My friends and I visited Cannon Farms to take pictures and find pumpkins to carve. From the moment we arrived, the experience was disappointing. We didn't see any signs saying we had to pay upon entry, and nobody stopped us or told us we needed to pay.
We went to the pumpkin area first, only to find that almost all the pumpkins were in terrible condition. Many were moldy, broken, and covered in flies. There were hardly any decent pumpkins to choose from, and the whole area was far from what we expected.
I want to be honest about what happened next. I picked up a pumpkin that was already broken and jokingly threw it toward my friend, who dropped it. We didn't think much of it because it was already damaged, but I understand that throwing it wasn't the best decision.
Afterward, we went into the field to take pictures. Suddenly, a man started shouting at us not to run, even though nobody was running. Within moments, at least six people had surrounded us. We had no idea what was happening or what we had supposedly done wrong.
The staff immediately treated us as if we were criminals. One man accused us of vandalism, threatened to call the police and our parents, and made insulting comments about our upbringing and our parents. We remained cooperative throughout the entire interaction.
We were escorted out and put in a trailer pulled by a tractor, where even more staff members confronted us. We explained that we hadn't seen any signs about admission and had intended to pay when we left. Instead of listening to us, one employee called us "fucking liars." They then discussed whether they should make us pay, call the police, or contact our parents. I personally offered to pay because I wanted to make things right, but the man said he didn't want my money.
The staff continued making rude and dismissive comments toward us. At one point, the man even pointed at me and said he didn't trust me, despite my trying to explain the situation and apologize. Eventually, they decided to kick us out and told us they never wanted to see us again.
As we got off the tractor, several older women were waiting with their phones out. One was filming us and calling us "vandals" while we walked away, making the whole situation even more humiliating. We were made to feel like criminals in front of a crowd, despite cooperating the entire time.
I understand that businesses have rules, and I acknowledge that throwing the pumpkin wasn't the best decision. However, there is a massive difference between enforcing rules and surrounding, insulting, threatening, and publicly humiliating a group of teenagers who are cooperating and trying to explain themselves.
Between the terrible condition of the pumpkins, the lack of clear admission information, and the way we were treated by the staff, this was one of the worst customer experiences I have ever had. I would not recommend Cannon Farms to anyone based on this experience. read more