The Hideaway Retreat

GUEST RECEIVED A FULL REFUND OF $59.80, more than expected...

When I first sat down to write this, I began writing all the details of what happened, and proving my point. Which was a lot of "she said, I said. "Now as I sit here to rewrite this.... all I want to say is at the end of the day, I want no hard feelings with any guest. I do not want to argue with one.... I just want to get along and please our guest. We go above and beyond every single day to do just that. And all though we do not always get it right, we try very hard to do the right thing.

On 5/6/20 *** booked a tent site for 5/8/20- 5/10/20 and paid a deposit of $59.80. Our policy is to deduct a $25 booking fee from cancellations. So, her refund should have been $34.80. She called and cancelled on 5/7/20. On 5/25/20 she called and was very upset for not yet having received her refund, which I understand. It should have been refunded before then, however, we were incredibly behind on refunds due to coronavirus and the country having shut down for almost 3 months and the many cancellations we received. As I began to explain the reason for the delay and apologize profusely, she didn't want to hear it. She said she was in customer service and it was unacceptable. I agreed and continued to apologize.

Yes, I accidentally addressed her by the wrong name as our internet was down, I didn't have her reservation in front of me. It was not intentional, and I apologized for this also. She was further upset by my accidentally addressing her incorrectly. I offered to give her a full refund and waive the $25 booking fee that day just as soon as the internet was up and running. Being that our internet was down, she offered to come pick up a check if that was easier. I told her that was her prerogative, that I would be happy to cut a check, but it was not necessary as the computer guy was there working on our internet and it would be fixed soon. She continued to express her dissatisfaction and I stated that I had apologized immensely and wasn't sure what else I could do and that other guests had understood the reason for the delay which only angered her further stating she didn't appreciate that I was eluding to her not being an understanding person. A couple of hours later the internet was back up and running, and I refunded the full amount of $59.80 and waived the $25 booking fee. I called her to let her know the full amount had been refunded, and I apologized to her for my part in our conversation stating that I would never want hard feelings with anyone or an upset guest. I did not receive an apology from her which I did not expect. She said she appreciated me going above and beyond with the full refund and my apology.

To note, I gave her a full refund and an apology for my part that same day, May 25, before I was even aware that she had already filed a complaint earlier that same day. I did not even receive notice from Revdex.com of the complaint until the next day at 11:29am on May 26. See attached email notifying me of her complaint.

Respectfully,
***

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Document Attached***
1/30/20 GUEST CANCELLED THE DAY OF ARRIVAL, NO REFUND, PER COMPANY POLICY.

The guest booked their site on Jan 5, 2020, approximately one month prior to their arrival with the understanding he was getting a discounted price of $200 as that site was not graveled. He understood, loved the price, and booked it. We held that site for him for one month turning other guests away who wanted to book it. The guest arrived, didn't want their site as it was "not graveled", I re-explained that was why he was getting the discounted price of $200 from $995 to $795 for one month, which they were told when they booked the site. He said he remembered and understood and liked the price. I tried very hard to please them and offered a few options of which they turned each of them down. I first explained that in two weeks we would be graveling the site they booked if he wouldn't mind moving his RV for about 30 min while the gravel was being laid, and I would still be happy to honor the price of $795 after it's graveled. He said, "he appreciated it very much but no, he would not want to move after setting up even for just 30 minutes." He asked if we had another site, I explained that I did but that it was a more expensive one at the $995. He said no he wanted to stay with the $795 price. He apologized and said he was not trying to be difficult. I checked the computer and said that I had one other option and showed him site 39A, which is $100 more as it's graveled but said I would honor the discounted price of $795 on that site too. He thanked me and told me he appreciated me trying to help him and we went and looked at the site. He said he liked it and that it would work for him but would leave it up to his wife. She sat in the truck the entire time making phone calls to other campgrounds and found another spot. She never got out of the truck to look at the site. She decided against it. He repeatedly apologized and said he very much appreciated my help and that he was not trying to be difficult, but they "have had previous situations with other campgrounds." Whatever that meant? He said they would discuss it. He came into the office and said, "we are going to head out, I will just dispute this with American Express." I said, "what do you mean", he said, " I will not pay a dime." His demeanor had completely changed. I said, "there is no need to leave and be ugly." He did not ask about a refund, he simply made that comment when leaving, so he obviously understood our cancellation policy, as it's posted on our website. As he stated, he has had "many dealings with other campgrounds," so he understands there is a NO REFUND cancellation policy on the day of arrival. Besides, they had an entire month prior to their arrival date to come look at their site, they did not. We could have rented that site to another guest over the past 30 days, but they had it reserved. We have a policy in place that we will stand by. Besides, what good is a company policy if not to be enforced? This guest left with the understanding of our company policy, no refund for early departure, and they chose to leave anyway. That was their decision. They never called or emailed us to request a refund nor to discuss it with us. He disputed it with his credit card company and his own credit card company resolved the dispute in our favor. See attached.

So no, we at The Hideaway absolutely did not deal dishonestly with this guest, nor did we offer him a "mucky mess mud pit" .... we don't even have mud and dirt on our property, it is sand and gravel. Nor did we "refuse to return his money", he never even contacted us to request it. There is not a single phone call or email from him to us. Nor did we "steal his money", his own credit card company sided in our favor. I understand he is upset because he is not getting his way but retaliating and stating lies will not get anyone very far in life, I have learned.

We are a company with an upstanding reputation and exceptional reviews. We deal honestly and fairly with all our guests and are known for going above and beyond in all we do to please our guests. However, we will not tolerate bullying and lies or be controlled by negative reviews or complaints that a guest may use as a form of manipulation to get their way. It is completely unacceptable and goes against our philosophy of fairness and honest dealings.