My husband reserved a cabin here over a month in advance (we have to plan anything well ahead of time because of a complicated parenting schedule for his older kids, and a problematic ex-wife). Today, the day before we were to drive up and check in for our week-long cabin vacation, a man at the resort called and cancelled our reservation. My husband said the reason given was storm damage. I called the resort to gather more details--I wondered if perhaps the storm damage may have affected features of the resort we weren't planning to take advantage of. I didn't think it would hurt to double-check.
The man on the phone was needlessly aggressive and excessively rude and disrespectful to me. It turned out that the real reason they cancelled our reservation was that we were supposed to have mailed in a deposit, in the form of a check, to hold our place. He claimed that he'd tried to call many times to ask for the deposit (IF that is true, he never left a voicemail). I offered to pay over the phone or via PayPal, but this business apparently exists in the dark ages; in addition to avoiding voicemail technology, they don't accept credit cards or payments over the internet--only checks or cash. So I assured the man that we could pay the full amount in person when we arrived, to which he rudely retorted with "Well why should I believe you? You're untrustworthy. You probably won't even show up." I assured him that we had planned our entire summer around this trip, that my husband and I are people of our word; it was our first time renting a cabin, we didn't have all the information necessary, and we would have sent the payment if we'd been properly informed. He continued to be rude and needlessly attack my character. I calmly told him that I would call my husband and see if he wanted to speak with the resort owner himself. He said he was glad to get off the phone with me because there were some "real, paying, GOOD customers there [he] wanted to talk to instead."
I then called my husband, who said he'd never spoken with the man or received phone calls or voicemails about a deposit problem. My husband revealed that he'd just talked to a woman at the resort on Sunday (5 days ago). He isn't naturally a detail-oriented person, so when he realized he'd forgotten to send in the deposit, he called to apologize and assure her we still planned to come. The woman told him that up until he called, they had been considering canceling our reservation, but because my husband called to explain, she said that was confirmation enough and agreed to let us pay upon our arrival at the resort.
Now we have to scramble to figure out what to do with the coming week--a week that my husband and I both requested off from work (I don't get paid time off, so I've forfeited a week's pay for this!). Will any other resorts have affordable cabins available at the last minute to accommodate 8 people for a week? I doubt it. This was our only opportunity to go somewhere special with my husband's older children this summer, and the man at Sunset Bay Resort in Aitkin, Minnesota, has ruined it by being 100% unwilling to be flexible or understanding, and adjust for his own failure to communicate with his female colleague.
I called him back to let him know that my husband HAD been in communication with the woman at the resort, and she had said the amended plan to pay upon arrival was fine...but because the man had been so rude and disrespectful to me over the phone, we will never give them our business. I recommend all prospective customers do the same. read more
