I cannot emphasize enough how utterly disappointing and frustrating my experience with this tour provider was. I had paid a whopping $110 for a weekend tour of Old Montreal in Italian for two people (my friend and me). Our guide, Heidy, not only failed to speak Italian but was shockingly unprepared for the Old Montreal tour. She explained that she had been informed of our booking only 24 hours in advance and hadn't visited the center of Montreal in a decade (she ignored the fact that we were paying customers and not friends who she was giving a favor to). Knowing that Lokafy provides non-professional guides, I didn't set high expectations, but this experience was beyond abysmal and bordering on the comical.
First and foremost, Heidy seemed to rely on us to dictate where we wanted to go, which is entirely the opposite of what a guide should do. She had little to no knowledge of Montreal's history and resorted to reading bilingual English-French plaques beneath statues (which were poorly translated, and I could read them more accurately in English). Frustrated by her incompetence, I found myself leading the tour using GPS because she was completely disoriented and appeared to be navigating Montreal for the first time. For instance, she confused Bonsecours Market with City Hall, even though they are on opposite sides of the street, and she was searching for the entrance under City Hall.
To make matters worse, Heidy was rude and arrogant, repeatedly inquiring about the time and whether I had booked for two people, insisting that she hadn't received the full payment and demanding a receipt from me (instead of addressing Lokafy directly). She was slow and confused to the point that she even asked me if I were a Lokafy guide and if I was the one supposed to be leading the tour.
I reached out to the customer service to request a full refund due to this dreadful experience. After providing detailed accounts of this excruciating $110 excursion twice (once through WhatsApp and a 30-minute phone call), they flatly refused to reimburse me, claiming that the service had been provided and offering only a meager 50% voucher. To make matters worse, the agent I spoke with, Gemma, admitted to having personally hired Heidy and assigned her as our guide, adding insult to injury.
I do never write review or complain, but If you are reading this review, I implore you to steer clear of this provider. Erase them from your considerations and avoid them like the plague. I will never book with them again, YOU CAN GIVE YOUR VOUCHER TO YOUR GUIDE HEIDY (maybe she will learn something about Montreal for next time!).