Have you ever had that experience where you feel that the actual people taking care of the clients day to day are the reason it keeps going even despite the management or leader of a company? That is how I'd sum up my experience with Jannie Otto Safaris. The times interacting with anyone other than Jannie were good to very good, but anything with Jannie himself was just dealing with his poor communication, refusal to acknowledge problems or his mistakes, and frequently him attempting to blame me for things he did wrong with bookings or arrangements.
Short Summary:
- Jannie was very high pressure to add on days/animals/activities. I’ve done two auction hunts before and fully expected to add on to it, but Jannie started off high pressure from the start and kept it up.
- All of Jannie’s offered side trips, not just trophy fees, were way over priced. Some were double cost of direct booking.
- Jannie’s communication was very poor. I had to be very crisp in detailing what was wrong with the itinerary (“your itinerary notes the 18th for arrival but we actually arrive on the 21st”) and even with that it took multiple repeated communications to get resolved.
- Jannie made several mistakes in booking lodging for us, though he had promised it would all be smoother and easier than doing ourselves. Everything he booked cost more than direct booking and was not at the quality/amenity level promised. In one case, the hotel wasn’t even confirmed even though he stated it was.
- Once he was paid our last night at Sandy Mount, and before our trip to Victoria Falls, he stopped responding to the issues I encountered with his booked arrangement the rest of the trip.
- I was forced to file a credit card dispute due to not receiving what was paid for and Jannie not replying to my multiple attempts to reach a resolution.
