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You need to warn people so they don't fall prey to this particular vendor and get screwed over the same way. Places like Project Wedding have a section where you can do that. Also make sure to contact the BBB.
Find out if you can take them to small claims court to get your deposit back.
How disappointing!
It sounds like coming to an agreement on the 2nd entree proved to more difficult than you would have expected, or deserved. By chance did you at least secure a receipt for your deposit? Am hoping they don't give you the runaround and in the end it comes down to your word and theirs...
Giving a vendor review is feedback for all involved, for the vendor, and potential clients. As a wedding vendor myself, I know how important this is to me and my business. My advice is to always share your point of view, from your experience. And state the facts, not the personal side (even though yes, it's a personal disappoint) you want potential clients to be aware of areas of concern. For example: poor customer service, receiving a refund was a hassle, or limited menu options in our price range. Hope that helps.
And good luck with your 2nd option, they seem to match your needs better.
That really stinks! I would review & just say what happened so other people are aware.
I would review them... please let others know of your experience so they can consider that when considering them!
YES definitely give them a review (a bad review), don't be scared...it's importatnt to warn other brides of your situation. The caterer should have corrected the issue or apologized for what they did. They also shouldn't have bad mouthed the other caterer, that's just bad business! Good for you for having the guts to change, a lot of people would have just gone with it. You are paying for their business and you should get good service! CATERERS aren't cheap!
Please keep us posted as to whether you get your deposit back. From my dealings with vendors, I've always thought deposits were non-refundable.
Ick! I would wait until they sent your deposit back to send the reviews out. I am really sorry that this happened. Also be prepared for a rude response (I'm sure they will say rude or untrue things in response to protect themselves). With your next caterer make sure they put all of the entrees in the contract before you sign it and any special incentives. Good luck!!
As long as your review is honest and dispassionate, I think you should definitely leave one. Other people's honest reviews (good and bad) have been really valuable to me in wedding planning, and lots of other brides could certainly benefit. It's always nice to know how a vendor has treated others so that you can make the most informed decision possible.
I agree, it is important to warn people, however, I might wait until I got my deposit back before I posted the review. You don't want them to get wind of it before they refund your money.
Well this sucks.... Definitely review them. Don't be emotional or heated, what you said above was perfect. They couldn't provide you what you wanted without upping th cost.
So now here's the sticky part: did they give you a receipt for your deposit? Is there any proof you paid them? Did you give a cheque or cash? You said in your first line you didn't sign anything... that scares me.
Always, always, ALWAYS get things in writing brides!! Look how quickly this caterer changed from being considered "nice people" to jerks! I'm so sorry they were mean to you. That's immature & unprofessional.
Review them AFTER you get your money back, and definitely contact the BBB in your area
I agree that I would wait until you got your money back, but then I would totally review them. I would want to know if someone had an experience like that with our caterer! Good luck with your new one! What's the new menu?
Whoa... this whole situation is bugging me! Just because they verbally said they'd give it back doesn't mean they will. I don't mean to freak you out, but you might be out your deposit.
Usually by firing a vendor, they can keep your deposit. A deposit is used to reserve the date. The contract is supposed to outline their policy on deposits. I'm in the food service industry & I require a deposit on specialty orders. The first line of my contract says:
1. Your initial deposit (30% of total balance) reserves your date and is non-refundable. This deposit is applied towards the outstanding balance of your order.
I've never done an order without a contract, its bad business. I really don't know what your rights are.... you should check it out.
Yes, give them a review, a dispassionate recitation of the facts. The reviews are so useful to other brides and event-throwers who would otherwise be ignorant of pertinent information.
I would review them on EVERY SITE YOU CAN FIND. Heck, if they're in my city, I want to KNOW so I can avoid them!
I'm with a bunch of the bees though -- aren't deposits usually non refundable?
Thanks everyone! This really helps ... I wasn't feeling very bold about reviewing them, but I will get over that and do it. I really don't want anyone else to have to deal with this.
Yes, I did get a receipt. The crazy (and embarrassing) thing is I used to work at a law office, so I understand the importance of getting it in writing. This is why I'm kicking myself so much for this!
The caterer hadn't actually deposited our check as of the time we cancelled with them, which was almost three weeks after we put the deposit down. (I thought this was a little weird too ...) So, I've been checking my online banking stuff daily, and though we haven't received the checks back in the mail yet, they also haven't been cashed.
Thanks for all the advice! I will definitely wait until I get my deposit back to review them ... Good thinking!
@ thefuturemrsjewell: Assuming we go with caterer #2, we will go with their beef brisket, crab and artichoke stuffed chicken breast. They were soooo good!! :)
They didn't deposit your cheque, so can't you just cancel it so they can't cash it at all? Then you don't have to wait at all?
If they didn't deposit your check I would pay a liitle more now and do a stop payment on your check
Please, Please Please put a stop payment on your check. This will only cost you $15-$20 and will save you so much hassle.
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We put down our deposit on a caterer about four weeks ago and, stupidly, I didn't get it in writing even though everything I read said we absolutely needed to. I just trusted them because they seemed like such nice people and their customer service was great.
Anyway, we were having a hard time finding a second entree we liked. The first one was awesome, but all the others we tried were just OK. We had a meeting with them before we put down the deposit specifically to discuss the second entree since that was the only thing keeping us from booking them. We specifically asked him what other entrees we could try at the price we'd been quoted. He let us try some pork loin and breaded tilapia, we picked the pork loin, and we put down the deposit. Then, when we were e-mailed the breakdown of our costs, our meal was $2.20 more expensive.
When we called to ask about the difference, we were told that the pork loin was more expensive. We explained that he'd told us it was the same price and that was why we picked it. He told us we were wrong, that he didn't say that and we must be mistaken ... When my FI tried to set up a time to come meet with him to discuss things, he got terse with my FI and told him we had to wait two or three weeks b/c he was too busy to meet with us. We were also really miffed because he told us we only had three choices for our second entree, the ones we already tried and didn't like.
We thought about it overnight and decided we needed to get our deposit back and go with someone else. We felt like they lied to us to get our money and hoped we'd just say OK to paying more. Plus, we really didn't like the entrees we were told we had to pick.
We called the next day and told them of our decision. They tried to tell us we had to wait three weeks to get our deposit back. Obviously we weren't comfortable with that, so we drove up there. When we got there, they were terrible to us, telling us we should have just dropped an appetizer to be able to afford their prices. When I explained that we had found other caterers who would do exactly what we wanted for cheaper, she told us that caterer wasn't cheaper than them and that their food was bad. Nowhere along the way did they try to repair the mistake or the working relationship. Instead, when we went up there, they were even more mean to us.
There is a question here: Should I give them a bad Google review? I've never done this before, but I feel like I want to do something. What do you think hive?
p.s. They still haven't sent our deposit back ...