Bowlmor Lanes

Review: I signed up to be a [redacted] Bonus Zone member, which offers monthly coupons to include birthday coupons and party coupons for each child signed up. I have a child wirh an April birthday who got no coupons for free bowlingnor 10% discount for his birthday party. I contacted the company who said April coupons were not sent out due to technical upgrades to couponing program but they will resume in May.Desired Settlement: I want [redacted] to honor the promise they made of giving free bowling to birthday child and 10% off his birthday party coupon.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Bowlmor Lanes regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]

Review: I called [redacted] at the corporate phone number [redacted] and spoke to somebody at extension [redacted]. This person I spoke with at extension [redacted] stated that she was going to connect me to the proper corporate employees to resolve my issue. After waiting about a week without a return call from those corporate people, I called that same employee back at extension [redacted] only to not be able to reach [redacted] for days. Finally, after trying unsuccessfully to contact [redacted] for a few days, I pushed 0 instead of [redacted] and spoke with an [redacted] who sent that employee an email and then she returned my call later on that day. She stated that she was not aware that corporate hadn't called me back yet and that she would now continue to work on this matter for me. She then stated that she would mark it on [redacted] calendar to call me on Thursday February [redacted] at 2pm to follow up and make sure somebody called. Not only did she not call me on Thursday February [redacted], but I have been leaving voicemails and still have yet to hear back from [redacted]self or corporate. I called and spoke to the [redacted] again on Friday February [redacted] who stated that she would send anot[redacted] email for [redacted] to call me. It's now Tuesday February [redacted] and I still have yet to receive a call back from [redacted]self and corporate. I then called and spoke to the [redacted] again on Monday February [redacted] and the [redacted] told me to hold on for a moment and she came back to the phone and then told me that she spoke to somebody in corporate and that my issue has already been escalated up the chain of command and that somebody in corporate should be contacting me shortly. I then stated to the [redacted] that it had been weeks and they still hadn't called me so I asked the [redacted] to put the person from corporate she spoke with on the phone with me and the [redacted] replied by telling me that nobody from corporate was currently available to take my call but that again, my issue had been escalated up the chain of command and that corporate would be calling me. 1st of all, my time is just as important as anybody else's and when an employee specifically states that she is marking it on [redacted] calendar to call me on a certain day/time, I expect that employee to honor their commitment. It is disrespectful to myself and extremely unprofessional of them not to honor that commitment. I have a life to and again, my time is just as important as t[redacted]e's and it seems they are treating me like it's not. That's disrespectful and unprofessional and I don't appreciate it at all. It has now been weeks and I have yet to receive the call from corporate and I haven't even been able to reach the employee at extension [redacted] ever since I originally spoke with [redacted]. That's unacceptable because I now have no point of contact for this issue. I don't know what else to do and that's why i'm turning to the Revdex.com for assistance with this matter.Desired Settlement: Given all these negative experiences and what seems like a total disregard for a customer, I would like a phone call from the president/CEO of Bowlmor([redacted]) to call me and discuss this. I have no desire to create conflict but because I have been unsuccessful in my efforts to get a response, I feel they are leaving me with no ot[redacted] choice [redacted]e but to send this complaint via the Revdex.com. I still believe this can easily be worked out if [redacted] calls myself to discuss it [redacted] and try to talk it out. To me, this is just a respect thing and nobody should ever experience this much trouble getting a response from a company. So again, All i'm really asking for [redacted]e is that Bowlmor president [redacted] call myself and we can try to talk everything out and hopefully work to come to a better mutual understanding of things and hopefully work everything out.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: I entered into a contract with Bowlmor Rockville on July * to host my high school's 10 year reunion after working with [redacted] H[redacted] since June ** . The event was to be held on Saturday, October ** from 9-11 pm and was based on the "High Roller" package, which included three appetizers, non-premium open bar and two hours of unlimited bowling for $3,316.87 - this was based on a guarantee of 50 people and a per person price of $66.10.

On September **, I informed [redacted] via email that a number of people in my graduating class were unhappy with the price and were planning to just show-up and start their own tab rather than buy a ticket. Additionally, I had asked [redacted] for advice on what we could do to make sure this did not happen because it would obviously undermine ticket sales. Since I had not heard back from [redacted] within two days and taking into consideration input from committee members, I decided that it was best to cancel the contract. And as such, called and left a voicemail for her on September ** explaining my decision.

After not hearing back from her after two days, I called and left another voicemail on September **. She then responded that night at 10:14 pm via email saying that "[redacted]". I replied the same night at 11:12 pm stating that I understood the commitment on our part to host our event at Bowlmor per the signed contract. However, due to low interest and a number of alumni who had already stated that they would not buy a ticket and would instead, just show up and start their own tab, which I had already informed her of, that I was not comfortable continuing with the agreement and reiterated that I would like to cancel the contract.

Considering the extent of the situation, I called [redacted] on September ** but did not leave a voicemail. Instead, I called a sister branch (the location in [redacted]) and spoke to a team-member by the name of Gabby. I explained the situation to her and she promised to inform the event coordinator of that location the situation and have her look into it for me - whether that be to reach out to me personally or have [redacted] follow-up with me.

By September **, I had not heard back from [redacted] and sent her a follow-up email stating that it had been almost a week since I heard from her and would appreciate it if she could touch base. After still not hearing back, I called and left her a voicemail on September **. Additionally, I called this location, the corporate headquarters on the same day and spoke to Joanna to which I explained the situation to her as well. She then informed me that [redacted] no longer worked at the Rockville location and had relocated to a location in California, which [redacted] never shared with me. Nonetheless, she promised to reach out to [redacted] and have her contact me by the end of the day.

I did not hear back from [redacted] until September ** at 10:41 PM via e-mail where she stated once more, " [redacted]". However, she did offer a few suggestions on how to rework the contract, one of which was to reduce the guest count from 50 to 25 which would reduce my financial obligation toward the event.

I then responded to [redacted]'s email on September ** at 1 AM in which included a reference to an email she had sent me previously on July * where she stated verbatim - "The cancellation policy is if it's outside 30 days of your event, 10% of your deposit is kept and 90% is refundable. Within 30 days of your event there are no refunds and you are responsible for paying the total as it appears on the contract". *Please keep in mind that leading up to this point, [redacted] was adamant that I could not cancel my contract, which was untrue and misleading on her part. *

Additionally, I proposed that based on the circumstances and poor customer service that it only be fair that

I cancel the contract but am only financially obligated to pay $1658.44, which is based on a guest count of 25 people and not 50. I also asked that she respond by noon the same day.

It goes without saying that [redacted] did not respond until October * at 12:** am. Additionally, she did not address her company's cancellation policy nor did she confirm that the contract had been canceled - again, ignoring my request. But instead, attached an updated contract that reflected the new guest count for 25 people and explained how Bowlmor would provide the ultimate party experience for even a group of four and where our bowling lanes would be located. Additionally, she offered to provide gift certificates for the difference between tickets sold and tickets not sold for the current guaranteed of 25 guests - for a total of $1400.

I replied the same day ([redacted]) at 2:26 AM reiterating once more that I wanted to cancel the contract. She then replied at 6:13 PM that the contract was cancelled and provided me with an updated contract that reflected the same.Desired Settlement: I want a refund for $1400 and will return the gift certificates.

This is only fair given the fact that [redacted] lied and said that I could not cancel my contract, therefore dragging out this process over a course of two and a half weeks. And after bringing it to her attention that I could cancel my contract, still ignoring my request and as a result, providing poor customer service.

Business

Response:

This client was planning her class reunion at Bowlmor Rockville. And started planning back in June, for October. Her event proposal started with 150 guests and some very generous discounts/booking incentives to keep costs reasonable for her reunion tickets. Her biggest concern was how many people we would be staffing for a group her size, and what the total cost per person would be. Throughout the booking process, she was very price sensitive. Several proposals were sent, all with varying event lengths, packages, guest counts, and space assignments. With each proposal there were more questions on what additional discounts could be included, what the rates would be to stay longer, what would happen if the guest count increased or decreased—I have reviewed all the emails and we always replied with answers next to each question. Since her event was to occur on a peak night and time (Saturday evening) we set her deposit date in August, knowing that ticket sales for reunions tend to happen closer to the event date. This was still early enough for her to take advantage of the private room rental we included as a courtesy with her package, but before other groups interested in actually paying to reserve the space started inquiring (which is something we never do, but was offered as a booking incentive). We were incredibly thorough in explaining that we should lower the guaranteed guest count before confirming, and was flexible in offering to collect a 30% deposit rather than a 50% deposit, due to the nature of the event which is stated in our contract. She asked about the cancellation policy several times, and even went as far as to point out specific places in the terms and conditions, so everything was clearly spelled out before the agreement was signed. We also included a breakdown of pricing for guests who chose to stay longer than the allotted package time. If they wanted to bowl and extend their bar package, or just one of those options. The bowling rate offered was a discounted rate. In an email dated Monday, July [redacted] in the body of the email that “Within 30 days of your event there are no refunds and you are responsible for paying the total as it appears on the contract.” The client finally ended up hand delivering a signed agreement for 50 guests to guarantee the date; and promised a deposit would be coming within a few days, once she received a [redacted] credit card for her reunion’s account. With the signed agreement, the event was considered tentative, which signals to other event reps, staffing managers, and the chef as “prepare to staff for this event, order the food, and the space is no longer available for other groups.” The space was not offered to any other group; we received a signed contract that obligated Bowlmor to hold the space, and obligated [redacted] to pay Bowlmor the amount stated on the event contract. Per our terms and conditions, section 2: After the date which is 30 days prior to the event date, there will be no refunds and all obligations are noncancelable. Come September, her ticket sales for the reunion were very low, and her deposit was still pending. She expressed concern that the ticket sales would remain low because the event price was too high. After all the back and forth to get the price to where she needed to be, we were surprised, but suggested that with a couple weeks to go, there was still a great opportunity for last minute ticket sales. In that same email, dated Thursday, September [redacted], we broke down the value of the package again, so she could try to use the information to boost ticket sales. We also let her know that we had turned away business that wanted to the space, and that she still had a financial obligation to the event. Again, this is one of our busiest nights of the week and turned away a lot of other events. We then found out from a colleague that she was charging a much higher ticket amount for the tickets than what the package price per person was, which explained why her guests were turned off by the price. Instead of taking her markup down price to reduce the per person price, she was asking for us to reduce the cost of our goods and services without compromising what they would be receiving. To assuage her fear that guests would show up and pay for everything on their own rather than the inflated ticket price, we sent her a breakdown of how the package was saving her guests almost $50 per person compared to paying for everything a la carte, and that she could use that information to encourage advance ticket sales. At that point we felt as though we were going above and beyond by reiterating what we had already discussed in the initial planning stages, but still wanted to ensure she had a great time and could encourage last minute ticket sales. [redacted] wrote, “The event date was on a courtesy hold for your event since we began the planning process many months ago; when we received the signed contract this summer that was a guarantee from you that the event will be taking place as indicated on the signed contract, and that Bowlmor would consider the event confirmed/definite and not book the event space for another group event. We have already turned away potential events looking to book the private room on that date, so unfortunately upon receipt of the signed agreement the event cannot be cancelled, and there is still a financial obligation from your event that is due to us per the signed agreement. However, I’m happy to help clarify the party package and the value to help you better explain the value to your guests. [breakdown listed] “Hopefully breaking it down for you this way helps to understand why we set up your event on the discounted party package. You and I discussed price sensitivity from the beginning and put together various proposals before getting to the final contract that you signed. That price is only valid in advance with your ticket sale, so feel free to explain the difference to your guests to encourage them to buy tickets and attend your reunion.” [redacted] continued pushing for a cancelation, and contacted the Bethesda office and the Times Square office; at which point [redacted] asked one of her co-workers for advice on how she would handle the situation. [redacted] ended up using one of her suggestions to meet the client in the middle by reworking her event agreement to reduce her financial obligation for the event, which at this point was a personal charge since she did not sell more than 4 tickets for the event. From [redacted] email to [redacted] on September [redacted]: “[redacted]” This is what we ultimately agreed to; and in trying to “make good” with the client, especially since her frustrations escalated quickly (due to lack of ticket sales, [redacted] had been out of the office, and that she became personally financially responsible for the event), We offered her gift cards so she could have a “credit” to come whenever she wanted and not feel as though she paid for nothing. We checked with the onsite team to make sure we had enough of them, and then offered them to the client. (Internally, there was a week of back and forth with trying to locate the correct amount of gift certificates, but ultimately they were hand delivered to her home.) In [redacted] email dated Thursday, October [redacted], 10 days before her event date she wrote, “[redacted].” She continued asking for a discount on her financial responsibility, at which point [redacted] responded, “We have already conceded to reduce 50% from your original signed agreement so unfortunately we cannot reduce the amount owed any further.” She then fought [redacted] on having to pay the balance in advance of her event date, which [redacted] reminded her was detailed in the July [redacted] email and in the terms and conditions of her signed agreement. Her argument was that we didn’t give her a due date for a canceled event payment but this is all outlined on our contract. The new signed agreement for 25 guests and full payment was received at 11:48pm EST on Friday, October [redacted], less than 24 hours before the date/time of when the event was to take place. Per her request, [redacted] sent back a countersigned agreement. Bowlmor AMF has stepped outside of our contract to try and work with [redacted]. We also gave her gift cards to come back in with us. Please feel free to reach out to me with any other questions. Sincerely, Laura A[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I wish to return the gift cards worth $1400 and receive a cash refund of the same amount. My request is based on the following reasons/facts:- [redacted] was misleading when she stated that I could not cancel the contract, which was in direct opposition of what was listed in her own e-mail dated [redacted] and what is stated in Bowlmor's contract. - [redacted] provided poor customer service based on her response times, as she would reply to my e-mails after a week. This was problematic based on what I was trying to accomplish, which again was to cancel the contract. This also led me to reach out to other Bowlmor locations in order to reach her, which as a customer, I should not have to do. Although [redacted] was accommodating in the beginning, it does not change the fact that as a representative of Bowlmor, her response on if I could cancel my contract was fabricated. She blatantly lied and said that I could not cancel my contract, as to imply that I had to continue to host my event at Bowlmor despite my request. Yet as we know, that was fictitious as Bowlmor's terms clearly stated that a contract can be canceled within 30 days of the event. Thank you, [redacted] Overall, it was evident that [redacted] offered the gift cards as a way to diffuse the situation since she was not

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

After careful review Bowlmor AMF has decided to refund half of the amount. From my understand and from all the emails our legal department has reviewed, the client didn’t ask to cancel the event until 9/**/15 which was within our 30 day cancellation policy where the client would have received 90% of the deposit back. Since the request was made within 30 days of the event, the client should have lost the deposit and not received any type of refund or gift cards on the deposit. We tried and worked with her as much as we could and go outside our T&C so she wouldn’t lose all the money. The event was booked for 50 people. On 10/*/15 we agreed to let the client lower the number of people and we received an updated signed contract. We reduced it to 25 to meet her in the middle. The client paid for the 25, which was 50% less than her signed guarantee, and we gave gift cards in that amount as a courtesy. We want to make sure all our customers are happy but we do have our contract for a reason and continued to work with her. Once we receive the $700 in Gift cards back we will refund the credit card. Also, please have the client reach out to me personally next time she wants to come in and I will make sure she is treated like a true VIP and give her my personal 15% off discount. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved. Please ask Bowlmor to provide a return address to which I should mail back the gift cards. Additionally, please have a representative from the company contact me directly to obtain my new credit card information in order to process my refund.

Sincerely,