You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?

2/18/2020 11:18 pm  #1


new reservation system

anyone else find that the new reservation system is terrible?  I mean I know we can't see how many people are staying on a lake which sucks, but I literally can't even get it to book me a site in July.

I can get through various stages but after about 5-6 attempts it keeps stalling at various spots and making me start over. I've tried on my laptop and my iPhone.  Got right to the end on my iPhone but then it wanted me to input my credit card number. I don't know about all f you but I have apple pay setup which on every other website I've ever used I can input my credit card number automatically via apple pay. Not on this dinosaur it wanted me to type my card number in. So, I go get my wallet and in the 30 seconds I was gone it kicked me out again.

very disappointed.

 

2/19/2020 7:34 am  #2


Re: new reservation system

The Online Reservation System Support Group meets every Tues. We will set out an extra chair.

I hesitate to use the words gross incompetence but people would get fired at my company for launching something this ill thought out.

Confident they are working to correct but they have known about the issues for months now and I don’t really see any progress.

I have 2 reservations for this year so far. I just called them both in. Will continue to call until they improve the new and improved system.


We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it.
 - George Washington Sears
 

2/19/2020 11:29 am  #3


Re: new reservation system

I haven't booked anything yet this year, mostly because the new reservation system is so terrible I lose interest in doing so. 

 

2/19/2020 11:39 am  #4


Re: new reservation system

I have been staring at a blue spinning circle all morning.  I was able to book 1 of our permits but need to do a 2nd.  The first one worked after much patience.  The second time around I get stalled at the end when it comes to pay.  Instead of the credit card window I just get the blue spinning circle.  Then it kicks me off and tells me there are things in my cart, which aren't there anymore.    I've tried using a separate account and it doesn't seem to matter.  After 3 hours, I give up.

Am I am able to add more people to a permit?  I have one for 6 of us but need to get the last 3 people in my group permitted.  I was going to do a second permit so we could split up when needed but not sure that I can spend another 3 hours trying this.

 

2/19/2020 12:01 pm  #5


Re: new reservation system

LOL @ Shawn D's response. Is the OSRRG offering beverages and snacks?

In all seriousness, call in your reservations and let them know how horrendous the system is while completing your booking. The ON Parks phone operators are aware their system is garbage and I made sure to highlight my personal experience while booking my 2 reservations thus far this year.

I believe in an earlier thread someone highlighted the fact that discussions over the phone with local MPP's will help. I would suggest contacting the MECP minister, Mr. Jeff Yurek, to highlight the dissatisfaction we're all having with how our environment, conservation efforts, and park management is being conducted under the current regime.

Last edited by geologicaldust (2/19/2020 12:02 pm)

 

2/19/2020 12:04 pm  #6


Re: new reservation system

I think the new mission statement tag line they're shooting for is :

Ontario Parks Reservations - More Painful Than A Portage

Ryan I have noticed that things will get stuck in your Cart. Give it a few hours to clear and then try to make the second booking  with the other 3 people under a different account. or just call them and set up that extra booking.. that would be the least stressful at this point I think .. good luck and I apologize on behalf of the entire country ;-) shouldn't  be this hard for you to come North and spend your vacation dollars..

Last edited by ShawnD (2/19/2020 1:04 pm)


We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it.
 - George Washington Sears
 

2/19/2020 12:14 pm  #7


Re: new reservation system

ShawnD wrote:

I think they new mission statement tag line they're shooting for is :

Ontario Parks Reservations - More Painful Than A Portage

Ryan I have noticed that things will get stuck in your Cart. Give it a few hours to clear and then try to make the second booking  with the other 3 people under a different account. or just call them and set up that extra booking.. that would be the least stressful at this point I think .. good luck and I apologize on behalf of the entire country ;-) shouldn't  be this hard for you to come North and spend your vacation dollars..

I almost got it to work, does that count?

Except it was trying to charge me for 14 vehicle passes!  And there is no way to clear them out.  Awesome.

I'll try again tonight.
 

 

2/19/2020 12:38 pm  #8


Re: new reservation system

Wow, haven't tried the system myself yet. Sounds like they went through a robust testing phase before going live.

14 vehicle passes? No problem. Just start up a secondary market here on the AA forum to sell them off to those that can't complete their bookings.

 

2/19/2020 12:50 pm  #9


Re: new reservation system

It's things like this that make me thankful that I left the burnout IT world years back...

 

2/19/2020 12:56 pm  #10


Re: new reservation system

hiker72 wrote:

It's things like this that make me thankful that I left the burnout IT world years back...

Get back in there, please! They need people with actual experience, you know, instead of just theory, apparently. 

 

2/19/2020 3:34 pm  #11


Re: new reservation system

I got it to work, finally. I used a separate account for our 2nd permit.

I think my problem was that I didn't shake my computer or use enough curse words this morning.  Although a little slow waiting between the 8 or 9 steps (and really slow loading up each new day's site) it worked pretty well and I wasn't kicked out.    

It only took me about 4 hours today so not the worst thing ever but lots of improvements to be made for sure.

 

2/19/2020 7:14 pm  #12


Re: new reservation system

ryan72 wrote:

It only took me about 4 hours today so not the worst thing ever but lots of improvements to be made for sure.

Pretty close though! How come it seems all apps and websites are, in general, getting ‘updated’ to work worse? I can think of very few scenarios where the current version works better than whatever was in place a few years ago...

I’ll be calling my reso in, and complaining about the site at the same time.

 

2/19/2020 9:44 pm  #13


Re: new reservation system

I sent a complaint about not being able to see the number of sites per lake to Ontario Parks. The good news is that they replied almost immediately, and indicated that they're aware of the issue, if not already addressing it.  Who knows what that means?

I had a cart issue that caused me to lose a Kawartha site a couple of weeks ago, which was a bummer.

I also hate how you HAVE to choose the access point before being able to look at the map. I liked being able to look at all of Algonquin, all of a region, or even the whole province depending on what I was looking for. 

Last edited by El_Dude_Brother (2/19/2020 9:45 pm)


For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.
 

2/20/2020 7:24 am  #14


Re: new reservation system

Gee John, I don't remember the Mackey Hotel, but I do remember when you used to get your Brent permits in Stonecliffe.  But then, you just got your permit and went; none of this reservation, access quota, limits on the backcountry nonsense.  No campsites were marked on the map and many (most?) were not signed.

Maybe we should both just sit back, enjoy the moment, and wait for the OK Boomer comments.

 

2/20/2020 7:58 am  #15


Re: new reservation system

Ok I’ll bite. My thoughts..
 
Are there much bigger problems going on in the world than this new reservation system.. yes.  Can everyone still just show up at an access point book old school. getting what you get and not getting upset.. yes. I would agree that was most assuredly a better time. 

But let’s take a tour of the facts of what has transpired here because its the mismanagement happening here that quite frankly upsets me and the negative impacts that aren't easy to see if you don't scratch the surface.

I would assume this new reservation system project was approved to move forward under the following mandate. Almost all of which I would suggest is centered around increasing revenue and reducing costs.

- Make the Ontario Parks customer’s experience better. Making them more likely to use its services in the future and on a more frequent basis. Increasing revenue.

- Shorten the time people take checking in once they arrive at the Park . Again, improving their experience and reducing Park costs.

- Improve the online reservation system so less people call to make reservations. Again, significantly reducing costs. See a trend here?

- Make the reservation process seamless so that first time users and users from out of country (Many of which will be spending significant vacation dollars inside our country and not someone else’s.) have a pleasant experience that they rave to their friends about. Again raising revenue…

I would further suggest that the likely millions of dollars in IT costs were signed off on based on the positive business case created from these assumptions. Tax dollars from hard working Ontarians.
 
Instead what has in fact occurred.

- Based on the overwhelming negative response the Park now has to find more IT dollars to fix the system. Dollars that were likely ear marked for other places in the Park. Paying salaries, Maintenance and improvements Etc..

- More people not less are calling in their reservations. Increasing Park costs. Significantly if their inbound costs are the same as my company. Costs that have to be found somewhere else in the Park budget now.

- People will be spending more time not less when they check in because there were issues with their reservation made online. Again, increasing costs and slowing everyones access to the Park.

- People from out of country like Ryan72 are spending hours trying to book a vacation for 8 people.  Spending the time on this site asking lots of questions because he wants to have the best experience possible. A lot of that will be based on planning and booking an enjoyable route. 

As Ontario tax payers and heavy users of the Park system I think this is something we should all care about …YMMV

Last edited by ShawnD (2/20/2020 8:02 am)


We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it.
 - George Washington Sears
 

2/20/2020 9:22 am  #16


Re: new reservation system

I just wanted to be able to print out my permits at home...

 

2/20/2020 9:28 am  #17


Re: new reservation system

IanTendy wrote:

I just wanted to be able to print out my permits at home...

A much more succinct version of what I was trying to say....lol.. When large sums of OUR money are spent on improvement programs, the goal should be for something to actually be improved.

Lofty goals we should be setting for ourselves..


We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it.
 - George Washington Sears
 

Board footera

LNT Canada is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships.