ComplaintsforTotsville Playground

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Dec 28th 2022 I paid $15 They don't know their own rules. They told me my 10 year old son couldn't play he had to sit on the bench with the other parents...then I asked for a refund and they told me no. I paid for his two other siblings. So we went in anyway. There was another boy the same height/weight as my son running around. My son asked him he was 10. I was watching my 1 year old climb up to get to a slide and I sat down below to make sure he didn't fall because he already fell twice. The supervisor then yells at me. I told her I wasn't in the ball pit that I was watching my son at that point I was furious so I gathered my kids and left. I asked her if I could speak to a owner she said no. She's a supervisor I said okay what's your name she said I don't give out my name. A owner/manager called me she said there's geoup of owners. She was argumentative, and refused to give me a refund. They deleted all their reviews on ********* and blocked me. I have had severe ex employees message me saying they mess with their pay and hours. Or tell them to do something then get mad because that boss didn't tell them to do that.

  Business response

  01/12/2023

  In response to ******************************:
  Firstly, I would like to apologize for the experience ************** had at TotsVille on December 28th, 2022. I called her around 7pm on the day of the event and offered my apologies. I told her that I wished that this experience hadn't happened for her because we do aim to provide a clean, fun and safe family space for all of our community. As I explained to her, I spoke with my employees who helped her that day and we went through video footage together.
  ************** has a son who was 10 years old at the time of the event. He was given a band that specifically said "Big Kids, over 8 years old" and told that he was older for the playground and that he would not be able to play on his own but can accompany his little sibling, which I expressed to *************** on our phone conversation. This was done by employee 1 before payment and before ************** had to update her waiver to include her youngest child. She still chose to complete the waiver, pay for the two little ones and enter the playground. The eldest child was NOT charged and she was informed that he is not being charged because he is not expected to play on his own could accompany the little ones or have a seat in the eating area where we have coloring papers and games. She asked employee 2, who was the one who rung her up only for the two little ones and told her she was not being charged for the bigger kid, "So he cannot play at all?" Employee 2 replied, "No, he is older for the playground we only go up to 8 years old." There is a sign in the Lobby when you enter, which you can clearly see in the video footage, ************** reading before even approaching the counter. She then turned and said something to the people she was with and then entered the playground. At that time, she did not ask for a refund.
  ************** and her group, which consisted of; 3 adults, 1 big kid and 2 *******, played in the playground for over an hour. She had her smallest child in the ball pit and was helping the child in and around the ballpit and toddler section. According to the cameras, she then sat on one of the landings where her child and other children would pass to slide, in order to be able to help her baby. Then all of a sudden a second person, a guy in a black hoodie, rushed in to where *************** was on the landing, now blocking the whole landing. Employee 2, who was working with other customers, looked over and saw the two adults blocking the pathway and went over and said, "No adults in the ball pit," (we have 2 signs that reiterate that in the ballpit). They didn't hear her so she said again, "Mummy, no adults in the ballpit". This got ****************** attention and she replied "I'm not in the ballpit and my son needs help". Employee 2 replied, "Ok you can get your older son to help him as well". This was verified by employee number 3 who witnessed this conversation and who was our floor employee.
  ************** then got out of the ballpit with the guy in the hoodie and then they gathered their things and started to leave. Before she left she asked for the name of employee 2, who did not feel comfortable giving her the name because by this point ************** was being rude and loud. She took a picture of employee 2 and then asked if she was the owner, she replied "No, I am a supervisor" and then she wanted to speak to the owner. Neither of the owners were present so they told her so. She wanted a number, to which they guided her to the number online. At that point she had not asked for a refund either.
  Instead, she took to social media to give her side of the story and quoted a handout that is older, and was explained to her in my conversation, that this is a pre-covid handout. Regardless, ************** was told and given a band, not charged and read the signs that indicated our current rules, BEFORE entering the playground. In our conversation that night, she asked for a refund for the 2 kids she paid for who played. This was on our Wacky Wednesday where we have reduced pricing and she stayed for a over an hour. I expressed that she did have opportunity to play and no one asked her to leave but gave her a different option of where her 10 year old son can help her baby. ************** acknowledged that she read the sign but wanted us to be more lenient when it came to older kids. I explained that this playground is small and can only comfortably accommodate the age range listed (up to 8 years old) because there are so many options for bigger kids but not that many for the little ones to comfortably play.
  ************** twisted all of my words on her online rant and it resulted in several negative reviews that were false, like our playground being nasty and unclean and unfriendly, from people who had never been to TotsVille both on ******** and ******* several calls for days after, from her sister and other family members that employee 2 be fired and harassing our employees about our playground rules. TotsVille has worked so hard to survive the pandemic and works hard daily to provide a clean, sanitized space that is hospitable and comfortable.
  I hope this sheds some light on the situation. In conclusion, TotsVille has rules, our customers are "touched" in the lobby before paying and entering the playground each time and informed of the cans and cannots, to give the customer the opportunity to not go in to play. It was ****************** choice to do what she thought should be and her choice to leave.
  
  

  Customer response

  01/14/2023

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  When I got on the phone with the owner/manager that night she first was argumentative. Saying the lady I took a picture of was not the person that checked us in. Which wasn't true. The lady is her mother and when we checked in she never said anything about the oldest not being able to play until after I paid. My son might have gotten the white wristband on but I was also helping my excited 5 year old get his stuff off and helping my 1 year old. After I paid she told me that my son could sit on the bench with the other parents. She never once said oh he can help the baby on the equipment or that there were games he could play. I asked for a refund and she said no. I was annoyed by this because one we were there for a birthday party in March and my 9 year old was allowed to play. Then they are suppose to be a kids place and the lady just tells me to let my 10 year old sit and watch his siblings have fun. The communication for this place is unorganized. The owner/manager told me different rules on the phone then what the supervisor told me. Then at the ball pit(the slide platform)when I was helping my 1 year old, he kept falling and climbing up and down the steps. I sat there to help him so he didn't fall and hurt himself or the other kids. My 15 year old brother(not an adult) did come over and stood because he was going to help my 1 year old figure out how to climb up and go on the slide. He was there for maybe 30 seconds because he was handing me his phone or was about to. No sooner then the lady YELLED get out of the ball pit which my reply was we were not in the ball pit. Then she told me I had to get out of there. At this point I was annoyed. There were parents climbing up and down with their kids and I was sitting there making sure my 1 year old didn't get hurt. I wasn't blocking the way numerous kids kept by just fine. I was not rude I did get my kids together quickly and I asked the lady if she was the owner. She said no she's a supervisor and the owners were available that the phone number was on the brochure. Not sure why she couldn't just give the number. I then asked her for her name because it would have much easier to write a complain if I had the supervisors name. But she told me very nasty I don't give out my name. So I said okay I will take your picture. I did and I left. Yes I wrote a bad review on social media which I'm entitled to do that. Nothing I said was a lie. I also never asked anyone to call or so called harass the business. I simply shared my experience and then don't all my mom friends to stay away. I also gave the business the chance to make the situation better but no all I got were lies and a argumentative phone call. I never said the place was nasty/unclean. I will say there are parts of the netting that need to be fixed. They have a few holes that a child's foot can fall through. I will also point out that there was a older boy running around(he told my son he was 10)and actually running into people. Nothing was ever said to his parent or him. I also never saw any employee on the floor monitoring the children or enforcing the rules. There were only 2 employees and they were at the desk the entire time. Then my ******** post was shared and so had former employees me telling me about how it's family owned and they all have different rules and do things differently which cause the employees to get in trouble/written up. It sounds like there are too many hands in the pot. The communication/professionalism is not there. The only reason why I chose to go there was because of how small it is. I wanted to make sure I could watch all my kids play and make sure they were following the rules. The supervisor could've handled things a lot better and actually gave me the correct information. The owner could've have handled her phone conversation better also. She also did say she might be able to do something for me if I came back. The business can have my $15, clearly they need it more than me. I will not be returning. I would think a kid place would actually care about children and parents who have kids multiple ages, but I guess not. I hope they learn from this experience and have a group meeting and make sure every employee knows the right rules. I also would like to say if I was so loud and rude why wasn't I asked to leave? I was polite until she told me she couldn't tell me her name and by that time I already had my kids packed up ready to go. I also don't understand what ***** had to do with old brochures. I hope the business learns from this experience. Update your brochures.
  Thank you BBB for handling this situation even the business still will not fix the situation.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩