Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA

Review: I would never recommend the Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA. I made a reservation for Labor day 2013 and had to change my plans. I called two weeks in advance and was told by my customer service rep [redacted] that the policy was no refund of my deposit because it was a holiday weekend. I was told to read my email confirmation for the policy. This policy was not explained to me during the phone call to make the reservation and I have the taped customer service record from my office to prove it. Nowhere on their website does it state the policy either. I asked for and received a call back from general manager [redacted] who refused to do anything other than reschedule my stay for another night. At this point I had no interest in staying at this park who knows what other surprise charge or scam they would come up with. I guess they would rather make their $46.33 than take care of their customer. I will never go here and in fact will be unlikely to frequent any KOA campground in the future. [redacted] C A N C E L L A T I O N . C O N F I R M A T I O N [redacted] STAUNTON/WALNUT HILLS KOA [redacted] Cancellation Number: 37680.000 [redacted] Arrive: 8/30/13 Fri Depart: 9/02/13 Mon Full hookups/back in Advanced deposit: 46.33 Cancellation fee: 46.33Desired Settlement: I want my money back. I was never informed of the cancellation policy prior to the confirmation email. It is not listed anywhere on their website either than I can find. it is a deceitful practice.

Consumer

Response:

Revdex.com, Yes, if you search for it you can find it. But not prominently displayed. In fact, it is approximately two sentences buried in a paragraph in the middle of a general information page. In addition the policies were not explained to either me or the other party in our group when we made the reservation. A consumer should not have to search a businesses website to figure out that they just made a non refundable reservation. It should have been disclosed during the phone conversation. That is why Mr. [redacted] is so adamant that his "well trained" staff explained this because he knows himself what total crud customer service he provided after his staff DID NOT explain that it was non refundable. So you can go on Mr. [redacted] "belief" or you can believe what myself and [redacted] both heard with our own ears.

Business

Response:

RE: ID# 9673L63 Dear Ms. Wright[redacted], Your earlier inquiries about [redacted] complaint about the Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA went unanswered because they were addressed to [redacted]. Although Mr. [redacted] owned this campground for 23 years, he sold it January 31 and has been on the road ever since as a field representative for KOA national. I and my wife are the new owners of the Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA, operating it as a family business that includes our two grown daughters and their husbands. Mr. [redacted] claims notwithstanding, our refund policies are pretty clearly spelled out by our desk ckerks when people make reservations; when they receive their reservation confirmation; on our web site; and on our landing page on the KOA corporate web site. The Labor Day weekend, together with the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Halloween weekends, is one of our busiest periods each year, with many people making their reservations as muchas a year ahead to ensure they get a site. It is a widespread practice within the campground industry to make reservation deposits for those four holidays non-refundable in order to minimize cancellations, which can be enormously disruptive under those hectic circumstances. That's why they're called "deposits" and not "advance payments." We attempted to offer Mr. [redacted] the opportunity to apply his deposit to some other time but he was uninterested in doing so. Indeed, as the enclosed copies of the email exchange I had with him should attest, Mr. [redacted] seemed primarily interested in browbeating our staff into giving him what he wanted without any regard for the actual facts of the case. I don't think we'll miss his patronage. Thank you for asking us to respond, and please do correct your records to reflect the change in the campground's ownership. Sincerely, Andy Zipser, Owner

Consumer

Response:

If Andy chooses to believe that two different people on the same day who called within minutes of each other heard wrong concerning what his staff told them concerning refunds then there is little that you or I can do to change that. If staff didn't try to stonewall a customer and claim that they said something that other witnesses said they did not then they would not feel brow beaten when said customer refused to slink away tail between legs. I am sure that [redacted] and I will not miss Andy or his staff either. In fact, we have found a much better campground in the same area that was glad to take our business. Regards,[redacted]