[SteelPride]

I wanted to pose this to you all. I have been playing at this course for the last year and a half. It is a great course, great design, and just a really fun track.

I made an online reservation for a weekend round for 4 people. Unfortunately, something occurred and two of my playing partners could not make the tee time, so we did not go play that day. A week later, my bank statement says they charged me 50% for the greens fees for not showing up, and for not canceling.

My question, however, is this; is this common? The course opened 2 years ago and is currently in receivership (post Chap. 11 Bankruptcy) This policy was implemented only recently (the last few weeks) because we have missed tee times before and never been charged. Furthermore, because this course is very hard to get to (in the sticks), there is NEVER anyone playing there, not even on the weekends (hence the problem paying the bills)

I have talked to several people and pro shop employees at other courses, and all of them agree this is far too much to charge for a no show. 10% is a number that has been thrown around, however most people are very surprised and taken back by the high percentage they charged for the missed tee time. It was 67.00 a round, for 4 people, you do the math...

What do you think of this. I understand the freedom of contract, but I am just very upset that this course has implemented this new policy. Even though they secretly added a disclaimer to the bottom of the confirmation email (doing so in a conspicuous and rather feeble manner), I have been playing there with my buddies for over a year, and have paid a lot of money to a course that is struggling mightily right now, and feel this is a horrible way for them to lose a regular group of golfers.

Any thoughts?

[SteelPride]

Thanks for the post. I understand that in theory they could have gotten someone else to fulfill that time, but I have been playing there for over a year and a half, and not only have they not implemented a policy, but they never get a lot of traffic out there.

If they are more interested than losing regular golfers than they are collecting a fraction of a full price because of a missed tee time, then the ship is sinking faster than they think. I do not make multiple tee times like your friends do, in fact that is a bit absurd. I have been playing golf out there for over a year and a half, and have probably been one of there more loyal customers, driving over an hour to get to their course. I am supposed to hear from their manager tomorrow, and hopefully he refunds my money. I understand why they are doing it, but maybe a warning or a phone call saying it is their new policy would be a better way to enforce it.

[howdyho]

1) You should've had the courtesy to call in and cancel. That's just standard operating procedure for any kind of reservation.

2) Charging you 50% of the greens fee is excessive. They just found a new revenue stream.

[tjy355]

All could have been avoided with the very basic courtesy of a phone call.

[SteelPride]

midasmulligan2000, on Aug 5 2009, 12:52 AM, said:

SteelPride, on Aug 5 2009, 12:38 AM, said:

Thanks for the post. I understand that in theory they could have gotten someone else to fulfill that time, but I have been playing there for over a year and a half, and not only have they not implemented a policy, but they never get a lot of traffic out there.

If they are more interested than losing regular golfers than they are collecting a fraction of a full price because of a missed tee time, then the ship is sinking faster than they think. I do not make multiple tee times like your friends do, in fact that is a bit absurd. I have been playing golf out there for over a year and a half, and have probably been one of there more loyal customers, driving over an hour to get to their course. I am supposed to hear from their manager tomorrow, and hopefully he refunds my money. I understand why they are doing it, but maybe a warning or a phone call saying it is their new policy would be a better way to enforce it.

Yes ... I'm understanding that you aren't playing the game. You, however, may be a bit of an anomoly. If you'll be speaking to them ... I'd invite you to ask them why they did it (not in an antagonistic way ... but genuinely). If you really are a regular ... I suspect they may well take the charge off your card. Obviously, no golf course wants to piss off customers.

So far as a business model goes, I would be wlling to bet the charge is not, actually to make money. In fact, they'd prefer that you'd either show up, or cancel ... i.e., if you ask them, and talk to them, I suspect you'll come to understand their viewpoint. You did this, so it is easy to see how you think you're getting a little bit screwed ... but what if a half dozen foursomes also did this that day?

Think of this also ... how could they give you a warning or phone call? They didn't know you weren't going to not show until the moment you ... didn't show up.

Again I'll say (because I believe you are open to hearing it) ... consider for a moment that this is your bad.

Dude, I understand I should have called to cancel. The point is I didnt, so I posed the question as to whether this was a good idea for a golf course to charge 50% of the greens fees to someone who hasnt shown up. You are making this a fault thing. I dont understand why.

They havent always employed this policy, which leads one to the simple conclusion that they didnt always think it makes sense, or is a manner in which they wanted to treat their patrons. The financial situation of their course is well known, therefore it is easy, or quite basic, to think they are doing this to fleece their customers. If it is becoming a problem, then as a business person I believe there is a happy medium to approaching this.

So comes my suggestion about warning or calling us. They have my phone number, so they could have called me and said

"Mr. Steelpride, I know you are a frequent guest here at Acme Golf Course, and we really do appreciate your business. However, we wanted to explain to you that we will now be charging a 50% cancellation fee for any tee time that is not cancelled by the player at least 24 hours before said scheduled time. We acknowledge that you missed your tee time this past weekend, but we will not be charging you this time. However, if you would please respect our cancellation policy in the future, we will not have to charge you the cancellation fee, and we can be sure to keep the scheduling of tee times at Acme Golf Course well organized to ensure the satisfaction of all of our patrons. We thank you for your time and your continued business, and look forward to seeing you here soon!"

Now, from a business standpoint, and well, a failing business standpoint, it always seems there is a right and wrong way to do things. Above is what I think is the right way. They have my credit card information, but they could have called me before they charged me, and AFTER I didnt show up. They will lose business if they do not refund my money. If they do refund my money, I will have 1) learned MY lesson; and 2) maintained respect for the management of this course. We will see.

[bma725]

A lot of places around here do it because they've had so many no shows in recent years that it has hurt business. The muni courses just charge $5, but they also restrict your ability to reserve a tee time at their course in the future. Other public places almost always charge full price.

[masterli]

50% doesn't sound bad to me. i don't play expensive courses ($20-$50ish) but they all have cancellation policies - 48 or 24 hours before your tee time. to be honest, i never heard of a club that didn't have a cancellation policy. i always have to give my credit card to book it. i've never missed a tee time but if i did i wouldn't be surprised to be charged the full amount. not that'd i'd be happy about it, but the policy is always clear before i book the tee time. the fact that they aren't busy doesn't really matter. not to sound harsh, but you're the one that dis serviced them. how upset would you be if they gave your tee time to someone else when you checked in?

that said, since you are a valued customer, i wouldn't be surprised if you got your money back. i wouldn't go in arguing for your money back. just explain what happened and see if they can make an exception. sounds like you like the course and would be a shame for you and the club to part ways.

[Tingting]

The online reservation policy where I play at has a cancellation notice when I make the reservation. The fee is not as high as your was. My question to the op is: did the course have the cancellation policy when you made the reservation? If it did not, you might want to suggest that to the course manager not just for you but for all the customer. Courses around here are doing it more now because people are double booking themselves.

[Golf_Beauty]

I agree with the other posters on here. I worked at a private country club & they imposed a no-show fee on its members. It wasn't always the case, but the head pro (not to mention the members that could have used the tee time) got fed up with people not calling. Unfortunately, like you, they thought because they're members and regular golfers, we should let it slide. The GM gave a valid reason: because they're regular they should know better & call the club to open it for someone else. It's sad when we have guests call & cancel when we can't get regulars to show the same courtesy. My .02.

[masterli]

SteelPride, on Aug 5 2009, 12:15 AM, said:

Dude, I understand I should have called to cancel. The point is I didnt, so I posed the question as to whether this was a good idea for a golf course to charge 50% of the greens fees to someone who hasnt shown up. You are making this a fault thing. I dont understand why.

They havent always employed this policy, which leads one to the simple conclusion that they didnt always think it makes sense, or is a manner in which they wanted to treat their patrons. The financial situation of their course is well known, therefore it is easy, or quite basic, to think they are doing this to fleece their customers. If it is becoming a problem, then as a business person I believe there is a happy medium to approaching this.

the anomaly here is that they didn't have the policy from day one. if i'm playing a new course i always ask what their cancellation policy is. i would bet 99% of courses w/ green fees that high have 24 hour cancellation policies. the fact that you had to give them a credit card number in the first place should tip you off.

the reason for enacting the policy is simple - to protect their tee times. nothing more nothing less. it doesn't matter that they aren't busy. their policy isn't "you must reserve a tee time to play." if you don't agree w/ the policy, just call the day of and take your chances with walking on.

SteelPride, on Aug 5 2009, 12:15 AM, said:

So comes my suggestion about warning or calling us. They have my phone number, so they could have called me and said

"Mr. Steelpride, I know you are a frequent guest here at Acme Golf Course, and we really do appreciate your business. However, we wanted to explain to you that we will now be charging a 50% cancellation fee for any tee time that is not cancelled by the player at least 24 hours before said scheduled time. We acknowledge that you missed your tee time this past weekend, but we will not be charging you this time. However, if you would please respect our cancellation policy in the future, we will not have to charge you the cancellation fee, and we can be sure to keep the scheduling of tee times at Acme Golf Course well organized to ensure the satisfaction of all of our patrons. We thank you for your time and your continued business, and look forward to seeing you here soon!"

i disagree that they owe you that courtesy. not that it isn't a nice thing to do, but certainly not something they have to do. again, if you are willing to give them your credit card info you should ask what they'll do with it. if you disagree w/ the terms don't give them your credit card.

SteelPride, on Aug 5 2009, 12:15 AM, said:

Now, from a business standpoint, and well, a failing business standpoint, it always seems there is a right and wrong way to do things. Above is what I think is the right way. They have my credit card information, but they could have called me before they charged me, and AFTER I didnt show up. They will lose business if they do not refund my money. If they do refund my money, I will have 1) learned MY lesson; and 2) maintained respect for the management of this course. We will see.

heh, i think you've learned your lesson whether you get your money back or not. i hope it all works out for you though. golfers need the courses as much as courses need the golfers.

[Dizzub]

I honestly believe it should be 100%. I've been around the situation before, you book a time and all day you have others calling trying to get a time only for their time to be booked. So you make a tee time for 8:38 and don't show costing the course $268 when other people were trying to play. I understand things come up so if you cancel an hour before your time then sure offer a full refund...less than that should be discretionary. But IMO a no call, no show should get charged 100% every single time.

[pellmell]

When making reservations on-line using a credit card, all courses impose a penalty for no shows.

I bet you won't make that mistake again.





.

[leoh923]

Would you just not show up for a Doctors appoinment without calling? Or would you not be pissed if you scheduled a plumber or other service person to come to your house at a set time, and they never showed up, and didn't call? You failed to show any common coutesy by not calling, and the course, regardless of its financial condition, is justified in charging a "no show" fee.

[DLiver]

The course's policy sounds fine to me. There's really no excuse for not calling and canceling. It takes all of 30 seconds to do, and is simply common courtesy.

[87vert]

I think you should have been charged full price. If you book a hotel room and don't show/ don't cancel most will charge you full price.

When did you find out your others couldn't make it? Unless they called you at 12 for a 12:15 tee time you should have still called and canceled the tee time.

[clc55]

IMHO, you should have been charged a full rate.

My friend and I couldn't get a tee time last week at a pretty solid course, so we figured we we just go practice. When we got there what was supposed to be a back-to-back day on the tee was a wide open course with over 15+ groups canceling by 11AM. It was great for us but the course was out a lot of $$ for not having a charging policy and people not randomly showing up to play because it was "booked full"

[Chilidog]

Had this happen to me one time....

My wife was in a car accident that morning as I planned to pick up my buddies (while we were on vacation) to go to the golf course. It was a pretty bad accident and they had to bring an ambulance to pick her up. Needless to say, I was worried to death and headed straight for the hospital. My buddies ended up showing up right behind me along with their wives. A couple of days later, I see on my AMEX bill that I had been charged for the full amount on my credit card for all 4 guys. My buddies (as gracious as they are), said they would pay for their part, but I told them that was ridiculous and I would call the course and explain. I went back and forth on the phone with them and even faxed them a copy of my wife's hospital records. They still stood by their policy....now, keep in mind, I played this course 3 times a year when we went to the beach on vacation along with typically 20 other guys that go with us (this was an outing before most of the guys showed up). I ended up calling AMEX and explained the situation to them...I use this same card for business purposes and will put over $100k/year on it and they immediately said, "Mr. ____, this will be taken care of." Off my bill within 2 hours.

[crtssxc]

I agree that the 50% is a little excessive, I think it would be more fair to just have a modest fee of $10/person and restrict your ability to make a tee time in the future. Every course I have ever been to has a cancelation policy, usually 48 hours. However, I have been in situations where as long as I call 2-3 hours before hand, the course is happy to waive the "cancellation fee" because I bothered to call at all which most people generally dont (the underlying problem in all of this).

50% is excessive, but the course is losing 100% of the tee time revenue which is $268 in your example which is significant to them in these times im sure. I think the course should refund your money this time as a courtesy for a loyal customer. But in the future I would not expect them to do so. Just because you are a regular doesnt mean the rules dont apply, it is after all a business and it needs to earn money to stay open.

[CosmosMpower]

I think the 50% is fair. For every group that makes a tee time then bails without calling is a potential opportunity of lost revenue for another group they could have booked at the same slot if it wasn't being held. If you think that's bad I've been looking at wedding venues with the fiance and she showed me standard policy is 25% of potential revenue for cancelling anytime, 50% within 4 months and 100% within 30 days.....of $15,000! I'd take a $150 hit anytime after seeing that

[tpariff]

I agree with those who say you should have been charged 100% of the cost for failing to show without canceling. I'll try not to get too high on my soap box, but this is part of what is wrong with our society - people accepting responsibility for their actions. I'm sure if the shoe were on your foot, you'd be ticked off that people were making tee times and not showing.

Or put another way, how would you feel if you made a tee time and showed up to the course, but they gave your tee time to someone else? I'm sure you wouldn't be happy and would probably demand some sort of compensation.

If I were you, I'd ask the other two guys who couldn't make it to pony up their portion of the cost. After all, they are responsible for their own greens fee, right?

Kevin

[harold baines]

so what would have happened if just the two of you showed up to play..............

[Solutions Etcetera]

Chilidog, on Aug 5 2009, 06:20 AM, said:

My wife was in a car accident

So... if you have a good excuse, even though you can easily afford to pay for the slot you reserved, you feel no responsibility in stiffing your golf course. Way too common now-a-days. Every one has a good excuse for not taking responsibility for their actions or honoring their commitments; granted yours was probably better than most.

Kudos to the three of your buds that were willing to step and do the right thing. You could learn something from them.

To me it is no different than buying tickets to a concert. If you don't show (for whatever reason), you have no right to be reimbursed for the cost of the tickets.

[br61]

tpariff, on Aug 5 2009, 08:17 AM, said:

I agree with those who say you should have been charged 100% of the cost for failing to show without canceling. I'll try not to get too high on my soap box, but this is part of what is wrong with our society - people accepting responsibility for their actions. I'm sure if the shoe were on your foot, you'd be ticked off that people were making tee times and not showing.

Or put another way, how would you feel if you made a tee time and showed up to the course, but they gave your tee time to someone else? I'm sure you wouldn't be happy and would probably demand some sort of compensation.

If I were you, I'd ask the other two guys who couldn't make it to pony up their portion of the cost. After all, they are responsible for their own greens fee, right?

Kevin

Would have to agree with this. There are few courses around here that charges full green fees for no-shows because they neglected to call in advance to cancel their teetime. A simple phone call would've prevented all this from happening.

I thought 50% of the green fees was pretty generous of the course. Many courses depends on the greens fees as a major part of their revenues.

[Sawgrass]

SteelPride, on Aug 5 2009, 12:17 AM, said:

My question, however, is this; is this common? The course opened 2 years ago and is currently in receivership (post Chap. 11 Bankruptcy) This policy was implemented only recently (the last few weeks) because we have missed tee times before and never been charged.

Any thoughts?

1) I believe this is common.

2) The policy change may be due to the fact that with the bankruptcy, someone new is calling the financial shots. The bakruptcy implies that there are unpaid creditors out there, and they probably weren't too happy with the course not enforcing a no-show charge.

3) If I were you I'd explain that I'm a regular customer, would appreciate a refund of the no-show charge, and will be sure not to violate their policy again. But I would not argue any of the points you made in your post with them. I don't really believe you have any legitimate argument, and if they see it like I do, your attempts to justify your error in not cancelling will just make the likelyhood of their giving you your money back worse.

4) If they don't give you your money back, I'd not hold it against them. They are a struggling business, and giving money away that they are entitled to is not easy for them. I suspect that you know that it was you who were really at fault, so rise above it and don't hold it against them.

All that said, you have my sympathy for getting charged for something from which you didn't get any value.

[Chilidog]

Solutions Etcetera, on Aug 5 2009, 10:34 AM, said:

Chilidog, on Aug 5 2009, 06:20 AM, said:

My wife was in a car accident

So... if you have a good excuse, even though you can easily afford to pay for the slot you reserved, you feel no responsibility in stiffing your golf course. Way too common now-a-days. Every one has a good excuse for not taking responsibility for their actions or honoring their commitments; granted yours was probably better than most.

Kudos to the three of your buds that were willing to step and do the right thing. You could learn something from them.

To me it is no different than buying tickets to a concert. If you don't show (for whatever reason), you have no right to be reimbursed for the cost of the tickets.

My 3 friends were stepping up to help me out, not the golf course. And, by not accepting a fax from the hospital, the business just lost $100/person x 20 people x 3 times per year...$6k/year in revenue. Let me guess, you are not a business owner?

[mitchleary]

Around me it varies by course. Some let you no- show for free, but after three times, you are not allowed to make reservations for a year or more. Others charge the full fees for not cancelling 24 hours in advance. The will say on the website most of the time. If you need to use a credit card to reserve a tee time, it is usually a good indicator of getting charged something.

[Solutions Etcetera]

Chilidog, on Aug 5 2009, 10:07 AM, said:

My 3 friends were stepping up to help me out, not the golf course. And, by not accepting a fax from the hospital, the business just lost $100/person x 20 people x 3 times per year...$6k/year in revenue. Let me guess, you are not a business owner?

Your lost revenue scenario is prejudicated on the assumption that if you did not reserve space for those 15 foursomes, it would go unused. Don't know if that is the case with the resort in question, but for many good ones it is not.

And, in fact, I am a business owner, and that is why I am uncomfortable with no shows and their attitude that it is not fair to be charged for a round you don't show up for. I will say that if I ran that course I may very well have made an exception in your case. Not because of threats of boycott (I have learned over the years that I don't need that kind of customer), but that it was understandable that you were overcome with concern for your wife, and it slipped your mind to notify us.

But, regardless of the excuse (I am sure all "no shows" have one that justifies their behavior in their own minds), charging no shows is not "ridiculous" as you have termed it. What if they were theatre tickets? If you missed a show because of your wife's accident, would you expect a rain check/refund? The analogy is pretty close as space in a finite number of rounds was reserved for you up until "showtime", and a very real possibility existed that the space reserved for you could not be recovered by selling it to others at the last minute.

[Chilidog]

Solutions Etcetera, on Aug 5 2009, 02:08 PM, said:

Chilidog, on Aug 5 2009, 10:07 AM, said:

My 3 friends were stepping up to help me out, not the golf course. And, by not accepting a fax from the hospital, the business just lost $100/person x 20 people x 3 times per year...$6k/year in revenue. Let me guess, you are not a business owner?

Your lost revenue scenario is prejudicated on the assumption that if you did not reserve space for those 15 foursomes, it would go unused. Don't know if that is the case with the resort in question, but for many good ones it is not.

And, in fact, I am a business owner, and that is why I am uncomfortable with no shows and their attitude that it is not fair to be charged for a round you don't show up for. I will say that if I ran that course I may very well have made an exception in your case. Not because of threats of boycott (I have learned over the years that I don't need that kind of customer), but that it was understandable that you were overcome with concern for your wife, and it slipped your mind to notify us.

But, regardless of the excuse (I am sure all "no shows" have one that justifies their behavior in their own minds), charging no shows is not "ridiculous" as you have termed it. What if they were theatre tickets? If you missed a show because of your wife's accident, would you expect a rain check/refund? The analogy is pretty close as space in a finite number of rounds was reserved for you up until "showtime", and a very real possibility existed that the space reserved for you could not be recovered by selling it to others at the last minute.

I understand the argument and I am not saying one is right and one is wrong. In this case, it wasn't 15 foursomes. It was one foursome. And, normally, we play there with 5 foursomes, 3 times a year. They actually know us really well. I can understand the courses case if my wife is in a car wreck and 5 foursomes didn't show up because of it. The fact that I was willing to furnish proof that was time stamped should have been enough, especially since we still had 3 more rounds scheduled there for the rest of the week. But they were shortsided in their approach and decided that they needed instant revenue in place of long term revenue (bad business move), even after I told them that I would contact AMEX and they wouldn't get paid any way.

Your analogies are not really conducive to this discussion as they are preset events that don't offer the ability to cancel if I decide I don't want to attend up to 24 hours ahead of time. I would say it is more conducive to renting a hotel room. Yet, if I call Marriott (which I am a Platinum member) and say, "I had an emergency last night and couldn't make it in...could you remove my room charge?" The one time I've had to do that, they said "Absolutely" because I was a valued customer. My belief is that the golf course should only be allowed to charge you something for the time if you can't furnish proof of accident/tragedy and they were completely booked for that morning except for your tee time.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Chilidog, on Aug 5 2009, 01:07 PM, said:

Solutions Etcetera, on Aug 5 2009, 10:34 AM, said:

Chilidog, on Aug 5 2009, 06:20 AM, said:

My wife was in a car accident

So... if you have a good excuse, even though you can easily afford to pay for the slot you reserved, you feel no responsibility in stiffing your golf course. Way too common now-a-days. Every one has a good excuse for not taking responsibility for their actions or honoring their commitments; granted yours was probably better than most.

Kudos to the three of your buds that were willing to step and do the right thing. You could learn something from them.

To me it is no different than buying tickets to a concert. If you don't show (for whatever reason), you have no right to be reimbursed for the cost of the tickets.

My 3 friends were stepping up to help me out, not the golf course. And, by not accepting a fax from the hospital, the business just lost $100/person x 20 people x 3 times per year...$6k/year in revenue. Let me guess, you are not a business owner?

ChiliDog, I run a hotel and I charge the full rate for no shows. Under your circumstances, you would certainly not have been charged by me, no call to AMEX would have been necessary, I would have been very sympathetic and concerned about your wife, and told you we look forward to seeing you on your next trip.

Yes in my business hotel rooms are perishable products just like tee times, revenue we can never recoup. However, customer satisfaction and loyalty take precedence over that. I may lose one or two nights revenue now but the long term loyalty is more important to me.

To Steelpride, I'm sorry I see your point, but I agree with everyone else. That said, if you have been a true loyal customer and called me to question the charge. I would have credited you as a first time courtesy and made sure you knew the policy going forward.

[87vert]

tpariff, on Aug 5 2009, 10:17 AM, said:

If I were you, I'd ask the other two guys who couldn't make it to pony up their portion of the cost. After all, they are responsible for their own greens fee, right?

Kevin

I think that would still depend on when they notified him that they were unable to attend. If they gave him enough notice I would say that they shouldn't have to pay anything.

Chilidog, on Aug 5 2009, 01:07 PM, said:

My 3 friends were stepping up to help me out, not the golf course. And, by not accepting a fax from the hospital, the business just lost $100/person x 20 people x 3 times per year...$6k/year in revenue. Let me guess, you are not a business owner?

I understand the situation but to avoid this problem in the future one of your friends could have called.

Now if I was the course owner I would have refunded you once you told me what happened. I think the fees should be for people who scheduled but decided not to go. Not for people who were unable to attend, like in a situation like yours.

I just avoid tee times all together, if they don't have any opening I play somewhere else. LOL

[highergr0und]

I would propose an in between solution. This could work well if you're a regular at the course. Call the pro shop and rather than getting your money back, ask to play your next round at half price. I would have no issues with a course that had the 50% policy as long as it was treated like a rain check of sorts towards your next round rather than out of pocket cost. It still forces a return visit and everybody wins.

[Chilidog]

highergr0und, on Aug 5 2009, 04:07 PM, said:

I would propose an in between solution. This could work well if you're a regular at the course. Call the pro shop and rather than getting your money back, ask to play your next round at half price. I would have no issues with a course that had the 50% policy as long as it was treated like a rain check of sorts towards your next round rather than out of pocket cost. It still forces a return visit and everybody wins.

I think that would be an equitable solution for some...but, I can imagine people taking advantage of it in order to play the course for half price.

[minitour]

SteelPride, on Aug 5 2009, 12:17 AM, said:

My question, however, is this; is this common?

I don't know how common it is, but years ago (probably 8 years ago now) I called to make a tee-time for my foursome at a local course. They asked how many people and I said "three for sure, maybe four". They followed up with "well is it three or four?" "Four" ... yadda yadda ... "Okay, sir we'll need your credit card number?" "Oh...we usually just pay cash when we show up." "Yes, this is just in case someone doesn't show up." "Nevermind, we'll go elsewhere *click*".

I haven't been back since. I understand and respect the policy, I'm just not going to play along with so many other choices in the area.

-mini

[Sawgrass]

highergr0und, on Aug 5 2009, 04:07 PM, said:

I would propose an in between solution. This could work well if you're a regular at the course. Call the pro shop and rather than getting your money back, ask to play your next round at half price. I would have no issues with a course that had the 50% policy as long as it was treated like a rain check of sorts towards your next round rather than out of pocket cost. It still forces a return visit and everybody wins.

Nice.

[SteelPride]

Some of you people getting on your soap box need to just step off. I appreciate the honest points of view, but you seem to have me confused with someone who doesn't take responsibility for their actions.

Read my post carefully. I never premised this by saying "hey, these guys stole my money, and I want it back." I realize I didnt show up for a tee time because something occured (2 of my playing partners had a serious issue to deal with), but at no point did I ever say that this was unjustified. I made a point to explain 1) I have been a devoted customer to this course for a year in a half 2) I have paid a lot of money to a course which financially is in a very bad spot and probably should value each and every customer they have; 3) they have not employed this policy beforehand, but instead, have recently instituted it probably because of their financial situation; and 4) believe a 50% charge is too excessive.

I would not mind paying a 10% fee for not showing up for a tee time. To everyone who is like "man, you should have been charged full...", I am sorry but I think you are all full of @#%$. If something happened to you on the day of a scheduled tee time, and your mind was completely focused on something else thus preventing you to call and cancel a tee time (probably the least of your worries), I highly doubt you wouldn't be upset that a recently enacted policy fleeced you for almost 150 bucks. I am an honest person, and have no problem admitting to my mistakes. But IMHO this is not so cut and dry.

[bomberman]

I think charging 50% is totally fine, no course is going to charge you for 4 when you only show up with a twosome. But I am with everyone else and always call and cancel my time if I can't make it, even if it is pouring rain it is just common courtesy.

Obviously, no course should charge you if there is some unforseen circumstance like a car accident.

[tpariff]

You asked for our opinions and you got them, and now you're upset? Hmmmm....maybe this isn't the place to come looking for opinions.

In your OP you wrote, "any thoughts?" You got several and are obviously not happy with some.

BTW, what exactly happened with the other two guys where they couldn't show up and didn't give you adequate time to call and cancel? Maybe I overlooked where that was disclosed.

Kevin

[SteelPride]

tpariff, on Aug 5 2009, 04:57 PM, said:

BTW, what exactly happened with the other two guys where they couldn't show up and didn't give you adequate time to call and cancel? Maybe I overlooked where that was disclosed.

Kevin

It was a serious family issue, and since they are close friends, it was on all of our minds. Nothing to be taken lightly. Put yourself in my shoes. I am not upset at the responses, I just think some of you are completely full of it.