FAQs
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I thoroughly enjoy traveling myself, and have had some great tours and very poorly guided tours. New York is home and I love it and want it to be seen as it really is. Being a licensed social studies teacher, I was naturally drawn to the history and architecture of NY. And seeing people snap pictures of buildings and wonder out loud what the building is, or what purpose it served, well, it was also natural to want to teach and broaden the perspectives of visitors (and many native New Yorkers as well!).
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Ask questions, and more questions. Contact more than one guide. If you want a specialty tour, see if that person can provide details as to what they will offer you, and then find out what a different guide says. Make sure the person you are looking to hire is willing to accommodate your needs (keeping in mind schedules that have already been set-up).
- What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
Many tour guides in NYC, will come up with information that is untrue or exaggerated. While I understand the need to be entertaining and not just one long history lesson, the guides sometimes invent on the fly. NYC has enough truly amazing facts that stand on their own, it doesn't need false ooh-saw moments. For example: I recently heard a tour guide tell a group that 1100 people died while building the Empire State building. And of course, those hearing this figure were shocked at the loss of life. The official number of workers killed is 5. Buyer beware!