About Tour Guide Hassan E.

“Disappointing ”

I’m giving Hassan only 3 stars because the experience fell very short of expectations. In hindsight, I realize that had I known certain things upfront, I wouldn’t have booked this tour on a Friday. Fridays in Islamic countries are sacred, akin to Shabbat in Judaism, meaning most shops and attractions are closed. It would have been helpful if Hassan had informed us that Friday wasn’t an ideal day for a tour. That said, Hassan was punctual and spoke fluent Portuguese, which was why we hired him. However, the tour quickly took a disappointing turn. Despite stating when I booked, (and reinforcing multiple times) that we DID NOT want to go to any shops (we wanted to only focus on the spiritual and historical heritage of Fes), we were brought into a shop and subjected to a hard-sell approach. Despite Hassan insisting the shop was of “historical” value (which, no doubt it was), it was clear the main aim was for us to buy items, to earn him a commission. When we made it clear we didn’t want to purchase anything, his attitude changed noticeably, becoming cold and distant. And, he continued to bring us to shops, each time the shop owner trying to sell us stuff while Hassan waited outside. The tour, which was supposed to last 5 hours, was cut short to just 3, and he even refused a simple courtesy of having tea with us at the end. He couldn’t get away quick enough as we were of no profit to him (although we were a profit as he gained €60 for a 5-hour tour of which he only provided 3). Overall, the experience felt transactional and not tailored to our interests. For anyone planning to tour Fes, I recommend either self-guided or confirming upfront that your guide won’t be commission-driven. Even better, talk to the owner of your Riad and they will guide you to the best options. This way, you can ensure the tour is genuinely focused on your needs and interests. Having a guide receive commissions for your purchases not only drives their behaviors, but you will pay more.

Hassan E.

(1 reviews)

I am só sad that you felt that way with me yesterday, i tried tô show what the medina offers and being on Friday, it was your choice and not mine. I didn't know that you had more than 1 day in fez. Now, you have been told by the owner of your riad that the guide takes comission. You are in the capital of handicrafts and is my Duty to show you some of the importante crafts, you buy or not, is up to you like i told you many times, but unfortunatelly you already came with the idea, given by the riad, he is famous doing this by the way, to avoid buying things with the guide, but when the guide is given by him, then is totally different. To show you only the historical sites, it would take like half hour, because we can not repeat something we saw already. Now, the tour is 3 hours when the visit is only inside the medina, to visit the palace and the jewish quarter, you would need a car, which you had not. I did my best, I tried to show you what was possible.