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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have expected a refund or next visit free voucher

166 replies

Arkwright · 06/04/2016 20:03

We went to the zoo for the day. Paid the extortionate entry fees for the 4 of us. Ten minutes inside the zoo my Dd was very sick. There was no warning of this she was absolutely fine before. We left straight away as she looked awful and still felt sick. My husband took her to the car and cleaned her up. I went to the desk and explained and asked if we could have a refund or a voucher to come again another day. They refused and offered us 10% off another visit. I even wrote in and received the same answer. So we paid a whole days charge for a 10 minute visit. So were the zoo being unreasonable?

OP posts:
ApocalypseSlough · 06/04/2016 22:50

The zoo didn't incur any costs for the £70 and if they'd given you vouchers for a return visit they'd get more money out of you. For that reason alone YWBU to ask and they WBVU to refuse you vouchers.

Eminado · 06/04/2016 22:55

If you argued with the ticket lady the same way you are doing here i can see why you didnt get a free ticket!

Original poster
Arkwright · 06/04/2016 22:57

There was no way we could stay as her top and coat was covered. We had no spare clothes with us. As I said it was an hour away so it wasn't practical for DH to travel back and forth. It is in the middle of the country so there was nowhere for DH and Dd to wait whilst me and my other Dd went round the zoo except in the car park.

OP posts:
PutAPlasterOn · 06/04/2016 22:59

I think you should name the zoo. We're planning a family trip and incorporation a visit to a zoo. I'd like to be aware I'm case a similar thing happens to us Hmm

PutAPlasterOn · 06/04/2016 22:59

Sorry for typos ... It's late ...

OwlinaTree · 06/04/2016 22:59

Mean zoo! I think they should have refunded you. Try the Twitter/Facebook option, tends to work well.

bluespiral · 06/04/2016 23:01

OP said she lost her cool with the person on the desk. I wouldn't have refunded her either after that, not if I didn't have to. Having worked in various jobs dealing with the public and their complaints, people always go the extra mile for the nicer customers.

Original poster
Arkwright · 06/04/2016 23:07

I lost my cool after she dismissed everything I said and basically shrugged her shoulders. £70 to us is a lot of money. I wasn't rude to her in any way but explained how disappointed I was with her attitude and how we couldn't have forseen the sickness.

OP posts:
Newtobecomingamum · 06/04/2016 23:10

I think YANBU and the zoo should have offered you a return visit. I've been to softplay and a farm before where my little one has been sick or not felt well within the first fifteen mins. The softplay refunded and farm have free visit without any hesitation whatsoever. Personally I think the zoo have made a huge mistake. For all of the people you will tell such as fam and friends (hense bad publicity) and the fact that you might not visit again after their actions.. They are loosing out financially and getting bad 'press'. However, had they had given you a return visit you would have had a positive experience from them, return in the future and also tell other people about their kind gesture.

Newtobecomingamum · 06/04/2016 23:12

£70 is a huge amount of money and no wonder you are upset. You are not in the wrong here.

frazzled74 · 06/04/2016 23:17

It's not their fault , but I think it would be a nice gesture for them to offer a return visit for free. Very disappointing for you all to spend all that money, children excited etc and then to not be able to enjoy it. The same thing happened to us at chessington once, they gave us a return visit and some fast track passes , but they can afford to. if it's a small independent zoo though, they may not be in a position to do this.

IHaveBrilloHair · 06/04/2016 23:19

That is terrible customer service and will do them more harm than good.
Hope your dd is all better now.

IoraRua · 06/04/2016 23:20

Unfortunate, but not their fault. They're not obliged to give you anything.
I actually worked in a place like that years ago (not a zoo, but somewhere with loads of kids) and there was a blanket policy of no refunds, so even if I wanted to help, I couldn't. I certainly wouldn't help someone who had a go at me when following rules laid out by management.
Probably a silly rule on their part, they could've made money on gifts or food from you, but oh well.

GingerMerkin · 06/04/2016 23:24

OP, you 'argued' with the lady at the ticket desk, bet that was entertaining for others waiting. And you really expect a refund. If you had asked nicely might have been looked on more kindly.

T0R1 · 06/04/2016 23:24

I don't think you are being unreasonable. Did the receipt have the time of entry on it? Surely they'd have seen that you'd been there 10 minutes. I think they should have given you a voucher for a return trip.

LogicalThinking · 06/04/2016 23:35

Appalling customer service. No they don't HAVE to help you, but it really would have been reasonable for them to give you a voucher to return.

lottielou7 · 06/04/2016 23:45

I certainly don't think it would have hurt them to say ok you can come back another day. And yes I agree that £70 is a lot of money. The problem is that most businesses care less about the people they are providing a service for than money.

MidniteScribbler · 07/04/2016 00:11

I don't think that legally they were under any obligation to refund you, but it would have been good customer service to do so. They may have you entry money now, but lost out on any money you would have spent on food and merchandise. If they gave you a free return ticket then they would have a chance of getting more money out of you.

Andrewofgg · 07/04/2016 05:17

GingerMerkin I have to admit I would have - in a malicious way - enjoyed hearing the argument!

MushroomMama · 07/04/2016 05:24

It's just one of those things as a parent you have to expect.

Nice of the zoo to offer you discount though!

Hope your dd is on the mend

KoalaDownUnder · 07/04/2016 05:33

YANBU.

That is utterly crap customer service. I don't care if it was legally within their terms and conditions; they have the discretion to waive those, and they were very short-sighted not to.

NotMeNotYouNotAnyone · 07/04/2016 07:15

Yabu

Yes it's shit. But it's no ones fault and certainly not the poor person you lost your cool with!

SeaMagic · 07/04/2016 07:19

I can understand the zoo not wanting to refund you but agree it is mean spirited not to offer you a credit note for another visit on another day. Wouldn't have cost them anything to do so and they might have actually made more money out of your next visit in terms of you buying something at their café and gift shop.

Surely they could have looked at your ticket to see just how long you had actually been there. So of it was genuinely ten minutes [or even under an hour perhaps, depending on size of zoo] I think a credit note would have been a nice gesture. Over an hour and then you would have just had to suck it up so to speak Grin

Verdict - YANBU

PrimalLass · 07/04/2016 07:44

I think YANBU. When DS was three we took him to the cinema. We didn't even get sat down because he started to freak out as soon as we got in to the dark. We got our money back.

MistressChalk · 07/04/2016 07:49

I agree the nice and business savvy thing to do would be to say you can use the tickets to visit again within X days. But the woman at the stand probably didn't have that authority so it's just bad luck and no ones fault.

However 'expecting' anything in that situation is unreasonable.

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