Watu Safaris (T)

Unprofessional

Dissapointed
Unprofessionalism and disappointment guaranteed.
My family and I experienced a nightmare with Watu Safaris managed by this man called Mr. Majenda. What was supposed to be a relaxing and memorable getaway with my two year old son and husband turned into a horrible cascade of unpredictable and disappointing events.
Before the trip:
Mr. Majenda and I were in good communication and he seemed quite courteous and civil. We arranged the trip for July 19th and 20th. We were to be picked up from Dar-es-salaam at 5:30 am and be driven to Mikumi to spend the day, sleep in the premises and continue our safari the next morning. Two days before the safari, I emailed Mr. Majenda to make sure if all plans were in order and he assured me like the professional I thought he was that all is well. He told me that my driver would contact me to make arrangements. I didn't hear from the driver so I contacted him the night before the trip. The driver had no idea about the trip. He told that he thought it was for the 29th and not the 19th. Mind you, Mr. Majenda had prepared my invoice with the correct dates and all emails had the dates of the safari as subject. So the driver then asked me to wait so he can clarify with his boss Mr. Majenda. They somehow managed to hire another driver from a different company right around midnight. I was notified by text about this new driver situation.
Day of the trip:
We woke up early to prepare and were ready by 5am. Time of pick up arrives and no show. So I call the new driver. He picks up the phone, surprise! I had just woken him up. He told me he was not briefed about the pick up time and that he was on his way. I honestly think this guy was innocent in all this.
So we get around 6:15am and head out. We arrive at Morogoro and meet Mr. Majenda at Watu Safaris offices to complete our payment. He says sorry without any explanation and proceeds to deduct the payment. We head to Mikumi. At this point, I am already very dissatisfied and honestly feeling let down. What else could go wrong?
At Mikumi park:
We arrive at the gate, present our IDs and ask for our booking for lodging that night. Guess what? None of that exists! After almost an hour of calls, no success as to where we were going to spend the night. Our entrance fees were supposed to be covered in our safari package but we ended up paying out of pocket to get into the park. At this point, I was expecting at least a call from Mr. Majenda but nothing. Two hours later, I decide to call him. I was very furious. He gave me a half type of apology and blamed it on his driver for mixing up the dates. I told him to own up for God's sake! He said that they had booked us at a hotel nearby to spend the night and that "it was more expensive than the lodges" that we were originally supposed to stay in. I was so disgusted. If I wasn't pregnant and also with a 2 year old, we would have driven back home the same day. We ended up staying at that hotel and completed the trip next morning.
We did not get a personal apology from Mr. Majenda, nor did he call us to make sure we were okay. He didn't care about us after getting his money. The only thing he did was pay for the hotel bill including all meals and offered to reimburse us our entrance fee. I understand that some things can go wrong when planning a trip but in our case, all things went wrong and for this reason and the way he handled things, I do not consider Mr. Majenda a professional.