Sightseeing Rides
Operations & Quality Standards Handbook
Operate great rides. Create happy travelers. Earn real revenue.
The standard behind every successful ride
Operations & Quality Standards Handbook for Dispatchers
Read Handbook ↓
Operations & Quality Standards Handbook for Dispatchers
Read Handbook ↓Operate great rides. Create happy travelers. Earn real revenue.
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Your drivers represent our service.
Every guest should feel they are with a friendly local professional — safe, welcomed, and supported.
Required Driver Attributes
Highlights
Basic history for landmarks
Routes & timing tips
All our Rides are private and designed to be fully personalized.
Guests have the freedom to:
Driver's Role: The driver should act as an expert consultant. They must guide guest decisions with time-aware suggestions, but without applying any pressure. For example, if a guest wants to add a stop, the driver should advise on the time implications: "That's a great idea! Just so you know, adding that stop will take about an hour, which means we might have to shorten our time at the next location. Are you comfortable with that?"
Our drivers are positioned as a "knowledgeable local friend," not as licensed tour guides. This distinction is critical for managing guest expectations and complying with local regulations. Drivers should feel comfortable sharing stories, personal insights, and local recommendations to enrich the experience.
✔️ OK: Providing context outside the site (e.g., "From here you can see the Acropolis. I'll drop you at the entrance, and I recommend you start with the Parthenon...").
❌ NOT OK: Entering the Acropolis with the guests and leading a walking tour inside the site.
This is a mandatory quality standard. All drivers must send a WhatsApp message to the guest the day before the ride. This single action significantly reduces no-shows, manages expectations, and starts the ride on a positive, professional note.
The message must:
Unexpected issues, such as sudden stop closures, may occur. A professional driver keeps guests informed, calm, and focused on solutions rather than problems.
Positive reviews are vital for our business. After a successful S-Ride where the guest is clearly happy, drivers are encouraged to politely ask for a review.
This should be done naturally and without any pressure. For example: "I'm so glad you enjoyed your day. If you have a moment later, we would really appreciate it if you could share your experience in a review on the platform where you booked or on TripAdvisor. It really helps us."
The assignment process for Sightseeing Rides is distinct from standard transfers and requires careful attention to detail. All S-Rides are managed through personal driver app profiles, not the central Dispatch Tool used for transfers.
🚫 Do NOT use the Dispatch Tool for assigning or managing Sightseeing Rides. It is used for transfers only.
✅ All S-Rides are managed via Personal Driver App profiles.
Every S-Ride must be assigned in one of two ways:
⚠️ Important: If you are assigning a S-Ride to a specific driver’s account, you are responsible for clearly communicating the correct driver profile details to the Live Ops team to ensure it reaches the right person.
Each city has a dedicated WhatsApp group used for announcing new S-Ride opportunities.
If you (or your driver) are not familiar with a S-Ride itinerary, you must review it in advance.
Where to Check Itineraries:
Why This Matters:
Once a S-Rides scheduled time has passed, it will disappear from the "Schedule" view in the driver app. It will then be processed for payment.
Do not panic. Simply send an email to Sightseeing Rides Support with the following details for investigation:
For any operational help, questions, or to report issues, the central point of contact is the Sightseeing Rides Support team.
📧 Email: drivers@welcomepickups.com
To ensure a fast resolution, always include the following information in your email:
We are continuously working to improve our tools. However, there are some known limitations you should be aware of. Please use the specified workarounds to ensure smooth operations.
| Issue | What You See / Impact | Required Workaround |
|---|---|---|
| Driver cost visible for company drivers | When a S-Ride is assigned directly to a company driver's personal profile, the "Driver Cost" (the full value of the ride) may be visible to them in their app. This can cause confusion regarding their actual payout. | To prevent this, assign the S-Ride to the dispatcher's personal profile instead. Then, communicate the S-Ride details (guest name, pickup, etc.) and the driver's contact information to the company driver manually (e.g., via WhatsApp or phone call). |
| Manual payments not visible in Dispatch Tool | If a payment is processed manually by our support team (e.g., for a S-Ride extension), it will not appear in the Dispatch Tool's payment records. The only record you will have is the payment confirmation email sent to you. | You must use the payment confirmation email as the official record for these transactions. Track and reconcile these payments based on the emails you receive from the finance or support team. |