Dad’s fury after son turned away from Santa’s grotto because he wasn’t on list

A dad was left furious after his three-year-old son was turned away from a local Santa’s grotto because he failed to pre-book and his child wasn’t on Father Christmas’ list.

Oliver Terry was hoping to meet Santa to give him a letter and explain what he wants for Christmas this year.

But after a half-hour wait at Dobbies Garden World in Gailey, Staffs, Oliver and his dad, Daniel, were told the youngster couldn’t see Santa because they failed to pre-booked their visit online.

Daniel told StokeonTrentLive that he pleaded with staff to allow Oliver, who was upset, to hand over his letter without receiving a gift, but his request fell on deaf ears.

Now Dobbies has offered to lay on a special tea with Santa for Oliver by way of an apology following their visit on Saturday.

Daniel, 29, from Stafford, said: “Oliver got upset and emotional when he was told he couldn’t see Father Christmas and he was holding his letter to Santa.

"Seeing that broke my heart and left me disgusted.

“I initially went online to find out about the grotto and didn’t see anything about booking in advance and at the garden centre no-one checked we had booked until we had waited in the queue and got to the front.

“I accept that we should have booked online and that was our mistake. But this should have been made clearer.”

Following his disappointment, Oliver was taken to Fletcher’s Garden Centre, in Eccleshall, where he met Santa, had a train ride and received a selection box.

Daniel said: “I’m just thankful we could drive there and let Oliver give his letter to Santa.”

The Dobbies Gailey grotto attracts more than 1,500 children every Christmas.

What does Dobbies Garden World have to say?

General manager Michelle Stretton said: “We’re so sorry to hear that one of our customers has had such a disappointing experience with us at the weekend.

"I would welcome the customer contacting me directly so we can make it up to the little boy and his father – we’d gladly arrange a special tea with Santa to make sure the little boy has a lovely Christmas experience.

“We work tirelessly to try to make sure every single child and their families have a truly magical experience when visiting Santa.

“Our grotto was, unfortunately, fully booked over the weekend.

"We make it clear in all of our customer communications and on our website that advance booking is recommended and have now ensured it is on all grotto pages.

"In saying that, our staff did whatever they could to squeeze in walk-ins over the weekend, or we’d normally always try to book customers in for a slot on an alternative date, as we want to try to give every child a fantastic Santa experience.

“While we try to accommodate all customers, it’s important that we prioritise families who have already pre-booked their grotto experience – so we would only recommend bringing your little ones to our grotto when you have pre-booked.”

Following the apology, Daniel said: “I’m not doing it for a reward, I’m doing it to keep the Christmas spirit alive for the kids. I may be old fashioned but I don’t think you should have to book to see Santa.

“But it’s a lovely gesture from the staff and it’s good that they’ve made it clearer online that you need to pre-book so other children won’t be disappointed like Oliver.”

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