Rain Check for Being to Hot to Play?

[snapfade]

We were in the pro shop of the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course yesterday around 4pm or so and this woman came in demanding a rain check because she only got to play 5 holes and the pace of play was the slowest she has ever seen. She said it was to hot to be waiting around and she wanted a rain check. She told the poor guy behind the counter that Disney should not let people go out on the course when it is 110 degrees heat index. Blah blah blah this woman wouldn't stop. She almost had heat stroke, had to wait on people, it just didn't stop. We don't have this type of slow play in Ohio. I'm thinking, go back to Ohio then, no body wants to hear your mouth. A good five minutes of just its too hot, give me a rain check so on and so on. Score one for the young man behind the counter. After she finally shut up for a second the guy informed her that since it had not yet rained, he could not offer a raincheck. He apologized for the pace of play, and that course marshal's try to keep a steady pace of play, but this being a resort course, on a Sunday, the pace of play can slow down, but they try to keep it moving. He was very professional, but would not budge. The Head Pro came in, it seems he was dealing with the rest of the group outside. He reiterated what the assistant said, they would not offer a rain check. Told her she is more than welcome to go out and finish the round, which if she was smart, she would have seen thunderstorms were due to arrive within the hour, so she could have gotten a legitimate rain check. She left, saying they lost a customer, yadda yadda yadda. There were several of us in the shop watching this all go down, when she left, he said that he would have probably offered a rain check or a discounted fee on another round if she was respectful and kept it professional. He felt for her, but her argumentative attitude ruined if for her. Bottom line is too, it had not rained. Don't come to Florida in July and expect nice cool conditions. Hats off to Disney on this one. The club pro and assistant were probably fired this morning, lol. 

[iacas]

I've gotten "rain" checks for reasons beyond rain, of course, but this is a stretch… it's not like she couldn't look at the forecast, or that this was unpredictable.

[StuM]

It is July in Florida.  ALWAYS hot in the afternoon.  Yes, this year is hotter than many but really does that change anything?  She knew the temp before she teed off and even if she booked it far in advance should have known that July in Florida is almost always hot in the afternoon.  Morning rounds are common.

As for slow pace of play, it is a resort course and a Disney Resort at that, I would never expect a fast pace.

As for how to ask for something: Polite requests often do better than "Demands".  

Edited July 31, 2023 by StuM
Corrected spelling error

[billchao]

10 minutes ago, StuM said:

As for slow pace of play, it is a resort course and a Disney Resort at that, I would never expect a fast pace.

Yea. I’ve teed off at Disney at 7:30 AM and played almost a five hour round before. You’re going to have people out there who play golf twice a year.

[Big C]

It's hard to say whether the request was unreasonable. If it took 2 hours to play 5 holes, then I would say she was within her rights to make the request. That is on the course for not being more proactive in managing pace of play for the earlier tee times. 

But if she was just plodding along at a 5 hour pace? (which is sadly not unusual for a resort course), then it's probably a stretch. 

Either way, she probably nuked her chances of getting a favorable outcome by being rude and aggressive. Direct, but polite and respectful communication almost always gives you a better chance of getting the best result. 

[p1n9183]

Customers like that are better to be loose, problem for other club. 

[ohioglfr]

Doesn't she check the forecast before checking in?  

I have to believe that native Floridians like the heat, though.  Having come down to Clearwater from Ohio for our daughter's wedding in January, I was checking out a pro shop at a nearby course.  A middle-aged woman wearing a lined jacket came up to the counter and was asking for a pair of winter golf gloves.  

It was 70 degrees.

Edited August 5, 2023 by ohioglfr

[StuM]

29 minutes ago, ohioglfr said:

Doesn't she check the forecast before checking in?  

I have to believe that native Floridians like the heat, though.  Having come down to Clearwater from Ohio for our daughter's wedding in January, I was checking out a pro shop at a nearby course.  A middle-aged woman wearing a lined jacket came up to the counter and was asking for a pair of winter golf gloves.  

It was 70 degrees.

January & 70 degrees is winter in Florida.

[TourSpoon]

The last 2 weeks here has been brutal. The 90+ degrees, with the soggy ground make for a real sauna. I got off the course last weekend looking like I had jumped in the pool (cart path only made for quite a long day as well). However, its a trade-off because 9 months of the year, its fine. 

Now back to the OT. The lady is off base here. She should have been polite and respectful and used the time element to get a credit of some sort. My group actually did that last winter when a course we frequent over booked. It took us 30 minutes to play 1.5 holes after our tee time was pushed back 30 minutes. It was clearly a cluster and the course knew they screwed up. They had no issue with a refund that day as someone decided to be a nice guy and to squeeze out 3 extra groups that day. They made it up to us as regulars, and it never happened again. 

Whenever I am in a pro shop at a public course and hear the phone being answered with the "It's another beautiful day at Looney Tunes National", I often think (or say out loud that it should be, "Thank you for calling Looney Tunes National, home of the 4 hour round!" Seriously, I love the courses that enforce a reasonable pace. The ones that take it seriously also get more rounds in and have happier golfers. Well, it makes me happier at least, lol.