DZ Refund Policies

[Thanatos340 1]

This topic seems to be one where Jumpers and DZO`s have quite a bit of disagreement based on comments in another thread. I am just curious to hear from others what how their DZ would handle the following scenarios:

A) Tandem has a reservation, Travels a significant distance, Show up ready to jump. Plane Breaks, Winds Kick up or Bad weather rolls in and they are unable to jump. Refund or Not??

B) AFF Student prepays for the entire course. Gets seriously hurt Half way through the course and will be physically unable to complete the course. Partial Refund or Not?

C) Upjumper comes from out of town and puts $200 on account soon as he shows up. After a couple Jumps, He is unable make more jumps (Injury, Weather, Plane issues.. Does it make a difference??). Balance on account, Refund or Not??

D) Upjumper has money left on account and decides he doesn’t want to jump at that DZ any more. Refund or Not??

E) Upjumper Travels from many states away for a Boogie. Buys many lift tickets. Event gets canceled by the city/state after an incident. Refund or Not??

I have seen everyone of these scenarios (Some many times) and seen them handled differently. How would your DZ handle them?

[popsjumper 2]

Three Dz's called home and all three were/are the same

Quote

A) Refund

B) Partial

C) Refund

D) Refund

E) Refund

I may stand to be corrected on 1 of those answers but I don't think so.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Mostly_Harmless 0]

I don't really know how my dz would handle those but IMO I think that if the service is not completed a refund should be offered.

_________________________________________
www.myspace.com/termvelocity

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

A) Refund

B) Partial

C) Refund

D) Refund

E) Refund.

I believe this is our situation. But I'm uncertain about the tandem and AFF jumper. Maybe that one is simply reschedule. But if there is no way to reschedule, I'd expect a refund would be the answer. I'd think the refund policy for tandem and AFF would be very clearly define, whatever it is.

The treatment of the Upjumper is just simple courtesy and good business practice.

As far as money on account - I don't care if the jumper is from out of town or a long standing local, either. He should be able to settle up his account any time he wishes and cash out unused credit.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[NWFlyer 2]

Quote

As far as money on account - I don't care if the jumper is from out of town or a long standing local, either. He should be able to settle up his account any time he wishes and cash out unused credit.

I agree, though the only potential complicating factor is if a DZ offers some sort of deal/discount in exchange for putting money on your account or buying a block of tickets.

Example: Jump tickets are normally $22 per individual ticket, or 100 for $2000.

I buy the block of 100, make ten jumps, and decide I want a refund for the other 90 tickets.

Do I get $1780 back? ($2000 - $220)
Do I get $1800 back? ($2000 - $200)
Do I get $1980 back? ($22 x 90?)

Gets a little more complex in that case and you could probably make a solid argument for each calculation technique.

I don't buy jump tickets in large blocks or put lots of money on my account for that very reason. I don't want to have to deal with the hassles of trying to get it back if for whatever reason I don't jump there anymore.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[rehmwa 2]

My thoughts, the block was specifically for a large buy. So those 10 jumps should be full price and the refund treated as money on account, not the bulk deal.

I don't think there is any solid argument for the $1980 refund........

So $1780 is fair (also subtract a refund fee for the special case, but that needs to be noted at time of purchase)

If a DZ is on the ball, they clarify this deal and also the refund policy and any fees associated with refunds. For DZ's in our area, any kind of bulk deal would be to get season startup expenses covered, so refunding this type of thing would be a big deal. So I think a refund fee is fair too.

But that's different to do a contractual purchase of a block rather than just the general discussion of money on account (i.e., jump tickets).

I have no issue with money on account at my DZ. I trust them to not screw me over.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[PhreeZone 15]

Same thing with a discount for the entire AFF that I've seen from multiple DZ's. Its typically priced so there is a free jump or two thrown in at the end after the AFF is over, but if there is a discount where do you determine the pricing schema for refunds?

I've seen at a nearby DZ that jumpers were unable to get refunds for their money on account since the DZ just did not have that much liquid cash to hand them so their only course of action was to sell their credit to another jumper but discounted or they lost the money. They basically put $500 or $1000 into their account over the winter to get a price discount in the spring, came out made a few jumps then quit jumping. The DZ didn't have the $ since it was probally spent on winter bills and the jumper ended up selling the credit for about 80% of its value.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[slug 1]

Hi T

Lesson learned: when paying with cash get a reciept or pay via CC or check.

We got a call after a weekend at a out of state DZ claiming we forgot to pay befor leaving. We paid the first time in cash and via check the second time.

After that whenever we visited the same DZ always paid by check.

Also had a problem at the local DZ onceshowed up next weekend and at the end of the day got a bill for the previous weekend. No problemo check #xxxx got a copy of the check for proof of payment.

A DZ is not going to stay in business cheating their customers but when their dealing with lots of $$$, have new employees, bottom feeding jumpers etc shit happens having some Paper as proof of payment is nice way to clean up the mess.

[teason 0]

I've delt with some of these at my DZ.
With Tandems from out of town, we refund.

For those from the city, if they show up and it craps, I do the briefing but won't run them through the till.
If I did and then gave them a refund, they never show up again.
If I tell them that I'll brief them but only run their money if it clears, it leaves the doors open for a return. Refunds kinda close the deal and you'll never see them again.

As for experienced jumpers, we lose money when they jump so it's actually more profitable to give them their money back then to keep it and make them come again
Seriously, we do things backwards, we allow jumpers to run a tabs and then pay out at the end of the day. For regular jumpers, they run tabs and owe us money all year. One of my jumpers has been in the red for two years (and still is).

Short term monetary gain can cost you long term.
Tandems are the only time we won't instantly open up the cash register and that's because there are other forces at work here.

To give you an example, we take a $20 when the student books.
On a cloudy day, I called a tandem pair and told them that the weather was looking iffy and they should call before coming as they had forcasted the skys to clear. The jumper, who was angry, drove his SUV to the DZ (which probably cost him $30) to get his $20 back. When he started yelling at me, I pointed out that he had come just in time because the sky had cleared.

The guy turned absolutely pale.

For someone to commit to a tandem, it takes a fair amount of courage. A small amount of $20 is a show of that commitment. This guy was willing to spend $30 to get that $20 commitment back because deep down he was nervous about the jump. If he had gotten his $20, he would never have jumped.

Because we wouldn't refund his $20, he had the time of his life and you couldn't pry off his smile with a crowbar.

I really don't care about the $20 deposit's monetary value, I care about ensuring the jumpers commitment to come out and do a skydive.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.