Natural Bridge Realty

I made a reservation. The man I spoke with was very accomodating in giving me directions and even to the point of directions to a Kroger in a nearby town. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances caused me to have to cancel my reservation. I called and asked what the cancellation policy was because I could not find it on the web site. The lady I spoke with told me it was thirty days. When I explained my situation she was very kind and willing to cancel it even though I was only giving her 5 days notice. She said she would return the one night charge to my credit card less ten percent to cover the fees she would be charged. I thought this was quite fair. If my life ever gets back on an even keel I will plan another trip to the Gorge and definetly stay with htese nice people. In comparison, several years ago I had a reservation at a B&B in Lexington. A blizzard in Lexington would not allow traffic coming into town. The lady at the B&B refused to give our money back and I had to file a claim with the card company. Now, which one gave better customer service and which one will I recommend? A little understanding and kindness goes a long way!

DO NOT RENT FROM NATURAL BRIDGE CABIN COMPANY!!!!!



I tried to rent a cabin from these people for a small honeymoon and have had a terrible time with them. For poor souls who decide to rent from them, they do not provide any written form of transaction records, via email or otherwise. They were happy to take my credit card and charge a $200 deposit ahead of time in May for a rental September 3rd. Near the end of July, I needed to change my reservation to September 9th, so I called them. The lady over the phone told me that what I wanted should be OK, and that I would be contacted if there was a problem. I was never called back, so it seemed that everything was fine…or so I thought.



September 3rd rolls around, and I get a phone call from the company them with no voice message left. It turns out, they were calling to ask if I was going to show up on the 3rd, and then I discover they charged my credit card for another $400 as if I were a no-show! Now that’s two charges, each without a signature!



After calling them back, they explain to me that they “have no record of my contacting them about changing the rental date” and they blame me for their mistake, saying I “must have called their competitor by mistake, and the other company told me what I wanted to hear.”



Strike One: Never call your customer an idiot (directly or indirectly)!

Strike Two: Never blame your customer for your crappy record keeping!



At this point, I had had enough. I called the proprietor, Mendel Tipton. I explained to him that I had a problem with the way business was being conducted and I wanted a full refund. Mr. Tipton proceeded to get angry with me over the phone. He continued to accuse me of calling the wrong company all along, and called me a con-man. He began to lecture me, stating his belief that I never intended to stay at his rental cabin in the first place, and that I was somehow trying to profit off him by having him return an entire paycheck’s worth of money for services that I never had the chance to use.



I calmly stated the facts of the situation, most notably that I have phone records of when I called them, the numbers that I used to call them, and (most condemning for them) a voicemail FROM their company on the day in question. Mr. Tipton asked me “and what exactly does that prove??” Well sir, it proves that I’m NOT AN IDIOT, and that your company DOES NOT take care when dealing with their customers!



I have no trust that this guy will ever refund my money in a timely manner, so I got the bank involved. Three cheers for credit card fraud protection and a new credit card! People... There are other cabin companies near Natural Bridge, so look elsewhere. DO NOT GIVE THIS GUY YOUR MONEY!