Maui Downhill

Maui Downhill

October 6, 2005

Maui Downhill 199 Dairy Road, Kahului, Maui, Hawaii 96732 Rich Goodenough- 808-871-2155 If you are heading to Maui and want to experience biking down Haleakala Crater- Do Not- and I repeat- Do Not chose "Maui Downhill" as your guides. We booked a sunrise trip on Sept 30th and had just a bad experience from beginning to the very bitter, very unprofessional end. #1. Our driver JOEL not only got lost on Kihei Road- he picked up the wrong guests- passed up other guests waiting on the street- and basically did not act like he knew what he was doing. This might have been ok- if it wasn't 2 o'clock am in the morning. #2. We were late heading into the "base office" to get our gear and bikes. Oh yeah- this gave only 5 mins to eat the muffins they cut in half and offered as "BREAKFAST". #3. Julio was our bike guide. He would in the end- offer to take us back to the Maui downhill offices and when we were asking for refunds- he would disappear and we would not be able to speak to him again. #4. There was remnants of Hurricane Kenneth that was passing through Maui on Sept 30th. As we sped down the highway towards Haleakala in slick rainy roads and high winds- we nearly missed hitting a truck. YAY! #5. When we reached the top of Haleakala- there was only 10 feet visibility, rain coming down sideways, and our fearless Maui Downhill guides meeting to cancel our downhill bike ride. Even our guide won't ride in this weather.**NOTE HERE: it is not every day that a downgraded hurricane will pass through Maui. Our story may have ended differently if not for our extreme weather. Also all the other bike companies starting canceling their rides as well. #6. As my husband and I tried to brave the weather to watch a sunrise at 6:00 am- we were called back to the stuffed vans. Ahhhhh- only 5 mins out of the van since our 4:00 am trek up the mountain with directions or instructions. Bike ride CANCELED! #7. We drove down the mountain to the gate of Haleakala park. Again the guides met and again- RIDE CANCELED. #8. Still raining- still windy- and the fog is starting to disappear- mind you we are now 14 miles down the mountain. Julio the Great says we will stop for a photo op. #9. Another 8 miles- We all get out of the crammed van ( we had 11 in our van- there were 92 total riders) and take a few camera shots. Not everyone gets out- but we wait once again to get moving as our fearless leader Julio waits to confront us with the Owner- RICH GOODENOUGH's demands......"The owner wants you to start riding now". Hmmm- raining above us with wind conditions even sled dogs would hide from and rain down below us- and half the ride over. #10- This is where is gets interesting folks. MAUI DOWNHILL canceled our trip more than once that day. On the radio- we can hear the office tell our driver to "STALL" us- which meant to keep us crammed up in the vans while they drove around and down the hill. After all- they wont have to issue any refunds if we just stay in the van. We say take us to your office. Why pay $120 a person to ride only the bottom of the hill down when our guide canceled our ride more than once??? #11- as we pull up to the MAUI DOWNHILL office- all the people in the office fled into the back rooms. No one would help us. An employee named JOSH would not get the owner RICH GOODENOUGH- or even tell us his name. They would not offer a refund and in fact Joel and Julio both said we refused to ride therefore claiming we refused their services and thus NO REFUND. #12- As a group of 11- we stayed in that office from 7:30 am until 9:30 am. TWO HOURS- and no help from anyone. In fact- one guide got so agro that he almost hit one of our female would be riders- once we contacted our activity directors (we booked through Maui Dive Shop) and those directors in turn were trying to call the MAUI DOWNHILL OFFICE- they would not answer the phone- In fact CHERYL did lie to the activity directors saying we rode and then refused services and asked to be taken back to the offices. We never even touched a bike in the 7 hours we were with Maui Downhill. #13- The fact of the matter is this- MAUI DOWNHILL could have handled the situation differently. They were rude, clueless, unprofessional, hostile, careless and it seemed like a scam. Why would an office full of people hide in the back with 11 people needing help? We were stranded since they picked us up. Rich Goodenough then got on the phone to tell us that we refused Maui Downhill services and he would issue no refunds because he had expenses to pay. He also stated he had the power to decide when and where bikers would ride- regardless if they missed more than half the ride due to weather. #14- 12 hours after we were picked up by Maui Downhill- My husband and I were refunded our $240 through Maui Dive Shop and we were informed that Maui Dive Shop is looking into putting a stop in doing business with Maui Downhill.

Heather

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