This review is for management. I wish I had gotten the manager's name, but it was the girl with the red hair.
I go to this Chuck E. Cheese location pretty often since I have a membership (1-4 times a month). I consider myself a low-impact customer--I keep to myself, and NEVER complain. My son's favorite part of visiting is the birthday show, which is exactly why we decided to host his 3rd birthday party here.
Unfortunately, the service during the party was not great.
I am fully aware that I chose the cheapest birthday package, but I still expected a basic level of customer service. The party was supposed to start at 5:30 PM and started a little late. I arrived at 5:00 PM to make sure everything would be ready as guests arrived, but the food didn't come out until around 6:45 PM, almost two hours later. I understand it was a large order, but it was frustrating seeing other parties, including one that arrived after us, receive their food first. To make matters worse, about one-third of our party ended up getting sick afterward.
When it came time for the birthday show, which again is the main reason we booked the party, we were told it was not working. I understand that technical issues happen, but I asked what the solution would be since that is what we paid for. I suggested alternatives like playing the song on YouTube, using a speaker, singing, or even waiting until it started working. The manager refused all options, saying they could not accommodate us because they had other parties going on after ours. This didn't make sense considering our party ended at 7:30 PM, and we ended up staying until 9:30 PM, and there were no other parties during that time.
The manager repeatedly avoided speaking to me directly and instead kept sending an employee back and forth to communicate with me, which was unprofessional and put that employee in an uncomfortable position.
When I finally spoke with the manager, she mentioned a refund, but made a point to say in front of people that Klarna was used for the payment, so there could be no refund. She repeated this multiple times, which felt like she was trying to embarrass me, suggesting that because I used it there could be no refund. I have used Klarna at many establishments before, and refunds are handled the same way as cash, credit, or debit transactions. I explained that I had spent around 600 dollars on my debit card (since klarna was an issue with her) that same day and asked for some kind of solution, either a partial refund or even something small like letting some of the kids use the jumper area to make up for the situation. She refused.
She then mentioned the issue might be fixed by resetting the system, so I said "Do it", but then said they could not reset it because it would inconvenience other customers. At that point, I asked if what she was saying was that my time and money were not important, and her exact words were, "yeah, pretty much," followed by laughter. The entire interaction was frustrating and unprofessional. I truly wish I had recorded it.
Bottom line, I was not even asking for money back; I just wanted a solution.
They advertise their birthday parties as including:
2 hours of unlimited gameplay
The birthday show
Birthday ticket blaster experience
Upgraded prizes for the whole party
Food package
However, the manager told me I should not have expected the birthday show because it is "not required," which is completely misleading.
If you are going for a casual visit, it might be fine. But if you are planning a birthday party or special event, I would strongly recommend going elsewhere. This experience was not worth the time or money. read more