PARK 7, CA
First Contact: Female.
API: Stated question.
Staff: Our weight limit is 260 pounds. (Silence…)
API: OK…
Staff: And that’s firm. We don’t fudge that one and there is a scale up there. So, um, I’ll let you decide on that one.
API: OK, sure. He’s right around that, but he’s pretty physically fit even though he’s a big guy.
Staff: Yeah, um, unfortunately, yeah, we can’t quantify that. I just want to tell you though, so you don’t want to make a reservation for him and have him come in over that weight, because there are no refunds unfortunately.
API: Right, OK. I guess I’ll just confirm his weight then.
Staff: Yeah, for sure. When are you guys looking to come? (How do I know if we even can yet?!)
API: We’re not sure yet, but after the holidays.
Staff: OK. Well we’re open midweek until the 4th and then on weekends only. We’re back open daily after February 14th.
API: Good to know, thanks.
Staff: No problem. Hopefully we’ll see you up here soon!
Rating: 3
Comment: A less than personable attitude and no refunds make this park less than appealing.
PARK 8, CA
First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator.
Answering phone: Male.
API: Stated question.
Staff: We do, actually. Um, I’m looking them up right now. Is this for the ropes course or the X Line or both?
API: Well, I was looking at the X Park thing on your website. But I think you have a zip line somebody told me as well. So I think we were interested in all of them. And I didn’t know if there’s a big distance between them or if they were all connected?
Staff: Well, they’re not necessarily, no. They’re not connected. But hold on just one second because I have a couple of different restrictions here. OK, so all participants for the ropes course must be between 50 and 275 pounds.
API: No problem. He’s right around 250.
Staff: OK. Then for the X Line he’s going to be fine, too, and for the Y ropes he’s going to be fine there as well. Let me check on the Z attraction, one second…
API: Sure, no problem.
Staff: OK, so it looks like he’ll fit within these restrictions as well, because they are between 60 and 300 pounds for the Z attraction.
API: Great! So it looks like he can do everything?
Staff: Yup!
API: Awesome. Thanks for your help.
Staff: Of course. Is there anything else I can do for you? Would you like me to get your reservations all squared away?
API: That’s really kind of you, but I’m not exactly sure which day we’re coming. But if it’s easier, I can just call you guys back?
Staff: Yup, it is actually. And you can get everything squared away and make sure that it’s on the correct date and correct time. You would get an email confirmation you can print out, and then you just bring that with you. That way you’ll be able to walk straight into the X Park without having to wait in the ticketing booth line or anything like that.
API: Great! Well thanks so much for the tip. I will definitely give you a call back.
Staff: Sounds good. Have a great day.
1 Comment
This is an interesting article covering customer service, and potentially a useful assessment of customer service styles and responses. However, it is always easy to be enthusiastic for a guest if they can go on the tour be it because they are under the weight limit or size limit. It is much more difficult to enforce a size or weight rule in a way that is upbeat and enthusiastic. Guests who call for reservations typically want to go, and telling them they can not go is hard for the guest to hear and for the customer service staff to relay. This would have been much more useful if API had consistently adjusted the fictitious guests’ weight to just always be right over or right around the weight limit or waist size limit. That way each customer service agent would be dealing with the same issue, how do you politely let the guest know that they may not be able to go on the tour. That is a customer service challenge. Telling a guest they can go is pretty easy. the way in which this was written many of the customer service agents had the easy job of saying “sure you can go!” – admittedly some did it more enthusiastically than others, but the point of the article seems missed if only some agents are confronted with a guest who is in fact “on the heavier side” according to each courses definition of that statement.