Dinner ruined

[Kaftanqween]

I’m away with large family to celebrate a parent’s significant birthday. I booked a meal through a recommended catering company. Chef was due at 3 with meal served at 4.

At 3.15 the chef messaged to say I’m lost. Sorry. He sent me a pin to his location. He was 3 hours from me. I rang the company in a panic. They said he’d gone to the wrong place and they were weird and defensive demanding did I want to go ahead or not. It was awful. We’re in the middle of nowhere in a rented property we’d had a few drinks. I didn’t know what to do. So I said go ahead.

the chef turned his phone off and I really didn’t know if he would even arrive. The company were useless presumably unable to track the chef either. By this time I’d spent nearly 3 hours away from the celebrations.

Anyway at 6 he did arrive and served lacklustre, rushed food at 7. Half the table were missing as they were putting small kids to bed.

This morning I messaged the company and got a random response saying they’d investigate and get back to me in 7 days! I was flabbergasted and wrote a review on trustpilot and insta. Since then it’s been hell. Long, defensive messages, questioning what I’m saying. Also suggesting they won’t consider any recompense until I take my reviews down. Finally a response to my review online calling me abusive and saying I threatened to slander (sic) them all over social media unless I was immediately refunded. Also claiming they contacted me to resolve it early this morning. None of this Is true.

What the hell is wrong with them? why wouldn’t they just offer me a 50% refund or something and we can all move on. Should I take my reviews down? What recourse do I have? Just small claims? Hoping someone can advise.

You’ll have a good story and many laughs from it for years to come once the annoyance has faded!

Next time op use Cook. We had drama and issues with local caterers at family event in middle of nowhere in the end we cancelled and bought a load of Cook meals. You literally put them in the oven. It’s the way forward. Ok food not quite as perfect but still lovely at fraction of cost and no dealing with stroppy third parties.

I was gone and now I’m back 😂 Thank you @Hols23. They haven’t really. They’re definitely saying it’s the chef’s fault but I’d be surprised. Originally the chef said he went to a property with the same name (we’re in a big country house - think something Hall) but that makes no sense. I suspect he was given completely the wrong details. Perhaps the address for an event on a different day?

A whole group and nobody could think to order food in? Take some responsibility here you should have cancelled when 3 hours away.

Where I live, there is zero food delivery service. It's too rural. Sounds like they were in a rural holiday location.

I had a problem with a very expensive chair that I bought. After weeks of emails and phone calls, I only got a response by posting on one of the firms adverts on Facebook. I got an almost immediate phone call, first gaslighting me on what had been offered to rectify the situation, but then agreeing to a satisfactory solution. I will go with bad reviews in future, if following complaints procedure doesn't solve things quickly.

What are you serious

posti a negative review as a knee jerk reaction rather than waiting for resolution first is where you went wrong. They said they would investigate and get back to you within 7 days to allow them to check with all parties (perhaps some work part time or are on annual leave) and decide on a potential offer to you. Jumping the gun with negative reviews makes them defensive and more likely to be less generous

Like other posters I think you've made a bad experience awful by not allowing them to investigate and respond before rushing in with your reviews. I'd offer to take the reviews down while you try to reach an arrangement that satisfied you. Sometimes the knee jerk response is not the way forward. Sometimes people do fuck up - you need to let the company investigate act and response. Sorry for your disappointment!

Wait u til your refund is in your bank then post damning reviews. Like a pp said, this was an event that can never be replicated. To the posters saying why didn’t you go out and get food, read the thread! Unfamiliar rural place, people drinking (so presumably couldn’t drive), big party, allergies.

I would have sorted it out with the company before knee jerk reaction of reviews.

As awful as it was for you, things happen and to give them a chance to react and compensate.

It sounds as though the chef was pissed, not your party group! How the hell can a 'professional' organisation run like this?

Some of the replies on here are spiteful and/or totally unrealistic. Get a food delivery - WTAF. Do people not understand the meaning of rural and food allergies 🤔

I'm really sorry that, what should have been a lovely, memorable day turned into a such a nightmare. Your stress levels must've been so high.

I’ve had companies refuse to refund unless I take a review down. I just update the review stating what they’ve said.

It doesn’t sound like they will give you a refund . Personally, I’d rather keep up a review than get the money (unless I needed it). You can’t get that evening back- it’s done. An honest review from someone would have stopped you from booking them potentially .

OP, I just wanted to send you some .
Recently celebrated my Dad's 90th birthday in a very similar arrangement - rented house, grandchildren, some with allergies. Luckily we were catering for ourselves with lots of enthusiastic cooks in the family but I can totally understand the frustration when your plans for the gala dinner went badly wrong through no fault of your own. We were in a touristy area but we'd also have been stumped if we'd had to try and get hot food delivered for such a large group at short notice. Anyway it sounds like you all had lovely time despite the problems, and I hope the catering company does the right thing by you.

I think the company have behaved terrible

You left a factual review of your experience. Instead of being threatening and unresponsive, the company could have responded to your review publicly that they are doing what they can to work with you to try and give you an adequate outcome.

People should be able to leave their honest, factual experience of companies and not have to bite their tongue in order to get compensation for shit service

I can see why you didn't want to try and cobble something together op or order a takeaway...this was a really special celebration and I don't think a bag of chips or pizza from the local takeaway would really cut it.

Sounds like a good result from an awful mixup.

I do feel sorry for the chef though. Called as soon as he realised he was lost and rushed over to you. Why assume he switched his phone off rather than it simply died due to all the time driving about. After the initial mistake was made surely there was not much more he could do. I don't understand why you rang the company after speaking to him unless you wanted to cancel - who would have been understandable.

Are you the chef?

Actually, yes I do live in a rural area 🤣
Every area is different, just because they don’t deliver to you, they will deliver to other areas!!

I live in a rural area and there are places that deliver to us!
Every area is different!

@BrendaSmall ok but what is your point? The OP is not in your area so your amazing services are/were useless to her! Hence the thread!

This is all kinds of irrelevant.

Even if OP had been in the middle of a city with dozens of options, feeding 18 people a celebration meal in an area you don't know at no notice is a challenge that would be unlikely to go that well, though could potentially have been worth a shot somewhere like central London.

And being pushed into making a yes/no decision then and there gave OP no time to evaluate her options in any case.

🤣🤣
So you know where I live then??

@BrendaSmall

No of course I don't.

Your posts make no sense. You keep referencing OP's situation in relation to yours and I am pointing out that what is available to you is clearly not available to OP @Kaftanqween .

That is the whole point of the issue. In her case, the failure of the chef upending things ruined her celebration.

I am not sure what is so hard for you to understand about this.

That’s why every address in the UK ( and France) has a unique post code , which is what you should enter into your address finder.