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Business Profile

Amusement Parks

Encounters With Dolphins

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Amusement Parks.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 2 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 1 complaint closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/17/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I had purchased 3 tickets for a dolphin cruise for a birthday. I had to reschedule one due to there being no diving for that time of day. The one i had rescheduled, we were there on time, and the ticket girl asked if we had paid the parking ticket. I said no i didn't see where it was or where it said to do that. She said where it was then i said okay I'll be back, my other friend waited for me to come back so they knew i was coming. And she deliberately did not tell the captain to wait. Even though the kiosk was was 2 min. So we missed the cruise. At that time I asked got a refund and they said no. So i disputed with my bank 3 times, they denied it . They took my money and never gave me my service even though i was there on time. I just want my refund. I paid for a cruise that i didn't get. I want my money back. They are scam artist knowing i wasn't on the boat and still wouldn't give my money back.

    Business Response

    Date: 06/24/2024

    *********************** booked a reservation with us on 2/24/24. While booking she acknowledged our cancellation policy which states we do not issue refunds within 24 hours of trip departure. She also acknowledged our arrival/missed trip policy. Which states to arrive 1 hour prior to the trip departure if driving and that missed trips will not be refunded or rebooked to a different day. I have attached a screenshot of these policies for you're reference. As a curtesy, we contacted ******* on 2/24/24 at 10:40am to find out if they were going to make the trip because they had not checked in for their 11am trip. There was an issue with parking and they did arrive at 11:02am once they sorted out their parking situation. The trip did leave promptly at 11am. We are not able to hold up the trip for late arrivals. As a curtesy, we rebooked their party to 3/2/24 at 11am and reiterated the cancellation policy to the guest. On 3/2/24 at 10:54am we called and left a message with ******* to see if they would make the 11am trip. We left a voicemail and reminded them of our cancellation policy. ******* called back at 11:39am and asked to speak to the owner. ****** and ******* exchanged brief text messages, ******* provided screenshots. The guest filed a dispute with out booking company. We provided them with evidence that the refund was not warranted and they sided with us. The customer was not issued the refund. I have provided screenshots of the customer confirmation email showing our policy, as well as a screenshot of the booking questions the guest acknowledged when booking. As well as a the order history for the guest which timestamps every interaction. It shows when our employees noted the booking of phone calls and all emails that were sent out. I also provided a screenshot that shows that guest opened the emails. We gave the customer two exception to our clearing stated cancellation policy. We would like to dispute this complaint. Please reach out if more information is needed. 

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/20/2023

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    3 of us could not make the tour on March 14, 2023 due to very heavy traffic Jam. Talked to manager, hoped to rearrange to later date. But he is very rude, and show no respect to customer. Understood traffic is out of control from both sides. Still not a good customer service.

    Business Response

    Date: 04/10/2023

    ******** booked a trip with us through our website, www.encounterswithdolphins.com, for 3 guests on our boat tour for March 14, 2023, 5pm departure.  This purchase was completed on March 14 at 12:58pm.  While on our website, ******** had the opportunity to review all the terms and conditions related to his purchase (screen shot of the terms and conditions are attached).  When customers book with us over the phone or in person we review the terms and conditions with them, when customers book via our website and we don't have the opportunity to speak with them prior to purchase, the customer must review the terms by clicking check boxes prior to entering their payment information these statements also have hyperlinks back to our terms and conditions section of the website.  The most important of the terms and conditions, missed trip policy and cancellation policy, are clearly listed (screen shot of the customer booking flow is attached) and ******** agreed to these prior to making his purchase.  Additionally, immediately upon making his reservation, we sent ******** a booking confirmation email (attached) that discusses expected arrival times, traffic conditions and lists the terms and conditions of the purchase. Our reservation software also sends an automated text message to the phone number provided with a link to a customer portal where the customer can review their purchase, has a countdown timer to their departure, sign liability waivers and review arrival/parking instructions and review terms and conditions.
    At 2:01pm on March 14, we attempted to call ******** to inform him of traffic conditions that we were noticing coming out onto ********** Beach.  ******** did not answer, and we left him a voice mail asking him to depart to us at least 2 hours early to absorb the traffic and parking delays.  Furthermore, we followed that phone call up with another email to him discussing the traffic backups.  We did not hear from ******** until 4:40pm when he called us.  During this phone call, he told us that he was in traffic and his GPS showed that he would not arrive until 5:20pm.  During that phone call, ******** demanded that we hold the boats departure for him.  We explained that we could not inconvenience the other 35 guests onboard with such a late departure.  ******** became argumentative with our representative and we read the missed trip terms and conditions to him.  At that point he started laughing at our representative and again demanded we wait for him.  We again explained we could not wait that long and told us that his delay was not our fault.  We understand that but also told him that we attempted to inform him well in advance via a phone call.  He called our representative a liar and said he did not receive a phone call from us.  We asked him to drive safely, and we would discuss the matter further when he arrived.  ******** arrived at 5:29pm and started demanding a refund because of traffic.  We again explained the missed trip and cancellation terms and conditions to the customer.  Needless to say, he was not happy.  The next day we received a call from the customer demanding a refund, we read the terms and conditions to him again and denied his request.  During this call, the customer threatened us with poor reviews, a BBB complaint and a credit card dispute if we would not break the terms and conditions and reschedule him to another day or refund him.  
    During the course of our dealings with the customer, as will all of our customers we do our very best to ensure guests don't have difficulties arriving.  We ask all of our customers, if driving, to arrive to us at least 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time.  We hire additional staff during peak busy seasons just to call customers every day to try to inform them of traffic flows coming onto one of the countries busiest beaches during peak seasons.  Each and every customer, just as ********, has information delivered to them (including terms and conditions) via our website, click boxes on website purchases, booking confirmation emails, booking confirmation text messages, personal phone calls, and follow up emails regarding traffic conditions.  That is 6 opportunities for the customer to receive information.  
    We, as a business, can only do so much to inform customers, at some point the onus rests on the customer to review the information and follow the instructions provided.  We cannot and should not be held responsible for a customer who fails to act on the information sent to them.  Furthermore, ******** knew well before calling us 20 minutes prior to his trip that he would not make it on time.  At any point during his travel, he could have called us, explained to us what was going on and we could have done more to try to help him by giving us time to resell his seats.  When making his purchase, ******** was fully aware of all of the terms and conditions of his purchase regarding arrival time, missed trip implications and cancellation policies. 

Encounters With Dolphins is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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