Climb N' Play Maidstone — Attraction in Melbourne

Very poor customer service from staff SIMA and NOWAR.

We went to Funtopia Maribyrnong with my three kids to celebrate my child’s birthday(31/08/2024). It was my first time at Funtopia.We purchased the normal playground ticket. Kids started to enjoy the playground, after a while we realized that the climbing world needed separate entry tickets. I went to order some food and purchased the climbing world ticket(at around 2.55pm). I did mention to the staff that we’ll attend the climbing world after the 3pm session. The staff at the counter issued the wrist ribbons, I was unaware of the fact that the ribbons were for a 3pm session!!We went on to have our food and waited patiently for the session at 4.

Kids attended the briefing session at 4pm, had their harness and managed to get into the playground, to my dismay my three kids were pulled to the side and asked to wait till they got a green color ribbon to continue playing. I went to the counter and asked the staff to give me a green color ribbon.

An eruption of mayhem since then, both the staff members SIMA and NOWAR tagged in together and asked me to pay for another session in order for my kids to continue playing or to be removed from the playground. They told me that I should read the Terms and Conditions before I purchase the tickets and they started serving other customers while ignoring my request for some clarification. My kids were moved to the side of the climbing world and started their agonizing long wait while other kids were playing around them.

I was not told by the staff neither at the counter while purchasing that the ticket is only valid for the 3pm session nor written anywhere in the vicinity. This discussion with both the staff went on for about 15 minutes. Throughout this encounter they both were very unprofessional and showed no intention to solve the issue.  When I requested for the manager to speak with then Sima claimed that she is the manager, at that moment I felt really bad for myself and my kids that there is no help available. They both were thoroughly lacking a positive attitude, responsive behavior, situational empathy or showed any active listening skills. With this kind of attitude how can they work in a child friendly place? Customer service is not about serving coffee or tea.

To my surprise after hearing the commotion another staff member(forgot to get her name, my bad) stepped in despite staff members Sima and Nowar interrupting her from doing so(appalled by this behavior, it was rude and very unprofessional). However with great customer care, she was an active listener with the sensibility to let my kids continue their activities. I have to say the customer care I have received from all other staffs was excellent, they extended the activities for my kids for another 15 minutes after the cut off time at 4pm. After being subjected to this kind of ordeal and discrimination my kids were traumatized, they kept asking what was happening, why they were left waiting embarrassingly on the side!

Kindly put the time on the ribbons or a notice so people who visit funtopia for the first time wouldn’t leave with a bitter experience! What is the point of having a ribbon with color code that only the staff could understand?

The behavior from the two overshadowed the awesome experience we have received from the other staffs. Unfortunately one or two rotten apples...

The facility is great and the kids really enjoy the climbing and play areas. If I could rate those separately they would get five stars. Alas.. There are some things that could be improved. On a number of occasions staff were unable to provide coins for the paid machines. They often say they will send someone to get some and to come back in ten minutes to get some, though when you get back it is the same story. Even more routinely than this is the poor customer service at the cafe or upon entry. There are plenty of staff hovering around, though none care to serve you or even make eye-contact. This has resulted in having to line up for a fair while each time I'm there. The third gripe I have is with the party service. My daughter recently had a party there. Upon arrival there was a significant wait before being attended to in order to commence the party. The "dedicated party host" was missing most of the time, only appearing at key moments, such as bringing the cake out. They were meant to help with setting up the decorations, provide socks and wristbands, etc. I was provided with an envelope containing the wristbands after a few kids got theirs, and a bag of socks (which only came later after my daughter slipped as she didn't have the grip socks) and had to sort the kids myself. It wasn't until the 2nd time I asked (shouldn't have even had to) that the name on the window was updated after the last party. During the party some kids that weren't invited decided upon themselves to join the celebration despite being told, and the dedicated party host being told, that they weren't part of the group. Later, left to their own devices while the kids from the party were playing, they decided to ruin the decorations. Again, the dedicated party host could not be found. After a fair wait at the counter, missing more of my daughters celebration, I was able to find someone to help get the balloons back down from the rafters and reattach them to their dismembered strings. After the kids were able to play for a spell, they were quickly summoned back to the party room to eat the ordered food and the cake because, as we were informed at that moment, despite starting late, celebrations would end promptly at the scheduled time of 4:30pm - and even though it was advertised that we would be moved to a reserved table after so the kids could continue playing (as was the experience at other parties attended), this would not be the case as the playground would also be closing at 4:30pm, rather than the posted time of 5pm. Oh - and that free entry present for the birthday girl? If you've come this far you could probably guess - nowhere to be found. Services like this are meant to take the stress away from kids parties - though it only exacerbated it. Fortunately the birthday girl was none the wiser, thrilled to be playing with her friends. Next time I'll book with Rabbit...

Wow, what a day. We went as a family to Climb N Play Maidstone for a treat for the kids. The kids range from 2-9 and let me tell you, there was something for everyone here! There is an incredible climbing section you can book into which if you are brave enough you can climb as many walls as you dare for a full hour. It's a work out but SO much fun. Mr 9, Miss 7 and Miss 5 had an absolute ball. I even hauled my less than fit frame up a couple of structures. If I can do it anyone can!! I was very impressed not only with the safety briefing and the gentle skill and encouragement of staff member Thomas but also the safety features and the equipment itself. To me it seems that they use the best and ensure everything is in working order and safety is paramount. After an hour's climbing we paused for some refreshments, a huge pizza board which fed everyone was fresh and delicious! And the coffee - AMAZING. Back to playing, this time the playground. Again, it's not just for little kids, there are steep slides to challenge the big kids and more sedate ones for the littlies. Miss 3 and Mr 2 thought they were it and a bit when they raced each other down the bumpy slide. There is a huge array of different options within the playground section to allow numerous different types of play from adventurous to calm. We were there for over 3 hours and we dragged the kids out leaving them wanting more - Mr 2 was late for a nap but he didn't care. Staff are friendly, kind and caring. They do not try to rush you through your experience, they are there to help if you want and otherwise have the patience of a saint. They have decided to take the personal business route rather than a franchise in order to be able to decide how the facility operates. Overall this place is also really clean which is so difficult in a play centre. They have facilities for babies as well - parents toilets and highchairs and the bathrooms were also clean - a big plus. Thanks Hemal for a wonderful family day out - we...