'AITA for not waking up a tourist who overslept and missed the day trip she paid for?'

"AITA for not waking up a tourist who overslept and missed the day trip she paid for?"

Hi guys! I’m (21f) a Bulgarian tour guide who accompanies groups to Sicily. On a recent trip, one woman who was traveling alone (mid-30s) was consistently oversleeping. The first day after we arrived, we had a day trip to Etna and Taormina, for which we depart at at 8 am, as we do all other day tours.

I make sure that all tourists are informed of the departure times on the bus the day before and they also have my number to call in case they forget so I can remind them. They also all have printed out pamphlets with the schedule made by the travel agency that I hand out that has the time for departure on it. All of the group was on time, except one woman.

She was late by 10 minutes, which, okay, maybe she got caught up in something and was late. I excused it, then mentioned to the whole bus in the mic that I do not tolerate lateness beyond 15 minutes at most in case of emergency like a forgotten possession, and that I must ALWAYS be called and informed in case someone is running late. Trip went by okay otherwise.

The next day this same tourist was late again, by TWENTY FIVE minutes. Almost an entire half hour. I called her twice to no answer and we were just about to leave without her when she came out running and got on the bus (she got lucky, as the receptionist of the hotel asked me about a missing piece of info on the rooming list and earned her some time).

I reminded everyone AGAIN that I will not be waiting anymore for late tourists in the morning, and waking up on time is their responsibility. When we came back that evening, she asked me if I could 'make sure to wake her up on time'.

I reminded her a THIRD time that I’m not responsible for waking people up. Everyone gets a printed itinerary with departure times, and I announce everything the day before. She kept saying, "No, no, just knock on my door if I’m not out by 8:15" and I kept repeating "I really can’t do that for everyone, please set an alarm." Well, on the day we were visiting Syracuse, she didn’t show up.

I waited 15 minutes after the supposed departure time, called her twice to no response, then left with the bus and the rest of the group. She called me in a panic about an hour later asking where we were. I explained the situation calmly. She got angry and said that I had one job and that I cheated her out of the money she paid to go on that day trip.

She missed the whole day trip and was furious the next day. Later she told the rest of the group that I abandoned her and also called my agency, leaving a bad review about me. AITA for not personally waking up a grown woman despite warning her multiple times I wouldn't?

The internet had a lot to say in response.

benji950 wrote:

NTA. I've taken a few overseas, organized trips and I can't even begin to tell you the amount of rage that all of the other people get when we're forced to sit and wait for someone who overslept or couldn't get to a meeting place on time.

Selfish, entitled, narcissistic AHs who think no one else's time matters and that the world is just going wait for them...get bent, clowns. I don't expect military punctuation punctuality (LOL) but when the tour bus leaves at 8 am, you're there by 7:55 am.

Having to wait for the same selfish clowns every time gets old fast, and that then reflects on the tour company for catering to them instead of the people who are arriving on time.

BeneathAnOrangeSky wrote:

NTA...how was she not embarrassed after Day 1? Repeated behavior like that truly shows you do not care about anyone but yourself. Also, she took AN HOUR to call you. So not only was she late. she was getting later each day! That's outrageous behavior.

_philia_ wrote:

NTA. If you were a cruise ship operator her lack of being able to be on time would cause her to be left behind at a port. Watch YouTube videos of cruise passengers "who are special" and think they can hold up the entire group. They get left.

As long as you can document her late antics with your tour agency, you should be fine. Also have them add language in their contracts about being late and it's not the tour operator and guide's responsibility to wake people up and ensure they are on time.

NHFNCFRE wrote:

Anyone notice that the tardy tourist was asking OP to knock on her door 15 minutes after the scheduled departure time? Which would mean, if they were still asleep, even longer waiting time.

NTA.

glendacc37 wrote:

I'm an avid traveler. I'd be ANGRY to sit on the bus every morning waiting on someone who is chronically late. Time is money, and she'd be wasting mine. If she's worried about hers, she needs to set an alarm. If she complained to other guests, I guarantee you they weren't feeling bad for her. NTA.

Snackinpenguin wrote:

This woman could have also requested a wake up call from her hotel.

ElderberryOwn666 wrote:

NTA she has the itinerary and she can set up her own alarms like you told her and also she could ask the receptionists at the hotel to give her a wake up call. Also you mentioned you called her twice on that day.

She has no right to complain and all the other guests need to appreciate that you respected their times, because waiting for her meant that the rest of the group had less time to do the excursions they paid for.

Turbulent_Break_1862 wrote:

If you can reply to her bad review publicly, do so. Reply that she failed to show up on time and called an hour after departure time to inquire about the trip. Mention you warned her, she was late two days in a row and you have zero responsibility for no-shows and clients alarm clocks.