Overpromised and underdelivered
November 23, 2021:
Owner of company was contracted to provide catering and decorating for an event on Oct 30th, 2021. He over promised and under-delivered. He was 1 hour and 20 min late for set-up. As a result, he never caught up. Food was mediocre at best- I am being generous. It was also cold. He did not have time to heat the food in the sternos. He said the cake person did not have cake ready on time. Why are you using a person who does not have cake ready the day before an event- certainly not a few hours before the event. I should not have tipped this person. In his contract he says when the fees are do, but he kept asking in advance for all of it. I found this unprofessional and that should have been a clue. I should have never hired him. The service did not meet agreed upon expectations by any stretch of the imagination. I did not want to write a review. I wanted to support his business. However, he agreed to supply receipts after the event so that I would know what was spent, and receive refund for goods not purchased. He has been contacted 3 times since the event ended with no response. I have waited 3 weeks to give him a chance to do the right thing. He has not, and so... the review is now here.
February 13, 2022
Posting owner's response on 12-3-21 as well as my response to him on 12-7-2021 (to which no response has been received and please note the receipts he promised to send after the event with possibility for refund has not been received. It is now 2-13-2022.
Owner 12-3-21:
Good morning,
Thank you so much for your feedback on Google and Weddingpro and I am sorry that you feel your event was unsatisfactory. After reading your Google Review there are some points I would like to address:
11-23-21 Me: Owner of company was contracted to provide catering and decorating for an event on Oct 30th, 2021. He over promised and under-delivered. He was 1 hour and 20 min late for set-up. As a result, he never caught up.
12-3-21 Owner: This simply is not true. We were prepared to get started at 6pm and were told that the time had been changed to 6:20. We apologize for the unfortunate tardiness of the cake but were still prepared by 6pm. It was also extremely difficult to set up as we had to navigate around your family but we still managed.
12-7-21 Me: As we had discussed, you agreed to arrive at 3:30 PM to set up for the party. Not 4:50PM. I asked my family to keep an eye to see if you were ready for 6PM as I was with the surprise guest. They informed me to push is 20 min for 6:20 start. You were not here at the time we discussed (3:30) period. I have the day of delay exchange in text. Re; family being around during set-up, It was a family party- the family was helping get the space ready because you were not there on time. They knew the situation- significant delay in your arrival- and also knew the surprise needed the surprise be as good as possible despite the unexpected rush.
11-23-21 Me: Food was mediocre at best- I am being generous. It was also cold. He did not have time to heat the food in the sternos.
12-3-21 Owner: This also is not true information. The food was heated and reheated after you requested that dinner be served later. With no ovens, it is difficult to keep multiple entrees of food heated with sternos but we managed. There was a lot of movement during service time and many people did not end up eating for at least ten minutes after the food was dropped. I am sorry that you did not appreciate the menu, many people at the party came to us with very lovely compliments. Multiple people even came and got seconds which is why there was such little food at the end of the night.
12-7-21 Me: my family was being kind. I heard all of the feedback. We had 2 excellent cooks at the party, who I would have asked to cook had I known the quality would be mediocre. Multiple family guest comments: The steak was too tough to be cut with the knives, the broccoli was way too overcooked. The portions were small. The cauliflower rice was excellent but not enough. The cake was good- the decorations tiny and unimpressive. I appreciated you offering to manage the event set-up and the catering to avoid having to source another person, however, the food was not great. You were confident about everything being great. I think it would have been better to underpromise and overdeliver. Not the opposite.
11-23-21 Me: He said the cake person did not have the cake ready on time. Why are you using a person who does not have cake ready the day before an event- certainly not a few hours before the event.
12-3-21 Owner: I cannot speak on behalf of any other company but as a small business I understand that sometimes there are unforeseen obstacles. This vendor has always delivered on time and has always been a client favorite. Unfortunately, things happen.
12-7-21 Me: The vendor clearly failed you and your paid in full customer. I paid you upfront. You promised perfection. That did not happen. No true professional prepares a cake with no moments to spare before an event.
11-23-21 Me: I should not have tipped this person. In his contract he says when the fees are due, but he kept asking in advance for all of it. I found this unprofessional and that should have been a clue.
12-3-21 Owner: You booked very close to the date of your event. Things needed to be ordered and expedited. For example, the cake had to be completely paid for upon ordering because we ordered it so close to the day of the event.
12-7-21 Me: Your contract discussed allocation dates for the funds. I read it well. it says "
Whereas the client will compensate the organization for said services by paying a 20% deposit upon booking, and a 80% payment one week prior to the event.You then asked me to pay more than 20% upfront if possible. I did (40%). 5 days later I paid you the remaining 60% (since you asked if I could pay more sooner). You had all funds 15 days before event, when contract required 80% a week prior to event only. I more than paid for the cake with the first installment weeks before the event. You should revise that if you are going to ask customers to begin paying you all of your funds. What you are asking for should match what is in your contract otherwise it rubs people the wrong way.
11-23-21 Me: I should have never hired him. The service did not meet agreed upon expectations by any stretch of the imagination. I did not want to write a review. I wanted to support his business. However, he agreed to supply receipts after the event so that I would know what was spent, and receive refund for goods not purchased. He has been contacted 3 times since the event ended with no response. I have waited 3 weeks to give him a chance to do the right thing. He has not, and so... the review is now here.
12-3-21 Owner:Following your event I began to experience significant issues in my familial life, which is a big reason why I am just reaching out. I delegated responsibilities to leaders on my team and they have been doing their best to execute the many tasks that I've given them. My financial team has been goin through your budget and receipts over the course of the past week and you should have a document by early next week. Again, we function as a small business and sometimes certain tasks take a bit longer to complete. We had a busy fall season and you are not the only person who is waiting on post-event receipt and communication. I typically send a courtesy email outlining this information but failed to do so and for that I apologize. I would like to note that while working your event, Tanya often felt that we were being treated as menials. The communication was often condescending and we were asked to do things that were not outlined in our agreement, for example, table service.
12-7-21 Me: I extend my compassion for the family event you experienced. Many of us have tough circumstances at some point in our lives and appreciate the compassion of others when this happens. Fortunately, you have an assistant and a financial team who can reach out on your behalf. No one did. You were very responsive to my messages up until the time the paid event, then for 3 weeks nothing after I text multiple times. I would have been more than happy to communicate with anyone. I am not sure you would have responded at all had a review not been written. Again, I waited before sending my reviewing, hoping I would receive even a small acknowledgment of my attempts to reach you.
Despite my disappointment, both you and Tanya both received tips. Tanya appeared surprised that a tip was provided to her and extended her appreciation. Despite the entire family having to work together to support the event given your late arrival, we were appropriate and cordial. You may have sensed frustration, disappointment, and stress given the event not going as promised before it event started. No one was inappropriate. It was not ideal for the customer or guests to have disjointed flow from the delay, and as such, I would imagine it did not feel good for either of you either. It is worth noting the music vendor sent an email the next day with the following included, “ Thanks again so much for having us play for you and your awesome family on Saturday. It was truly a joy…”.
Re: "Table service”, I am not familiar with the ins and outs of your industry. Plating food for 15 guest did not appear to be a big ask. If you have been there at disused time, we could have discussed the flow. Additionally, if you had not handout plated, guests would have taken regular portions and been left with little food for the guests who followed them.
12-3-21 Owner: I would like to again apologize that you were not happy with our services. We truly do what we can to bring people joy and jubilee during these events. If you do plan on using smaller businesses to execute tasks in the future I do recommend booking a bit more ahead of time and acknowledging that a lot of time people have built their own businesses from the ground up and because of this are constantly learning and developing. This review feels very cold and almost like an attack on our company and on myself personally.
12-7-21 Me: you were nowhere to be found until the review was posted. I did not want to write a review at all. I much prefer to communicate directly and to avoid a negative public review of businesses. I was excited and proud to support your small, black-owned business. When I could not get a simple text response from anyone (it did not have to be you), I was left with no choice but to share my experience. I tried to set up a call, no response. I text you for receipts 3 times in 3 weeks, no response. I am understanding when life events derail one’s routine. This happens to all of us, and it is terrible. Thankfully, you have a team supporting you and your business. I would have been open to hearing from any one of them in your absence
12-3-21 Owner: Thank you very much for your time and we truly apologize for your unhappiness. I will be in touch soon with the receipt document.
All the best,
12-7-21 Me: Thank you for your apology. I am looking forward to updating review with a conclusion after the receipts are hopefully received. I sincerely wish you success going forward.
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