Van Hage Great Amwell has apologised after children were left waiting to see Santa Claus in his grotto at the garden centre last weekend. Customers complained about being told to queue for over an hour, even though they had pre-booked tickets.
The attraction is being operated by independent firm Great Grottos Ltd.
Customers voiced their outrage on social media, with mother Katie Southam saying: "We got there a bit earlier and see one gigantic queue to be told we would be waiting near to two hours. To tell my daughter we can't see Father Christmas was horrible. She was balling her eyes out and something I couldn't even control.
"This is completely unprofessional. To be told to 'come back in the week when it's less busy' was something I found terrible."
Kirsty Russell said: "An awful experience - I pre-booked a ticket to see Father Christmas at your grotto today. We had a twenty minute arrival slot. After arriving and waiting about 10 minutes I was informed I would have to wait about an hour.
"I was told by your grotto staff that your management company had over sold the pre-booked tickets which is why people were waiting in excess of an hour. How can you expect families with young children to queue up outside for over a hour?"
Van Hage issued a statement on Facebook, saying: "We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to all customers affected by the queuing times experienced at Santa's grotto over the weekend at Great Amwell, and the disappointing effects this may have had on young children.
"We have been in talks with the managing director of Great Grottos Ltd to investigate this issue fully.
"We take this very seriously and thank our customers for all of the feedback relating to this matter, all of which have been passed onto the managing director.
"Great Grottos have assured us this will not happen again and will be introducing additional support throughout this service to ensure queues are not an issue for any upcoming visitors.
"Should you wish to contact ourselves directly regarding this matter then please do not hesitate to contact Amwell@vanhage.co.uk"
Matthew Wise, managing director of Great Grottos Ltd, said: "We experienced a number of teething issues at the grotto over the weekend, and staff are working really hard to get back on track for the coming weekend.
"These things sometimes happen when running live events, but it is something we take very seriously."
