My daughter and I booked a snow dog sled tour and kennel tour with Snowy Owl Dog Sled Tours and, unfortunately, our experience left much to be desired.

We originally scheduled the tour for Sunday, as we were arriving in Banff on Friday. However, the manager emailed asking if we could switch to Saturday since they had nothing planned for Sunday. We rearranged our plans and agreed to Saturday. As part of the booking, I opted for the combo package, which included the kennel tour. The sign-up process involves a mobile form, which I completed electronically.

On Saturday, we arrived at the main office (109-829 10th Street, Canmore) only to find no one there, despite the sign saying they opened at 8 AM (Google said 9 AM, which added to the confusion). The manager had emailed previously asking if we could do an 8:30 AM tour at Boundary Ranch, but no clear directions were provided. As first-time visitors, we had no idea where Boundary Ranch was relative to the main office or the kennels.

The manager eventually showed up just before 9 AM, and instead of offering helpful advice, she rudely told us we were at the wrong location and there was no way we’d make the sled tour. She then printed out the agreement form, showing the Boundary Ranch address that wasn’t clearly communicated earlier. I was instructed to fill out a refund form, which I did, only to be denied two weeks later because I had signed the agreement form.

We ended up doing the kennel tour, which was the highlight of the day. Mitch, who led the tour, was fantastic, and it was nice to meet the dogs. For the kennel tour, you meet at the main office and then follow them to the kennels.

Some much-needed improvements:

1. Clarify Location Information: When communicating about Boundary Ranch, clearly state that it’s a different location and include the full address in the email.
2. Fix Signage and Hours: At the main location, correct the posted open times and add clear signage with directions to Boundary Ranch for sled tours.
3. Streamline the Process: The number of emails and forms involved was excessive—9 emails just to sign up for two people, not counting the refund request. Simplify this for customers, especially those using mobile phones.

Overall, the poor communication and confusing process made this a frustrating experience that cost us hundreds of dollars. The customer service needs serious improvement.

Update to reply

t seems clear that you have not taken into account the concerns raised in my review, nor fully grasped the issues I experienced. The primary problem wasn’t with the number of emails or the fact that I received documentation, but rather the clarity of communication within that documentation and the overall process.

While you continue to refer back to the documents that were sent, my point was that your communications could be significantly improved to avoid confusion. If you had clearly stated that the check-in location was not at your main office and emphasized that it was at Boundary Ranch, it would have eliminated the misunderstanding entirely. Simply listing an address doesn’t equate to effective communication if it’s buried in a document among other details.

Your response seems to dismiss valid feedback by implying the issue is solely on the customer’s side. Rather than reflect on possible improvements, you’ve opted to insist that the process is fine as it is. That type of rigidity doesn’t leave room for improving customer experiences. Again, the feedback was not to question the number of emails but to suggest streamlining and simplifying the process for clarity.

I would encourage you to view feedback as an opportunity for improvement rather than a chance to defend processes that could benefit from refinement.