TULSA - For Adam Nichols, throwing his son Owen's fifth birthday was supposed to be about more than barbecue and cake. It was supposed to include a special surprise for his young son. When it was time for that surprise to arrive, it was nowhere to be found and Nichols was left to improvise for Owen.
"He was going to have a Superman Combo is what they call it," Nichols explained. "A big, inflatable castle with a slide, and it had a big picture of Superman on the top of it."
The inflatable, from Bounce Pro Inflatables, was going to be the perfect addition to Owen's party, but the surprise didn't show up and Nichols says he couldn't get ahold of Bounce Pro despite a dozen phone calls.
"I had to tell him it was one of the presents he had gotten was his big surprise. So he never really knew," Nichols said.
Nichols was out $50, which is the deposit for renting the blow-up play area.
But Nichols wasn't the only Bounce Pro customer out of an inflatable for a birthday party Saturday.
Customers Tonya Mabry and Amanda James also provided 2 Works for You with documentation of their Bounce Pro agreements, as well as bank statements showing paid deposits.
They, like Nichols, were unable to reach the inflatables company for an explanation of why they were also stood up on Saturday.
"Fifty bucks is $50. It's knowing that there are other little kids out there are going to go through something like that on their birthday and of all the presents that you're going to give a kid on his birthday, you certainly don't want to give him broken promises," Nichols said with disappointment.
For two days, 2 Works for You navigated the company's automated recordings, stopped at two different listed addresses and left voice and email messages before receiving a statement attributing the error and lack of communication to a server issue.
The company says the customers will be reimbursed for their deposits, as well as given $200 credit. Bounce Pro's statement can be read below.
Click the statement below for a closer image
