I was hoping I didn’t have to make this post as it may seem like complaining, but we’ve received numerous complaints in the past week, so I needed to clarify some things. I also want to explain the reason why we do some of the things we do.
What’s Going On?
We are a family owned and operated small business. Over the past few weeks, each member of our team has been affected by a medical emergency, or a family’s medical emergency. This has caused their availability to work to be reduced. At Total Axe, we allow for unlimited time off, especially when it comes to medical issues and family issues. As a result, we haven’t been able to be in store to take phone calls at all hours of the day. I have personally put more miles on my car since Sunday than I have since the beginning of the year.
What Has Changed?
The main change is that I’m not able to be in the building from Noon-10pm, 7 days a week. As a result, I cannot answer the phone if I’m not in the building, BUT if you leave a voicemail, it goes directly to my cell phone and I can return it as soon as I’m able. That’s all. We are still open for reservations and you’re still able to book 7 days a week. We’re still open for the walk-in throwing times listed on the weekends, and we’re still running axe leagues without interruption.
How Can We Contact Total Axe?
Our contact has not changed. Our phone number is 586-913-7081. If no one answers, you can leave a voicemail that goes directly to my cell phone and I will return it as soon as I’m able. You can email us at info@totalaxe.com. We’re reachable through our Facebook page and our Instagram profile as well.
What Are Your Hours?
Our current hours are listed on our pricing page. Our availability may change depending on your group size and whether it’s a walk-in or reservation.
Why Does Google List Your Hours Differently?
Google does not allow for the nuance between walk-in, reservation, or store hours. The time you list is one-size-fits-all. In the past, we’ve lost out on many bookings because we only listed our walk-in hours and groups told us they went elsewhere because they didn’t think we were open. So the hours listed on Google are the hours we’re available for reservation. This is why we always recommend calling ahead if you don’t have a reservation.
How Can We Make A Reservation?
We take reservations over the phone and on the website at totalaxe.com/reserve/. We take a small deposit to ensure that your group is coming and we set aside the lanes for your group.
Can I Book A Reservation For Right Now?
Probably not instantly, but check the reservations page just in case. Our window for same-day reservations can fluctuate depending on the availability of coaches and typically requires about 2 hours notice. If I’m at the hospital, or making a grocery run for someone, it can take me an hour to get back to Total, then additional time to get the lanes ready. If I’m already in the building, there’s obviously we can make things happen much more quickly.
Why Do You Take a Deposit?
As a small business, we have limited resources and axe throwing is much different than a restaurant. We only have 10 targets in total, whereas restaurants can have 50 or more tables. Most reservations take 2-4 targets. Imagine calling a restaurant to book 40% of the tables. In a restaurant with 50 tables, you’d be asking them to set aside 20 tables. In addition, it’s likely that they’ll have extra servers come in for such a busy night. Now imagine that they’ve gone through the hassle of doing extra prep, turning away other willing customers, and having extra staff show up, then the group never shows up.
While we’ve tried to be as accommodating as possible. We take the deposit to cover labor and materials that we use whether or not you show up. In the event of a cancellation, we still have to pay a processing fee on the amount collected, even if it’s refunded. So a $200 reservation and cancellation with cost us about $5-6. In the times that we haven’t required a deposit, our no-show/cancellation rate is above 90%. With a deposit, it is still nearly 10%. Since we’ve opened, cancellation and no-shows have cost us nearly $100,000, plus the customers we’ve had to turn away thinking that we’d be full.
What If We Need To Cancel A Reservation?
We get it, things come up. We try to be as understanding as possible when cancelling a reservation. Any cancellation made more than 48 hours in advance is given a full refund. After the 48 hour mark has passed and up to the minute that your booking starts, we’ll still give you a credit on a future booking. At that point, it’s likely that a coach was scheduled, and depending on how long you waited to cancel, they may have already done the labor to prepare your lanes.
I’m very sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused you and I understand if that affects our relationship going forward. If there’s anything I’m able to do to make up for this, please let me know. In the meantime, I appreciate your understanding.
-Chris, Owner and Operator of Total Axe Throwing
