened shop till 12midnight All shops are closed!!! He also did NOT tell us he will STRAND any1 who is late(even it is 1 min late) there!! And mind u it is 40min on cab away from hotel and it so cold -7C ! And my mum fell down 2nd time at the underpass rushing for the bus Attached Medical bill and X-ray!
28/Jan/09	9.25am - 10.15am	50mins	Aiins World	50mins to tour the world. What an accomplishment! No time to picture even half of the world decently.
28/Jan/09	11am – 11.20am	20mins	Woimido Island
28/Jan/09	11.30pm – 12.30pm	1hr	Tit-bits/ souvenirs buying	We were given ample time here as David can earn commission!
13 out of 19 people complained on the FOOD and 9 of out 19 complained on the service and attitude of the tour guide and tour leader! What a statistic!

ACTUAL ITINERARY

Stranded in Korea by Focal Travel Guide David

Imagine being stranded in Korea cold and lost; was late for 10min and the travel bus is gone!!

What kind of Travel Agent would left tour member in a foreign countries with language barrier?
So irresponsible!

Can check with the Singapore Tour Leader who named KAREN TENG Email: karenteng@focaltravel.com.sg Tel: 63563033/63561766 who stood by and encourage the driver to leave us stranded. Even other tour member reminded tour guide and Karen but they insisted on leaving us stranded!

Other people complaints

From Travel Agent:http://www.travelagents.com.sg/travel_agent/Focal_Travel_focaltravel.html

Ng Lay Choo wrote on 20 December 2008

I learnt my lesson. I book both of my Taiwan and Chiangmai for my family, for Jan 09. Till this moment, no news from them. I finally called up, they claimed they can't find my name... Next moment, they said taiwan trip might be cancel...
I will never go back to them.

tpk wrote on 6 December 2008 I am utterly disappointed w this agency, i mean i only booked for simple free and easy trip up tokyo and the counter gal was rude unhelpful and not too informative or knowledgeable abt her products. Man i can die seeing her lousy attitude.... and aft weeks we paid we received no news of the collection, have to call email etc and no reply. Urghhhhh......

hitome wrote on 10 October 2008 the service is totally bad. we had a very very bad experience with the whole company....

marie wrote on 4 October 2008 I join their tour early this year and its a horrible experience. The tour leader named Simon Lim from Focal Singapore is vulgar and through the trip, we hear more vulgarities than information on tourist attraction. It got very awkward for me and my husband as our primary school son is around the whole time listening to his dirty talk.

None of the passengers dared to stop him as he claim to have connections with gang members. The local tour guide then called their ah beng friends to join us during lunch to prove their point.

He said that Singapore gang leaders of Ang Soon Tong, 21, 24, 108, 369 gangs are his dogs and must bow down kiss his shoe when they see him. He also told us stories of what secret societies are capable of if they have information from your I/C or passports.

On the last day to collect tourguide tips and fill in survey form for tour feedback, he conveniently reminded us that he photocopied our passports to keep in case he need to use them in future. Since we have to submit the survey to focal through him with our names on it, I think you can guess how "great" our feedback on the trip was and the huge tips we had to give.

It was a traumatizing trip and thats the last time I will join that tour. You can contact this Simon Lim at 98578567 to confirm what happen. As for myself, I don't want to have anything more to do with these people and risk the safety of my son. I just hope others will not make the same mistake. Don't just look at the prices, its more important to go for reputable agencies and have a safe trip.

From Hardware zone:
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2091594

Think twice abt joining Focal Travel Agency!

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I have just returned a couple of days ago from my Shanghai trip. There're a total of 5 destinations - Shanghai, Hang Zhou, Su Zhou, Wu Xi and Nan Jing. It was a group tour, 8D7N. To be frank, i did not enjoy a single bit of it. I went there together with my mum, and 2 other relatives whom are 78 and 80 yrs old. So it's considered only the 4 of us traveling together. It's seriously like we paid the agency to suffer. Want to know why? Read on. Firstly, we were told by Focal Travel that once the 4 of us reach Shanghai, we will eventually merge with another group cuz I'm sure you guys know that 4 is not enough to form a group tour. On our first day upon reaching Shanghai, we were shocked to understand that this so called group tour is formed by only the 4 of us! Initially, we told ourselves that it might be a blessing in disguise. 4 people equals to more customization and the tour may be more flexible as there're only 4 of us. We are so freaking wrong! For every destination the tour guide brought us, there are 2 shopping "must go" places. Do the math, 5 destinations x 2 = 10! These are the places that sell all the expensive stuff like Silk, Jade, Mineral rock teapots, Medicinal Hall (Herbs), Longjing Tea Leaves, Pearls, Gems and etc. And from what we're told, these places are manned by the Chinese Government and the products sold are definitely authentic cos the govt won't wanna cheat our money as they have their reputation to protect. Every time we enter a shop, we feel so stressful cuz most of the time, we will spend at least 1 - 2 hour listening to the sales person explain about the products. And it's just the 4 of us, my mum (biggest victim), me (no purchasing power) and 2 old people whom most of the time do not understand what the hell are those China people talking about. If we say we're not interested, 1) they would show us a black face, 2) they would start to talk louder and louder (like shouting) 3) they would slam their products on the table and show us a face 4) they (at least 5 of them) would crowd around to create pressure. In the end, we got to succumb. What to do, we know its only focused on the 4 of us and not a normal group of 10 or 15. It's really terrifying. If we REALLY REALLY don't want to buy any stuff, we are asked to give more tips. HOW FAIR IS THIS? The most memorable shop would be the one called "Chen xing ming shi". From what I have collected online, the shop's most common 'stunt' is to use their home-groomed 'Golden Horse Award' winning lead actor to act as their boss who intend to invest in Singapore a couple of months later. He made small talks with us regarding Singapore as a land for investment and even wanted to make friends with us. It seemed so real. He told us how he intend to price his jewelries in Singapore and then he offered to give us a "friend price" which is a fraction of his original price for a couple of items. We spent about 1100rmb which is about 220sgd for a so-called white jade necklace and a set of Ruby accessories at the end of the day (which turned out to be of inferior quality btw). What makes me fume is that the shop had actually received several complaints in the past and they have even changed their shop name once! YET, Focal Travel Agency is still tying up with them! Now I'm starting to doubt the authenticity of the pearl and jade products we bought... All in all, we still count ourselves lucky to escape unscathed from the evil claws of those retailers! Focal Travel, are you sure that these (black)shops are manned by the Chinese Government? And PLEASE, do not continue your practice of forming mini group tour. It's so torturous for us as we don't have other tourists to share our (purchasing)load for the shops to meet their quota. Readers, if you're thinking about joining Focal Travel, think twice. They may be cheap to travel with, but quality wise... need me to say more?

From: http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-g293910-i9303-k1501640-Bad_Experience_with_Jetstar_Focal_Travel-Taiwan.html
I have just returned to Singapore from Taipei yesterday. Taiwan was a fantastic place had it not been for the typhoon that caused some unpleasant events before I leave for Taiwan!

Heard from the local that "Ke Luo Si" was the worst typhoon that hit Taiwan this year...

Initially it was supposed to be 8D 7N. However due to the typhoon, and error of Focal Travel - Singapore (travel agency) & Jetstar, I was made to stay an additional 2 days. My stay in Taipei was a total of 10D 9N.

A word of warning for those people who are travelling on Jetstar and purchase air tickets from Focal Travel - 101 Up Cross St #02-56 Singapore 058357.

On Sat (6 Oct), all flights r cancelled due to the typhoon. The tour agency representative in Taipei called to inform us on the cancellation and inform us we have to travel on Sun (7 Oct) instead. Naturally, we r agreeable as this is unforeseen calamity. The next day, the tour agency rep. in Taipei called us at 11am to inform us they will pick us up on 1pm and sent us to the airport as we r on the waiting list.

We were very surprised to learn of that. We queried why we were not informed of this before hand and what happened if the flight is full? I was totally flustered when they simply told us they have no control and we have to call Jetstar to check on the seatings availability.

Clueless, I called Jetstar and their Manager in Taipei (Ms.) Denean. She mentioned the flight is fully booked. She even claimed, even if seats r available, she will not release the seats to customers who r waiting at the airport. She can only release the seats with the approval of Jetstar (Singapore). My friend's husband in Singapore had to call Jetstar (Singapore) and they verified that it is totally untrue. She was very rude and mentioned this is a budget airline, what do you expect? Meaning to say, in any event calamity strikes when a person is overseas, Jetstar is not dependable? She also claimed they only have 1 flight to travel back to Singapore which is @ 6.25pm on Monday. I understand that even flights like China airline provide additional flights on Sun as there r not flights on Sat due to typhoon.

Now, my friend & I am getting totally lost when Focal Travel Rep. in Taipei and Jetstar and pushing the responsibilities to each other. As we have to work on the following Monday, we engage Focal Travel’s rep. in Taipei to check on the availability of other flights. Never did we expect that a lady by the name of Jerina, Operation Manager (from Focal Travel) called and yell at us. Her first words were “I heard that you are giving HEADACHE to my rep. in Taipei”. The rep in Taipei was our main source of contact to check out on issues like other airlines and other advises. However, we were totally shocked that we as customers paid for their service but did not get any form of customer service. In addition, it seems that we r at fault for en-trusting their rep in Taipei to check out details for us.

Therefore, I will STRONGLY URGE everyone who are considering Jetstar & Focal Travel for their trip to think twice or thrice as Jetstar & Focal Travel do NOT have natural disasters back-up plan in mind.

It is a vacation turn nightmare!!!