Terms Of Service

This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions between Russian Guide Network, Inc. and our customers (You) who hire our service. It explains how our service works and specifically limits our liability.

 

You must read this Agreement prior to hiring our service. Engagement of our service constitutes your agreement to all terms and conditions in this Agreement and you warrant that you understand, are in agreement with, and accept all terms and conditions described below.

 

1. General. Russian Guide Network, Inc. provides private tour guide and concierge services to foreign visitors in the Saint Petersburg, Russia area. Most of our guides have university degrees in linguistics and all have various guide licenses for assorted palaces and museums, which they obtained at high cost and with large effort. We use professional guides.

Evening guides may not have all of these credentials, but are carefully chosen for their language capabilities, knowledge, experience and mannerisms.

 

We sometimes procure various types of entry passes and tickets in advance of a customer’s arrival. These purchases must always be paid for by the customer in advance. Service fees are required to cover the cost of sending this money to Russia along with reasonable compensation for the representative who takes the time and effort to acquire these items on your behalf.

 

We also sometimes arrange drivers for those that wish to enjoy the comfort and convenience of having a driver standing by. These drivers are independent contractors and are not employees of Russian Guide Network, Inc. We take reasonable precautions to assure that drivers are responsible, professional and experienced. We also require that their vehicles be clean and that drivers do not smoke in their vehicles.

Our company has 2 managers in Saint Petersburg to address any issues that may arise, and we provide our 24 hour emergency number to all customers upon engagement of our service.   

 

Russian Guide Network, Inc., operator of the VisitSaintPetersburg.com website, considers itself an elite provider of private guide services and conducts itself to a high set of standards.

 

2. Engagement of Service. Our dealings are done exclusively through email correspondence. You are invited to email us through this website to begin email discussions about your upcoming visit. Once it is determined how many days you wish to hire a guide for, we will ask you for a partial payment in order to secure your guide reservation.

You may pay the balance due 2 weeks prior to your visit, or if you wish to pay this balance in Russia, you may do so, but only in cash. Any currency you bring to Russia must be in *like new* condition, with no creases, rips, or unoriginal markings. It is best to order new money from your bank a few weeks before your departure. The reason why your currency must be in like-new condition is because worn bills are worth LESS in Russia and may not be exchangeable at all. Those that did not take this seriously wasted hours and hours of their valuable Saint Petersburg time going from one currency exchange booth to another looking for anybody that would trade rubles with them. Your currency MUST BE like new!

 

Any balance must be paid on the first day of your visit.

 

A day of guiding is 8 hours of guide time. Anything beyond 8 hours in one day is charged at our hourly guide rate.

 

Monetary gratuities are customary. If you are satisfied with your guide’s service, it would be good of you to reward them with a bonus.

 

If you want the guide to sit with you while you eat, then you should invite them to dine with you, at your expense. It’s the proper way to treat someone.

 

If you are skipping all meals to save money, you must realize that your guide needs food and drink just like everyone else, and a break will be required during a day of guiding.

 

Our guides are in this profession because they love their city and they love being with people. They are highly trained and deserve to be treated with respect. If you behave inappropriately with your guide, at their discretion they are permitted to abandon their guide assignment with you. In such a situation, there will be no refund of any money paid. We have found these situations to be very rare. As long as you can behave like a normal person, everything will be fine.   

3. Cancellations & Refunds. Our guides greatly rely on their guiding income. When you cancel, especially with little or no warning, it hurts them and their families, along with the customer they turned away in order to serve you.  

Refunds of pre-paid guide services and driver services:

 

22 days or more advance notice                                100% refund
21 to 8 days advance notice                          $100 cancellation fee
7 days to 25 hours notice                              $200 cancellation fee
Less than 24 hours notice                             $300 cancellation fee

Last minute cancellation due to inclement weather is unacceptable. Bad weather happens often in Saint Petersburg, thanks to its location beside the Gulf of Finland. Your guide committed themselves to serving you, and that is what will happen.

 

There are no refunds for the following items purchased in advance on your behalf:

 

- theater performances
- ballet performances
- opera performances
- circus performances
- palace entry
- museum entry
- entry to other attractions
- train tickets
- air tickets
- boat tickets
- dinner cruises

and all other items purchased in advance on your behalf are non-refundable, including any associated service charges.

Pre-paid concierge services are non-refundable, though a partial refund may be possible at the manager’s discretion based upon the amount of service provided.

If a volcano blows in Iceland and your flight is affected... and if you asked us to have a driver waiting for you at the airport, and he waits hours for your plane to show up and it doesn’t show, the driver will be compensated by you for that.

Same thing if you miss your plane for any reason. By hiring us, you agree to compensate us for a last minute cancellation whether it is your fault or not.

You are strongly encouraged to purchase trip insurance AND medical insurance that will cover you in an overseas location. Many health insurance plans do not cover incidents that happen in other countries.

4. Not included in guide fee. When you hire a guide, you get expert assistance in navigating and seeing the city and its attractions. The guide fee does not include your entry costs or the guide’s entry costs. Sometimes a guide can enter a museum or palace for free because it is a part of their licensing benefits. Other times it is not free. You will be responsible for paying or reimbursing any entry or ticket cost the guide encounters while serving you. If you decide to go on a canal cruise, you will buy or reimburse the guide for the cost of their seat on the boat. In the case where the guide pays the cost out of convenience, you agree to settle-up with the guide on these costs, and any additional time of the guide’s, at the conclusion of the day.

It is never acceptable for these costs to be passed along to the next day. Each day you will settle up with your guide for any additional costs or guide time used.

The guide does not drive. A car is not included in the guide fee. This is an additional cost item.

5. Driver services.You may wish to have a private driver to take you to the popular suburban attractions, such as the summer palace in Peterhof or Catherine Palace in Pushkin. We can arrange an independent contractor driver for you. It is the standard practice of independent drivers in Saint Petersburg to add one additional hour of driver time to the bill for the delivery of the vehicle. So if you have a driver for 4 hours, the bill will be for 5 hours. This is customary.

While you are inside a park or palace or museum or wherever, the “meter” continues to run when you hire a private driver. Just because you are not in the car means the meter stops. No. The driver is reserved for you. He or she cannot drive anyone else because they are standing ready to be at your service. The meter runs from the moment the driver is in place on time to meet you at the beginning of the day until you are dropped off at the end of the day. If you order a driver to pick you up at 9:30am and he is there, but you are 30 minutes late, you get charged from 9:30 at whatever the driver’s hourly rate is.

The bill for your driver services is settled at the end of each day, in cash.

6.Travel essentials. Set up an account apart from your main checking or savings account, at the same bank. Get a debit card for the new account. Tell them you will be using it in Russia and make sure they enter this notation into their system. Put enough money that you feel comfortable with in that account. You will be able to withdraw money in rubles and sometimes in dollars at cash machines in Saint Petersburg. Your guide can help you to find a bank machine that is known to be reputable. If you run low of funds in that account, your guide can help you to find an internet connection that will allow you to transfer some funds from your “mother account” into your foreign travel account. By not using your mother account for withdrawals at ATM machines, you lower the risk of theft from your main account.

Travelers checks are not recommended because few places accept them in Russia, and they will require time and effort to cash, along with a fee from whoever cashes it.

Do not count on an ATM card to get money. Bring enough cash with you. There could easily be a problem with your bank freezing your account for an attempted withdrawal inside Russia.

Do not drink or brush your teeth with Saint Petersburg tap water. Use bottled water only. It is widely available. Your guide can help you to purchase it. If you drink tap water, it can ruin your vacation.

You are responsible for getting your own Russian visa. Make sure your passport will be good for at least 6 additional months beyond your stay in Russia. If not, take steps to renew your passport before applying for your Russian visa.

7. Acceptance of risk. Your use of our services and the services we arrange for you are at your own risk. Your guide will do his or her best to steer you away from trouble and watch over you, but if you sustain any injuries while you are in Russia, even if you are with your guide, you agree that we are not liable in any way.

How you can get hurt in Saint Petersburg:

Crossing the street. Pedestrians are not presumed to have the right of way in Russia. If you get hit by a car, that driver will consider it to be all your fault for getting in his way! This is the mentality of some Russian drivers. You must exercise extreme caution when crossing any street in Russia. Do not assume that they will see you and stop in time.

Russian drivers are reckless. We select independent drivers who we believe are suitable. But this does not mean another driver will not crash into them. If you are in a car accident with a driver we arranged for you, you agree that we will not be held liable in any way. If you desire recompense, you agree that you will pursue the matter with the driver, his insurance company, or the other driver and his insurance company, and not us. If you do not agree with this, then do not hire our service.

Walking down a sidewalk. There may be objects sticking out of the sidewalk that a person could easily trip over. You must watch your step. If you are visiting Saint Petersburg during a cold time, you must exercise great care when walking on a sidewalk, as icicles from above may fall on you. Do not walk close to buildings when icicles are present. Many people in Saint Petersburg are seriously injured and even killed by falling icicles. Also if visiting in winter, few businesses clear their sidewalks of ice and snow. Even the most athletic individual can slip and fall at any time on a slippery Saint Petersburg street or sidewalk.

Additionally, it is not uncommon for purse snatching or pick-pocketing to happen. Saint Petersburg is a big city and it happens, even right outside of the fanciest hotels. You could be mugged.

You should not walk with a wallet in your back pocket. Expect that there are people around you looking for an easy target. Your guide knows where pick-pockets like to work, but we cannot guarantee you will not become a victim.

If you are NOT Caucasian (white) you are at heightened risk for a street attack. Young men known as “skin heads” with nationalists attitudes have been known to beat and even stab non-white foreigners, especially students. It’s not common, but it can happen.

Most of our guides are women. They cannot be expected to defend you in a street attack.     

If you take a train to Moscow, you could robbed on the train. We have heard of people being gassed while asleep on overnight sleeper trains so that money could be removed from them without a struggle.

Russia has an on-going terrorism problem. Recently two “black widows” blew themselves up at Moscow metro stations. This could happen in Saint Petersburg. In another incident, a high-speed train from Moscow to Saint Petersburg was blown off the tracks with a detonation device and people were killed. A similar attack could occur in Saint Petersburg during your visit.

Any assembly of people involving dissent in Russia is highly risky. You should avoid and walk away from any march or demonstration, because who knows what could happen? In the past, police have used a heavy hand to quell such disturbances. Any such gathering is nothing but trouble and should be avoided.

Advanced medical care may not be readily available in the Saint Petersburg area. If you experience a medical emergency while in Russia, the care you will receive will likely not be similar to what you would expect while in a “western” country. There are western-owned medical clinics in Saint Petersburg, but these facilities may still lack the capabilities to skillfully contend with your situation. You might need medical evacuation to Helsinki, which would be extremely expensive.

These are some of the risk factors involved with visiting Saint Petersburg. You agree that when you hire our service, we will not be liable in any way if you get hurt while in Saint Petersburg or anywhere in Russia.

You voluntarily assume all risk and hereby forever release Russian Guide Network, Inc., it’s officers, shareholders/owners, affiliates, employees, agents, successors, assigns, directors from any and all claims and causes of action arising from any damages or injuries or death resulting from your trip to Russia.

8. Submissions. If you submit comments, suggestions, ideas, testimonials, feedback, enhancement requests, recommendations, or other information or materials to Russian Guide Network, Inc., whatever you submit will become and remain in perpetuity the exclusive property of Russian Guide Network, Inc.

By submitting any information or materials to Russian Guide Network, Inc., you acknowledge and warrant that you have the right to, and are relinquishing any proprietary rights in any submission to Russian Guide Network, Inc. and you acknowledge Russian Guide Network, Inc.’s unrestricted right to use any submitted material or information in any way, forever, without notice or compensation or any other obligation to you or any other person or entity. In addition, you acknowledge and agree that Russian Guide Network, Inc. is under no obligation to keep any submission of information or material confidential with the exception being personal and customer information. Please refer to our privacy policy for clarification about how we deal with personal and customer information.

 

9. Limitation of liability. Under no circumstances will Russian Guide Network, Inc., its officers, shareholders/owners, employees, agents, affiliates, licensors, successors or assigns, be liable to you for any direct or indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages arising out of this Agreement and/or the services rendered by or through Russian Guide Network, Inc. You expressly agree that use of any Russian Guide Network, Inc. services are solely at your own risk.

 

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS", "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. RUSSIAN GUIDE NETWORK, INC., ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, SHAREHOLDERS/OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS AND LICENSORS, DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENTNESS, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE, OR THE SERVICE ITSELF. NEITHER RUSSIAN GUIDE NETWORK, INC. NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, SHAREHOLDERS/OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS OR LICENSORS, SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE SERVICE USER OR ANYONE ELSE FOR ANY LOSS OR INJURY CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ITS NEGLIGENCE OR CONTINGENCIES BEYOND ITS CONTROL IN DELIVERING THE SERVICE AND ANY INFORMATION THROUGH THE SERVICE. IN NO EVENT WILL RUSSIAN GUIDE NETWORK, INC, ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, SHAREHOLDERS/OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FOR ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN BY THE YOU IN RELIANCE ON SUCH INFORMATION, OR FOR DIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE SERVICE USER AGREES THAT THE LIABILITY OF RUSSIAN GUIDE NETWORK, INC., ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, SHAREHOLDERS/OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS AND LICENSORS, IF ANY, ARISING OUT OF ANY KIND OF LEGAL CLAIM (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE), IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE SERVICE OR THE INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE, SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED ($100.00) U.S. DOLLARS.

10. Indemnity. You agree to indemnify and hold Russian Guide Network, Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, shareholders/owners, employees, agents, partners, licensors, successors and assigns harmless from ANY loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorney’s fees, made by any party due to or arising out of your use of our services.

11. Court of venue.This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, without regard to its principles on conflicts of laws, and the federal law of the United States of America. Any dispute between Russian Guide Network, Inc. and you relating to this Agreement and services provided by/through us shall first be attempted to be reasonably resolved between the parties. If a dispute cannot be resolved by the parties, you agree that the dispute will ONLY be resolved in the courts of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA within 5 months (150 days) after the dispute arose. Otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred. No other court shall have jurisdiction. 

12. Third party notification. If you are arranging travel for others, you agree to convey the entire content of these terms and conditions to those participants. If they do not agree to these terms and conditions, then do not use our services.

13. Severability. If any part of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

 

14. These Terms of Service, as presently in effect, and as modified from time to time, constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and govern your use of the Service. It supersedes and replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter (including, but not limited to, prior versions of the Terms of Service).

 

You understand and agree that this Agreement and any notices given pursuant to this Agreement are enforceable in electronic format.

 

IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THIS SERVICE.

 

Effective: April 30, 2010