Grafton Canoe and Kayak Rental Tom Foster RUINED MY WIFE'S BIRTHDAY. THIS BUSINESS DID NOT HONOR OUR RESERVATION! Do not expect a boat rental when you get there. Grafton, Illinois

Attention:

I planned a trip to Grafton for my wife's birthday.  We invited 6 other guests to join us. I reserved a boat rental from Grafton Canoe and Kayak Rentals over a month in advance of the special day.  People took time off from their schedules; in fact two of my friends had to get off work to join us.  The whole group got up at 5:30 in the morning to make the 3 hour drive to Grafton.  We packed coolers and bags and sandwiches.  We were ready for a long day on the river.  As I pulled into town, I called the business and spoke with a man who I am told by folks in the community is Tom Foster, the owner of the business.  I asked for directions to his business and asked if the boat was ready.  I assumed that given my very early reservation there would be no issues.

The man informed me that the boat was not operational due to mechanical problems.  I asked if there were any other boats available.  Of course, he said there were not.  I expressed my disappointment, but mostly I was upset because he NEVER CONTACTED ME to let me know the boat would not be available.  He excused his behavior by saying that "if he had to call the customer every time their rental was broken, he would be calling people everyday." This is a ridiculous statement.  What he is saying is that his boats break down so often that he can't even honor reservations!  So, a reservation means nothing to this business.  It is a minimum expectation that if a reservation is not available, the business should tell the customer before they travel 3 hours to find out.  Do not plan a trip unless you have a great back-up; you will probably need it.

I was shocked that this business had essentially known about the boat not being in running condition since the prior day.  Had he simply called at some point - even that morning - we could have made an informed choice about our plans and not made a 6 hour round trip for nothing.  I tried to reason with this person but it was useless.  Fortunately, we had not paid yet.  He offered to give us a deal on canoes, but this is also ridiculous.  First, we did not come prepared (no swimming trunks, big coolers, food, etc).  His fix for his own failure to have boat ready was to sell us other things we didn't want.  We had planned for a boat, not a kayak trip.  He never offered us a discount on a boat rental, never apologized, and never offered to make it right.

We made other plans, but this seriously inconvenienced our day.  It is clear that this business will not contact you in the event that the reservation is not going to be honored.  It seems clear that he is hoping people will get there and be so far from home and inconvenienced that they will just pay for something else.  To top it all off, when I asked his official business name and who he was, he would not tell me, and he hung-up.  What a rude, dishonest business person.  I asked folks in the neighborhood who informed me that he is known for being pretty "shady."  I would recommend going to a different town and renting your boat from a reputable business that lets their customers know IN ADVANCE when they will not receive what they have agreed to.  Just plain bad business. Good luck.