ComplaintsforGateway Arch Riverfront

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased tickets for the gateway arch for 7/5/23. My order number is *****************. I was unable to make the reservation due to my flight being delayed. I am not from the area and will never be back in the area. I contacted customer service and was told I could only receive a voucher which is pointless to me. The female on the phone was rude and unhelpful. I was my money back! Stop scamming people!

  Business response

  09/13/2023

  Thank you for letting us know about this concern. Our tram operation is a limited-capacity ticketed activity, which regularly sells out early and often. When tickets are purchased, and guests are unable to come, we are unable to sell those tickets to another guest. Similar to a movie theater or an airline flight, if you purchase the ticket but then don't arrive, you would not be eligible for a refund as they can't resell your ticket at that point. We try to allow some flexibility, and allow refunds and vouchers within certain time windows of notice, per our refund policy. Our refund policy is clearly stated on our website at ***************. 

  Our refund policy states: 

  "Rescheduling and Refund Policy: We understand that plans can change. Contact our Call Center at ***** ******** to reschedule for a future date. To be eligible for a refund, you must contact us with more than 24 hours in advance of your scheduled activity. With less than 24 hours notice, only a ticket voucher for a future date will be issued. If your scheduled event has already passed, refunds or vouchers will not be granted. If you complete your ticketed experience, you are no longer eligible for refunds or exchanges."

  Unfortunately, the guest did not contact our team until 2 months after their ticketed event. 

  The guest mentioned that the call center agent he spoke with was rude and unhelpful. We reviewed a recording of the call and found her to be friendly, and she kindly stated our refund policy. An audio recording of the call center interaction can be listened to here: **********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

  We would still be happy to provide the guest with a voucher for a future visit.

  Customer response

  09/13/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  The business continues to refuse my refund. It was out of my control that I was stranded in Buffalo and could not make it for my reservation. This is inconsiderate and unreasonable.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *********

  Business response

  09/19/2023

  Due to not being informed of the guest's inability to arrive for their reservation prior to their ticket time, we were unable to sell those tickets to another guest. During the call center interaction, the guest mentioned being out money from other businesses due to the trip not occurring. Similar to other timed attractions and hospitality businesses, such as hotels, we have set refund policies in the event of a cancellation. I've attached a screenshot of our Rescheduling and Refund Policy from our website. 

  Per our policy, if the event has already passed, refunds or vouchers will not be granted. As a courtesy, we are willing to provide vouchers to the guest in this instance, but we are unable to provide a refund. We empathize with the guest's situation, however we provided seats on both the tram and riverboat cruises that day for the guest that were not able to be used by someone else.

  Customer response

  09/23/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  The policy is not logical for someone who is in an unforseeable instance like I was. The business should make an exception to this given the fact that I was driving 3 hours to another airport and on a plane, thus I did not have the capability to make any notification, nor was it on my priority list. A voucher would be fine if I did not live OUT OF THE STATE. I will never be returning. The same logic the business is using to deny my refund is the same reason they should just give me the refund. I did not cancel, so I took up a space that otherwise could have been purchased by another guest. If you give me a voucher and I reserved a seat, I would then be taking up a space again and not having to pay for it. This seat could be purchased and taken by another customer, so it’s costing you the same amount as if you just lt have a bit of courtesy and refunded me. Same logic here people. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *********

*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. ↩