Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co

4400 S Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60609, USA

Address:	4400 S Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60609, USA
Phone:	+1 773-648-5000
Site:	chicagotrolley.com
Rating:	3.3
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 64

Reviews 5

Priya Almeida

On a trip to Chicago this summer with my mother and sister, our hotel concierge recommended Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. to see the sites, and so we bought tickets for the hop on hop off tour. Being a 3-day tour, we experienced the varied styles of numerous guides. I wish every guide had been as friendly, informative, funny and enthusiastic as the guide we had on Day 2! However, this was not the case; I will describe in detail the unpleasant incidents we endured with two of the other guides. On Day 1, we had an unbelievably unprofessional guide who conducted himself in a very inappropriate manner, including: -screaming profanities into the mic when he was displeased with the speed at which the bus driver was driving, in front of many young children aboard the bus -stumbling crotch-first into my sister multiple times because he insisted on standing on the moving bus instead of seating himself safely in one of the many available seats -complaining to us patrons about the length of his shift and brevity of his lunch break I was literally cringing in my seat, not wanting to make eye contact with him. My family and I could not wait to get off the bus! On Day 3 our guide seemed totally disinterested in giving us a proper tour. -He skipped over pointing out and explaining quite a few sites. He would mumble into the mic, giving a slap-dash bare-bones description after wed already passed the site. -He would move around the top deck of the bus so that he could get in the perfect position to take better photos of the sites on his own phone, blocking my view on several occasions. -His clothes were unkempt and dirty, as if hed slept in them and not washed them in weeks. There was visible grime in the folds of his neck. It was disgusting. -When it was time for his lunch break, he took off his poncho, dropped it on the floor of the bus, told the people trying to get off/on the bus to wait so he could grab the money out of his tip jars, and then proceeded to count his tip in front of us, muttering and shaking his head as if he was disappointed with what hed earned. Honestly, I was prepared to give this tour 3/5 stars because it was inexpensive and when we had a good guide, things were fine. However, upon returning home from our trip, I wrote all of this in an email to the Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. and to date I have received neither a response nor an acknowledgement in the two months since... not even a generic "thank you for your email" auto-response. So Ill downgrade my rating to 2/5 stars.

Danielle G

This company and bus tour is pathetic and a waste of time. They sold me a ticket and once the bus left on the tour they started telling the passengers that 1/2 of the tour route would not be included. If there were road/route closures the sales associate should have mentioned that when they sold me the ticket. I would suggest you go with BIG BUS TOURS or any other company. Paying a few extra dollars to avoid the incompetence of this company and the tour guide is worth it. Also, NEVER pay full price for this tour. Because the competition company BIG BUS TOURS is much better, they will sell you a ticket for $15 dollars to ride with them (other customers on the bus told me they only paid $15 because the sales associate was trying to get them away from the other bus company). I never write reviews, but this company is garbage. I had to share my thoughts. I tried to make a complaint the day this incident happened, but I was told to call the office the next day, due to the fact that it was late Saturday evening. The next day I ran a marathon and then my flight was delayed three times (hence, I was not thinking and failed to call). When I returned home I was ill for a week and again was unable to call. I called about a week and a half after the incident (which was my fault) but the MANAGER I spoke with was unhelpful and dismissive due to the tardiness of my call. The whole incident just screams "unprofessional" and a "rip-off".

Marie Oquendo

I am writing to complain about one of your staffs customer service. It was on May 23rd at approximately 9:30 am by your companys booth at the SkyDeck location. We were just inquiring about getting our shirts because one of the tour guides had mentioned it the day before, and he rudely explained that the free shirts had already expired. He said we should not ask for it since we dont have it printed on our receipts. However, when we checked on of our receipts, we did have a coupon that said FREE T-SHIRT printed on it. Anyway, we asked him next if there is anything we can do for a lost receipt and then once again he had a really horrible customer service and was extremely rude in explaining that there is nothing we can do about it. We asked this person really nicely about it and we werent even forcing him to give us shirts nor another ticket. He could have been the least be empathetic for our unfortunate situation. It was a horrible experience and was super embarrassing because I had picked your company for my Canadian visitors. Moreover, it was also supposed to be a fun birthday celebration for me and my friends as well. I used your company for years even when I first visited this city and was recommending it to all of my friends. This used to be a really good touring company. Unfortunately, I dont know if I want to use your service in the future because of this really horrible experience.

Mike Wilson

Probably the worst experience of our trip to Chicago! Weve taken these sort of tours throughout the world and expected a similar experience while in Chicago. As soon as the trolley arrived we knew that something was different; the driver (Michael) didnt ask for our tickets, didnt care if we showed them to him and proceeded to tell us that after 19 years I can do whatever I want to do! Im not even sure if he followed the planned route as the windows on the trolley were completely fogged over, limiting what we could see! To remedy the situation the driver simply tossed a roll of paper towels to the front passenger; we were all expected to wipe the windows clear if we wanted to see anything!! We didnt learn anything about the history of the city, aside from now knowing that the driver & his son eat lunch at a local food court in Chicago!! $400 ($CDN, 7 X 24hr tickets) later we hopped off at the first stop and never looked back. The driver might need medical attention as we believe that he may have been intoxicated, bi polar or simply insane! Such a shame that

A Private User

My family and I took the tour today, and for the most part were quite impressed. We used the hop on - hop off option, which was great - very easy, and buying tickets in advance was very convenient. Because we hopped on and off a few times, we ended up with three different tour guides. One was great, one was okay, and one was really annoying. When he ran out of things to say about the architecture, he would brag about how great he was or hit on the women on the bus. Also, his grammar and his speaking skills were so poor that we couldnt get off his bus soon enough. There were also some inconsistancies and inaccuracies. The first guide said that Marshall Field donated $1 million to the Field Museum, then another $8 million when he died. The second guide said that he donated $3 million total. Big difference. If Im paying $100 for my family to learn about the city, I would hope for accurate facts and a guide who speaks English, not Ebonics - consider all of the foreign visitors who dont understand extreme slang.