As somebody that runs a Guest Experience business the treatment over a mismanaged ATM machine in a Great Wolf lodge is shocking to me.
A machine in your facility dispensed $80 but issued us a $300 dollar receipt which was our original request. We further confirmed $300 US was removed from our Bank Account.
When bringing this matter to the staff they stated that we were the third such victims of this and that they were in the process of printing out an OUT OF ORDER sign. So the problem was known and yet the time from the first complaint to the last allowed three additional customer problems.
When asked about how to remedy the situation the standard answer from all was "The machine is a third party business" and thus Great Wolf holds no liability. No information including contact information or disclosure is anywhere on the machine as is quite evident with the photos that we have taken of the machine. The only name associated with the machine is GREAT WOLF LODGE on the display as is named in the bank transaction as well.
To add further confusion the 1-800 number given by staff for the machine turns out only to be the service department that states they do not know who the owner of the machine is and that they only service it. Under further discussion another 800 number was given that has regular working hours.

So technicians entered the hotel, fixed a machine known to have occurrences and no staff of Great West had the mandate to find out for the inconvenienced guests what solutions they can have to remedy the issues outstanding that involves money destined at one time to be spent at the Resort.
Some basic staff training could implement the philosophy that staff are there to assure the guests have a sense that the resort is their for their benefit. It seems the focus appears to be on how many wands to sell and not guests with issues of concern.
I am wondering now if the other photos collected; including dirty hair ties that line the windows of the facility, rusty sink leaking in water fort area, broken door latch and rusting water tight doors in hot tub area.... are also third party occurrences.
I actually enjoyed our stay to this point at the Resort despite the few items of appearance that could be overlooked by day to day staff. When the matter that affected my quality of stay for my family was simply dismissed with misinformation (number displayed on the ATM etc) than my stay turned into questioning. Is truly the goal of Great Wolf "Family Tradition" or increasing corporate level of profit without accountability. A $1000 two day water park trip should understand how to look after their guests and should assure any third party
The only plus on this issue was a letter drafted by the night time Manager on my request that covered in writing the occurrence. Her name is Sarah Wiegand and despite me having to ask for such a letter her response was fitting for what she was able to do at the time. The GM's role the next day during normal working hours is shocking as they should be aware of the issue and find out additional information for guests that lost money from a piece of property that is on Great Wolf Property.
We are awaiting our bank to resolve the issue and hope that to see some effort on Great West's part. We are opening a new aspect of our website featuring Guest Service incidents and would like to hope that this one ends on a good note. For us it is not the sum of money. It is the principle. I can only imagine how this would be for a family that is on a tight budget and took their kids to Great Wolf for a break from life for a bit. What a blow to them if they had the same occurrence and had lost the same amount of money and was unable to pay a different way for their activities. What a family tradition that would be.
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Christopher Porter
CEO
oEVEo Corporation
"Enhancing Visitors Experience"