Our Response To The Boarding Facility

Last Thursday we made this post regarding a nasty e-mail we received from a boarding facility we were considering for Carter during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Both H and I took your comments to heart and sat on the e-mail and a response. In doing so we have come up with the following e-mail that will be sent to the boarding facility in question.

Dear Facility Worker:

I must state the dismay I have concerning the language and insinuations contained within your e-mail. Please indulge my wife and I by reading this correspondence and sharing it with Facility Owner given the fact H and I both took the time to consider your eloquent response.

As per the e-mail sent to Facility Name on Thursday, September 12 at 9:41 a.m., we were forced to cancel our visit because of an unexpected change in my wife’s work calendar. In finding a home for Carter while we are out of town, it was important to both my wife and I that we all have the opportunity to learn about Facility Name and experience the services provided by your company. Furthermore, given the more than 3 hour round trip from our home to your location it was of utmost importance our entire family be in attendance so we could be well informed of the ranch and everyone involved with your operation.

I am disappointed to learn some dogs were unable to take part in the field trip this past Saturday, but I am surprised this is being blamed on us since we provided more than 24 hours notice of our cancellation and the legitimate reason for it. I would like to note how we gave the same notification required of those with a pending stay at your facility. Perhaps you should consider the inflexibility of operations on the ranch if such time is inadequate to make the necessary arrangements on your end to serve campers. In response to your claim that I “… clearly seem to have no clue that this is like a kid camp for dogs …” I must inform you just how wrong you are. Both my wife and I devoted a considerable amount of time to your website and the philosophies and structure of Facility Name. Furthermore, my 22 minute conversation with Facility Owner on September 9th at 3:14 p.m. solidified my understanding of Facility Name.
I do not expect an answer, nor am I convinced I require one, but I am at a loss for the so called “discourtesy” and “huge inconvenience” I caused towards your dog guests. If you received my e-mail (which I will cut and paste below for reference) from last Friday I am not sure what constitutes the wild accusations towards my family. I certainly could understand this position had we made no effort to cancel in a timely fashion but this is not the case.
Efforts to establish an initial conversation with Facility Name began on Monday, September 8th with 3 calls to the number listed on your web site. All these calls went unanswered. Facility Owner and I were able to initiate a conversation after trading e-mails back and forth with one another on the morning of Tuesday, September 9th. Following our talk Facility Owner went on to send two more e-mails to me and at this time it became apparent the preferred method of communication with Facility Name must be e-mail. Even though I sent an e-mail detailing our cancellation on the morning of September, 12th I went ahead and tried to contact Facility Name once again by telephone, but like my previous attempts to reach someone or leave a message I was relegated to a ringing phone that eventually switched over to a fax line. Again, instead of lashing out at me for the cancellation perhaps you should look at your operations and make an effort to have someone answer the phone or check e-mail on a regular.
You stated that “OUR CLIENTS are exceptional … many spend $20k a year …”. I am not sure how to respond to such an elitist, self-centered attitude . For a company which prides itself on their relationship with clients and their pets, your reference to how much people spend with Facility Name leads me to believe the underlying motivation is to make as much money as possible and cater to those with deep pockets. I find it hard to believe one of YOUR CLIENTS who spends $20k a year with Facility Name, would receive an e-mail similar to the one I am lucky enough to have from you should they need to cancel and provide adequate notice.
In addition to being unreachable and the unprofessional nature of your e-mail I would like to state my disappointment with Facility Name prior to our unforeseen need to cancel. In the first e-mail from Facility Owner, she wanted us to book our boarding time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, site unseen, for our dog. This request meant we were required to pay $1,000 upfront for a service we had little or no first hand information about. If pre-payment is a requirement of your business I completely understand, but to request payment prior to visiting the facility and seeing if this is the place we felt comfortable leaving our pet is unusual. Recently my wife and I purchased a car but we were not required to put a down payment on the vehicle before visiting the dealership and taking a test drive. During my conversation with Facility Owner it was stated she would be willing to waive the requirement of dogs being boarded during the holidays to have previous stays with Facility Name given his past boarding experience. An hour later following an e-mail with directions to your facility, another correspondence was sent now stating a pre-holiday visit was required of us. In addition to the request of spending $200 more dollars with Facility Name, with no guarantee Carter would be accepted for the holidays, we were once again told we should book and pay for the dates we wish to board our dog during the Thanksgiving and December holiday season. Facility Owner went on to say how much of a waste it would be for us to make the long trip out to the ranch to see the property and service provided if we didn’t reserve the space prior to our September 13th visit. In effect, Facility Name was requiring us to hand over more than $1,200 before ever setting foot on the ranch. Such a request would not be required in almost every other avenue of business but for some reason this is the policy of Facility Name. Thus, in addition to flip-flopping on the pre-holiday boarding requirement within an hours time, Facility Name went out of their way to secure a significant pre-payment on our behalf 4 days before our pending visit.
My final point of contention is with regard to the following statement, “Too bad for your dog, that is the loser in the proposition.” You may not be aware of this, but your boarding facility is not the only one in Southern California. It will never be known whether or not Facility Name would have been a great experience for Carter, my wife and I. However, I am more than confident we will find a facility that will not only meet our boarding needs but treat us with a decent level of respect and professionalism, something Facility Name is unable to provide as evident from your e-mail.
Even though my wife and I have only been residents of California for a short time, we have quickly come to meet hundreds of dog owners through walks in our neighborhood, visits to local dog parks, and numerous community organizations we are involved with here in the City of Los Angeles. Just as we will respect your preclusion to ever have our dog accepted to Facility Name, I hope you will respect every effort on our part to be honest with people who ask us about facilities to board their beloved dogs. We will never recommend Facility Name and will gladly share our experience with whomever will listen.