Difficulty in Accessing the site in Australia

OzJohnno

I'm not sure if it's just my computer or the Australian site is having problems but over the last week or so I've had a lot of difficulty accessing the Tauck forums from Australia. I call up the forums but it does not load and eventually times out. If I'm lucky hours later it might load but the next attempt leads to another time out. Is this happening world wide? Perhaps my compatriot Jan could comment whether or not it is happening in her part of Australia.

In spite of the inconvenience - Merry Xmas everybody.

British

yes this has happened a few times to me too, but all seems OK now.

jdurkin

Hi Rod,

Yes, that has been happening quite a bit at Chez Jan, too. But that was last week. This week it has all been good. Next week? Who knows.

I have nooo idea.

If is has anything to do with geo-blocking, I reckon that Sydney crowd has put the evil eye on the site. Just like they have with the Tauck brochure dispatch process from Sydney. Next time you get a brochure, check the postmark. Mine have been pretending to be from Norwalk, but they are postmarked NSW and the brochures self-branded for that Sydney crowd. And they have mysteriously obtained my private address as distinct from my mailing address. (Now I get two sets of Sydney branded brochures.) The good folks at Norwalk can tell the difference and use my postal address. Naturally, that is beyond the wits in Sydney. If they were hoping for discretion or even transparency they have failed miserably. Hoisted by their own petard. It's quite annoying because the brochure now only lists the Sydney contacts. The same goes for the home page of the geo-branded Tauck site in Australia. BUT, if you check through the Tauck site carefully, the direct contact numbers for use by Australian clients are still listed under Contact Us. Mind you, I don't suppose I'll be getting any Tauck brochures in the future if they all come from Sydney!

Yep, so I blame geo-blocking and the weird ...no, that implies a slightly loveable emotion ... that Sydney mob. You do wonder how they manage to continue to be so consistent in their competency levels. You have to wonder if they know what's causing it ......

Cheers,

Jan

AlanS

I doubt it is geo-blocking, could be the North Koreans though : )

For that last few weeks I've had intermittent problems accessing the forums as well from the east coast of the US. Not always, but it usually happens late at night (2300 - 0100 EST) so maybe Tauck is doing system maintenance, beta testing new pages, or loading more 2016 tour dates at that time.

Last month the entire site slowed way down on a number of occasions- it took forever to access and load both tour pages and forums. It has been much better lately, but is still not 100%.

Are you folks down under able to access Tauck's US website or are you always redirected to an Australian mirror site? I'm not a computer geek, but one possible way around being redirected is to use the "Private Viewing" (private browsing) feature of the Firefox web browser. It prevents your computer from accepting cookies. Also use a router with a dynamic IP address if possible.

You all have a Merry Christmas. Does Santa come up from the South Pole to Australia?

jdurkin

AlanS wrote:

I doubt it is geo-blocking, could be the North Koreans though : )

You could well be right, Alan! I haven't found out yet who owns that Sydney mob. And until I'm proved wrong, I'll keep casting nasturtiums at them.

I'm not geeky enough to know how to block those geo things. We have a terrible time down under with all sorts of sharp pricing practices directed our way. Without even taking the variabilities of FX fluctuations into account, we are routinely charged more for the exact same item here, simply because of where we are, because they can. Software companies, computer companies ...fruit and non fruit varieties ... all sorts of internet providers have a go at us. Because they can. It is fairly common for half way geeky people here to establish their own Virtual Private Network (VPN) ...... (at least I think that's what they call a "thing" you can surround yourself with so that they don't know you are in Australia) so as to avoid the problem. It's not vital to me because I don't buy that much from overseas and never computer stuff. I don't download illegally because I am very conscious of copyright issues and the consequences of the theft of intellectual property.

So I don't really know if your suggestion would be useful for the Tauck situation. What comes into play here is the exclusive agency arrangement Tauck has with this Sydney bunch. All Australians who make Tauck reservations have their business shunted through them whether they like it or want it ... unless you deal directly with Tauck in the States. It now looks like the Tauck web site and brochures for the Australian market are being funnelled that same way. It is odd, because the Australian brochures quote prices in US$, but even a cursory glance at the Sydney outfit's booking conditions would make the reader flinch. I guess that lot hopes new or prospective customers don't know how Tauck really works. On top of that, because FX plays such a large part in the cost of a Tauck trip to non-US customers, I guess they hope you don't inquire too closely about the timing, rates ... indeed which rate ... they use. And of course, they charge more for the same trip than Tauck does.

So if nothing else might make me want to explore the mind of a ten year old computer geek and the ins and outs of VPNs pr whatever they are really called, the thought of being forced to spend my hard earned with that bunch will certainly do it!

As for Santa ..... I do believe he does! And when he is in our part of the world he can still be seen on the NORAD tracking system. Isn't that great! When geo-tech stuff works for you, not against you!!

Thanks as ever for your thoughtful and very useful computer advice,

Cheers,

Jan

Note: It may not be called a VPN ... although that sounds better than a "computer spell that makes you geographically invisible"!

AlanS

I suppose the only way to avoid that local outfit, is to get up in the middle of the night for a call to Norwalk, CT (USA) to make reservation and pay via CC with HQ. It you can get to the Tauck website you could also pay online and likely get the best FX.

I thought it was interesting when I booked our K&T tour flights with Ethiopian Airlines via their website, the credit card transaction was handled by an outfit in Iowa.

ndvb

Alan, Santa thought about coming from the South Pole, but the damned penguin union wouldn't allow them to fly. (Something about messing up their tuxes and messing up the "turtle" formation in the cold.) However, he convinced the caribou union to let them work on Christmas day and fly, hence the operation was centered at the North Pole. I think he paid them triple-time and gave them a mileage stipend.

jdurkin

That's what I plan on doing, Alan, as long as I don't lose the contact details ... which aren't so readily available these days.

And yes, you would think that using your CC for payment would give you the published rate for that day as used by your CC company (which is publicly accessible), but this does not appear to be the case if you book a Tauck trip though a travel agent in Australia. Since it appears, from a careful reading of the Sydney general agent's booking conditions, the normal procedure for using a CC to pay a foreign currency amount is not applied ... in that you are paying in A$, pre-converted at "a" date and at an undefined "rate". Strangely, deposits follow another processes, where ..."an indicative rate of exchange" is used. That's a new one! I wonder what that means! The final invoice requires payment earlier than a Tauck direct booking. You have to wonder why in this day and age! I guess they need extra time to count and sort out what pennies belong to whom. When the invoice is presented, it includes the Sydney agent's non-refunduble surcharge, currently listed at A$110 for every person travelling. This surcharge is applied for every booking, whether or not that booking proceeds to actual travel. If you cancel, even with Tauck's insurance product, that local surcharge stands.

The final invoice is passed on for payment ... either to the Sydney agent's direct customers or on to other travel agent's clients. The client might well pay his bill by CC, perhaps with the often-applied CC surcharges that Australian merchants often apply. By that time I wonder if the client knows just how many fingers have been nicking plums from his special travel pie.

Is it any wonder I don't wish to go down the path of third hand customer service (I use the term loosely in this context!). The bottom line of the invoice, whatever a person's individual means, is what counts. You want to know that the banana you thought you were buying is the one that turns up in your bag, not a smaller banana with a couple of sour grapes stuck to the skin. I've had my share of sour grapes before I discovered how to avoid them. You only have to read these Forums to see new situations ... and these are only the people who find us and are motivated enough by Tauck's excellent product to seek a solution.

We do have laws in Australia regarding restrictive trade practices. It's a murky area. Probably very lucrative for the legal profession! They do have their family, European Christmas trips to pay for, after all. Poor souls. ))

Cheers,

Jan

jdurkin

ndvb wrote:

Alan, Santa thought about coming from the South Pole, but the damned penguin union wouldn't allow them to fly. (Something about messing up their tuxes and messing up the "turtle" formation in the cold.) However, he convinced the caribou union to let them work on Christmas day and fly, hence the operation was centered at the North Pole. I think he paid them triple-time and gave them a mileage stipend.

He, he,he,he! Santa definitely has his ways of making things work!
And you just wait till you see the cute little devils in their tuxes, ndvb! You will be besotted.

cantraveller

The system has been acting up in Canada since the US Thanksgiving. We even get the message the security certificate is not up to date. This seems to happen every holiday but the last time is the worst.
Gary

jdurkin

Given the timing of the last set of "outages" I wondered if the Tauck tech people were using that long weekend to do their "important tech stuff". But at least in my part of the world, the gremlins had been at work intermittently from at least the end of October ..... I think.

AlanS

On a number of occasions last month, I can recall waiting forever, watching the little dots go 'round and 'round, and 'round, before finally giving up without ever getting connected to the forums!

Jan, I hope Santa doesn't book his travel with you know who!

ndvb

I had the same problem with the website, but I am getting dizzy reading the round and round and round and round....THUMP.....Ooops, I fell down, but I could get up.

jdurkin

Oh yes, those b***** dots. I couldn't work out if they were following the appropriate direction for the southern hemisphere. That's what been sending me cross-eyed. And I thought I must have been too generous with the G & mean with the T .................

jdurkin

AlanS wrote:

Jan, I hope Santa doesn't book his travel with you know who!

Absolutely! The venerable chap would never be able to count on the included airport/train transfers to his sleigh or appropriate back to back discounts or even getting his marching orders delivered to the right address ... in time! What a tragedy that would be for all the good little kiddies of the world! Shades of "How the Grinch stole Tauck .... er, Christmas".