Let me start by saying my organization has had a good, long standing relationship with The Fun Co. We have been happy customers doing business with them without incident for nearly a decade. Our organization participates in an annual local hometown fair, whereby we have utilized The Fun Co for rental of the Hi-Striker unit, the "bell and hammer" game whereby participants test their strength by hammering a mallet onto a rubber pad, launching the pin in an effort to ring the bell (a classic carnival game).
Three years ago, during the middle of the fair, a spring broke, leaving the 17-ft Hi-Striker inoperable for over two hours while we scrambled to Home Depot to replace this spring. As this served as a fundraiser for our organization, we lost out on significant revenue and negotiated a credit from Fun Co. We were happy they worked with us and suggested they supply us with spare parts in the future. The next year, we were unlucky again, this time with the metal "tongue" snapping, which launches the pin. While this was an unfortunate deal, one of our members (who happens to be a contractor) was able to tack weld the piece back, providing a temporary fix to get us through the fair. Again, because this event serves as a fundraiser, we negotiated a credit. Our feelings are that while this occurred on our watch, the very nature of the Hi-Striker makes these things inevitable and there should be an expectation to supply spare parts to your customers in the event this occurs (much like a car rental company providing a spare tire on a vehicle).
Move ahead to 2014, and this time we were shocked at the condition of the Hi-Striker. It would have appeared that nobody had even cared to do any routine maintenance, on a unit that is repeatedly hit and would need to be maintained. This time, the rubber pad for which hundreds of people hit, arrived to us cracked and falling apart! A part seemingly so insignificant provided us the most grief. Before even letting the first customer step up, our team of handy-men and women were able to duck tape the pad as best could be. However, the pad was effectively rotted out, and we lost several hours over the weekend attempting to fix the unit. To help our case, we took pictures (time stamped, nonetheless, before the event) outlining our grievance.
Our concerns with the maintenance of the unit were met with complete disdain and disregard by Buck (the owner). Instead of accepting responsibility and understanding that this game needed to be maintained, he decided to hide behind his administrator and say he was not going to rent to us again.
So, in July 2015, I attempted to reach out to Buck and have a professional understanding, whereby I outlined our organizations willingness to assume cost of these spare parts (yes, I offered to buy the spare parts to avoid this type of trouble). One would think a business owner looking to grow their business would want to connect with their customers, however, Buck refused and continued to hide behind his administrator and refuses to have a professional conversation.
I do commend Laura at The Fun Co, as she attempted to do everything in her power to help mediate the situation. I firmly believe she sees our organization's willingness to work with The Fun Co and make things right. It is too bad that this day in age, with social media helping to make or break organizations, that Buck would be so obtuse and refuse to call a customer and have a discussion to resolve any issue.
At the end of the day, we will find a new company to work with. Once our business moves, we will likely never do business again with The Fun Co, which is a shame.
In conclusion, I'm still waiting for your call Buck. You know who I am and you have my contact information and know how to reach me. I give you 2 stars because I find your handling of this situation unprofessional and unbecoming of a business owner. I would caution all potential customers who wish to work with The Fun Co to work directly with Laura (very sweet lady) and avoid dealing with Buck. read more
