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Incroyable mais vrai… un SCANDALE !!!
True story. Today, around 5:30 pm, I found myself alone in Aix-les-Bains under a magnificent sun and checked the Jardins de Bao website where I read: Monday, gay, 12 pm-11 pm, €15 after 6 pm. Without hesitation, I showed up at 6 pm, paid the €15, passed two or three people, and went straight to enjoy the terrace and soak up the sun. After a while, I went in ...True story. Today, around 5:30 pm, I found myself alone in Aix-les-Bains under a magnificent sun and checked the Jardins de Bao website where I read: Monday, gay, 12 pm-11 pm, €15 after 6 pm. Without hesitation, I showed up at 6 pm, paid the €15, passed two or three people, and went straight to enjoy the terrace and soak up the sun. After a while, I went in the outdoor jacuzzi for about twenty minutes, then went back to dry off in the sun. Around 8 pm, as the sun was setting, I decided to go enjoy the wooden sauna, and finding it turned off with a note like "to turn on the sauna, ask at the bar," I politely asked the manager if he could turn it on for me. As it turned out, the few people who were there when I arrived had all left, and so, at 8 pm, I found myself to be the last customer. The manager then told me that since I was the last customer, he was waiting for me to leave before closing and, to save money, wouldn't turn the sauna back on for just one more customer. It turned out the same was true for the steam room, which was also turned off! Those familiar with saunas know that there are three main facilities in these kinds of places: jacuzzi, sauna, and steam room. I told him I understood but still expected him to offer me a partial credit towards my next visit to apologize for the inconvenience, but nothing, so I took the initiative. "Why a credit?" I explained that I had arrived at 6 pm with the intention of enjoying the usual facilities until 11 pm, that I had paid for my place like everyone else, and that I was happy to leave now to allow him to close earlier, but that it seemed only fair to receive a little compensation. He told me that everything was working at 6 PM, that I should have gone in at the beginning, and that when there's more than one customer, he closes everything. I told him I couldn't have known everyone would leave so quickly, and that at 6 PM, I preferred to enjoy the sun, planning to go to the other facilities once it had set. It was no use. He added, however, "I'm not kicking you out, you can stay until 11 PM if you want, and you still have the jacuzzi." He must have thought that by saying that, I would have replied, "Never mind, I'll go home then"... but as it happens, having nothing to do at home, I preferred to stay. So I went back to the outdoor jacuzzi a second time, but after 20 minutes, the power went out! I went to the bar to report it, and the manager told me, "That's normal, after 20 minutes, it goes into standby mode"... curious. So I went to check the indoor jacuzzi, which hadn't been used for hours, but nothing. I went back to the bar: "That's normal, they're on the same circuit." At that point, I clearly thought he was messing with me, because there wasn't a drop of power in the machine (so it smelled more like a "circuit breaker tripped" than a "standby" state). Besides, I don't remember both jacuzzis shutting down simultaneously every 20 minutes, on the two previous occasions I'd been there, for a significant period of time that deprived all the customers of bubbles! I actually remember spending at least 45 minutes in one without any problem, even if it was necessary to press the button again every 20 minutes. Anyway. Having nothing better to do at home, I resigned myself to waiting patiently with a stray copy of Têtu magazine and settled down on the sofa while the so-called standby time expired. After a few minutes, the background music stopped, and shortly after, the manager walked past me and said, "Go get dressed, I'm closing up. When you go to a private club, you respect the rules." It wasn't even 8:30 PM yet! And no, you're not dreaming! After literally telling me, "I'm not kicking you out, you can stay until 11 PM," he kicked me out at 8:30 PM, even accusing me of not respecting some rule or other! Of course, when I gave him back the key, I pointed out that the sign at the entrance clearly stated 12 PM - 11 PM, and he replied, "It says on the website that it depends on the number of customers!" But how can you know, when you arrive at 6 PM, that by 8:30 PM there will be no one left, that ALL the facilities will be shut down, and that you'll be asked to leave because you're the last customer?! And when you ask for a partial credit towards your next visit (not a refund: a credit!), which seems perfectly legitimate given the situation, you get brushed off! I even got a "I'm not a carpet salesman" during our first conversation, when I pointed out that I was only two-fifths of the way through my planned sauna time! Well, sir, you're not a salesman either, sorry! A salesman is concerned with the well-being of his customers and, above all, their complete satisfaction! I didn't necessarily want to stay until 11 PM. A small credit note, even €5, to apologize for closing so early and compensate me for only being able to use the jacuzzi, and I would have left at 8 pm! Not even offered instinctively, worse: refused!! And after that, the manager has the nerve to say I'm disrespectful because I didn't leave of my own accord, even though he himself told me I could stay if I wanted to!!! And then he added: "Anyway, there won't be a next time. I won't let you in again."... as if after being robbed like that (I estimate the loss at €10 out of the €15 I paid), I would have any desire to ever set foot in there again! Conclusion: If you don't want to get ripped off by an unfriendly owner (beware, there are two: the other one wasn't there tonight), ask how many people are in your party before buying your ticket. If it's not a large enough group, keep in mind that after an hour or two, even if you've just arrived, you risk being kicked out without having been able to enjoy the facilities, and without any partial refund or credit whatsoever, even though they told you that you could stay until closing time if you wanted! Not even a "I'll buy you a drink to apologize for the inconvenience." NOTHING AT ALL! AVOID IT!!! PS: And because the manager is no stranger to lying, I couldn't find any mention on the website of the "closing time subject to customer volume," as he told me when he left!Read more
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