ComplaintsforSkateland of Ashland, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Last Friday, March 4, 2022 at 8pm my 2 kids my son who is 16 y/o and my daughter 13 y/o were dropped off by my husband at Skateland of Ashland. The place usually opens at 8pm on Fridays for the public and closes at 11pm. My two kids were in line with a lot of kids who were planning to go skating or just hang out. When it was my 2 kids' turn to pay my daughter handed out $** to pay for getting in and for shoe rental. The lady at the kiosk took my daughter's money $** and my daughter told the lady that she was with her brother who was her chaperone. The Friday before March 4, my son chaperoned my daughter too and parents and chaperones do not pay a fee as they sit there and watch their kids. I have done this in the past and I have never paid a fee when I took my kids to Skateland of Ashland as I wasn't skating with the kids. Only skaters pay for the fee. Going back to that evening of March 4th, as my daughter paid she pointed out to the lady attending that his brother was a chaperone and the Friday previous he didn't pay because he just watched her while my daughter skated with other kids. The lady didn't hand my daughter her ticket to get in and she said my son needed to pay and so my 2 kids said ok. At that point the lady said that my daughter didn't pay and was asking for another $** plus $** for my son's entrance fee BUT they already paid for my daughter's entrance fee, she just wasn't handed her ticket. The lady at the kiosk accused my kids of not paying at all. My daughter told her she already paid and pointed at the money that she handed to her and the lady pushed the money aside and said that was from a different transaction. My daughter's friend who was with them told the lady that my daughter already paid for her ticket and pointed to the same money she gave the lady the $** she paid earlier. The lady was so nasty and accused my daughter of not paying at all. They were flabbergasted to what just happened. WHOLE ORDEAL IS ATTACHED BELOW.

  Business response

  03/16/2022

  I am responding to the complaint number ******** that happened on Friday night, March 4th.  We do apologize for any miscommunication that happened between our staff and our customer upon entry into our facility.  I want to say up front that the parties involved were all given their money back in full and one of the owners/managers was standing in the lobby at the time of the incident, so there was no need to go back and look at the cameras.  We are very busy Friday nights trying to get the customers in the door and we want things to run as smoothly as possible.  Our general policy is that only one parent can come in admission free with one paying child.  This does not mean chaperones and certainly does not mean a 16 year old brother when the majority of kids that skate with us on a Friday night are of that age range.  We charge admission and skate rental to everyone that comes in the building except for the one parent rule, and I might add that we are the only skating rink in the area that allows that.  We would not have given their money back if we did not think they had paid already, and while the young lady who was working the window at the time may have seemed rude, she was just trying to explain the facts.  I have checked with one of the managers, who also works the window, about the Friday night before that and he said without a doubt, he lets know no one in without paying unless they are a parent.  Again, we do not consider 16 years old to be an adult or a chaperone.  I have attached a copy of the sign that is in the lobby and also on our calendar. I hope this clarifies our policies that have been in place for a very long time and we are sorry for any misunderstanding. ***** ******  Co Owner/Office Manager 

  Customer response

  03/19/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Good afternoon as I write this rebuttal with regards to how Mr. ****** has replied to our complaint/incident that happened on March 4, 2022 between the hours of 8pm and 8:27pm. I would like to comment on their policy that they attached on their reply and what they have posted at their lobby. It says, "Adults are not admitted free! One parent free with one paying child!". This sign is very confusing - adults are not free but then again they are free with one paying child. For some intelligent persons this is "comprehensible" but for some this is very confusing. I hope they make a change on their wording. Sorry for correcting their policy. I would like to say that Mr. ****** didn't address the problem that started this problem with my children. The problem started when my daughter handed out her payment of $** and the lady at the counter didn't hand her her ticket for the entrance. The lady who was at the kiosk receiving her money then accused that my daughter didn't pay for her entrance fee. She had to be paying attention when receiving money as she accused as innocent 13 year old of not paying. My daughter actually saw how her money was pushed aside and that was when my child pointed out to the bills she handed out which was on the other side of the kiosk. The kiosk has a glass divider the only way she could address this was by pointing against a glass. Her friend who was with her explained that my daughter paid and the lady forgot to hand her ticket. The lady was nasty and so was the co-owner manager, ****** ******. It was ****** ****** who walked my kids to  the side aisle in the entrance area during this confusion. I am wondering why it was Mr. ***** ****** who replied to our complaint when he wasn't even around that time and it was ****** ****** who addressed the issue ---- addressed it in an unfashionable way of humiliating my kids in front of so many kids and adults/chaperones. Or why Mr. ****** was the one answering regarding this complaint when he wasn't the one who talked to my kids and later on that evening to my husband and just gotten a second hand account of the situation.

  
  

  YES, they gave my kids' money back ... the same persons who accused the kids of not paying BUT then they gave their money back in full. Very ironic. 
  

  
  

  The lady at the kiosk explained to the two kids that my older child-son had to pay, they handed them their money. The 2nd problem arose when after paying for my 16 year old, she asked for an extra $** from them. My daughter already paid her $** and my son gave his money for his entrance fee and yet she had asked for another $**. They didn't think it was right at that point as they are being overcharged. I would like to clarify that ****** ****** was inside the venue and wasn't around  at all when this was all happening. He only showed up when the lady called for him and he came out of the exit door to talk to my kids. Mr. ****** told the kids that he would review the footage the next day and he would call my son the next day. He didn't. He didn't address the issue and he even asked for my son's celfone number so he could call him the next day. He promised to check the CCTV footage the next day so I am wondering why Mr. ****** mentioned that there was no need to check the cameras. Checking the cameras would show if the kids actually paid and if my son was for real rude to the lady as he was accused of. This is why my husband wanted to check the cameras that evening to correct if there was anything that needed to be corrected. My husband arrived a little bit after 8:30pm so they had the chance to view it as Skateland didn't close until 11pm. 

  
  

  It is sad that this is how they treat kids as most of their patrons are children. The situation could have been corrected when they had a chance to view the CCTV that evening or even the next day as promised. Another thing the co-owner, ****** ****** accused the kids of being arrogant. As what my husband has told him that evening, he evidently didn't know my kids because they wouldn't disrespect any adults or any kids. My husband tried to be amicable by asking to see the footage so if the kids actually didn't pay or were rude he was there to correct it. Mr. ****** started accusing my husband of calling him a liar when he was there trying to find a solution. My husband left with the kids after that. My husband could sense that there was no way to get any solution to their accusations that were thrown out to the kids and to my husband. 

  
  

  I would like to throw this out to the owners while I can so they can be aware of what is happening while they are manning the facility inside and not the kiosk where patrons pay -- the entrance way is separated from the skating area with 2 big metal doors. My daughter has collected allegations from her schoolmates that a lady cashier would overcharge the kids who would like to skate who paid without their parents around and the same person has been rude to kids who showed up with no parents. On the same note, the lady cashier seemed nicer to the ones whose parents were around. I am NOT alleging it the same person my kids had an encounter with.  This is just an information I collected so they can be aware of this. Same way they tried to overcharge my child with another $** that evening. 

  
  

  I hope the owners realize that not all kids are liars, arrogant and dishonest and they need to treat their minor patrons the same way they wanted to be treated. 

  
  

  I am attaching a picture of Mr. ****** the person my family unfortunately had an unlucky incident with. They didn't have any encounter with Mr. ****** who replied to this complaint. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ***
  
  
  
  
  

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