Museum Membership Scam???

[PA Princess]

Something we have discovered with our large family of 4 kids, is that it is usually cheaper for us to buy a membership to a museum or zoo than to pay regular admission. Plus we homeschool, so we visit museums on a frequent basis, so memberships are a good deal for us.

I usually research to see what the best membership deals are for us to purchase. So many museums have reciprical relationships that joining one you can gain access to 200 museums, but the cost of each membership can vary greatly...why pay more if you do not need to, I figure.

Recently I was shopping around for a membership and I stumbled on a deal at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia (about an hour from our home). For the top level membership they were providing 8 passes to a current Star Wars exhibit we had planned to see. Those tickets alone are $20 a piece, so this was a great deal. I purchased the membership.

Now the issue...two weeks later and still no membership package in the mail. I call today and I am informed that it will take 3 to 6 weeks to get the package (no mention of this on the website or on my order confirm page). Seems ridiculously long to me, but okay.

The Star Wars exhibit is scheduled to end May 4 and if it takes the full 6weeks, that will cut things close. Will I still be able to use the passes, I ask. I was told firmly that was not guaranteed. Would there be some sort of replacement? I was told no, and that it was just "too bad" if I would be unable to use the passes provided with the membership. I ended the call quickly, but I was really aggravated.

What kind of unethical practice is this? I feal as if they are attempting to scam or cheat me...dangling some shiny bobbles and then finding they are worthless, all so I will buy a membership???? Offering incentives with a membership is a common practice, but I have never run into anything like this.

I did send an email letter explaining my extreme displeasure at the situation. I will wait and see if things work out, but I will seek a refund if I am mailed 8 useless passes to a sold out exhibit. If they will not refund, I will dispute it with my credit card.

A long post to vent a bit and also to ask if I am over reacting? Is this a commone practice I have just never encountered? Anyone else encounter this type of situation? Any advice on a better way to handle this?

The annoying thing is that I could buy tickets today, but I do not want to pay for something twice! I would really like to take my kids to this exhibit, but we may be shut out with no availability waiting on the package!

 

[StillPinballFamily]

I'd be a bit antsy and upset, too. It sounds like the museum could have been nicer and clearer in their communication to you.

For what it is worth, and in my experience - I suspect the delay may not be actually on their end. Usually these types of non-profit institutions send out such packets using USPS "bulk mail." It is MUCH cheaper to do it this way. Bulk mail needs to be sent and sorted in very specific ways and you need at least 200 identical pieces at a time to go out this way. Depending upon the circumstances (if you "just missed a load going out" for example, the next bulk mail shipment will need to wait until the necessary number is reached. I suspect for a large place like the Franklin Institute, that part wouldn't take more than a few days.

But then, bulk mail also gets delivered at the discretion of the local post office. Sometimes it sits there for days, until the carrier feels like taking it out to households. That is why the non-profits need to specify such a wide window for delivery ("three to six weeks"), given all these variables.

I hope it arrives swiftly and you all get to enjoy the exhibit - sounds great!

 

[gillenkl]

We belong to the Academy of Natural Science in Philly. We can go as many times a year as we want and can visit another 200 museums for free but they have to out of a certain mileage radius of our home. This hasn't been a scam - last year we visit 3 other museums out of state while we were on vacation for free. It does take awhile to receive our membership card.

 

[bumbershoot]

You bought through their website? Have you noticed this?

Q: When I buy a membership, when can I begin to use it?

A: Your membership is valid at the time of purchase and may be used immediately for access to the museum or reserving tickets. If you purchase the membership online, you will receive a confirmation page, which will be used as your proof of purchase and if you purchase your membership in the museum, you will receive a sales receipt as your proof of purchase. As it takes some time for the new membership to fully be processed in our system, Please refer to these receipts until your card arrives to you when reserving tickets or entering the museum.

Also this.

Q: How long will it take to receive my membership card?

A: It typically takes approximately 3 weeks to receive your new welcome packet, including your membership card, although this can very depending on the time of year or how busy or office is at any given time. In the meantime, please refer to your receipt or confirmation page until your card arrives when reserving tickets or entering the museum.

 

[LisaNJ25]

You bought through their website? Have you noticed this?



Also this.

It sounds like she can go to the museum with her printout confirmation. The passes are for a special event that is only at the museum temporarily.

If they are going to give you passes for a special event as a bonus when you purchase your annual membership than they should speed up the delivery of the tickets.


OP I am about to get a membership at my local museum also.. my kids went over the weekend and loved it. But at $5.00 pp the $70 annual pass will be worth it.

I also have an annual pass to the central florida zoo. My local zoo is a reciprocal zoo and went we went there while in Fl it August it was cheaper to get the annual pass and than use is back home.

 

[npmommie]

I would call back and ask about using the confirmation page as entry to the exhibit. They should allow it considering the circumstances. They should be able to tell from your confirmation that you purchased the package that includes the exhibit.
We do this as well, it is a great money saver!

 

[PA Princess]

UPDATE:
I received a response to my email, and the situation has been rectified. The email informed me that I could indeed use my email confirmation number to go ahead and order the special event tickets if I phoned their office. I did that immediately and I was able to schedule the time to use the membership passes.

I was greatly relieved to have the situation resolved, but also aggravated that I was not given proper information on the phone. But as we know from Disney, speak to another person and you often get a different answer.
The email also asked that I pass along the name of the person to whom I spoke on the phone, which I did.

Thanks for letting me vent my frustrations. Museum and zoo memberships have really been a great thing for our family and our budget, so I was disheartened to have run into such a negative situation. Glad to report that all is well!

 

[alicenwonder99]

...the $70 annual pass...

I just had to say, WOW! That's a great price. I pay $195 annually for our science museum pass (it does include the $12 parking fee).

I'm sad to say that I'm not going to be renewing our pass this year. With the kids in school full-time, we just don't go as often as we used to.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I just had to say, WOW! That's a great price. I pay $195 annually for our science museum pass (it does include the $12 parking fee).

I'm sad to say that I'm not going to be renewing our pass this year. With the kids in school full-time, we just don't go as often as we used to.

Unfortunately my local one is very small.. http://www.communitychildrensmuseum.org

They have also had the same exhibits for years... but my littles ones like it. My thing is that only includes 2 kids.. my 15yo is to old for it but my 8yo enjoys it so I will pay the extra $10 to add her. I usually take my girl scout troop there onces or twice a year to earn a patch.

 

[Mic]

Not a museum, but we joined our Zoo society when our children were younger for the low,low price of $60 per year, and our family of 2 adults and 4 children enjoy free admittance to our zoo in NC, as well as hundreds of other zoos, museums, and aquariums. We do have to wait a few weeks for our membership card to arrive each year, but I am sure we could take our renewal receipt with us to the NC zoo if we needed to go before the card arrived. I am not sure that plan would work at any of the reciprocal zoos.

We also used to purchase season passes to Carowinds (an amusement park a little over an hour away), which allowed you access to 4 or 5 other Paramount parks. We once used ours to go to King's Dominion in Virginia for a long weekend. Once we went to Disney in 1999, however, we just could not bring ourselves to go to another park...they just did not measure up.

Like most parents with more than 2.5 children, I've had to get creative with our entertainment budget. For our Disney trips, I have to purchase/renew our premium annual passes in groups of three. Three passes were purchased in the summer, and three were purchased in December. I let my 19-year-old's pass expire last year because I was not sure she would join us for our winter trip. She did not join her family, but she is at WDW right now with a few sorority sisters, using a hopper ticket.

 

[cmrules]

If you are looking for a museum to join in order to get recip. membership benifits, check out the Boonshoft Museum in Dayton Ohio. I quailifys as both a museum and a zoo and you get both AZA and museum benifits. Also you can upgrade to the $100 membership and add childrens museums into the mix. It's a great deal!