Ski Ward Ski Area

Ski Ward did not disclose their cancellation policy prior to charging me the full balance of ski lessons. The policy is not in their printed brochure.On 12/30/14 I called Ski Ward to book private ski lessons for my family. They asked for a credit card to guarantee the slots, but did not inform me the full balance would be immediately charged and was non-refundable. The associate referred me to their brochure, which does not include their cancellation policies. My son became ill and was in no condition to attend the lesson on 1/3/15. I called to reschedule and was told their policy does not allow such thing, or refunds, if cancellations are made with less than 24 hours notice. I asked to speak to a manager, but was transferred to the snow school voice mail. I left a message and did not hear back. I called back in the afternoon and spoke to the general manager who told me they would review my voice mail message and get back to me, but they were having a busy day and were "out on the snow all day". On 1/4/15 they called me back, and said there was nothing they could do and were unable to reschedule our lessons. I explained they did not disclose their policies prior to charging my MasterCard. She said the policy is on the website. I did not book the lessons online, I did so over the phone, with an associate, and had stopped by Ski Ward in person the previous week to inquire about services and fees, and the person at the front desk handed me their print brochure, where there is no mention of cancellation policies. I told the person who called me on 1/4/15 that this way of conducting business is misleading and dishonest, and certainly no way to treat a first time costumer and local Shrewsbury resident and neighbor. She said she is sorry the associate who booked the lessons did not explain the policies to me and there was nothing else they could do.Desired SettlementAlthough my original intent was to reschedule my family's ski lessons, given the way my situation was handled by Ski Ward staff and management, I am now seeking reimbursement.Business Response I apologize for the delay in responding, but I did not see the first notice. I do also apologize our rep did not convey our policies to you. We have this policy in place because once we reserve a lesson time for a customer, it cannot be taken by anyone else, so if someone is unable to attend at the last minute, we lose the ability to book that spot for another customer and we also have to pay a staff member for that time, if not the required 3 hour minimum.We try to post this information clearly on our website but unfortunately, there is just not enough room to put all policies into our brochure. It says above, the consumer spoke to the General Manager but I am not recalling this conversation at this time but please know to reach out to me anytime regarding any questions you may have.If you would like to reconsider, we'd be happy to reschedule your lesson for you and I think you'll be very happy with the services we have to offer.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Thank you very much for offering to reschedule our lessons. That was my request when I contacted Ski Ward repeatedly the weekend of 1/3/15 when our son got abruptly ill and we were unable to keep our appointment. I spoke to several "managers", not sure how many were there that weekend, but apparently, you were not one of them, as you do not recall these conversations. We would've happily rescheduled at the time, but were told time and time again this is not something you do. I offered to pay a late-cancellation fee or penalty, as I understand your position, and having to pay a staff member, whether the customer shows or not. We were told we had to forfeit the full amount of $185, which included equipment rental also; the equipment was was not used as we were unable to keep the appointment, yet even that was non-refundable. Not having enough room on a brochure to state your policies seems like a weak excuse, which would have no weight in legal proceedings, as a simple one line referring customers to a website would suffice, if that is were you disclose your policies. Even in your website though, these such "policies" are concealed under "FAQ's". Your handling of this incident has been less than satisfactory. We decline your offer to reschedule and continue pursuing reimbursement. Final Business Response We don't typically offer to reschedule, but wanted to offer what you weren't able to receive on 1/3. Our late-cancellation fee would be the cost of the lesson, $75, but we would never have anyone pay more than that so I'll have to reiterate this to my staff. Our private lesson information webpage does state that all lessons are non-refundable/non-transferable and that payment is required for advance booking but I will working on making this more clear and again, that my staff is relaying this information. Please let me know how you'd prefer to be reimbursed.