SoHa Surf Shop LLC — Local services in South Haven

Basically a self serve operation-not what we were expecting. A tandem kayak $70.00 for 1/2 day or you could rent a single kayak for $40 for 1/2 day which is what we chose. No complaints on the prices. The problem was the young kid, Adam Sims, who acted like he was forced to work here was NO help at all. ZERO customer service. He took our money and we were basically on our own. No advice or even which way we should go off the dock , (the big Lake was to the left and the Black River to the right) we had to ask. If you have any physical disabilities it might be hard for you to get yourself off the rolling dock, especially since you're pointed to the dock and left on your own. Its a good idea to bring some bottled water because there's no water available at the rental trailer. The river scene was actually pretty boring and lots of goose poop in the river. Kind of disgusting. We made the most of it and enjoyed nature, but would not choose Soha again. We like nice people who enjoy life and like to smile not lazy, long haired punk kids who hate life and responsibilities. Nothing against long haired hippies, my daughter who went kayaking with me, fits this description as well. But she shows respect to people and is a responsible adult. And No we are not from this area and don't even know who your competitors are. I sure wish I did though before I rented from Soha! Maybe we would've received some courtesy from them. I like how Adam Sims, the pitiful employee or as he calls himself "gentleman" gave himself a 5 star review, Chris Campbell, the owner, gives his own business a 5 star rating and his wife, Heather Vanderslik, gave another 5 star review. Really? I thought this was supposed to be customer ratings. Btw- the city council business minutes are online and gives the business owner name, Tie the Knot website gives Chris and Heather's wedding announcement info and Facebook tells the rest. Easy...

If there was a way to give a negative # review I would. Where to begin....first off the long haired hippey kid had the personality of a rock! Once we paid, he put our kayaks on the dock, he said it's on rollers, just push yourself off. Um, last I remember as a paying customer, what about a little help to make sure you get in ok? What if someone had never kayaked before? Fortunately we knew what to do. Secondly,upon returning, the guy never looked up to see if anyone was returning as you would expect, never told us what to do once we got back, as there's no specific marked spot. I started to drag my kayak out of the water, when he finally saw me, he said, don't drag that on concrete, it'll put a hole in it and you'll have to pay for it! So, I put it down and started to walk away. I said, didn't you do that when you put it on the dock? He said no, I carried it. But told me, "I need help carrying this" seriously?? Anyway, I would not recommend!!! BTW, we watched him drag other kayaks. *The forms that you fill out at the trailer (with your personal information) are left out in the open for anyone to steal. In response to: "The Owner" who replied, has the same mentality as Adam Sims and lacks business etiquette. Adam Sims posts impersonated reviews. The owner of this company is Chris Campbell and Heather Vanderslik (who are married) also post reviews to boost their ratings. This violates Google standards and is a conflict of interest.

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Note: we are describing the rental portion of this establishment, not the shop itself

While this review is about the rentals of paddleboards and kayaks, I would like to put in one nice note about the friendly staff at Soha Surf Shop who were patient with our touristy ways and wanted to help us have a great experience renting. Thank you! If you are familiar with South Beach, near the lighthouse, you should be told about the rental shop, because it was initially hard for us to find. The directions were: "Below the blue steps on South Beach" and we were confused at first. But, after some searching, we found the rental shop, which is literally just an organized group of kayaks and oars, not a shack or a structure, but a tent. The search was 100000% worth it! We ordered three single kayaks and within minutes we were directed towards Lake Michigan. We also ordered two hours and were given the stopwatch to let us know when it was time to come in. The gentleman renting was patient and wonderful. The two hours was worth it to explore the waters but USE SUNSCREEN. It's a great opportunity to explore Lake Michigan and get in a tan! So glad that we went on...