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Review 11/22/2011
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RESPONSE TO COMPLAINT:
I received a call from the client inquiring about our characters, services and prices. I informed her of the character choices, what services we provide and specifically went over prices and payment options. I advised she could either pay by check, but it would have to clear before the event or I would be happy to collect cash the day of. I also specifically and clearly stated, we would arrive prior to the event and collect FULL PAYMENT IN CASH before the character would come out. The client understood and confirmed she would rather pay cash the day of. The character was booked from 3pm to 4pm. The day of the event: at approximately 3pm we were unable to locate the park the customer stated. I called the client to inform her I might be a few min late because I was lost, but before I could get a word out; the client started to speak immediately and state that she was not at the park yet, can we please start late, they were almost there, and that her husband wanted to wait so their daughter would be surprised. I thought well it works out. I arrived at the location at exactly 3:15 pm. My employee (party leader) stepped out the vehicle to collect payment. I then began to get into the costume and was almost done when I realized she had been gone for several minutes. I called her at 3:20 pm to see if everything was ok but she responded awkwardly that they are paying now. I could not understand the problem since the client understood payment was collected first. I hung up and continued to wait. More time passed by and I called my party leader again at exactly 3:26 pm. I asked if there was a problem and she stated they were not paying and that she had explained several times that the character would not come out until payment was collected. Within those several attempts the client ignored and walked away from my employee. It was also explained that we would perform the entire hour as agreed upon but we could not wait all day because we had other events to get to. The client walked away again one final time, so at this point I instructed my employee to come back to the vehicle, because this no longer felt right and I was concerned for her safety. It was quite apparent the client was not looking to complete an honest transaction and I therefore made the call to leave the premise. As for the client stating she tried to call me after, well at this point I was driving and could not safely answer her call.
As for the times I listed in this response I have all the call logs to back up my statement.
The idea that this was a scam is ignorant and frustrating; at this point the only side that was out anything was mine, in both time and money for transportation.
We have been in business since 2007 and have never had this happen to ANY client, we have done corporate, school, private, charity and many other events without any complaint. We have also had much referral business.
Why would I risk a bad reputation on a single event?
Client stated how did she know if I was going to leave with her money? Well how did I know the client had any intention of paying? Clearly she stated she did not even have the money on the premise because she sent someone to get it. After client showed signs she did not have the intention of paying I was now concerned for the safety of my employee and at my suggestion and direction I directed her back to the vehicle to leave.
The client stated the car was occupied by one person, if that were true then my employee knows how to drive the vehicle from the passenger side, which is a great trick. Perhaps I will add it to my entertainment package.
It is unfortunate the outcome of this event, and I am sorry her child was disappointed. I started this business because of my children, but you have to realize at the end of the day which side was holding up the process of getting that child what she was looking forward to?
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