FALSE ADVERTISING, MONEY-HUNGRY, AND HORRENDOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE. -5 stars for the absolute WORST customer service IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
My fiancé and I saw on the website that the restaurant offered private party rooms, so one week in advance I booked one for a party of 19 people for my fiancé's birthday.
We arrived 10 minutes early, were told by the owner/manager that the room we booked was still occupied, and were escorted to a table in an open dining room. When asking our waitress for an estimate on when our room would be available, we were told that the room was occupied by a party of 50, the party had just been served their food because they're behind, and they could not vacate the room while the party was still eating. Fair enough - we do not wish to ruin anyone's party and understand that they have to at least finish their meal.
The owner/manager, however, then returns to our table to advise us that
- The open dining area we are in is "a room"
- They do NOT book rooms
- Private party rooms are free and are thus NOT guaranteed
- We can pay a $1000.00 deposit to guarantee a private party room if we'd like
- "A party of 50 supersedes a party of 20, that's just common sense"
- This is the way he does and has always done business
And we learn that the party occupying the room was a walk-in and were prioritized over our party simple due to the fact that they were a larger party???
While I appreciate that this is a business and that any owner/manager would understandably be profit-oriented, it is false advertisting to state on your website that private party rooms are able to be booked for free only to expect a deposit to guarantee the room, and it is unacceptable to blame your customers for the inconvenience that your own incompetence and greediness has caused. The website CLEARLY states "Book your parties/events; Free private rooms; Book now." It does not state that rooms are not guaranteed nor does it state that deposits are required to guarantee one, so I am going to assume that my booked room is more or less guaranteed. These are the terms that YOU set to book a room, and you need not guarantee rooms or do so for free, but you need to be transparent, so that your customers are aware and can act and decide accordingly.
From the moment we walked in, the owner/manager had the demeanour of a teenager being forced to help out at his parents' restaurant on a Friday night, and he was EXTREMELY disrespectful and condescending. What kind of restaurant tells customers their business is not valuable simply because there's other, better business available to them? The waitress even displayed customer service skills superior to those of the owner/her manager. The whole interaction could've sooner ended were we simply told, "We lied on our website, and we do not care about customer service, so f*** off and have happy birthday."
Perhaps all of this was for the better, since many of the reviews I'm now reading mention poor management (with new management) cleanliness issues (roaches, grime on dishes, tables not being wiped down, and the entire restaurant being overall dirty), non-commitment to menu specials, and in one case even discrimination on the basis of disability?????? Management seems to be on top of their reviews but hasn't responded to the woman who wrote that she was denied service due to her service dog? NO WAY are we supporting an ableist establishment that discriminates against folks with disabilities, and contravenes the Ontario Human Rights Code.
My fiancé liked drinking at this restaurant with friends, but we are NEVER coming back again. Imagine the stress of your plans for a party of 20 going awry last minute and the love of your life unjustifiably being treated like this on their birthday.
My fiancé's birthday was almost ruined, but thankfully, we were able to take our business to Hooter's instead. I strongly recommend anyone reading this take their business elsewhere as anywhere is better than here. read more