Flip Out Stoke — Local services in Stafford

My experience at Flipout was okay; it's a fresh, funky atmosphere - lots of decal on the walls and equipment to give it the edgy, urban look. My particular favourite obstacle was the foam pit where you could flip into it - but it was a lot harder to get out!

Upon arriving the ticket area went smoothly until they forgot to give me the trampoline socks needed, so I had to wait a bit longer until I could be served again for them. But that wasn't much of a problem, as the staff in the reception area were polite and friendly about it and we quickly managed to get inside the arena.

In the arena, there was a couple of rowdy older kids spoiling the fun for everyone by barging past the little ones, hogging all the trampolines and shouting at the other older kids, I think they were told once to stop but they didn't and weren't even escorted off after countless close calls. Staff that were around to help teach others weren't particularly bothered/didn't particularly like the older ones, my friends and I got a few glares - it made us feel a bit unwelcome but we decided to ignore it and have our own fun.

At the time the pathway through the restaurant/cafe area to the doorway of the indoor balcony (which lead to the toilets) was absolutely jam packed and did make it a bit stressful to push past everyone, and the heaters overlooking the balcony were pretty hot! A bit of furniture moving could work if it hasn't happened yet.

THOUGHTS FROM MY TRIP:

Definitely for the little ones. As a young adult it was harder to get into a trampoline area with less children in case of accidental bumps. Nevertheless, there were times where we could get our fun out of it too.

Could do with more toilets, there was only 2 in the girl's room and there was a bit of a queue at times.

Not really for people who aren't skilled at trampolining/free-running, it did get a bit boring after bouncing a few times, but it really depends on the person.

Great for calorie burning!

Heated, it isn't too cold. However the balcony area is absolutely roasting!

Small staircase to climb, had a rude fellow customer barge down with a pram, could have been a bit wider with a pushchair/ disabled access ramp but hey ho.

I've heard that cafe prices are extortionate so be prepared for a McDonald's trip on the way home unless you want to pay the price.

There's little cubbyholes for your bags before you step into the equipment area, the less you take the better. Didn't have any problems with people taking the wrong stuff, etc. either.

Absolutely brilliant foam pit, there was also a football net for target practice but unfortunately I didn't get to try it out!

Overall, my experience was alright, I think that the staff should be more strict on people causing trouble in the arena, as that did cause a bit of a downer on the trip. Nevertheless it was fun, but not for someone like me who doesn't do many tricks on a trampoline, as it did get a bit boring after. Would be great for energetic kids.

Obviously the layout could have changed since my visit but I thought I'd put my fair share in commenting.

On the fence about going again, maybe when I have...

Absolutely shocking customer service. Extremely rude staff, I have never been treated so badly anywhere. I booked to come for my daughters birthday, when booking I found the website very busy and confusing so i booked the session I thought was correct (a two hour session for two adults two under 4s and a spectator coming to £68. I wasn't sure that this was the correct session so I phoned to check that everything including the soft play was included and that it was the right session, I was told it was. When I arrived on the day I was told actually I should have booked the stay and play which would have cost me £17 total for as long as we wanted between 11 and 4. I told them that I had phoned to check i had the correct booking and was told I did and that from a customer service point of view i should have been told whilst on the phone about the stay and play not when it was too late, therefore I would like the £50 difference to be refunded please. I was told they couldn't do that. Once I came out I emailed to once again request the refund as I felt extremely let down that I had paid £50 more then every other person in the park, and that had I been told about the stay and play before had I would have been able to bring more people to my daughters birthday. I recieved a volley of rude emails back telling me it was my mistake as I made the wrong booking and therefore they wouldn't do anything. After 3 weeks and several emails to higher management I finally got to speak with a really nice polite and extremely helpful manager who promised me a full refund and two free stay and play sessions to make up for the terrible way i had been treated and the fact that it had taken 3 weeks for anyone to even come back to me. A week later I get a phone call from "higher management" who told me that I wouldn't get the refund promised and as a "good will gesture" I would get two stay and play sessions worth £12 only. He was extremely rude, spent the whole time arguing and shouting, implied I was stupid and threatened to hang up on me because he didn't have the time to deal with me and it was my fault. Never ever have I been treated in such a bad way anywhere. Customer service is non existent and the one staff member that actually provided any decent customer service is now getting into trouble for providing that service. Absolutely appalled and completely let down and its such a shame because it is somewhere we would have spent alot of...

Booked for a child's birthday party. Their new policy is 1 hour bouncing and then 30 mins meal. However you have no access to the party room until the 30 mins begins, so you have an hour where instead of playing with the group you have to cart all the presents out to the car in the rain. Don't bring any valuables in, there is no where to store them except paid for lockers.

The adults in the group went to the diner upstairs for coffees, they took between 10 and 15 minutes to be made. More missed time.

The party includes unlimited juice and water, these are set out in a table upstairs in the diner. The cake is stored in the staff room with all the others waiting their time. The staff room which is actively used by the staff, they have to negotiate the cakes.

Poorly organised, the guest list was incorrect and a guest with celiacs disease did not receive their pre-ordered gluten free meal and when informed of this they said they could "do us a burger in some gluten free bread". Picture attached. The party room is available for 30 minutes. That dry, pathetic meal took 25 minutes to arrive. The cake arrived out for cutting 1 minute later. There were no plates for the cake, we used napkins.

The bouncing areas are looking quite dirty now and in need of repair in several places. Detached padding and exposed wood/metal structures.

Despite the party being on a Saturday, most of the facilities were closed. This appears to be due to understaffing for the most part. The bucking bronco ride was never open, the ride with the spinning padded bar to jump was open once, 10 mins before we left. I only saw the foam pit open shortly before we ate. The long sprinting tramp at the back closed completely and boarded over. The jump tower apparently doesn't open until 3pm. No good to me at 11am. Why 3pm? No staff. There used to be a punch bag hanging over the main trampoline area, the safety briefing specifically mentions it. It is not there anymore.

There were two separate instances of adults falling in the corridor that I witnessed, I don't know the cause but the second was a member of staff.

All this could be forgiven if it was priced accordingly. It isn't, flipout is quite expensive. Children over 5 are £11 per hour. The party was £18 per head. That gluten free burger and chips cost £7. Apparently the place is under new management.

All in all very...