ComplaintsforOba Farms

• Initial Complaint

  06/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered a small, white lamb for my mother's 87th birthday. I flew to ** from ** to get her her dream animal on one of her last birthdays. She was so excited for a month that is all she could talk about. The day that the ****** was to come out, I opened up my mom's back gate to find the most hideous-looking, dirty animal that was CLEARLY not a lamb. It had huge horns and looked much like a ram. My mother was in tears, and we had them stay for about 20 minutes, then left. I waited to contact them as I was so livid that I did not receive what I ordered. I recently reached out and just asked for half my money back to give them money for travel time, etc, even though I felt that they deserved nothing for the bait and switch, but I tried to be fair and resolve. They stood by their animal and said they sent a sheep. I have pictures and even found a lamb on their website that was a lamb. I asked 17 people if they thought I was being ripped off and they all answered I was taken as it was clearly not a lamb that they sent. I hate to file a complaint but this was too egregious to let slip by. SHAMEFUL!!!!

  Business response

  06/30/2024

  The customer *********************************** is not due any refund. She ordered a white lamb. This was confirmed as I listened to our recorded call from April 29th. Seven minutes twenty-nine seconds into the call ******** confirmed that she wanted a white lamb. There was also a courtesy reminder call on June 3rd which confirmed that she ordered a white lamb. On the scheduled date and time, we brought out our beloved lamb named Big Horn. See photo attached:. At the time of delivery there was no mention of perceived discrepancies or any dissatisfaction with the product or service. *****(mother) called 4 days later to express this concern of the sheep not being a baby sheep. She asked, how much did my daughter pay for this? She felt that it was too much money that her daughter spent and requested a small refund. I responded that we dont refund buyers remorse. We did nothing wrong to warrant a refund.  She said that the animal was a Ram not a lamb.I took the time to educate her to the fact that a *** simply denotes the male gender of a sheep. A lamb denotes the age of a sheep, male or female. A lamb is considered a young sheep, especially one that is 1 year of age or younger. She expressed that she thought that it would be much smaller like a baby sheep. She accused us of bait and switch. I confirmed to her that a baby sheep was never requested. I denied their request for a refund. They responded with a series of slanderous remarks on social media ***************** Reviews, and the BBB). They said that they plan on destroying our reputation. ******** said that she was willing to take down remarks if we paid the amount of $175. We counter offered to provide a refund in the amount of $75 not as admission of guilt but in lieu of the removal of such slanderous remarks online. This offer was declined by ***********************************;hence we are responding in this forum with the BBB.

  
  See photo of our lamb here.
  *****************************************
  
  This is what any adult Rocky *********************** **** sheep looks like: ********************************************************************************************************

  Customer response

  07/01/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  I still stand by my complaint,and I am still suggesting a partial refund. I ordered a lamb for my mother's birthday as a meaningful gift to fulfill her dream of holding and petting a baby lamb. However, instead of a lamb, a large, dirty, horned ram/sheep was brought to our house. I told the handler that I had asked for a lamb, and he insisted that it was a lamb, which was witnessed by 4 people. My mother was deeply disappointed after seeing the animal and we sent it and the handler away after 25 minutes. It was unnecessary for them to stay. I had different expectations based on the pictures on the Oba website, which clearly showed lambs, and from what was confirmed by the Oba Farms representative when I called to inquire if they could fulfill that order (a lamb).
  
  Lambs dont have horns, and most domesticated sheep dont have horns. Wild sheep begin to grow horns at 1 year old when visible k**** appear above their ears. These horns continue to grow until they are around 8 years old. In some breeds, both male and female sheep have horns.
  ****************************************************************************************
  
  By definition, the animal brought to our house could not have been a lamb as it was easily 2-3 years old and had very developed horns. Additionally, "baby lamb" is redundant.It is dishonest and deceiving to the consumer. I feel misled and this is an injustice. If there was to be any goodwill in addressing my issue, I would have expected someone to say that they would bring out a LAMB, especially since I technically paid for the day and only had them stay 25 minutes. If a lamb was available and the owner was not attempting to deceive, this would have seemed like the most logical solution. My concern is not about the cost but about receiving an animal different from what I had contracted for. I spend a significant amount of money on my mother's birthday each year, not to mention the ongoing expenses to keep her motivated as she is in failing health. Money is not the problem; my priority was to give my mother a specific experience,which Oba Farms failed to deliver. Despite the discrepancy, there was no reasonable offer to make things right, and I was not informed that a lamb was not available. The owner sent a different animal without seeking any resolution.This was highly disappointing and felt like a bait-and-switch tactic. I have shared my experience with others to raise awareness but have not launched any slanderous campaigns. It's important for others to be aware of what happened to us so they can avoid a similar situation. To resolve this, I suggested a partial refund of $175, taking into account the gas expenses. This is a fair and reasonable solution, given the circumstances. I stand by my complaint and will continue to caution others about Oba Farms to prevent them from facing a similar disappointing experience as well as seek resolution for this issue. 

  Business response

  07/02/2024

  We are still willing to do a good will offer of $75. 

  Customer response

  07/02/2024

  I am rejecting this response because I clearly stated my case about receiving something different than what I contracted and paid for. No apology or offer to bring an actual lamb was made, nor was a reasonable offer of a partial refund. I feel like I was a victim of bait-and-switch, as does anyone who has heard the story and viewed a picture of the ram that was sent. Absolutely shameful!!

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired Oba Farms mobile petting zoo on 10/31 at 10 am. I was told they were going to arrive 30 minutes before my event began to set up. One man arrived on time with a cage of rabbits. The other man driving the trailer arrived 10 minutes before the event start time. The petting zoo enclosure brought was too small to fit the animals much less the children. When I approached the attendant about this I was told this was all they had and that he needed a source of water for the animals. I told the attendant that I had ordered a package big enough to hold 20 people he just repeated himself. The animals were not treated kindly as they were unloading them from the trailer. Two minutes before our start time they were still setting up with their trailer blocking the entrance. I reminded the attendants of our start time. They were still setting up when children arrived. The older attendant told me he needed a "source of water." I told him that when I booked the event I was not told the animals were going to need a source of water. If I had known this I would have staged them in a different location. The attendants response was that the animals needed water quick because they had been "loaded ** in the trailer since 5 pm yesterday and hadn't had any water since then." That is 17 hours without water and he was putting pressure on us to somehow bring water for the animals under his care! He allowed 4-5 children to enter the animal enclosure when they arrived. Not only were the children stressed but the animals were too because the enclosure was too small for anyone to move around comfortably. We were so disgusted with the service that was being provided to us that we asked them to pack up and leave 10 minutes after our event started. I tried reaching out to a manager twice on the day of the event and then again 48 hours after the event. I was told he would call me. Nobody has returned my call. We are just asking for a partial refund for the service they did not provide.

  Business response

  11/22/2023

  Our customer ********************* called to inquire several times about the petting zoo. See stated that she would have approx. ***** kids participating in the program. One her first call to our sales office she was offered the package # 3 program. This was a two-hour package large enough to accommodate rotating up to 75 children into the petting area.
  
  The customer called back later and ordered our package #2 designed for a much smaller event. This package was explained to allow up to 25 people to rotate through the petting area.

  
  The pens are designed for an intimate experience with animals. When we accept 4 to 5 children in at a time the enclosure allows for the children to touch, pet, and feed the animals without having to run around to attempt to catch the animal, potentially stressing the animal.
  When our team arrived on 10/31/2023 prepared to service this event, a request was made for water for the animal by our attendant which is common for the property owner/customer to make ready a water hose or other means to accessing water.
  Upon arrival our team learned that there would be far more people attending the event than what was ordered (25 people allowed in package #2). Our team was prepared to manage the circumstance and had serviced approximately two groups of children in approximately 30 to 40 minutes before being asked to leave the property.

  
  The owner of the petting zoo was on the phone with the petting zoo attendant at the time and requested to speak with the customer ********************* and she declined to speak with him.

  
  The customer threatened to call her credit card company and charge back the funds paid and file a complaint with animal control. After such remarks we decided not to engage this customer in this manner. After the customer had called our office serval times, the manager attempted twice to reach ***** with no success.

  
  On ******** 7th an investigator from SPCA of Texas arrived at our property where we house the animal responding to ****** complaint of animals being mistreated.

  
  The inspector found that the animals were being well kept in facilities far above industry standard. They found the animals all in good health and well taken care of. ******** 10th the case was closed with no incident found.
  

  We do not believe that the customer ********************* is *********** any Refund.

• Initial Complaint

  01/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I rented their petting zoo for December 10th total price $536.28 from 2-4 pm(set up 30minutes before the event) 12:30pm day of the event I was called by ********** ****-XXX-XXX-XXXX and told they are running an hour behind, I stated so you will be here at 2:30pm he said yes. I then stated that would be ok since my party started at 2pm no biggie. At 2:25pm- I called him to check ETA and he stated they would be another hour. I explained the party started at 2pm and he said he would be here at 2:30 what happened? He stated he is still driving. I then called Oba Farms explained what was going on, the lady asks was my party going to end exactly at 4pm no one will be there after. I stated it didn't matter if people would be there after 4pm I paid nearly $600 from 2-4pm. I then asked how did this happen, was the driver just given my address that morning day and not look at the distance or something? She stated no and that she would contact the manager. At 3:23pm the manager-XXX-XXX-XXXX called me and stated he regrets to call me with bad news, but the truck broke down. He stated I could have a refund/reschedule or he can come from Dallas(another hour waiting) if we still wanted them to come. I explained they were the main entertainment of my party. I asked where they were he stated he didn't know but he can find out. I stated I can send my husband if they are close. He called me back 5 minutes later to tell me they were in my town at a CEFCO my husband got into his truck and then the manager called me back apologized and said they got the truck running and would be at my house within the next 10min he apologized and said I would be getting a full refund and that they would stay as long as I needed them. He called me about 30mins later to check that everything was going ok and reassured refund. I have called numerous times and told refund in processing but have not received a refund almost a month has pasted. I called again today 1/3/23 and was told processing refund.

  Business response

  03/23/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2023/01/09) */ We don't have anyone by the name of ********** **** working for our company. ****** was the representative assigned to this event. Our expectation is to be on time for all events. In this scenarios the petting zoo crew was late and was broke down on the side of the road. I offered to reschedule with the customer and offered a full refund as a gesture of our sincere apology. The truck got back working and the team was able to arrive safely to the customer's location and the petting zoo service was provided. We reassured the customer that we would still offer the refund. The customer agreed. The refund was processed and completed on 1/4/2023 via the method of payment that was used for the initial transaction. Two transactions of (1)$281.14 (2)$268.14 for a total of $536.28. See the attached copy of the receipt verifying the refund issued. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2023/01/11) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) Thank you BBB! To take a month to process a refund..ridiculous. I didn't see the refund on my mobile bank app so I called my back and there is NOW as of today pending refund.. not 1/4/23 but I am happy to receive the refund!

*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. ↩