My wife and are regular customers of Medieval Times but we won't be going back. We made the mistake of celebrating her birthday there tonight and it was the worst experience we've ever had. We've been there many times but she wanted to hear her name on announced by the king! Instead of re-writing everything, I'll just post the letter I sent to the corporate office. I left the name s out because this is on the internet but they know EXACTLY who I am (and I plan to make a HUGE deal about this).
To Whom It May Concern:
I have a some compliments and I have some complaints.
To begin, I am a business owner so the customer service I expect from people I do business with is the level that I present my customers. I expect nothing more and nothing less but I do understand that some employees are young and inexperienced so there are a few things that I can tolerate (as you will see).
I booked a celebration package over the phone to celebrate my wifes 31st birthday. I offered to take her to Vegas, or take her to Disneyworld or anywhere in the US but she chose to stay in Dallas and go to Fogo De Chao for lunch and Medieval Times for dinner.
The girl on the phone was very accommodating but she forgot to take the announcement name. I called back and made sure they got it correct. I also spoke to Jessi in the front. She was WONDERFUL! If all of your employees were as warm and customer service oriented as her you would have a magnificent staff. She made sure the announcement was written down and pronounced correctly.
We were led to our seats by a waitress. I went to the bar to get some drinks because I know from past experiences that I have a better chance of finding gold under my seat than having my drink order taken. No big deal, I expect it.
When the girl sat my wife she led her to the top of the stairs and pointed her to her seat. My wife insisted that she help her to the seat since the show was starting and it was too dark to see. When she got to the front row there were two seats scattered apart from each other. The young lady tries to seat us in separate seats but when my wife said something about it she was told "well, I guess you are going to have to get someone to move". This is rather shocking seeing as she is the hostess. My wife basically had to tell her to ask people to sit in their designated seats. Anyway, I expect that kind of customer service from the wait staff, so again, no big deal.
I find my way to the seats, drinks in hand and we sit down to see a good show. Your knights are extremely talented and as I studied what they were doing I was amazed at the amount of scripting and choreographing they have to commit to memory in order to perform. I was especially impressed (as I always am) with the jousting and sword fights. One wrong move and someone can get seriously injured but the guys know their part so flawlessly that it is amazing! It is truly an awesome show.
The announcements come and my wife got so excited. She repeated to me "I bet you they are going to say mine last". I heard the gentleman stumbling a bit on the list so she said "I bet he's going to say me". She was so excited and just light up like a Christmas Tree.
The announcements come and go and her name was not mentioned. She was just devastated. It was like her balloon had just popped. I waited a couple of minutes and told her "let me go get some drinks and we'll have a private little toast".
I go to the bar and talk to the bar tender. I chit chatted with him for a bit, big smile on my face and asked for Jessi. Jessi directed me over to a woman named Gina who was handles these things. I didn't get back to my seat for a good 20 minutes so I missed a good deal of the show. Still, no problem, I wanted my wife to have something to remember and I've seen the show several times.
I approach Gina with a big smile and ask why my wifes name was not called. Immediately she went into defense mode telling me I should have checked in with her etc. Etc. Well, no one instructed us to do so. Furthermore Jessi wrote down her name and asked how to pronounce it properly so I figured it was covered. Still, I smiled and said "is there anything we can do to make this evening special?". She said "well, I can give her a scroll". I asked if she could have one of the knights give it to her. Maybe after the show have her favorite knight come up to her and take a picture with her after handing it to her. That was COMPLETELY out of the question according to Gina. I still don't understand why, the knights come out after the show any way! Plus I would have tipped the knight for making it special for us. I'm just like that. Hell, I tipped the bar tender 5 bucks on each drink and a 50 for the waitress (not the drink waitress, I never saw her, the main waitress).
OK then, is it possible that the King or possibly the announcer say her name at the end of the show and maybe ride up and give it to her? Bingo! We have a winner. She said that would be just fine. GREAT!
I walked back to Gina after getting half way to my seat to give her the reservation name so she can be sure to find us. She said "well, he'll come up to the area and say "Lady XXXX, a special happy birthday" etc. Etc. MAGNIFICENT! This is GREAT customer service! Big flags being waived for your staff!
I could tell the rest of the show was a big disappointment for my wife but I knew at the end she would have something to remember! The end came, the announcer passed by us, closed the show... And that was it. My heart just dropped to my stomach.
I told my wife "let's just go" and we were heading out. Still, she tried to make it special and wanted to take a picture. As we were waiting for the picture to develop I saw Gina. I was a bit frustrated and told her "I see, not only did I not get what I paid for but I see this place is full of shit too". Not the most tactful choice of words, I admit, but appropriate considering the circumstances.
She came running after me and said in front of my wife "they are going to call her name, the king is about to call her name right now". Well, there goes the surprise! No big deal, but there was this big dark cloud over the entire evening already, let's see if we can bring some sunshine in!
The King announced her name. She went running up to him like a little girl but he proceeded on to something else (the knighting ceremony I think). Again, a big disappointed look on her face. He didn't even have a scroll in his hand to give her. He could have at least acknowledged her being there but he read it and just went on the the next thing.
We then started walking out the door and we were assaulted by a manager who refused to give us her name or position. She came running after us and said "did you get the scroll?" I just laughed and said "you can shove that scroll up your ass". Of course, not at all appropriate but apparently that should have been some indication that there was something SERIOUSLY WRONG with the customers experience, so serious that they were willing to cuss about it.
Instead of asking what is going on she RAN to get security. As we were walking out she told the DPS officer to throw us out! As if we weren't already walking out ourselves! I just laughed and said "you know what, go ahead and give me your name and position with the company please". She refused and called someone else.
At that point a gentleman by the name of Mike Harris approached us. He was immediately on the defense as well and told me he has a zero tolerance for profanity, as did the unnamed staff member.
After I fully explained our entire experience he completely understood why we were so frustrated. Even the girl who refused to give us her name and position said "oh my God, I thought you just didn't get a scroll, I didn't know any of this".
As she was "throwing us out" she said she'll give us a refund for the announcement. I refused. I didn't want anything but for someone to listen to our complaint. I didn't find out until I got in the truck that my wife accepted the refund. I did not.
The confrontation ended with Mike and I shaking hands but I am a bit troubled that the girl who refused to identify herself jumped so quickly to call security without knowing a single detail or trying to resolve a customer service issue. Apparently she is not qualified to be in a customer service position. This is absolutely shocking!
Yesterday we had a customer who's appointment we missed TWICE. It was completely our fault. One of my reps booked the job and it was well out of our normal area so naturally we had trouble getting someone to go out there. This woman was FURIOUS, using profanity far worse than anything I said to your staff. I listened to every word she said and went out personally to do the job for her at nine o clock at night. I tolerated her abusive language and far more her cussing (there is a BIG difference between abusive language and cussing).
You know what the outcome was? She deleted her BBB complaint and she offered to COOK ME DINNER! She was praising our company and apologizing profoundly for the way she spoke to me on the phone. (It was F this and your Fing company that etc. Over and over and over again).
Now, I could have hung up the phone on her and told her I have a "zero tolerance" policy for cussing (as I was told by the woman who refused to give me her name or position). Then I would have to deal with a BBB complaint and an angry customer.instead I turned her into a cheerleader for us who will praise us to all of her friends.
Now if I can do that with someone so irate, why is it so difficult for your staff to do the same with someone who was perfectly calm, just a bit fed up with the situation? And especially a customer who is already on their way out of the establishment! Calling security is just adding insult to injury and when she said "I had no idea about any of this", that was just more salt in the wound.
Mike told me he would have taken care of it all had he known. Well, he was the FIFTH person I spoke to that night about this matter. He said he would have made sure we left with a big smile on our face but because I used two mild cuss words, he "couldn't do anything for us". And considering we are at "Medieval Times" (a place with knights, horses and ASSES) the phrase "shove it up your ass" could be nothing more than a humorous pun!
This "zero tolerance" excuse is a big cop out in my book. It seems like a managing staff just trying to find an excuse for their poor service. That would be the same as if I told my angry customer yesterday that I didn't care about anything other than the way she was speaking to me on the phone. No, no matter what the policy, no matter what the scenario, or any other details, a simple cuss word or two does not justify the mistakes that were made over and over and over again by your staff.
Bottom line is I was fed up. A very special and memorable night was ruined! This will forever stick in both of our minds and live on in tales to our family and friends about the WORST birthday we've had!
I guess in the end we got exactly what we paid for. A night that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Funny. If I would have swallowed my pride, bit my tongue and remained professional and polite things would have been completely different. But on the flip side if your staff would have done the same, the outcome would have been completely different.
I guess it all boils down to one simple question. Who's job is it to stay professional in a situation like this? The customer or the staff?
Thank you,
Xxxxxxxx
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