ComplaintsforMagical Adventure Balloon Rides

• Initial Complaint

  10/07/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I booked a hot air balloon ride for 10/6/2021 paid $439.10 total for balloon ride for my husband and i, champagne toast, souvenir photos and paid extra for them to provide a cake for my husband's birthday. The website and booking confirmation says it's a "shared basket (meaning 4 or more people)" but upon arrival they crammed us in a van with a bunch of people we didn't know and tried to cram 20 people into a balloon basket that would comfortably fit maybe 8-10 people. Because of Covid concerns, i didn't feel comfortable with that and didn't want to ride. The owner refused to give us the cake i paid for because we didn't ride. i asked for a refund because the website is misleading and the owner was extremely rude and refuses to refund me the money.

  Business response

  10/08/2021

  Our company provides hot air balloon rides. We offer shared basket rides, semi-private flights and private flights. This customer purchased a shared basket ride. Because we are a high cost and limited capacity attraction, cancelations and changes require 48 hours' notice. The balloon the passenger was scheduled to fly in had 4 compartments, each compartment capable of holding six full size adults. We only had 16 passengers scheduled in that balloon, meaning 4 passengers per compartment. This customer refused to share the compartment with another couple on the launch field. We offered to upgrade her to a semi-private flight or reschedule her for another day but because she had reserved space in the balloon that morning, it prevented us from selling her space to others, we will not issue a refund. We stand by our cancelation and change policy as it appears on our website and in the email confirmation with the guest. 

  
  

  Cancellations

  If you must cancel your reservation, please contact us at least 48 hours prior to your flight. If you cancel within 48 hours of your flight or fail to show up, no refund is given and full fare will be charged. Prepaid vouchers, once issued, are non-refundable or redeemable for cash.

  
  

  We are still willing to reschedule the guest for another day and/or they can upgrade to a semi-private or private flight.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Customer response

  10/08/2021

   I am rejecting this response because: The website is misleading about the riding conditions of the balloon and should therefore make the cancellation policy null and void. The company is not adhering to any Covid safety guidelines at all, and due to the seriousness of the disease, the website should say something to warn people who are thinking about booking with them.  The company purposely overbooks the balloons to try and force people to pay extra money to have a comfortable ride. I also paid extra for a cake that I was not allowed to have which basically amounts to theft on their part because it really didn't even have anything to do with the balloon ride but was paid for as an extra service.

  
  
  

  Business response

  10/08/2021

  We take great offense at the consumer's allegation that we overbook and overcrowd our balloons. We size our aircraft based on the party size, weights of the passengers and number of people. The balloon was not over crowded and this guest would have shared a compartment with one couple. We are still willing to reschedule this guest for another day or allow them to upgrade to a semi-private or private flight. I reviewed the guest's booking and have refunded the cake and gratuity portion of her purchase. She claims she did not receive a cake that she purchased. 

  
  

  We remain firm as to our 48 hour cancelation policy. Obviously, we had no time to resell this guest's reserved space in our balloon. As to our COVID-19 policies, we are an outdoor recreational activity and request guests be fully vaccinated or if not, to wear a mask.

  
  

  Sincerely,

  
  

  ***** *******
  

  
  

  Customer response

  10/11/2021

   I am rejecting this response because: If the company doesn't want to be called out for overbooking and overcrowding, then they should not overbook. Pictures do not lie. The owner keeps making it sound like there was only one other couple in the balloon, however this was not the case, as shown in the pictures. There is absolutely no place on the website. in the booking confirmation or in the contract where it says ANYTHING about Covid guidelines/being vaccinated, or wearing a mask so that is a completely false statement made by the owner. Also, the balloon ride may be outdoors but the van ride over was not and everyone was crammed in like sardines in the filthy van with no masks required. They absolutely do overbook to try and force people to upgrade to a ride with less people on it, but for a ridiculous amount of additional money. The simple facts are that this company's website is very misleading which should therefore make the cancellation policy null and void and he should issue me a full refund. However, the owner's greed is apparent in the fact that he refunded the money for the cake and for the gratuity (the only portion of the money that goes to his employees who actually were the only ones who deserved anything). That's really awesome of you *****. Boss of the year right there. A little bit of kindness and understanding really goes a long way in customer service and when I first sent a text to the owner, all he had to do was say "I'm really sorry that you had a bad experience with our company. Our cancellation policy says that there will be no refunds given for cancellations that are within 48 hours of the reservation, however, I understand your concerns about Covid, especially after suffering the recent loss of a loved one. I can refund half of your money or we can offer you another ride on a less crowded balloon. Customer feedback and satisfaction is very important to us and we are looking into providing a better description of services on our website to avoid any future confusion." I would have appreciated his response and would have been happy to meet him in the middle. 
  
  
  

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