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18 KEY POINTS FOR TOUR SUCCESS
1. Understand the definition of a group:
Cascade
Geographic Society defines a group as two or more people.
A tour
may consist of many groups, since each tour will contain 15 to 25 participants.
Therefore, everyone is expected to cooperate and understand that the tour guide
is
attempting to meet everyone's expectations.
If you DO NOT want others on your tour please see key point numbers 5 and 10.
2. Understand that there are 3 primary tours types.
-- The
"Shanghai Tunnel Heritage Tour"
-- The
"Shanghai Tunnel Ghost Tour"
-- The
"Shanghai Tunnel Ethnic History Tour"
However, if your tour contains multiple groups (see number 1), then there may be
a
"blending" of the information provided. See key point number 10.
3. Sign up and confirm - It is your responsibility to be at the right place
at the right time.
To
insure that the date and time for your tour is correct, please make sure that
you are
officially signed up through the "Portland Underground Tours".
You
should receive a confirmation email from Cascade Geographic Society,
but if
you have any questions you can call (503) 622-4798.
Please
be aware that calling for information does not officially register you or your
group.
Additionally the only way to guarantee your reservation is to
submit
pre-payment within 72 hours of booking your tour.
4. Verify with all group participants before you sign up.
Please
DO NOT sign up with the "Portland Underground Tours" until you have verified
with
all your members that the proposed time and date will work. Once a request has
been
placed with us, we are "locked-in" and must begin organizing around that date
and time.
If you
must change the date or time, please be aware that because of key point number
1,
your
request may affect numerous other groups, schedules and/or additional volunteer
projects.
We ask
that to reduce such changes that you as leader of your group confirm your date
and time
with
all your group participants before officially booking a specific date and time.
5. Securing a special date and time.
If your
group is unable to attend one of the pre-determined dates and times already on
the
"Portland Underground Tour" schedule, you may request a special date and time.
However
- in order to request this your group must have a minimum of 15 people.
Additionally, if there is interest from other individuals for this same date and
time, we
reserve the right to add them to your group. As with all
tours it is possible for the group
size to
reach a total of 25 participants. In order to prevent the addition of
participants
from
outside your group, your group must register and pay for 25 participants.
6. Dealing with groups larger than 25.
If your
group has more than 25 people, you may decide to split your group into
smaller
segments. Or if your group contains under 35 you may choose to go ahead as
one
group. From previous experiences 30 people is a workable size, although 35
pushes
the
crowd limit. Please note, as explained in key point 5, if you choose to divide
your
group
it is possible that other outside participants will be added to each tour
session.
7. Adding more people after the fact.
If your
group decides they would like to add additional participants, please
give us
a call right away at (503) 622-4798. We must verify that there is still room.
Additionally, we would request pre-payment to be made for any new participants.
It is
understood that occasionally, due to time restrictions there may not be enough
time
for the mail to be processed. In such instances it is possible that we may ask
the
group leader collect the money (exact cash or personal check) to submit just
prior
to the tour. However, please make arrangements with the "Portland Underground
Tours"
before assuming this is the case.
8. Processing of pre-payment.
Payment
for your group must be mailed within 72 hours of officially booking a tour.
We
request payment to be mailed in a properly addressed envelope to:
Portland Underground Tours
P.O. Box 398
Rhododendron, OR 97049
If a
check does not arrive, your group will be taken off our schedule and we will
assume
that you and your group will not be attending the tour. This is another
reason
to be sure to complete key point number 4 above. A delay in collecting funds
from
all members of your group may cause problems here. Additionally we request
only
one check or money order from each group. Please have your group leader
take
responsibility to either collect individual payments and combine them into one
envelope or to write one check or money order after collecting all individual
payments.
NO CASH
PLEASE. Unfortunately pre-payment has become a necessity after finding
at
least a hundred examples of groups who did not show for a tour because there was
no
pre-payment.
9. No refunds ever.
Reserving a spot to tour the "Portland Underground" is equivalent to buying
a
concert ticket. If you or someone in your group cannot attend it is your
responsibility to find someone else who can take your place.
10. Understand what blended means.
If your
group has less than 25 people, then you are subject to blending. This means that
your
group may be merged with one or more other groups. (See key points 1 and 5
above).
As each
group may request any of the three primary tours as listed in key point 2 above,
there
is the possibility that the resulting tour may be blended. This means that the
information
provided may cross over between the three tour types. The tour will still
physically take
place
in the same area of the "Portland Underground", but the focus of the information
may
vary.
If you do not want to take the risk of being involved in a
"blended tour" then you
must
pay for 25 participants. This is the only way to prevent outside groups from
being added
to your
tour.
11. Be well informed.
Be sure
that you have read all the key points on this page. Additionally please review
the
Tour FAQ page, and the
Shanghaii Tunnel Tour
page. If you have further questions
or you
need clarification of any point please contact us at least 48 hours PRIOR to the
tour
date and time. Due to the large volume of calls, if you call us the day of the
tour we
may not
be able to get back to you. Additionally if you bring your concerns with you to
the
tour,
you risk delaying the tour and causing tension between your group and any other
participants.
12. Be on time and ready to go.
Be sure
that all members of your group have read the information in the FAQ page.
Be sure
that all members of your group know where to meet, where to park, how to
get
there and any other logistical information. Please be aware and understand that,
quite
often, groups are combined into one tour time. Unprepared or tardy groups either
delay
everyone's tour and/or may actually curtail part of the time that would have
been
spent
on the tour. In very extreme cases, the group may be asked to reschedule at
their
own expense. It is suggested if you plan to eat dinner you should make
arrangements
to do
so after the tour.
13. Obtaining the Waiver form.
Please
provide a working email address so that the waiver form can be sent to you for
each
member
of your group to sign. If you do not have an email then a working fax number is
preferred. In the event of neither your email or fax machine working, you can
also download
and
print copies from our website. HOWEVER - if you choose this third option please
be
aware
we reserve the right to ask your participants to sign another waiver on location
due to
updates
or changes which may not have made it to our website.
14. Signing the Waiver form:
Each
individual member of your group must sign the waiver form PRIOR to the tour.
Please
make
every attempt to pass out the waiver forms to your group members PRIOR to
arriving
downtown. Anyone not willing to sign a waiver will NOT be allowed to attend the
tour. The
waiver
is a legal requirement. Remember there are NO refunds, so please verify with all
members
of your group that they are willing to sign the form prior to booking their
spot.
15. Turning in the Waiver form:
Because
the waiver is a legal requirement, all signed waivers must be turned into the
tour leader
prior
to the start of the tour. There will be no additional copies of the waiver
available at the
tour
site. To prevent delays it is highly suggested that the leader for your group
collect all signed
waivers
well in advanced and that they verify the day of the tour that they have the
signed waivers
ready
to turn in.
16. Handling Payment:
To
insure that the tour your group is going on will take place, please send ONE
check
(or one
set of checks combined into one envelope) that covers each person in your group.
Please
write the date and time of your scheduled tour on the check so that it can be
easily
tracked. IMPORTANT: Do NOT have individual participants for your group send
in
checks individually. This will only confuse things. Please see key points 4 and
8 for more
information.
If your
group would prefer not to pay for participants in advance, then it is suggested
that
you do
not sign up as a group. Rather have each individual contact us directly and sign
up
as an
individual. There is no discount or group rate, so it is entirely up to you.
However please
be
consistent. Either have all members of your group sign up through one contact
person on
your
end - officially creating a "group" or have all members of your group sign up on
their own.
Duplicate listings of a person on a "group" list and as an "individual" can
cause many problems
with
planning and may result in your group paying for that person twice. Note - There
are NO
REFUNDS, so be cautious.
17. Start Time - Planning to be ready
Due to
the amount of information presented in the tour, it is critical to begin on
time.
If
anyone in your group delays the start of the tour, then this will adversely
affect
the
length of the tour. It is essential that all participants plan for time to park,
time to
use the
restroom, time to eat, and so forth.
There will be no bathroom breaks provided during the tour, so please plan ahead.
We
ask that participants be at the meeting site at least 15 minutes in advance of
the
tour time. Hobo's Restaurant located at 120 NW Third Avenue is a full service
bar and
the starting location of the tour. If you decide to have a drink please alert
the
waitstaff that you are attending the tour.
We
strongly suggest that members of your group be told to meet 30 minutes in
advance
of the tour time to allow for unexpected delays with parking, bussing
or
other transportation issues.
18. Receipts
If you need a receipt, it is your responsibility to bring one to us, already
filled out
exactly how you or your bookkeeper prefers it. We will gladly sign it for you
at the end of the tour. Or, if you prefer, you can send it to us at:
P.O. Box 398
Rhododendron, OR 97049
If you send it to us, you must include a Self-Addressed-Stamped-Envelope,
otherwise we will not return it. Additionally you can fax it to us or email it.
We make no exceptions, we do not provide receipts. If you want a receipt you
must create it and we will sign it.
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