102 Escape — Local services in Londonderry

Overall okay, but there were multiple issues. We got there decently early (45 minutes, was just how the timing worked as we were on our way back from boston and earlier times were taken) and went inside to make sure no waivers needed to be signed. There weren't, but the two people up front barely acknowledged us and gave short answers as if we were bothering them. The owner states it's because they were also watching a room each but weird that they can't hire 1 person to just worry about customers? We waited in the car cause we felt like a burden. At least 1 lock was tough to open, multiple times we had the right answer and it wasn't opening so we thought it was wrong. Red dots were on unrelated things but they had 10+ minerals that were not marked as unrelated (even though they had nothing to do with the puzzles) Two of our hints were things we already did, so our of 6, 2 were wasted on unrelated things that didn't help at all. Also, we had to spend time thinking of a joke for that 6th hint cause there was a max of 5 free ones When I gave them 4 stars in the initial review (through the email they sent after), the owner then questioned everything I put. After talking with the person I was with at the time, we remembered more issues to put here We were a group of 2 doing their most difficult room and we were the last ones of the night, so I would have thought we could have had slight slack (an extra hint or two, a few extra minutes when we had made it to the final obstacle, things other escape places have done without us asking). I'm not talking 30 extra minutes or unlimited hints, but we weren't a group of 5 or 10 doing this either (the room was rated for up to 12 people).

EDIT: We were not offered a coupon to return. I have no idea where the owner got that information from

EDIT 2: The manager called me to say that I was given a coupon. I checked the original email and no we were not. She said she called me, no, it was email only. They have now tried to gaslight me twice. Please do not go here, if you write an honest review they will try to convince you otherwise. We will not be returning here even with a coupon. I have bumped this down to a 2 star because of the manager and owner stating things that are not true to try and get me to change this. I hope to never hear from this...

Made a reservation for Monday Night 1/8/23 for a birthday party- 10 people drove all the way from Haverhill- we received the confirmation email from the establishment- and a reminder for our booked time slot. To say that this oversight put a damper on our evening of celebration and plans is an understatement. We will be following up with management if they do not respond to the messages and emails we have already left. Picture below so all can see the group of people they disappointed- including the birthday girl. ZERO stars is what is needed here.

Edit: manager followed up via phone call to reservation holder after review posted and a message and email- she said the employee “forgot” because they “shoveled” all day and then stated that their bank doesn’t allow them to process refunds. We will be contacting our bank’s fraud department in the morning- as we are trying to salvage the rest of the evening. No one in our group will be going back to this location. The manager was also giggly and dismissive of the circumstance when she called- she clearly does not grasp the amount of inconvenience and disappointment her location’s mishap had on our evening. Colleen what is the next step for a refund?

Update: Thank you for the follow up reply “owner”- we are also glad that you were able to convince your bank to give a refund as your manager stated that your bank cannot process a refund- the gesture of a refund was not offered or made readily- as your follow up reply makes it seem. Colleen pointed it out to us in her follow-up text messages- “even thought it against company policy”… ect. You did not do us a favor issuing the refund- one way or another we were getting the refund- to clarify your manager Colleen said that your employee was shoveling all day prior to us arriving, this was cited as the reason they forgot our reservation. They did not leave to go shovel- as you understand it. Maybe some members of the group will return for a free experience but I will not be apart of that offer. I feel like my time was wasted and the disappoint one of my closest friends felt is not something I am able to overcome. It was embarrassing to the people who planned the event as well and to myself who suggested your venue. I hope this was a learning experience for...

A group of 4 of us who are veteran escape room players did Bang on Sunday, January 26th. The police theme was nice, and there was a good mix of technology and traditional locks and other mechanisms. Unfortunately the quality of most props/devices was low (cheap plastic, furniture, decorations, etc.) and stickers were used to try clarify what is in/out. The worst part is we solved an important clue early but the lock mechanism was broken! The person working there tried to open it afterwards and apologized we failed because the lock didn't work. They said "there wasn't anything we can do". We pushed and they gave us a 18 minutes but we only needed 90 seconds to complete once we had it unlocked. The general experience wasn't strong when there are so many other good alternatives in the area (poor customer service, poor quality props, broken devices, etc.)

The staffer who communicated with us did NOT offer a rebate. She said “there’s nothing I can do” and WE asked her if we could finish the room and she called “her manager” and she came back and gave us time. We weren’t offered a rebate. There is a lot of potential here but need higher quality trained staff who are more professional/friendly. Room could use a refresh too to make it a little nicer and integrate the props better. (Dates ranged from the 1980’s but calendars were early 2000’s, some things are deactivated but still present, etc.)

Update: the manager reached out to us and apologized and asked us to return to a new room. We did so and had a much better experience. The props were very cool. I didn’t do 5 stars given the first experience and a couple of issues with this room (I think due to it still being new.) But they handled them well and clearly management cared about people having a...