GolfNow Tee Time Booking Problem

[PhilsFanDrew]

I found a deal for saturday afternoon on GolfNow for a local course that normally charges $44 on Saturday afternoon for $27 so I get set up to process through the website and when I submitted I received a "Cannot process at this time error." So I tried again and received the same message. I called to the golf course to see if they received anything about my tee time from GolfNow and they said they didn't but would be willing to honor the discounted tee time.

 

After I come home and I go online to review my account only I notice that I was charged by the golf course and I was also charged $31.95 by GolfNow. Has this situation or a similar situation happened to anyone else? I did not receive any email confirmation about the tee time I tried to schedule on GolfNow and assumed the transaction didn't go through. I sent an email to customer support explaining the situation and demanded a refund. Do they make good on their refunds? Regardless this experience has turned me off from them and will likely never use them again to book tee times.

[abc]

I had a similar problem.

I hope that they are not a sponsor of this site and that I'm in trouble for speaking out about this.

[PhilsFanDrew]

[quote name='abc' timestamp='1316410084' post='3573199']
I had a similar problem.

I hope that they are not a sponsor of this site and that I'm in trouble for speaking out about this.
[/quote]

Did you question them and get a refund? I just sent the email yesterday evening and did not get anything back yet. I will give them until this afternoon to respond before I call and give them an earful.

[Neo1]

if you never received a e-mail confirmation for your tee time then golfnow can't "officially" charge you for the transaction...what you see on your bank statement is a temporary hold for the time you requested....why they do this??? i don't know, it bugs the hell outta me, but guaranteed you'll get your money back, it's happened to me several times...when i spoke to golf now about it they told me it was a "air message" meaning real time and internet time move at a different pace...the time you saw was probably a "special discount" where you pay upfront and has already been booked either on golfnow, or any other online booking site...alot of times they all share the same tee sheets and prices...since one site has already been booked for that specific time, golfnow's page isn't up to date about it and that's why you see the error on the page and you don't receive e-mail confirmation...the truth is the time is already gone, and you're lucky the golf course still honored you for that discounted price!

[PhilsFanDrew]

[quote name='miz85uno' timestamp='1316411105' post='3573214']
if you never received a e-mail confirmation for your tee time then golfnow can't "officially" charge you for the transaction...what you see on your bank statement is a temporary hold for the time you requested....why they do this??? i don't know, it bugs the hell outta me, but guaranteed you'll get your money back, it's happened to me several times...when i spoke to golf now about it they told me it was a "air message" meaning real time and internet time move at a different pace...the time you saw was probably a "special discount" where you pay upfront and has already been booked either on golfnow, or any other online booking site...alot of times they all share the same tee sheets and prices...since one site has already been booked for that specific time, golfnow's page isn't up to date about it and that's why you see the error on the page and you don't receive e-mail confirmation...the truth is the time is already gone, and you're lucky the golf course still honored you for that discounted price!
[/quote]

Thank you for your response and explanation on the error message. Yeah I was surprised they honored the price as well. I believe the tee time on the site was for 12:27 PM and the tee time I was given was 12:40 PM so they must have completely sold that tee time. Good on them because I had never played there before and I enjoyed my day. I would definitely be willing to pay $44 next time so it worked out for them anyway.

[Neo1]

no problem...sometimes it takes awhile to get the money back to your account, it's been as few as 2-3 days or up to 2 weeks...if i were you i'd still try to talk to a golfnow employee on the phone, just to make sure they know they made a mistake

[kal32473]

[quote name='abc' timestamp='1316410084' post='3573199']
I had a similar problem.

I hope that they are not a sponsor of this site and that I'm in trouble for speaking out about this.
[/quote]

You just can't seem to catch a break, can you? Seems there's an issue every time you try to do something.

[jswaykos]

I've had that message before from Golfnow but assume it's because someone, somewhere, booked the time before I could get to it. Like others have said - all of these golf discount sites share the same tee sheets (in addition to the courses themselves, who also take reservations) so there are bound to be 'issues'. I've never been charged after not being able to book through Golfnow, though...

[JoeShark]

Had this happen to me once before. I called the 800 number for GolfNow right away and got put through to a live person. Explained the situation and she saw my transaction right away. She corrected it over the phone, confirmed my time, and only got charged once. I think my key was to call right away.

[PhilsFanDrew]

Just an update. I got an email back from customer support and they confirmed what Miz85uno said. It will just be a temporary hold that in 3-5 days should be taken off my account. I still think it is pretty ridiculous for them to be able to put a hold on your account when the tee time has clearly been booked and the transaction can't be processed. So basically if you order through them you have to roll the dice that the time isn't booked or have money held from your account.

[FATC1TY]

[quote name='abc' timestamp='1316410084' post='3573199']
I had a similar problem.

I hope that they are not a sponsor of this site and that I'm in trouble for speaking out about this.
[/quote]


Build a bridge and get over it already.

[Reidman]

My favorite is the "This tee time is no longer available" screen that pops up at least once a month. If its not available, we should not be able to see it on the website...even after several refresh.

In front of the computer...no big deal. But booking via iPhone while driving....gets more tedious

Love the discounts.....the technical difficulties with the website....not so much.

[CosmosMpower]

Had the same thing happen, there was a hold and then it fell off. Oh well. I still use them from time to time but not unless it's a good deal I can't get any other way.

[F171615]

I have accidentally bought a tee time from GolfNow for the next day, when in fact I meant to purchase a tee time for the upcoming weekend. And of course the deadline for cancelling was already passed since the tee time I selected was just 12 hours away. I called the 800 number, and they were accomodating enough to go ahead and cancel my mistaken reservation (even though it was entirely my fault). I definitely received very nice customer service when dealing with this website.

[Neo1]

[quote name='F171615' timestamp='1316470754' post='3575168']
I have accidentally bought a tee time from GolfNow for the next day, when in fact I meant to purchase a tee time for the upcoming weekend. And of course the deadline for cancelling was already passed since the tee time I selected was just 12 hours away. I called the 800 number, and they were accomodating enough to go ahead and cancel my mistaken reservation (even though it was entirely my fault). I definitely received very nice customer service when dealing with this website.


[/quote]

yes i believe golfnow is still the best when it comes to customer service...i've booked a tee time 3 hours before the time and had to cancel about an 1 1/2 hours before because of a house emergency (leaking pipe)...i called golfnow and they took care of it...they even refunded the $6 booking fee for my threesome.

[buttuh]

Did you know that you can call the course directly and ask them to give you the golfnow rate? I do that every time now and don't pay the booking fees anymore.
I played in a golfnow tournament not too long ago and they had a late afternoon start time. Everyone was under the impression that it was a shotgun scramble but it wasn't. Half of the groups didn't even finish before dark. Golfnow was nowhere to be found even though they hosted the event. The course was apologetic but there was nothing they could do. I contacted golfnow the next day and never heard back from them. I won't spend another dime with them.

[Minarets]

[quote name='buttuh' timestamp='1316526751' post='3576883']
Did you know that you can call the course directly and ask them to give you the golfnow rate? I do that every time now and don't pay the booking fees anymore.
I played in a golfnow tournament not too long ago and they had a late afternoon start time. Everyone was under the impression that it was a shotgun scramble but it wasn't. Half of the groups didn't even finish before dark. Golfnow was nowhere to be found even though they hosted the event. The course was apologetic but there was nothing they could do. I contacted golfnow the next day and never heard back from them. I won't spend another dime with them.
[/quote]

i have tried that with courses here and 2 of them would not do that. said i had to go through golfnow to get the rate.

[JackpotJohnny]

[quote name='Minarets' timestamp='1316527245' post='3576900']
[quote name='buttuh' timestamp='1316526751' post='3576883']
Did you know that you can call the course directly and ask them to give you the golfnow rate? I do that every time now and don't pay the booking fees anymore.
I played in a golfnow tournament not too long ago and they had a late afternoon start time. Everyone was under the impression that it was a shotgun scramble but it wasn't. Half of the groups didn't even finish before dark. Golfnow was nowhere to be found even though they hosted the event. The course was apologetic but there was nothing they could do. I contacted golfnow the next day and never heard back from them. I won't spend another dime with them.
[/quote]

i have tried that with courses here and 2 of them would not do that. said i had to go through golfnow to get the rate.
[/quote]

That's my biggest gripe..I got the error message a couple weeks ago trying to book a time, but wasn't charged.
It was after customer service was closed because they are east coast, so I call the course and they are like nope can't honor it, gotta book directly thru golfnow.
The guy tried charging me $20 more because I picked
Up the phone and called the course directly.
I don't know What kinda deal they have going with the courses around here, but it pretty much sucks.

[troysbama1]

In regards to courses honoring golfnow.com rates, it was explained to me from my home course that they sell golfnow a set number of tee times in advance and golfnow can sell them for any rate they choose. If that's true then I can see why they won't honor the price. I have a good relationship with the guys in the clubhouse so I don't figure they're being dishonest but maybe they tell me that because it's easier than saying no.

[PhilsFanDrew]

[quote name='troysbama1' timestamp='1316533286' post='3577197']
In regards to courses honoring golfnow.com rates, it was explained to me from my home course that they sell golfnow a set number of tee times in advance and golfnow can sell them for any rate they choose. If that's true then I can see why they won't honor the price. I have a good relationship with the guys in the clubhouse so I don't figure they're being dishonest but maybe they tell me that because it's easier than saying no.
[/quote]

That makes sense. I think the reason some clubs will sell the discounted GolfNow rate is because they just want to fill the tee time and some money is better than no money. They are hoping that you like their course enough to come back often. They make more money off that than the golfer that only golfs at their course once or twice a season.

[BogeyJr1445]

Nice customer service, but the technical side is brutal...if your booking a time and there is an error or problem booking it? They still hit your account for the fee, and it is reversed in a day or two. Primitive if you ask me!

[dewnami]

Golfnow is awesome.

I can honestly say they have probably saved me .... $2000-$4000 on tee times over the past few years?

Customer service has always helped out huge if there were any problems. I can think of 2 times I was rained out, once at hole 14, and once at hole 10. I was given a FULL REFUND for both of those days so I essentially played for free.

If it weren't for golfnow I would probably only be able to play 1/2 as much as I do now.

[melo]

[quote name='troysbama1' timestamp='1316533286' post='3577197']
In regards to courses honoring golfnow.com rates, it was explained to me from my home course that they sell golfnow a set number of tee times in advance and golfnow can sell them for any rate they choose. If that's true then I can see why they won't honor the price. I have a good relationship with the guys in the clubhouse so I don't figure they're being dishonest but maybe they tell me that because it's easier than saying no.
[/quote]

I don't buy this for two reasons - one, as noted earlier numerous sites offer the same tee times, so they can't be "sold" to golf now. Secondly, if they were sold for a specific rate to golf now, they would have every incentive in the world to give you that rate, especially the day of since they would be getting paid twice for that tee time. I believe they won't honor it bc they don't want to. I've had numerous courses, even high end places honor very low golfnow prices.