The customer is always right? You must have us confused with someone who cares!
First off, we were really excited about this place going in. The location is ideal, on a well-trafficked road close to Ann Arbor, & it IS decorated so that it's fun for kids. Our party was scheduled from 1-3 PM at a cost of $15.50/child (8 child min.,15% gratuity automatically added), which is almost 3x as much as the "walk-in" price of $7/child for those who don't have space reserved (we had 7 kids total show up, so it would have been $49 vs. $142.60). A little pricey, but OK.
However, things quickly went south. The power went out about 10 min. after we got there and stayed out til our party time was almost over. OK, it happens. What was really frustrating was the response of "management".
Food:
Our party package included 1 pizza for 8 kids (1 slice per child!), along w/ pink lemonade. No food for the adults, only the option to order from the menu. When the pizza ran out, we asked if their ovens were still running so we could order more. We were told they order their pizza from Thompson's Pizzeria down the street, and we would be unable to get more. If we DID want any, we should have ordered before the party started. Huh?! Since THEY order their pizzas from Thompson's, could WE order from them & bring it back, given the circumstances? Nope. "Can't have any outside food brought in", which made me think, "but that's what YOU do! I order pizza from you, you call a place down the street, then charge me extra for driving to get it! And I can't just pick it up myself given the outage?" Our inquiries were met with a puzzled look from our party host.
Okay, so no pizza. Maybe a warm bagel, cool salad, a popsicle?! No, nuh-uh and nope. Bagel toasters were down, and coolers/freezers couldn't be opened cuz it would have let the cold air out, spoiling any food in them.
So..no more pizza, no bagels, no popsicles, no salads, no sandwiches. Overpriced Goldfish crackers anyone? Anyone?
Atmosphere:
Once the power went out, management promptly closed the place to the public. But nothing was said to the people that were already there. The manager (also the OWNER) never once came by to ask how things were going. What's more, the garage door was open and couldn't close (power outage!) and it was freezing (about 40 degrees out and we were right by the entrance). It was very dark inside the play area, almost completely so in many places. Kids were using their parents' phones as flashlights when they had to pee! At one point, my wife told the manager "well, this is very frustrating", to which she replied, "YOU'RE frustrated?". Yes, lady, we, the paying customers, whose daughter's party is being ruined by having to play in a cold, dark jungle gym where she, her friends & their parents are told that they can't order ANY food or bring any food in..yes, WE'RE frustrated. The owner promptly went back to doing what she was doing and ignoring everyone. She closed the place to the public, but still "locked in" her profits by not canceling the parties that were already there or even ADJUSTING the bill. When we brought it up, she just kept saying it was no one's fault. Yes, we realize the outage is NOT your fault, but the overall experience was ruined because of it and you can't give us an adjustment? Again, no. Not ONE PENNY was taken off our bill. We paid the same price as anyone else whose kids got to play in a warm, well-lit place with a full-functioning kitchen.
Customer Service:
When we asked about an adjustment, she became agitated & began to ARGUE with my wife & her friends, reiterating it was not her fault. I've been at restaurants where they've comped my ENTIRE BILL without me saying a thing because of a long wait, but this lady couldn't comp us ONE CENT for our troubles?! Puh-lease. DISGRACEFUL! But she did point out that SHE knows how to run a business, since she has THIS store in Chelsea & 1 in Chicago..which we pointed out has nothing to do with THIS situation. As the conversation got heated, the owner called upon her teenage employees to SURROUND us as "witnesses" & during the chaos, she had our party host run our credit card for the FULL AMOUNT of the party + the 15% gratuity! THEY joined in the argument as well, with 1 yelling "this is a good business! WE made over a MILLION dollars last year!" No, kid, your $8/hr probably netted you ten grand last year. Your miserable, penny-pinching boss made over $1 million last year. Unreal! Only in America can you have such $h!ttY customer service and still be considered a successful business owner. In most any other country, my people would no doubt have met such blatant disrespect by returning with an angry mob to beat some sense into the owner and burn the place to the ground! That'll dent your million dollar annual sales figures, eh?
Summary:
She could have made lifetime customers out of us, but instead decided to be a cheap, irate, tyrannical little business owner, and WE WILL NEVER GO BACK! read more