Paradise Helicopters

Short story:
This is one of THE MOST unprofessional businesses I have ever dealt with. I have written 65 reviews for Unilocal and of those 65, only 5 of those have been 1 star. This will be the 6^th and it is by far the worst. I now feel bad for having given those previous 5 companies 1 star because it’s unfair to them to be associated with a company like this.
Full story:
I recently moved to Honolulu and my dad was coming to visit me. The only thing he asked to do during his trip was to take a helicopter tour of the island. He had never been to HI before and he had never been in a helicopter before and this was something he had always dreamed of doing. Despite the fact that they were based about an hour away at Turtle Bay, I chose Paradise Helicopters because I’m a pretty avid photographer and they had a «doors off» option which would allow me to get much better photos by avoiding the glare caused by windows. We additionally requested «window seats» and paid extra to ensure we would be seated in seats closest to the edge of the helicopter. We considered this a once-​in-​a-​lifetime experience and we wanted to have the «best seat in the house» and were more than happy to pay for that privilege.
One week before our intended flight I called and made reservations for their Saturday 1pm Oahu doors-​Off tour. They e-​mailed me a confirmation. The e-​mail, however, had the wrong time of departure, listing 4pm instead of 1pm. I called them to notify them of the error. They made the change and I then asked them to repeat the reservation details to ensure that they had the information right. The customer service person stated that he had us down for a Saturday 1pm departure with the doors off and window seats. Leaving from Hilo, Big Island. NO! Ok, so I correct him again and tell him we’re on Oahu, leaving from Turtle Bay. He finally reads it back correctly and I think we’re all set. He sends me the new e-​mail confirmation, which requests that I respond to the e-​mail to confirm the reservation. I respond to the e-​mail as requested. Apparently that’s not enough, because a few hours later, I received a voicemail from them requesting that I call them back to again confirm our reservation. I again call and confirm our reservation.
On Tues, I got another phone call saying that they did not have the helicopter available that they had originally advertised. They informed me that the seating arrangement would be different and as such, we would not get the exact seats we originally requested due to the different layout. However, I was assured we would still have «window seats» and that the doors would still be off. I told them that that was fine and they again confirmed with both an e-​mail and a phone call.
On Thurs, I got another phone call saying that they did not have the type of helicopter available that could take the doors off. This was the very reason I booked with them and the very reason I was going to drive an hour away to use their company. They waited until 2 days before the flight to tell me, when it was too late to book with someone else. They said they could rebook us on Monday if we still wanted to do the doors off. I informed them that my dad was leaving Saturday night so we couldn’t rebook. We’d just go on Saturday with the doors on. They again confirm with both an e-​mail and a phone call.
On Sat we began our hour long drive to Turtle Bay for our flight. When we were within 20 minutes of Turtle Bay, I got yet another phone call. This one was informing me that the helicopter had to «go into maintenance» and they would not be making any flights that day. «We can reschedule you on Monday,» they said. Seeing as how we were so close, we decided to go to their office to see if we could get some help rebooking with someone else. I understand things like maintenance can come up, but surely considering how much they’ve jerked us around during the past week, they would at least make a few phone calls on our behalf to get us a flight with someone else.
When we arrived, there was a young lady sitting there on a computer who again informed us that we would not be able to fly with them that day, but she «could rebook us on Monday.» We once again explained that my father was leaving that day and asked her if she could help us get booked with someone else. «No,» she said, «I don’t know anyone at any of the other companies so I wouldn’t be much.» «Besides,» she said, «I don’t know any of their phone numbers and I don’t have a phonebook to look them up.» Apparently she couldn’t pull herself away from Facebook long enough to look up a phone number online.
Do not trust these people for your vacation experience as they are one of the most unprofessional and disorganized businesses that I have ever dealt with. Pretty scary considering people entrust their lives to them by goin up in their helicopters. Don’t do it. Instead try Blue Hawaiian, Makani Kai, or Genesis Helicopter Tours. ANYONE but Paradise Helicopters.