I visited the Upside Down House on Sunset in Hollywood on Sunday, September 20, at approximately…read more3:30 p.m., with my mother, brother, two nieces, ages eight and nine, and my three-year-old nephew. Unfortunately, we had an extremely disappointing experience from the moment we arrived.
When we walked in, several employees were sitting around. We approached the front desk and were assisted by a young African American woman with braces. I did not get her name, but she immediately had a very unpleasant and unwelcoming attitude.
While we were standing in line to purchase our tickets, my three-year-old nephew urgently needed to use the restroom. My brother explained that we were literally in the process of buying tickets and asked if his son could please use the restroom before he had an accident. She refused, stating that it was against their policy to allow anyone to use the restroom before purchasing a ticket. There were no signs posted anywhere informing customers of this policy. Despite the circumstances and my nephew's age, she showed no compassion or willingness to help, so my brother had to take him somewhere else.
I was also in the process of purchasing our tickets through Groupon when she told me they do not accept Groupons purchased on the same day. That restriction was not stated anywhere on the Groupon, nor was it posted anywhere inside the business.
The Groupon I selected specifically stated that it was for weekend use only, which is why it cost more than the weekday option. Despite that, she told me I could not use it that day and needed to return during the week--which made absolutely no sense because I had intentionally purchased the correct, higher-priced Groupon for weekend admission.
She offered me $5 off using a flyer, but I explained that I wanted to redeem the Groupon that was being advertised. I also made it clear that I was not driving all the way back to Hollywood on another day when we were already there and had purchased the correct weekend option.
When I asked where the same-day restriction was posted, she admitted that it was not posted anywhere. I then asked to speak with a manager, but she said she could not contact one. When I asked who was responsible for handling issues at the location, she said the shift lead was in charge but was away at lunch and would not be returning for a while. She eventually texted him, and he arrived shortly afterward. Before he spoke with us, she typed something on her phone and showed it to him.
The shift lead agreed to honor my Groupon that same day, confirming that I had purchased the correct option. What I found especially odd was that even while he was at the computer processing and redeeming it, she continued insisting that it should not be honored. She repeatedly said, "Yeah, I told her she couldn't do it," as if she were still trying to convince him not to redeem it. At that point, the issue was already being resolved, yet she continued inserting herself and pushing against the resolution. She was doing entirely too much and seemed determined to make the situation more difficult than it needed to be.
This was some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced. What should have been a fun family outing was ruined by an employee's attitude, a complete lack of compassion toward a three-year-old child, and policies that were not clearly disclosed or posted. To make matters worse, the entire attraction took approximately five minutes to walk through and was not worth the money.
My entire family left disappointed, and we will not be returning to this location.
