I filled out the online request form and was sent a bid back. I responded but never heard anything back so a few days later i emailed to confirm we were set. Later that day i got another bid, with the same price, but a follow up to make payment.
The day of the event, i had not been contacted by anyone to confirm that someone was actually coming so we just hoped they were. Luckily they showed up 30 minutes prior as it was stated and i thought we would be great.
I had asked for a 7:30-10:30 time slot and was what i paid for previously.
Towards the end of the night, I made a round telling guests it was last call and to get their final drinks if they wanted. A guest at the event asked how much we would have to pay for him to stay another hour. He didn't ever say an amount but when the guest handed him a $100.00 bill, he said he would stay.
About 30 minutes into this, I went to him and thanked him while also giving him a $100.00 tip. At about 11:30 he came up to me and said that he was about to be taking off. I thanked him again and everything seemed great.
He then asked me how he got payment and that I was suppose to pay him on site for the service. This is after he had been tipped by myself and the extra $100.00 for the extra hour. I let him know that i had given my credit card info to the company and they should be paying him. He gave me his cell number and email before leaving.
The following week i noticed on my card statement that i had been charged $82.24 over what my bid was. I called twice and left a voicemail and also emailed. About 3 hours later, i received an email with an updated invoice charging me for overtime. I immediately called and got no answer but left a voicemail. The following day i called and emailed with no answer. The next day i called and let them know, on voicemail, that i would be contesting the charge with my bank. Later that night i finally got my first phone call through this whole thing from the company.
I told them what had happened and was informed that the bartender is responsible for calling and seeing if extra hours would be approved and no cash should be exchanged. Also that they should not have asked me for payment while there. i was told that they needed to speak with a supervisor and would get back to me.
Two days later i got a call back saying that they would be refunding me the difference and would speak with the bartender about procedure.
eleven days later i still haven't gotten a refund and all communication has stopped.
I realize its not a lot of money but everything that has happened just seemed a little shady and the lack of any phone communication didn't help this. read more