How to choose a Walking Tour in Salem?
You searched on the internet for walking tours in Salem and you’re overwhelmed with all the tours and ads that have filled the page. There’s soooo many! How do you choose one?
The first step in picking a tour is DECIDING WHAT TYPE OF TOUR you want before you search. The Salem Witchcraft Trials are usually at the top of that list. Everyone who comes to Salem wants to learn about the 1692 trials that led to the execution of accused witches.
But there’s also ghost tours, history tours, maritime tours, murder tours, pirate tours, Hocus Pocus tours, Vampire Tours, etc…
All of these tours can be radically different. One company’s witchcraft tour is different than another. For example, one company’s witchcraft tour might just discuss the history about what happened in 1692 where as another company’s witchcraft tour might discuss spells, potions and the practice of witchcraft. If you want history but pick a tour about spells, potions and the practice of witchcraft, you will be disappointed. It might still be good, but it’s not what you wanted.
The answer to this is to READ THE TOUR DESCRIPTION. And go to that tour’s home page instead of a third party. Go to the source so you know exactly what you are getting into.
Some of the ghost tours out there have nothing to do with Salem. They are fun stories, but you will be disappointed if you wanted more Salem information. Some ghost tours talk about murders and paranormal activity that happened elsewhere and not Salem.
Again, read the description.
If you want to know about the 1692 Witchcraft Trials, some of the ghost tours may not get into that at all or will scratch the surface of that topic.
Some of the tours that go out at night might do a combination of witchcraft history, ghost stories and other interesting tidbits of Salem history. That’s a solid tour, but if you want just witchcraft history, you won’t get enough of what you want. If you want ghost stories, you may get more witchcraft instead.
If you went to some of the witch museums in the city, you will get repeat on a witchcraft history tour. Maybe you want to take a ghost tour that focuses just on ghosts.
The answer to all of this is to read the description from the source.
This leads to our second step which is BE LEARY OF REVIEWS.
Reviews are fickle bits of information. If someone took a tour expecting one topic but got another, they leave a bad review. And that’s not the company’s fault if the guest didn’t read the description.
Most people only leave bad reviews. And those reasons could vary. Bad service, too much walking, not enough walking, too hot, too cold, etc… Sometimes a reviewer’s expectations can be very high and nothing can meet them. Or, some reviewers have had something happen to put them in a bad mood so nothing can satisfy them. A big issue in Salem that contributes to negative reviews is traffic to get here and the parking once you do arrive. People can be really frustrated; no tour is going to satisfy them.
The first thing to determine is if the tour is by a sole proprietor or a company. A sole proprietor can get a higher number of five-star reviews because they have strong quality control over the tour. A company with a dozen people or more does not have as strong quality control.
One of the biggest issues to watch for are companies that don’t have a bell curve distribution of reviews. In this day and age, it is very hard to please everyone so a company that doesn’t have a bell curve distribution of reviews could be doing one of three things:
1) They are buying reviews
2) They are writing the reviews themselves
3) They are getting rid of their bad reviews.
How can you tell? Reviewers who have only contributed one review in their lifetime is the first key. They say how they have taken so many tours and this one was the best, yet they were never inspired to leave a review for all the other tours they took in the past. This is a major red flag.
Give more credence to someone who has left 5-10 reviews or more. They can be a much better gauge. But check their other reviews because if they are all positive reviews they are an angel. And if they are all negative then they are a devil. There should be that bell curve distribution otherwise it is an anomaly to be questioned.
Another issue to watch for are negative reviews. Some are legit, but many are written by competitors. It sounds horrible, but it is true unfortunately. Competitors will either write negative reviews on the competition or will hire companies to write negative reviews. There are companies out there that write negative reviews and positive reviews and/or scrub the internet of negative reviews/press for their client.
Watch out for negative reviews that sound the same. It is likely written by the same person. And they will appear after a series of good reviews. This is likely a company hired to attack a competitor for their client.
There was a third-party company years ago that started writing bad reviews on a restaurant in California that refused to advertise with them. It was incredibly obvious. The restaurant then asked their guests to write horrible reviews about the most silly and inane issues, ranging from not enough salt in the salt shaker or that the plates were square instead of round. The bad reviews from the third-party company were drowned out and not believed like all the other reviews.
The internet is a hodgepodge of misinformation when it comes to reviews whether it is for tours, restaurants and other types of businesses.
So what reviews are you to believe? Take them with a grain of salt. Use them like a police informant. You can get some leads from them, but vet the information and make sure it’s in line with what you want.
Filter out all the noise. Don’t let other people make up your mind for you good or bad. Make your own decision based on source information.
Know what you want for a tour.
Read the description of all the tours.
Take the tour you want!