Mother left bad review of my business because of how we treated her 3 year old

[user1480264682]

I run a soft play centre in a small town. It closes at 6pm weekends but sometimes it closes at 3:30 for private hire parties.

Last Saturday it closed at 3:30pm. We did put that it would be closing
On facebook and on an A4 piece of paper outside the door of the centre. I We put the notice up three days before the early closing.

At 3:14pm one of our workers saw a young mum and her 3 year old arrisve excitedly for soft play. She took his coat and shoes off and handed over her £4.00.
The worker told her that the centre would be closing in 15 mins.

She was upset and said that her son would not understand why he couldn't go In and she had travelled half an hour to get here.
She told him that soft play was closed and he didn't understand so she asked if he could play for 15 mins. My worker said that if she wanted to play for the remaining 15mins she would have to pay full price. She said she couldn't afford £4.00
For 15 mins as she would have to occupy her son for the remaining hours afterwards so would need to take him somewhere else.

She said okay and was nice not annoyed. She never said she was upset at the time. She then left with her son who started screaming crying saying he wanted o go in soft play and she had to pick him up screaming crying. The worker didn't see or hear him crying but another who was outside did.

The mother has since gone on to write a bad review on out facebook page. She used to visit our centre up to three times a week and she has said it was very mean not to let her clearly disappointed son play for 15 mins as he was so excited to play and at his age did not understand it was closed. She also said she was willing to pay just not full price.

She has said she will never be returning and her son cried for an hour on the way home trying to run back.
I would have done the same as this worker and she is not going to be in trouble for this as you have to pay full price no matter what time you arrive.

AIBU? It may have been nice to
let him play for 15 mins but shouldn't be expected. In hindsight we may have considering the circumstances but we feel it shouldn't be expected.

Unusual to close to the GP for a party

I would do what others suggested

Have set times where you close at say 5 everyday. Private parties get held after 5.

My local soft play can be ram packed...and still have parties happening. There was once 4 parties at once going on and that's with the public in there too.

So user1480264682 - now that you've got the bad review, the key questions are what are you going to do to regain that customer, what are you going to do to communicate these random early closures more effectively and are there alternatives to simply closing up to accommodate a private party?

I think there was a need for the review. She wants to tell other people what happened so that it doesn't happen to them. I wouldn't go to a soft play centre that I couldn't rely on being open. So that review would help me decide not to go there.

Actually I don't think YWBU

I wouldn't expect a free 15 mins. If she's that regular she would know to check whether you're closing early.

I see I'm in a minority, but I think she sounds like an entitled nightmare

TBH - I would have let the child in for 10-15 minutes with no charge.

He is very little to understand, and even if the mother hadn't been a regular customer, it would have been an excellent advert for your business. Instead of a nasty review you may have got a glowing one!

Most importantly, it would have been a kind thing to do.

Why don't you post the review? It's on your website/Facebook page so hardly private correspondence.

'If you expect people to show goodwill towards to, you need to show some goodwill to customers. Simple' exactly!

Especially when it's a service based business.

Is no-one else seeing massive gaping holes in this woman's story? She comes from half an hour away three times a week, but doesn't know they shut early for parties sometimes? And neither of her - presumably - two/three visits this week have been in time to see the notice on the door? I smell bullshit.

Without a doubt it was badly handled by the employee on the door, but I do feel there's fault on both sides here.

I think you need to change your policy on closing for parties , my DC are all teen + now but the soft play places we used to frequent used to be private hire only after the normal opening times . If the review has simply stated what you have without embellishment then you deserve the review .

Oh no, YANBU at all. You clearly advertised the closing time. You don't do partial hours and if you did so for this woman you would have to do so for everyone. She had bad luck this time but it was not your worker's fault and it isn't your fault.

I wouldn't go to a soft play centre that I couldn't rely on being open.

This.

I think she sounds like an entitled nightmare

bit harsh? If I am paying for a ticket to see a movie at my local cinema, I wouldn't be too impressed if they suddenly decide to close early. If I am sitting in a restaurant for a meal, and suddenly told they have decided to close in 15 minutes when I was expecting to spend a couple of hours there, I wouldn't be too pleased either.

I am not sure we agree on the definition of "entitled" here.

It's not good organisation, surely, to just close early randomly and not expect potential customers to be thoroughly jarred off if they've made a special journey to use your facilities.
Where I work (similar, but not the same) we would probably have offered a voucher for another session free of charge, and allowed the little boy 15 minutes for nothing before the party got going.
Customer satisfaction is important and I personally think that the staff should be allowed to use their initiative.

And as for letting him play for free, FGS you're running a business. If you start doing that, every chancer is going to turn up at 3.10pm when they know you shut at 3.30pm demanding the same.

The customer is not always right.

And neither of her - presumably - two/three visits this week have been in time to see the notice on the door

Not necessarily. She could have been there on Monday and the sign went up 3 days before the early closure on Saturday (ie Wed), or her son could have been ill for a few days so they hadn't been that week, or any other number of reasons.

You and your staff had the opportunity to exceed your customer's expectations and turn a negative (only 15mins til early closing) into a win (free play as exceptional circumstances).

I think all the faffing with variable opening times will bite you on the bum eventually. I'd soon give up using you if you make it hard for me to know if you are going to be open.

So, learn from it and improve your customer service.

Posting on facebook and a piece of paper at the venue isn't enough.

The fact is she traveled for a hour to pay £5 for what turned out to be 15 mins play. Yes there were notices of early closure. But would it have killed you to be a little kind and let him play for free?

I'd apologise, say policy has been amended so the place will no longer close for private functions.

It's quite normal for a mum to be so engrossed in looking after her child and getting on with things, that she fails to see a sign.

I think I would rather have told my three year old it was shut and taken her somewhere else than let her play for 15 minutes then have to get her out again.
Would also been a lesson to me to call a head and check it wasn't shut.
YANBU

Your business, your rules. But I would consider the review harsh but fair unless factually incorrect.
Your staff weren't to know I suppose but long game/long term you would have been so much better to have given her a 15 minute session for a quid. Tbh just for PR/in exchange for a positive review I'd have given a taster freebie. Word of mouth/social media/return custom will pay off.
I have been in a similar situation as a customer and have paid full whack on one occasion (30 minutes before closing, my choice) and I have also been given reduced rates/lollies-cuppa thrown in at full price. Most places do happy hour rates anyway before closing.
I would respond along the lines of Sorry it was closed for private function, notice of 72 hours had been given but in light of disappointment and staff adhering to admission policy as you were not there, you would be happy for mum and son to return for a free session. That way, you look good, you look as if you give a shit, you don't lose a customer, she will either take you up on it or not but unless really strapped will probably buy a culpa whilst there so you're not making too much of a loss with a complimentary visit.
Worth thinking about.

I know plenty of 2 & 3 year olds that would be happy with 15 minutes before it closes rather than nothing.

EXPECTED. You seem rather focussed on the idea that she EXPECTED her child to be allowed to play for free. It's hard to see why that's your focus without seeing her review.

Would I have expected it? No, but then I'd just tell the 3 yo it was closing early and we'd go another day. No issue with that from any I know, possibly I'm lucky on that score or possibly I just don't tolerate that kind of crap and they know it. (Other than known or suspected SN, but in that situation I accept it's my issue to deal with. I've been well pissed off when it's happened and I've then had a 4 yo in complete SN meltdown, but pissed off it's happened, not at them).

However, an 'I'm so sorry but we are closing in 15 minutes for a private hire today, DC is welcome to play until then if you'd like' would have been nice.

I have been to soft play centres that close most Saturday's for parties.

I don't think she should've been given the option to come in at all- the child wouldn't have willingly left after 15 mins, they would've made a mess that staff would've had to try to clear up in time for the party.

But all in all, it's a storm in a teacup isn't it? No biggie

All the softplays around here (at least 4 that I know of) operate along the same lines as the OP. If the party hosts pay for exclusive hire then the place will close early to accommodate that (there is also the option to pay less for a non-exclusive party). There are signs up at the softplays advising people to check the websites before travelling for party closure notifications. One that I know of puts those updates only on Facebook. I have only recently joined Facebook but even before I was a member I could find their FB page just through a Google search.

But having said all that, it is crappy having to deal with a 3-year-old who was looking forward to a run around at softplay. Those 15 minutes may have been enough to take the edge off and it's bonkers that your staff were trying to charge the full amount. Good customer service in this case would have been to let them in for free for such a short amount of time. The woman knows from now on to check for closures, she would have come back, not posted the review which has cost you more than a couple of quid am sure - even if you just think about the time it took you to post on here.