Hampshire Disco Dome firm which failed to show for 'special' 18th birthday puts 100 per cent bad reviews down to weather and too much work

As reported, Joanne Rodaway, of Havant, said she was left disappointed after Hampshire Disco Dome Hire tarnished the memory of her daughter Tia-Mai Mante’s birthday party.

Joanne paid a £100 deposit for a disco dome in November for the party in December.

But on the day of the event Joanne paid the remaining £210 before repeatedly trying to contact the firm – only to receive an answer phone.

The 56-year-old was left seething when the firm failed to show, resulting in her having to squeeze in guests to her living room at the last minute.

‘They messed up what was meant to be a surprise party for my daughter’s 18th birthday. I was ringing them all day and couldn’t get a response,’ she said at the time.

‘They didn’t turn up, I was so upset. I had to tell Tia-Mai, she was very disappointed. There was nothing else I could do as it was all last minute.’

A Hampshire Disco Dome company spokesman said at the time: ‘We got a message to say (the party) was cancelled so we cancelled (the booking) and paid her (Joanne) the money back.’

A spokesman for the firm has since expanded on what happened. He said: ‘We had a lot of calls for cancellations due to Covid over the Christmas period. So unfortunately it may have been an administrative error on our part.

‘So, therefore, we reimbursed her money, apologised and as an act of courtesy we have given her £150 worth of vouchers for a free hire of her choice.’

But responding to the offer, Joanne said: ‘To be honest, I'm not sure if I would use that company, after the bad reviews. They gave someone else vouchers to use, and they still had problems.’

The disco firm has 100 per cent ‘bad’ reviews on Trustpilot where angry customers have savaged the company – with the spokesman giving his reasons for the large number of no-shows and letting customers down at the last minute.

He said: ‘With regards to the negative reviews, we have had to cancel last minute at times due to adverse weather.

‘We have had quite a bit on (over) the weekends over the last few years. We can’t put equipment out in certain conditions like rain or high wind speeds. The customers obviously aren’t happy about that but the children’s safety is paramount.’

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On its website the company says: ‘Customer service is our main focus.’

But customers who left reviews of the company on Trustpilot did not agree.

One said: ‘Companies that operate this way should be ashamed of themselves, letting children down at the last minute.’

Another wrote: ‘Absolute joke of a company, they cancelled disco dome on morning of party via email. They will not answer the phone or respond to voicemail leaving a very upset eight year-old-boy.’

A woman who was let down by the firm at the last minute said: ‘Useless. No communication at all and messed up my booking, only responded to me after I had to cancel. I would not trust they would even show up.’

To see all the reviews go to: uk.trustpilot.com/review/hampshirediscodomehire.co.uk

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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