Zionsville Country Kennel

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]
 
 
I have read the owners response. She must have me confused w another complaint/customer. I only spoke w her once and was not what I would consider to be irrational, intimidating or any of the adjective fillers she mentions in her response. Nor do I have a regular kennel as We just recently moved to the area..& have never even boarded our dog. Her response is long winded and only confirms my complaint which is that there is nothing in writing that makes mention of a non-refundable deposit...& it was never verbally relayed. I filed this complaint because this is the response I receive from the owner as well and was hoping the Revdex.com could confirm that this is unethical business practice and require her to return our deposit. It is not the money it is the principal. When she refused to return the deposit like anything reputable business owner that wants to keep clients for future business and referrals in my opinion would do (especially when it was only $60) it only made me more eager to take the necessary steps to ensure she & her actions are reported to the Revdex.com for other potential clients to be made aware otherwise she just gets away w making up policy at the expense of the customer without any repercussion of this unethical business practice. I truly cannot believe a business owner would write a response like this vs. apologizing for the miscommunication and refunding the deposit. A true testament to the type of why this though time consuming - was my only option.

I thought I had already responded to this complaint, but maybe I didn't do it correctly.  I responded on May 1, 2014, based on a letter I received on April 28, 2014. 
The following is my response. 
We have spoken with this customer on at least two (2)
different occasions when she irately called the kennel, berating and trying to
intimidate me and my employees with false accusations.  She has been totally unreasonable, and has refused
to listen and acknowledge her commitment as we tried to explain the
situation.   Hopefully your objective
input can help resolve the situation. 
First of all, there is no mention of a deposit required or a
policy on deposits on the Zionsville Country Kennel Website.  The kennel does not require any deposit
during non-peak, non- holiday periods if the reservation is made direct with
the kennel, and that is why we have no mention of a deposit on our
website.   Our website does however offer
customers a link to a 24/7 reservation service through a 3rd party
website (Pet Bookings.Com) for reservations during non-peak,  non-holiday periods, including Spring Break.   The Pet Bookings Policies are very clearly
explained on their website.  Pet Bookings
requires a 10% deposit for their service based on the estimated cost of the
reservation, and as mentioned in the complaint and on the Pet Bookings Website,
these deposits are fully refundable if
the reservation is cancelled through Pet Bookings 48 hours prior to the
date reserved.  The estimated cost of
this customer’s reservation was $252, and if she had made the reservation
through Pet Bookings.com for a
non-peak, non-holiday period, and then subsequently cancelled that
reservation directly through Pet Bookings, one week prior to the reserved date,
her $25.20 deposit would have been refunded with no issue. 
During peak
periods and holidays (including Spring Break), we do not use Pet
Bookings, and all reservations are taken direct at the kennel.  During these periods, before the reservation
is even logged into the system, we inform the customer that a special $60
deposit is required to hold the reservation. 
We also explain that this special $60 deposit will be applied toward the
cost of boarding, and that it is fully refundable if the reservation is
cancelled before the 1st day of the Holiday month.  For Spring Break, this would have been March
1st, 2014. This is a standard industry practice, and easily verified
with any other local kennels.  In fact
some kennels require 100% non-refundable payment in advance for a reservation
during peak periods  and holidays.  The main reason for this practice is that due
to demand during this period, we end up recommending other kennels, and  turning customers away once we are fully
booked. 
This customer was very upset when I reminded her of her
commitment for Spring Break, and refused to listen.  Her complaint alludes to the fact that her
reservation was made through Pet Bookings and that the Pet Booking Policy
should take precedence over the verbal policy relayed to her when she made her
Spring Break reservation and actually paid the $60 deposit.  I apologized and tried to explain that the
$60 would only cover a portion of the lost revenue we incurred as a result of her
late cancellation, even if we were able to call around and fill the vacancy at
that late date.  We have made exceptions
to this refund policy in the past where there was an illness, or some
extenuating circumstances.  Her only
explanation was that the kennel she normally uses was booked when she first
called, so she made a reservation with us. 
When her normal kennel had an opening, she decided that she would cancel
with us and demand a refund.   She only
started investigating the Pet Bookings Policy to confuse the situation , after
we refused to refund her deposit when she called to cancel her reservation.  This is the sole purpose for the deposit, and
I can see no justification in making an exception for her circumstances. 
Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to
provide in closing this issue.