By Greg Van Gompel
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If you think you have some trouble with customer issues at your facility currently, what would you do if you had to operate under the interesting regulations that operators in Taiwan must face? Taiwan’s 
Consumers’ Protection Commission reported at a recent news conference* that 3 out of 9 parks it probed did not offer refunds for thrill rides or attractions unavailable due to maintenance even thought they are bound to do so under Taiwanese regulations.
The failure to refund consumers violates the standard form service contracts of amusement park, which all include a clause requiring amusement parks with unavailable facilities to return part of the admission fees to the consumer. The amount refunded depends on the ratio or the length of time of services affected by such unavailability. Compensations must be in cash unless the customers agree to take merchandise, coupon or service in equal value.
What are some innovative ways Taiwanese parks use to refund the customers? One park offers a free on-ride photo for two people who enter the park while another park offers its guests food vouchers to reimburse guests for the inconvenience of missing some of their favorite rides. While such refunds are not required in other countries, maybe parks could use the premise as a way of creating more goodwill with your guests.
Taiwan consumer regulations also require parks to allow outside food on their premises and 5 of the 9 parks probed were found in violation of this regulation. You’d be happy to know, however, that all 9 parks passed the architectural safety inspections and fire safety inspections after some minor improvements.
• Source: Taipei Times
