Rajan Parrikar To: Durjay Sengupta

Dear Durjay,

I used the services of Compass for my journeys to Rajasthan and Varanasi in the months of March and April, respectively. I chose your agency based on the recommendation received from Craig and others on the forums at Fodors.com.
The services rendered were excellent.  Sanjay and Shweta were prompt and efficient, and they easily tailored my programme to suit my choices.  They were also flexible enough to accomodate last-minute changes to my itinerary.
All the liason people at different locations in Rajasthan and Varanasi were professional.
The driver is an important consideration on any trip, esepcially in India, since I have had problems in this department before. For Rajasthan, Joginder Singh was assigned to me.  On the whole he was very professional, always punctual, and he readily followed my instructions.  I had only one small problem with him: he tried to chart my schedule every day.  He might have been trying to be helpful, but it really isn't his job to do so.  I mention this not as criticism, but as an area of improvement.  In Varanasi, my driver was Bablu and he was outstanding.  Both Joginder and Bablu are assets to your organisation.
That's all for now.  I look forward to using your organisation again in the future.

Regards
Rajan P. Parrikar

Dear Mr. Sengupta / Ms. Shweta,

 I have just noticed a Guest Feedback Form among my trip papers.

Your organization of our trip was impeccable.  We saw everything we planned to see and had a lot of fun doing it despite somewhat going over our budget.  This was my second visit to India, with the first one to the south part of the country in 1991.  Our trip to Rajasthan this year was so superior in avoiding travelers' wear-and-tear that I wouldn't even consider further India excursions without prior contacting Compass India Inc.  I have highly recommended your organization to all my friends and colleagues.
 
I will be happy to complete any feedback questionnaire.  Please place it in the body of your email as my computer refuses to open any attachments.

 Warm regards,

 Mark Ros

Varsha Hello:

I wanted to thank you for planning an amazing trip. The itinerary could not have been better (I really wish I had more days!).  Bhawani was WONDERFUL! He took his time to educate me and allowed me to get a glimpse into Indian culture, lifestyle and experience.  I never felt rushed or felt uncomfortable, it was great to have someone so courteous and knowledgeable alongside throughout the trip, he is a great guide. 

 I am also convinced that Rajesh is the safest driver of India.  It's beyond my comprehension how one can feel safe in a car in your country, but thanks to Rajesh, I certainly did!   I will highly recommend your company upon my arrival to NY.  Thank you for a wonderful trip! Jane.

 PS Feel free to use me as a reference.

Best Regards,

Jane Jane Kizhner

Hi Shweta,

 How are you?

 Hope you are busy "Making Dreams Come True" for others!!

 As for us we are just back to U.S from our long-long trip to India. We just cannot imagine if it would have been this memorable with out your well planned and well organized trip!!

 We enjoyed every bit of our trip and it exceeded our highest expectation in every way, right from the reception at Delhi to Hotel accommodations to Our driver/companion (Seshram Ji) to excellent city reps to the guides through out and upto the final departure assistance !!. Everything is A++ grade!!

 All this would not have happened with out and your personal attention and for that me and my wife would like to give you a "Heartfelt Thanks!!!"  (The only way to read this is to "feel it")

 I would definitely recommend you to all my friends and would only work with you for my future travel plans in India!!

 Please convey my thanks to each and everyone who made this trip memorable for me!!

 I am more than willing to share my feelings if there is an online form please send it to me!!

Thanks,

Vikran

Hello Shweta,
how are you doing?
Excuse me for taking so long before replying to your e-mail. Life was hectic coming home and getting back to normal.

am very pleased with how Compass India organized everything. Your company did exactly what it said it would do and things went very smooth. I would certainly recommend your company to others that are looking for a travel agent in India.

We had a truly excellent driver, very skill full besides being a pleasant person to have in the car.

So you have two very content customers. You gave me good advice and were easy to work with.

I found India a fascinating place, very vibrant and full of life. I hope I will get another chance in my life time to visit your country. For me being a vegetarian, it is paradise. I have never been anywhere where I have so many and such excellent choices in food.
I wish you the best, take care

Marjan

Dear Shweta,

 I want to congratulate you and your team for the excellent work you have done. The arrangements were very good and the quality of hotels was excellent. I am speaking on behalf of myself and the rest of the members in our party. I think the following feed back may be helpful.

 Pre tour communications and information sharing: Excellent. The main reason why we went along with you was your promptness in responding to our request and the detailed information provided. I dealt with another international company before contacting you. Your promptness was what made you to clinch our business.

 Suggestions: I know we did not give you much time to work with. If there were time, may be some background information on the hotels might put the tourist's mind at rest about the quality of the hotels.

 Reception at the train station: Excellent. The gentleman in charge came to the platform and received us. He was very nice and went through the itinerary and the change of plans and put us in the loop.

 I need to make a special mention about Shazahan, the driver of the coach. I want you to convey our special thanks and appreciation for the way he conducted himself. He was simply superb. He was very friendly yet professional, very punctual and very accommodating. Lot of the credit goes to him for making the trip very pleasant.

 Transportation was very comfortable.

 Boat house: very good. Would not recommend triple occupancy on the boat house.

 Hotels: They were of very good quality.

 Guides: They are very helpful with all the material help. It is in this area that there is scope for improvement. Even though it is useful to have some local person, who knows the area arround, it would be useful if they give more information about the sight seeing places, their history and generally being more communicative. The guides we had just could telll the name of the place we are visiting but had no idea of any details about those places. They need to read up more about the places and be more communicative. Shazahan, the driver was much more knowledgeable than the guides. So the suggestion is that they need more training about the history of the local places and when the tourist asks them to be more communicative, they should do so. A little bit of humor and being entertaining would add spice to the tour.

 Tourist places: All the places to which Shazahan has taken us were excellent. A little bit disappointed by the wild life sanctuary at Thekkady. Saw more animals on the streets than at the sanctuary!!!!!!!!!!!

 I liked your staff making sure that the return flights are confirmed.

 Overall, our experience with your staff and you in particular was extremely positive. We all would definitely recommend your organization to our friends and relatives (I already did for few people).

 Shweta, thank you for every thing and I wish you all the best with your future endeavors.

 Sincerely,

 Ratna Palakodeti.

Hello Varsha!

I am finally back to my office in Italy.

 I would like to thank you because I had a very good time in North India and I found your tour very well organised.

 If you need whatsoever feedback from me, I would be happy to provide it! Kind regards,

 Silvi

Dear Durjay and Shweta,
 
First let me thank you both for a wonderful tour of South India.  Everything went perfectly. The hotels, guides and the sights themselves we first class. Even the weather was fine. If I can be a reference for your company please let me know.

Many thanks again.

Simon and Anne Lowings

Dear Varsha

Just wanted to say Thank You for a fantastic holiday. Mrs Brown and I enjoyed every moment ...all the hotels were superb and everything was very smooth...no glitches anywhere. You did a great job of planning and organising everything.
Also a big Thanks to our driver Vinod who is a delightful young man. His driving was careful and he is efficient and always on time. Really a pleasure to have with us.

I know Mrs Brown is thinking to return again in the spring and I have also recommended you to another friend of mine...Mrs Geraldine Boss, who is interested to make the same trip as we did. I am sure she will be in touch very soon. Once again, many many thanks and we will certainly continue to use our company next time we visit India.
 
Very Best Regards

Barbara

Dear D.J,

We are writing to express our heartfelt gratitude for the superb and outstanding service you arranged for our first trip to India. How serendipitous to find you on the Internet on a sleepless night! I researched and scrutinized over a dozen tour companies including Sita, Cox & Kings, Abercrombie Kent, Himalayan and General Tours. Most offered similar itineraries and hotels but few would accommodate our specific needs. Only Compass could offer a private high-end tour at low-end group tour prices.

Compass has set a new standard in the travel industry. You have distinguished yourself from your competitors as being the leader in PERSONAL SERVICE. Referring to the clients as "your guests", it is apparent that you embrace the philosophy of Hospitality. In our view, Compass is an exceptional value; attractive packages that are palatable to the discerning travelers' tastes and financially digestible to the cost-conscious.
Warmest and best regards,

Christine & Jeffrey Moses

Dear Varsha,
 
I hope you are well! 

 Nik and I are still recovering from the Wedding Extravaganza , and of course, I have been running mad because I had to take care of some critical things about my future in surgery.

 Anyway, now that things are a tad bit less lunatic-- perhaps we can meet some time this week for coffee or something-- let's say-- thursday morning or something?

The trip was absolutely phenomenol.  I think the only slight complaints came from the first hotel we stayed at (the clarion) and the phone not being accessible for a long time, but other than that-- the trip went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time.  It was really a testament to all your hard work and meticulous planning.
 
Please let me know when you'll be free for a bit; my "husband" and I would love to finally meet you! 

Warm regards,

Propa

Hi Shweta!!!

My trip to India was absolutely WONDERFUL to say the least!!!  My requested iternary was followed through to the exact.  My hotels and meals were beyond expectations. I especially loved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Hindu temples in Madurai.  My drivers were absolutely the best and the guides were the greatest as they all wrote down everything for me because I had a problem understanding the English accents due to my hearing handicap.  Not one of them had a problem writing the info down.  As a matter of fact, several of them wrote the info down the night before and then I could read it before the tour.  They were SUPER!!!
 
I will highly recommend Compass Tours to anyone and you certainly may use my name as a reference.

Thank you so much, Shweta, for your time and patience on planning my wonderful, unforgettable trip to India.

Tricia Whitle

Dear Varsha and Durjay,

 We had a wonderful trip, in so many ways because of your wonderful organization.  What follows in red is my post to the Fodor's web site about our trip and how helpful Compass was.  Thank you for everything.

 You will love India. We just returned from a 15 day trip with our children. New Delhi, Agra (Baby Taj is absolutely beautiful, a jewel box, and not packed with crowds) Fatekpur Sikri en route to Jaipur is amazing, and Kelodeo Bird Sanctuary is also wonderful but you will be exhausted when you pull into Jaipur. From Jaipur we drove back to Delhi and flew to Kolkatta (which was absolutely wonderful). We flew into Bagdogra and drove to Darjeeling which lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. You are truly at the ceiling of the world. Sunrise on Kantenjunga, the world's third highest peak, after K2 and Everest, is gorgeous. Our trip was very special in that we were searching for ancestral clues, graves, and homes belonging to my father and grandfather who's family had lived in Kolkatta (Calcutta) for generations. Months ago I read Craig's (by now) famous travelogue on this site of his trip to India with his wife. Compass Tours, based in New Delhi, made all the arrangements and he was very pleased with their work. I too utilized their services which I found to be excellent. All of the hotel bookings (very high end, and some mid-range) were in order as were the internal plane bookings. At every stop Compass was there to meet and greet. The guides and drivers they arranged were all personable (my family's age group is 13-50), knowledgeable, and kind. They're support team was equally thoughtful and helpful. I would not hesitate to work with them again. I was especially impressed with the team they utilized in Darjeeling, our guide Binod and driver Ranjit were fabulous. Have a wonderful trip.

Joseph Gubbay

Dear Shweta

Karen and I returned home on Monday and wanted to send you and your team a "thank you" for the fantastic trip! Your country is beautiful and offers an abundance of culture, spirituality, history and adventure.  From someone that has traveled to Europe, Asia and South America, it is by far the most fascinating country I have yet to visit. From the perspective of two westerners, it is so clear to us that we only started to scratch the surface of your country and have so much more to learn. 

Regarding the trip logistics, the accommodations, transportation and guides were exceptionally prepared and well thought out by Compass.  They exceeded our expectations. Everyone was incredibly friendly, helpful and mindful of our trip.  Karen and I have traveled extensively on our own in various countries and were not accustomed to the attention, care and safety provided by your team. We are very independent travelers that usually throw on a back pack and figure the trip logistics out on our own. Having a trip planned for us was a very different (and pleasant!) experience.  As a matter of fact, we are so used to taking care of ourselves that Karen and I felt badly that Naka had to escort us to the airport so late in the evening on our departure date (12:50 am flight).  That is normally something we would just take care of on our own. 
We will definitely recommend your company and services to our friends. Currently, I am trying to convince my husband to visit your country this year. I would love for him to experience the sites and culture as Karen and I did.
Please send a special thank you to Anand.  He navigated us through the whole trip safely from start to finish and did an outstanding job.  He made the trip a wonderful experience for Karen and I.  I especially appreciated the Hindi lessons and will be continuing with the language lessons here at home. Should my husband make the trip this year to India, we will be requesting Anand's services again.       Shweta, I am sorry we were not able to stop in on the last day to see you. There were some more sights in Delhi that Karen and I wanted to see and we kept Anand quite busy well into the evening getting us to them. I suspect we will be back soon and at that time we will come by to give you a hug and say "thank you" in person.

Sincerely,

Shannon

Dear Shweta,

Compass Tours made our trip to India the best that it could be.  Out of the six of us that were traveling, none of us had previously visited your country and Compass took care of us from the moment we arrived until we left.  It gave us a special look into the caring personality of the Indian people.

Before we even left on the trip, we felt great.  Shweta, you worked with us everyday until we narrowed down a perfect itinerary.  We loved being able to have a say on what type of accommodations we would be in as well as what  type of vehicle we'd be transported in.  It worked very well.

The guides that you contracted with in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur were some of the best I've ever met.  Not only were they hospitable and knowledgeable about their areas, but they took it one step further and invited us to view some of the culture first hand.  In Bikaner, Bihwanas invited us to his house for dinner and we met his family.  In Jaisalmer, we were also invited to Jintendra's mother's house for tea, and in Jodhpur, the guide took us to a friend's wedding.  On top of that, each guide was so open about their lives, which are completely different than our American lives.  They talked to us about their religion, their caste, their marriages, and much, much more.

I recommend that anyone who visits India should use Compass to arrange their trip.  The best thing about it is, that I as the customer, made all the decisions, and Compass did all the hard work!

Thank you so much for such a rich and rewarding experience! I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to go to India again!

Corinne Vail

Dear Varsha

 Hope you had a happy Diwali.  It was a shame we missed you when we came into the office because we would have liked to say a big THANK YOU for all your help and for organising such a wonderful tour for us.

The service was excellent and we will certainly recommend your company to any friends planning to visit India.  We would particularly like to praise the services of our main driver and his helper, known to us as Captain and Surinder.  Their competent, safe driving gave us confidence and a comfortable journey always.  The Tempo Traveller was a great success and ensured the children coped with the long journeys very well as there was room to more about and be comfortable.  We really enjoyed our last minute visit to Agra over Diwali – the Taj Mahal is truly majestic.
 
We were very happy with most of the hotels.  The only exception was the Quality Inn HimDev which was noticeably below the standard of the other hotels and was disappointing. 

Thank you again for your help.

With our best wishes

Taylor Famil

Dear Varsha, Ganesh and Martin,

Thank you for the excellent service you all provided to my tour participants on our recent South India tour.  It was greatly appreciated by all.  You went out of your way at times to make things work. We also appreciated the expert help in Madurai.  Luke was an exceptional guide to the temple and you can send him my compliments.  We got along fine in Bangalore as well.  I will certainly call upon you again for help with my tours and travel needs.

Sincerely yours,

Alice Clark