Boise/Meridian KOA

[CarnationSailor]

Be careful if you make a reservation at the Boise/Meridian KOA. You may or may not get the type of site you think you have reserved.

On April 21st, 2016, the campground's website showed there were no pull-thru sites available for my 36-foot 5th wheel on the days I needed one. (There were back-in sites available.) As suggested on the website, I called the campground and was told by (what sounded like an elderly) lady that she had pull-thru sites available. When I mentioned that according to the website none were available, she said that was because they don't make all of their sites available to KOA's reservation system because KOA tends to put small RVs in large sites. I made the reservation and asked for a confirmation by e-mail.
On April 28th, having not received a confirmation, I called and spoke with the same lady, and she said she had sent me an e-mail, but would send another. On April 29th, I received an e-mail confirmation from KOA, but it said I had reserved a back-in site and I wanted a pull-thru.
I again called the campground and spoke to the same lady about the problem of not having a pull thru reserved. I was very surprised when she responded that they never say they are promising a pull-thru because they assign based on what is available when the customer arrives. She insisted (and was very argumentative) that she had not told me I would have a pull thru site.
What she said makes no sense to me because their website clearly lists large pull-thru and large back-in sites as options to choose from. Why would anyone be happy to choose a pull thru and then find out upon arrival that they are assigned a back-in?
I have since cancelled my reservation and will not consider staying at the Boise/Meridian KOA again.
Let me add that I am capable of backing into a site, but pull-thru sites are, of course, much easier. For me, this was as much about the poor customer service as it was about the type of site.

[winnietrey]

CarnationSailor wrote:

winnietrey wrote:
Stayed there 2X in the last month, coming and going on our vacation. Thought they were very nice to us. As for does it make it all better? I kind of think so. They admitted they screwed up, Gave you a free night for your trouble. Don't know what else you could want. I have run a Biz for 40 years, we still screw up on occasion, as we are human. We just try to apologize and make it right, don't what else we could do, or they could do for you

I don't expect them to do anything more at this time. However, compared to the dozens of other positive RV park experiences I have had, I will continue to have a somewhat less positive opinion of them until I stay there next month and have a positive experience. Consider this: If a flawless reservation, check-in, and onsite experience gets 5 stars, then providing a free night after the hassle they put me thru gets them 3 stars - for now.

I would agree, I think 3 stars would be fair. 1 star or extremely negative posts on the other hand would not be. Unless they screw up again

[CarnationSailor]

winnietrey wrote:
Stayed there 2X in the last month, coming and going on our vacation. Thought they were very nice to us. As for does it make it all better? I kind of think so. They admitted they screwed up, Gave you a free night for your trouble. Don't know what else you could want. I have run a Biz for 40 years, we still screw up on occasion, as we are human. We just try to apologize and make it right, don't what else we could do, or they could do for you

I don't expect them to do anything more at this time. However, compared to the dozens of other positive RV park experiences I have had, I will continue to have a somewhat less positive opinion of them until I stay there next month and have a positive experience. Consider this: If a flawless reservation, check-in, and onsite experience gets 5 stars, then providing a free night after the hassle they put me thru gets them 3 stars - for now.

[winnietrey]

Stayed there 2X in the last month, coming and going on our vacation. Thought they were very nice to us. As for does it make it all better? I kind of think so. They admitted they screwed up, Gave you a free night for your trouble. Don't know what else you could want. I have run a Biz for 40 years, we still screw up on occasion, as we are human. We just try to apologize and make it right, don't what else we could do, or they could do for you

[ReneeG]

Thanks for the update.

[starcraft69]

2gypsies wrote:
Ambassador RV in nearby Caldwell is excellent if you're in the area again.

+++1
We stay here twice a year when we visit family. Super clean nice people all pull-thru sites

[CarnationSailor]

Update:

When I told the park's manager of the problems I had, he fully admitted that his people had provided terrible customer service, he made no excuses, and he said he would speak to the person responsible as well as his entire staff. He also offered to me the first of my 3 nights for free if I would give them another chance. I agreed to do this.

So does the manager's actions make it "all better"? While I give him full credit for taking responsibility in a professional manner, that doesn't clear the slate. I should have been able to make one phone call, reserve any available site, and receive an e-mail confirmation. It remains that I had to make three phone calls and still was unable to get a confirmed reservation that I needed. (After a fourth call (this one to the manager), I believe I now have the reservation I wanted.)

[2gypsies1]

Ambassador RV in nearby Caldwell is excellent if you're in the area again.

[kknowlton]

It's a big CG and probably has a lot of seasonal help. Personally, we felt like we were jammed in like sardines; fortunately we were staying only one night. Haven't been back - it's just not to our taste.

[donkeydew]

have used them many times without a hitch.

[MaverickBBD]

You should post this on rvparksreview.com and e-mail them a link to your post.

[ReneeG]

Thanks for sharing this information. Definitely not good policy and they did not handle it well at all. We would've done the same - cancelled.