A Letter To The Zoo Keeper

To whom it may concern,

I have held a Cincinnati Zoo Membership for the past 16 1/2 years.  I think your zoo is great.  Living solely on a teacher's salary while raising five kids, we have made a choice each year so far to continue to purchase a membership from you.  It is that "worth it" to us as a family.

At 10:15 this morning I was turned away from the Zoo at the gate and denied access to the zoo with my membership card which expires at the end of next month.  Standing there with my stroller pushing one child and my other child holding onto the stroller, still too young to attend school, and a third child of mine as well I was asked point blank if I was in attendance with a school field trip.  I answered truthfully that I was there with my own children and I was meeting my older child's teacher who was there on a field trip.  I was truthful because I hold a membership which lets me in 364 days a year and it's not worth my integrity to lie... or is it?  If I'd told the simple truth... I was there with my own children... then I would have been admitted to the zoo.  Instead I was turned away and told I had to buy tickets.

This is completely silly!  If I showed up tomorrow or yesterday or even this afternoon I would be let into the zoo with the same Membership card which I payed for!!!  If I'd lied or told less of the truth then you would have let me in today!

I read on the back of my membership card that membership excludes field trips.  Meeting at field trips has never been a problem before.  If you are going to change your policy I would like to be notified of the change with more than just fine print.  Furthermore there is a fine line here with denying access to members.  I drove myself to the zoo, parked in your lot and I was not with the teacher or the chaperones or any of the other students.  I was not a chaperone.  I just truthfully answered the question I was asked by your employees at the gate.  I was with nobody but my own children on the same day as my other child's class field trip and was hoping to meet up with them.  Is this policy worth risking losing your members over?

Next month when my membership expires I will seriously be considering whether to renew my membership with the Cincinnati Zoo or to spend my money elsewhere.

Sincerely,
Heather Hand - Zoo Member since 1994