Clements Canoes

I just got back from a canoe trip with my girl scouts. They paid for the trip with their cookie earnings (which are $.55 a box). They tried to charge me a non-reservation rate for adding 2 canoes (when I called the day before and didn't have my exact count I was assured it was OK). Then we were taken to our launch spot with a HUGE group of people. They had to put some of us in a van. Since I was protecting my girls, we hung back. I counted the canoes left and found them to be short by 3. They told me there were more canoes 'underneath' and we needed to launch so they could count. Begrudgingly I did so....only to have our certified canoe instructor left without a canoe!!! One would think they would have ran up the road to quickly fix the problem....but instead they left her standing there for 45 minutes!!!!! They waited for the next group departure time. When my instructor complained, the man with the canoes said 'whatever'. The canoe ride was fine, however I was shocked that kayaks and tubes just sit in the deep middle water and force canoes to go to the sides where it is shallow and we often beached. That wasn't very fun, but not the company's fault.....so back to that. When we got back we asked to see a manager, which they didn't have. Finally, 'the closest thing to a manger' came to see us. As we explained our story to him, he apologized and said he would talk to the employee, but did nothing else for us. He was not very concerned we were left 45 minutes without the final part of our party. He said we would be refunded the price of one canoe after we asked for something in the way of an apology....but I won't hold my breath. A woman working there said, ""Did the girls have fun? Did any of them drown? Thank Jesus....that's what it's all about."" To me it was about spending little girls hard earned money on crappy service that separated our party. \r \r Besides the lack of customer service, the place is dirty. The bathrooms are made of plywood. One out of three toilets didn't flush. There was actually a customer trying to fix it! The office isn't marked...and there were dirty diapers and trash in the parking lot. The parking lot is blocked off with canoes turned upside-down with barely enough room to walk between. It goes on and on. \r \r The place is a dump. Trust me....pay more at the place across the street. I will next time! more

Mediocre service. I made the mistake of going canoeing in the middle of september when the water was pretty low. I didnt live in the area and did not realize it was that low. I had to get out and move the canoe past sections of rocks several times. They should have been able to tell me this, even when I told them after I got done they did not seem to care. Next time I will use some one who actually gives a damn, and btw its not like I do not know how to canoe either, i am pretty experienced more

We?ve been going to Clements for over 10 years with family and friends. Clements always had local teenagers and management there that were friendly, professional, and highly motivated in customer service. Bottom line is they ALWAYS treated us well and we ALWAYS had a good time! That?s why we ALWAYS went back for camping and canoeing. Never had problems. Went with some friends a couple of weekends ago for the first time since last year and from the very moment we checked in from the time we left we were informed there is new management and the rules will be followed! When checking in a young man explained that there was a new ""Sheriff in town"" at the site. He and his spouse were new management. He VERY rudely barked rules and orders at us, never giving a greeting or even a 'Hello'. Around 11 pm we met the Security guard who barged into our campsite to order us to turn our radio off and decided to attempt to limit how much firewood we could burn that night. He told us we could ONLY burn the wood placed next to the fire pit and could not burn other wood we had paced in our truck bed?.we have no idea why?.other campers continued to burn wood?so we did too. We then watched him hang around our campsite in the shadows watching us, at one point offering him a cold drink just to let him know we could see him. The next day we attempted to complain about the Security to a young lady who also claimed to be new management. She explained that the Security guard was a good friend of her husband?.the other manager. She supported the guard?s rude behavior, but, assured us he wouldn't bother us again...confusing, I know. He never came around that evening. Upon checkout the same young lady...I believe named Stacey...that we spoke with earlier, confronted us about our complaint which we thought had been solved the day before. She seemed to want to justify the rude treatment we complained about. One of our friends mentioned he wouldn't be coming back during checkout due to the constant rude behavior. The manager said ""OK"". The sad thing is I do not know who the owners are, but, we will not be going back. I think the owners should know what?s happening at Clements. We all agreed our long relationship with Clements Canoes and Camping is over. In retrospect the campsite that is usually full when we go was half empty on a beautiful weekend....I think I know why. more

Never again. They messed up our reservation & then argued with us about it. While we were in the office arguing about it with them, another group of people were having the same problem. The management tried to blame it on the high school students that answer their phones. Like that's supposed to be my problem? more

I have been going to Clements Canoes Outdoor Center since I was in high school, with my parents and friends. That was forever ago! They have such a great facility and the staff is just one that would bend over backwards for you. Even when it was a busy day for them they would always have smiles on their faces and try to help you as much as possible. more

I headed a group of twenty for a birthday party. We were charged an EXTRA $50 on an already pricey day for being ""late"". Clements did well getting us in the water and underway (but that is as far as our $30+ per canoe got us). We signed up for the all day 15 mile trip which may take 5-6 hours per their web site (depending on water conditions). Clements requires that you be back by 5PM or you will be charged an extra $10.00 per canoe. The water level was very low and we had to do a lot of dragging our canoes. We did stop for lunch, but after that we paddled ourselves to death trying to make it back in time. Half of our group made the deadline, the other half made it at 6PM. At 6PM however... Clements was still loading other canoes and busses and collecting their gear. In fact, we had to wait until after 7PM to actually get a ride back to our cars. Once back at the office I got billed the extra $50. When I brought up the fact that despite being back at 6PM, we still had to WAIT until after 7PM for a ride AND that the Clements employees (bus driver) stated that under current river conditions it was reasonable to have taken 6.5 to 7 hours for the trip... the UNgentleman at the desk exclaimed ""I DON'T CARE, YOU ARE LUCKY I DON'T CHARGE YOU $100"" and threatened my deposit. In fact, I thought he was going to jump over the counter at me. It was perhaps the rudest I have every seen a proprieter act. Pros: Large volume business with plenty of canoes to rent Cons: Terrible customer relations more

We have visited clements canoes campground every summer for many years. It has progressively gone downhill with each year we visit. This latest visit (July of '09) will be our last. The restrooms and showers don't look like they had been cleaned since last summer, and the campsites are in dire need of basic nessesities, such as grass and a grill. Pros: Close to Sugar Creek Cons: Unsanitary restrooms, showers more