My girlfriend and her daughter have asked me for months to take them to the Dallas World Aquarium. We finally had the opportunity to go last Sunday. When I went to the window to pay, I was floored by the amount I was being charged ($59.38). What was I supposed to do? I kept my mouth shut and went in with the girls. After a few minutes I heard a couple complaining that the place is closing in an hour. We got there at 3:30PM and wasn't told what time the place would close. I wanted to find out for sure, since it seemed unfair to have been charged so much money and not be told we had less than 90 minutes of time. I called the main number and spoke to one of the counter people. I asked if it seemed fair to charge a family of three $59.38 for less than 90 minutes. She couldn't comment, so I asked to speak to her manager. The manager told me she would gladly give me a refund. I explained that with a 6 year old, a refund isn't really an option. After all, we drove nearly an hour to get there. I asked if we could at least get a coupon for 1/2 day so we can come back and take our time going through the place. The answer was a simple ""no"". The manager explained ""If we give you a coupon, we'll have to give a coupon to everyone else who asks for one"". I explained that nobody would ask for a coupon if the hours were clearly displayed at the window. I'm not happy about how the Dallas World Aquarium handled this. No empathy. No appeasement. Very cold way to do business, especially when your customers are families. It wasn't a bad place, but it isn't everything you would expect given it's name. The best part was the shark tank glass walkway. Essentially you walk through a glass domed hallway as hammer head sharks, saw billed sharks, manta rays, huge turtles, and various other large fish swim over and around you. Would I recommend Dallas World Aquarium to my friends? Not really. If you do decide to go, make sure you go in the early morning so you have time to see everything. The place wasn't huge, so if you rushed through you can probably be out in an hour. But that's not how families spend their time, as you know. We didn't have time to see everything walking at a reasonable, casual pace. We heard so much about the outdoor penguins, but there were no signs to guide us there. No staff around to ask questions. So we didn't get to see them. There was a theater at the lower level that was empty. Apparently we got in too late to see the video...not that management factored this into their decision. :-( We're not likely to go back, having spent $59.38 for less than 90 minutes of time. In my opinion, the Dallas World Aquarium should mandate customer service classes for their management staff. I'm not happy about how our situation was handled. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels this way.
Don Montalvo
Coppell, TX
Pros: Nice shark tank
Cons: Unacceptable level of customers service
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