Alaska Bear Adventures

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
"It is unfortunate that this person lost their job and apparently is in need of money.""It appears this customer was more concerned about needing some cash back."I lost my job in March, and decided to spend the summer in Alaska, before leaving. I was responsible enough to save my money so that I can enjoy life in the mean time.I paid in CASH. As an analogy, the person who goes to the doctor and pays in cash is usually a favorite patientPretty bold of these sarcastic people to imply that I am hard up for money
"This particular customer is bending the truth a bit. After talking with his guide I was informed this group spent minutes of very close viewing with a mother and cubs." My gripe was never that I expected to get every minute of hours with up close bear viewing. There are a few reasons that I expected to get more than 5-minutes of up-close viewing time: 1) My friend recommended me to these guides because she spend "two to three hours" with "bears all around [her]" 2) The reviews from people online also indicate that 2+ hours of close bear viewing is the norm 3) The website of this business contains text pertaining to "or more hours with the bears"What should I have taken from those accounts and advertisements? The time-stamps on the photos would show that the quality bear viewing time that our group got, was appallingly less than the accounts and advertising would have the customer believe."This customer expressed no displeasure while on the ground with the bear."I was upset by the time we got to the second location, at which point ~hours had transpired and we had spent minutes sitting on the beach, watching the mother and cubs.I have been out with other adventure guides over the years, and when the experience is poor, the guides shift into gear to try to get the customer a better experience, because they value repeat customers and referrals. So I waited to voice my displeasure, so as to give the pilots the full allotted time to get us close to more bears. It's a shame that they have tried to use my attempt to be patient and understanding against me. If they had done more research into my complaint, they would know that I calmly asked to speak to the owner, once arriving back at our origin. "Several times he told us to call back because he was busy. So we did."Lies, just straight lies. On ONE occasion (not several), a call came in and I took the call, so as to ask for some time to spend the last few hours of my girlfriend's trip with her. I returned the call, and I did not ask for a call back "We originally offered him the opportunity to book at a standby trip price. He refused this." "...offered him and his girlfriend the opportunity to rebook at no cost anytime this year or 2017."Re-booking, isn't a realistic option for two people who will not be in Alaska. If a true tourist, or out-of-towner, on vacation expressed displeasure, would this company offer them the same? Would they expect people in that situation to spend ~$1,per plane ticket to come back to Alaska for a re-booked seat. If we were both in Alaska, this offer would be most fair, but unfortunately for all involved, neither my girlfriend or I will be able to accept that offer. There is a sad part of me that thinks that this business knew that when they made the offer "All were happy and tipped the guide."I had just given $1,in cash for a trip that did not deliver as advertised. Why would I give more?"After talking with our customer service people for a total of more than hours his last phone call became extremely rude and belligerent."I was calm during our early chats. We all even had a good chuckle that I was not cursing over my displeasure. While I have no problem stating that during the last phone call, I raised my voice, spoke loudly, and expressed severe displeasure, it's a far reach to claim that I was belligerent "He kept telling us he was more knowledgeable about this because he has lived in Anchorage for years."That was never said, but I would be curious to know what I did say that made them jump to such a retort."He expressed multiple times that he had lost his job and just wanted money back."Again, I am far from hard up for money. Brazen statements from this company...I have asked for a monetary refund because re-booking for this year or next year is not realistic
Sincerely,*** ***

It is unfortunate that this person lost their job and apparently is in need of money. It is also unfortunate that this person misunderstood the phrase ‘Three hours on the ground with the bears’Out of tens of thousands of customers that we have taken bear viewing in the past years, this
would be the first time we have heard that a customer expects to go into the wilderness and view wild animals for every minute on the ground. We try to confirm with everyone that a wilderness trip is not conducted at a remote zoo. Our wilderness guides are trained to go to the locations where the bears have been most prevalent in the past few days. They are also trained to position customers in areas where the bears will comfortably graze or fish at a relatively close distance. Bear activity is different every day. We do guarantee customers will see bears. We do not guarantee how many bears, for how long, or at what distance. As most people understand, on a wilderness trip this would be impossible.
This particular customer is bending the truth a bit. After talking with his guide I was informed this group spent minutes of very close viewing with a mother and cubs. This is actually a good viewing opportunity. Many people do not get to see sows and cubs up close, especially cubs. Any time someone is in the wilderness waiting for wildlife to reappear it is not ‘wasted’ time. Wildlife is not easily commanded. After giving this sow a few minutes to decide to rejoin the viewing area or go another direction the guide decided to take the group to a new location for bears. Upon doing this they found another sow with a cub. She was not as social as the first bear, so did not come as close to the group of people. Since we do not chase the bears for better viewing, the viewing of this bear was a bit more distant than the first. Just before leaving from the beach an additional bear came very close. Due to the tides getting too high to stay much longer, the group was unable to view this bear for an extended period of time. This makes for a total of bears viewed within a 3- hour time period on the ground. Not a perfect trip, but not bad either
This customer expressed no displeasure while on the ground with the bear. Once he started to express displeasure customer service talked with him on the phone multiple times. Several times he told us to call back because he was busy. So we did. We originally offered him the opportunity to book at a standby trip price. This was a confirmed reserved trip at standby price. He refused this. We did not see any reviews before offering him and his girlfriend the opportunity to rebook at no cost anytime this year or 2017. He refused. We do not refund ticket price when we see bears. Seeing bears is actually a pretty good trip. It is not a perfect trip. Sometimes we see bears. And sometimes we see bears. We do not view at a remote zoo. No other customers on this trip complained. All were happy and tipped the guide
It appears this customer was more concerned about needing some cash back. After talking with our customer service people for a total of more than hours his last phone call became extremely rude and belligerentHe kept telling us he was more knowledgeable about this because he has lived in Anchorage for years. Collectively Michael and I have lived in Alaska and have been going into remote areas for over years. I believe this makes us more expert in wilderness and wildlife behaviors. He expressed multiple times that he had lost his job and just wanted money back. This is unfortunate, but has nothing to do with whether we provided an opportunity to visit a remote area of Alaska for bear viewing. I have several pictures that show the bears viewed on this trip and how close they were. If anyone would like to see these you may contact me at: [email protected]