Go Ape refusing refund

Sorry OP, but it's coming across to me that you spent £60 on the experience, and are now regretting it, and looking for a way to get your money back.

@Stripyseason

You have given us your opening salvo to them and their response but apart from saying it has gone back and forth, you haven't told us what else you have said to them or what they have replied, apart from saying hey are sticking at the 10%.

Have you told them what you would be happy with? If so, what have have you suggested to them? Sometimes, saying what you want clearly can help.

Op I think in future it might help you if you make complaint emails far clearer. Include the timings. Cut the waffle. And focus on facts.

It sounds like they did say it was either 3 or 4 and not both, but yes, they should have made it crystal clear that whichever course they chose not to do would be closed and there would be no option to go back and do the other one.

Nobody made them rush through the last course though. OP, as the parent, could have checked with them how long they had to complete their remaining course so she could reassure her son they still could take their time and do it safely. Instead, judging from her OP, she got caught up in the anxiety herself and hurried round the last course rather than de-escalating, and is now blaming Go Ape for that. That's not a Go Ape problem, it's an OP problem.

Yes, obviously it’s taking the piss to want a full refund, but there is no “perhaps” about the last paragraph, unless they made it clear when they missed out level 3 that there could be no going back to it and that, as a consequence, they could be even slower on level 4 than they were on levels 1 and 2, and still have time to spare at the end.

I’m going to guess they are just as inclined to lie as any customer - so the only thing you can rely on is what the computer says was the clocking in and out time…

They didn't rush them though. They managed it appropriately based on the time it took OP and her children to complete levels 1 and 2. Which is the exact opposite of rushing. Of course they say take as much time as you need on the course, because will have wanted to ensure they completed what they could safely in the time available. "Take as much time as you need on the course" does not mean "you can have as much time as it takes you to complete all 4 courses and we will wait for you".

They have to estimate an average time to complete the course and if people go over that, then it means they may not be able to complete the whole course, so them saying they were over time and wouldn't have time to complete all the courses was simply the instructors managing time, ie doing their job.

"I felt rushed" is not the same thing as having actually been rushed. OP and her kids weren't told to hurry, they were told that they were closing soon (fact) and didn't have time before closing to complete two more courses, so they could do course 3 or 4. That's not rushing people, it's presenting them with facts and giving them a choice, and giving plenty of notice about closing time and time limits is absolutely appropriate for an autistic child. It might have been a choice OP didn't want, but what were they meant to do exactly? Let them go on their merry way and then shout "closing in 5 minutes by the way, hurry up" when they're only half way through the fourth course? That would absolutely be an unreasonable thing to do to an autistic child.

Perhaps it was premature of them to close course 3, and leave them without the option. And the briefing was 20 mins late, which was Go Ape's bad. Which is why it would be fair imo to offer a 25% discount rather than 10%. But I still maintain a full refund is taking the absolute royal piss.

I'm going to guess that anyone employed at go ape is just as capable of telling time and looking at a clock/watch as OP is....

Except they do not have timers up in the trees - you clock in when you arrive and clock out when you leave…

I think it's pretty obvious from the wording and the tone of the email that the responder thinks that they had 90 minutes of time on the course. They're basically saying 'from our records it looks like you had more than enough time on the course but we realise you're disappointed you couldn't do all 4' It's a polite way of calling OP out on her crap without being confrontational about it.

I think the think is that people with autism aren't all the same person so it might be helpful to explain to go ape what exactly the behaviours or triggers mean. For example did you make clear you would require longer on the course? That your child would be wearing earplugs? That they can't eat certain textures of food?

From our timings it does look like you may have had 90 minutes on the course but I can appreciate how disappointing it must have been when you were not able to complete all 4 loops when you were told this would happen.

I don't see how this can be interpreted as anything other than the group got 90 minutes on the course, not to put gear on, not to watch safety videos but on the course The staff at go ape clearly believe that the group were given 90 minutes on the course. I'm far more inclined to believe them than OP because a) her story keeps changing and b) I work in a customer facing role and know full well that 'customers' frequently talk absolute bullshit.

It looks like the management believed that OP had half an hour Longer than the minimum contracted time on the course and yet they've still been incredibly gracious and compensated her whilst being very polite about it. OP sorry but you are the reason that people don't want to work with the public. What you don't realise if you've never been on the other side is that the lies and pedanticness are so incredibly dehumanising and demoralising sometimes. Just let it go and don't go there again if it was that disappointing. Nobody deserves to be snipped and snipped at and lied to especially when they essentially provided the service that you paid for

They don't want to rush or they'll injure themselves

Yes that's what it is. It's like sorry to hear that here's an explaination and a voucher. Oh what now your story has MORE detail you decided not to give us at the very start of your complaint.

This has been a very triggering experience giving me flashbacks to when I worked in customer services and all the people who would just trample over us to get what they wanted, which was always a full refund plus MORE money for something they didn’t deserve it for. Like here they wouldn’t take any reasonable offers, they knew what they wanted and would keep changing the narrative until they achieved that.

I'm autistic too and inclined to agree. It doesn't seem like OP's autistic child became particularly upset or triggered to a meltdown or I feel OP would have said that. Disappointment etc. is something all kids can potentially experience on attractions like this and happens all the time, so if that's all that was caused I don't think that's really a disability discrimination issue.

Be good, as others have said, if you can post their email reply where they acknowledge you only had 40 minutes of time on the course.

I'm beginning to believe that no such email from Go Ape exists otherwise it would have been posted by now to clear up the confusion regarding timings.

Also sure that Go Ape's Terms and Conditions which the OP will have read and agreed to cover the eventualities in the OP's case and that Go Ape have given the apology and offered the discount in a spirit of good faith and not because they were at fault.

I'm autistic & have 2 autistic DC & to be honest I think you're playing the disability card here. I don't know what reasonable adjustments they could have made?! I've always found go ape to be really good & accessible to autistic DC. Alot of similar activities refuse or limit autistic kids due to safety concerns.

The slot is 1 hour on the course. That's clear from the website & their response. They say 'allow up to 2 hours' so that people don't get annoyed if they have to wait or if it over runs.

So it was very poor management of expectations - telling someone there’s no rush, then that there is actually a need to rush, then failing to advise them they didn’t actually need to rush that much, because they had loads of time now for level four given that they had closed level 3 as soon as they bypassed it, leaving no option to return to it even if they did in fact have time to complete it.

I think this is probably spot on. Nobody can have exactly an hour of tree top time, as they'll have to cut off at some point (ie. if course 3 takes 20 minutes and you get to it with five minutes to go then you wouldn't have time to complete within the hour.)

That said, if you only had 40 minutes to do 3 of the 4 then it sounds like there probably should have been time for the last one. And if you started late because of the delay their end, then that's on them too.

But I'm having trouble believing that's fully the case. Their email to you is apologetic - offering a 10% discount if you only had 40 minutes on the course and there should have been time for the last one, then a partial refund (25% or so) - or a bigger discount off a return trip should be offered. The fact that you're 12 emails in and they're holding fast suggests they don't agree with your recollections of the timings or the events as you describe them.

Be good, as others have said, if you can post their email reply where they acknowledge you only had 40 minutes of time on the course.

Well this thread has been entertaining.

I've got two autistic DS. If your kids don't like being rushed, why would you choose the last slot of the day?

Trying to cut through the noise here - it sounds like based on the time taken to complete courses 1 and 2, the instructors estimated that you'd only have time to complete 3 or 4, not both. But I guess your son had gained some confidence and you completed 4 faster than expected. However, thinking that you were not going to complete both courses, they they shut course 3 down, and because they were closing at 6:30, there wouldn't have been time to open it up again and you complete it. It sounds unfortunate but not deliberately designed to deprive your son. No reason to go "mama bear" here, nobody was harmed, just disappointed. I too am autistic, and can assure you disappointment is not life threatening.

As for being "rushed" off site, well if you were the last people there and you were done in the trees, why did you need to hang about?

The decision making of the instructors on the day sounds fair and reasonable and it is entirely unreasonable to request a full refund because you did 3/4 courses. The fact that you couldn't get the full hour was an unfortunate combination of you being in the last group of the day and having been slower to complete the first two courses.

I would think a 25% discount off another visit would be fair in the circumstances as you missed out on 25% of the course. But I don't think it was anyone's fault really, so I don't think you have any right to be in such high dudgeon with them. In fact, if I was them, I'd probably be digging my heels in and not want to give you anything else because you've been rather demanding and dramatic about it all, and made it about them not accommodating your son's autism when it really isn't. If any group were slow to complete, they would have done the same thing. And there's a disclaimer that says if you don't complete in the time you may not be able to do the full course. Nothing to see here.