Boston Public Market & North End Foodie Tour with Local Guide

While we're always disappointed on the rare occasions when we don't meet guests' expectations, to receive a 2-star review for offering a product as advertised is disheartening, and, quite frankly, unfair. We are only positioned to meet guests' expectations when guests read tour descriptions fully, and choose tours that are are aligned with their interests and dietary restrictions. With a lobster roll and clam chowder as two of its significant components, our Boston Public Market & North End Tour is simply not an appropriate choice for either non-seafood eaters, or those with a seafood allergy. While we provide swaps when available, we are not able to do so at our fish market stop, and have limited substitutions at our chowder stop. The second significant component of this tour is the Market District. On Fridays and Saturdays we visit a historic outdoor market, as well as an award-winning indoor market, where we enjoy small tastings, including a lobster roll. While this portion of the tour has been very well-received - in fact, many guests return to the Market right after the tour - if you simply do not enjoy markets of this type, once again, this would not be the appropriate tour for you. Lastly, while our guests experience three stops in the North End/Little Italy, a better option for those who wish to experience it fully would be our North End Neighborhood Tour. As always, we urge all guests to read tour descriptions fully prior to making a ticket purchase. We are also available to respond to questions as appropriate. Our goal is to meet every guest's expectation, but we can only do so when guests do their due diligence, and choose the tour that is most appropriate for them.

For context, readers should pair this review with a second July 28th one from the same party of three young women. We do not consider either review to be in the truthful, informative spirit of TripAdvisor, and regret that these guests have chosen to write these reviews with seemingly the sole intent of damaging Boston Foodie Tours' future sales and ranking. Following is our response to this party's primary purchaser's initial review: "While we pride ourselves on a consistent record of exceeding guests' expectations, on rare occasions, we simply are not positioned to do so, which, in this case, was evident from the outset of the tour. Upon arrival, this guest alerted us to both an allergy restriction (nuts) and a non-seafood preference (not an allergy). As noted in all of our marketing, our Boston Public Market & North End Tour includes two seafood stops (lobster roll and chowder) and a nuts stop. Our guest claimed that not only wasn't she aware of the seafood tastings, but also that it wasn't noted in our marketing. The latter is simply untrue, as is public record. This guest was disappointed further prior to the tour's departure when she learned that we wouldn't be able to address her hunger immediately. Her frustration continued throughout the tour, during which she was either disruptive, disengaged, or simply absent from the group. We stand behind this product, including the quantity of food, which, as other reviews demonstrate, either leaves guests full or more than full when all tastings are enjoyed. We also offer swaps - in this case a full bowl of French onion soup - when available and as appropriate. That being said, we expect that guests have read tour descriptions fully prior to ticket purchase to ensure that our tours are a fit for preferences and/or dietary restrictions. Furthermore, as a courtesy to all of our guests, we expect that behaviors conform to etiquette expected in group settings. We trust that readers will view this review in context, and with the intent with which it was written, and that they will consider our overall outstanding record of performance when making a purchasing decision."

While we pride ourselves on a consistent record of exceeding guests' expectations, on rare occasions, we simply are not positioned to do so, which, in this case, was evident from the outset of the tour. Upon arrival, this guest alerted us to both an allergy restriction (nuts) and a non-seafood preference (not an allergy). As noted in all of our marketing, our Boston Public Market & North End Tour includes two seafood stops (lobster roll and chowder) and a nuts stop. Our guest claimed that not only wasn't she aware of the seafood tastings, but also that it wasn't noted in our marketing. The latter is simply untrue, as is public record. This guest was disappointed further prior to the tour's departure when she learned that we wouldn't be able to address her hunger immediately. Her frustration continued throughout the tour, during which she was either disruptive, disengaged, or simply absent from the group. We stand behind this product, including the quantity of food, which, as other reviews demonstrate, either leaves guests full or more than full when all tastings are enjoyed. We also offer swaps - in this case a full bowl of French onion soup - when available and as appropriate. That being said, we expect that guests have read tour descriptions fully prior to ticket purchase to ensure that our tours are a fit for preferences and/or dietary restrictions. Furthermore, as a courtesy to all of our guests and to our team, we expect that behaviors conform to etiquette expected in group settings. We trust that readers will view this review in context, and with the intent with which it was written, and that they will consider our overall outstanding record of performance when making a purchasing decision.