I usually don't like writing negative reviews, but after our experience, I feel it's important to…read moreshare what happened.
A group of friends and I try to do something together about once a month, and we had originally scheduled a Valentine's Day Paint & Twist. Unfortunately, life happened, and we had to cancel. We were given a credit and were told it needed to be used by August 11.
We rescheduled for August 1, but unfortunately, one of my friends had chemotherapy and wasn't feeling well, while I ended up in the emergency room with chest pain. We contacted the business that day, explained the circumstances, apologized, and completely understood if the credit could no longer be honored.
The young lady we spoke with was extremely kind, understanding, and empathetic. She contacted the owner on our behalf and told us that the credit would be honored for all six people. Because we were told the six-person credit would be honored, we decided to invite three additional friends so that we could use the full credit. We felt it should be a girls night and leave the husbands at home.
When we arrived, one other friend ended up coming along as well, making a total of seven people. We completely understood that this person was not included in the original credit, and we appreciated that they were able to accommodate the additional person, especially since reservations are required in advance.
I also want to acknowledge Jake, who was absolutely phenomenal. He was professional, courteous, and genuinely tried to help us resolve the situation. He had only been scheduled for three people, so we explained that we had previously spoken with an employee who had contacted the owner and told us the six-person credit would be honored. Jake contacted the owner.
Unfortunately, this is where our experience became very disappointing. The owner told us she was only honoring the credit for three people. We explained that there had apparently been a miscommunication, but that we had specifically spoken with an employee who had communicated with her and told us the six-person credit would be honored.
What bothered me most was not the misunderstanding itself. I completely understand that this is a small business and that miscommunications can happen. What I found completely unnecessary was the way the owner spoke to my friend Donna.
Donna calmly explained what had happened and reminded her that she had previously explained the circumstances surrounding her chemotherapy and my emergency room visit. Instead of simply acknowledging that there had been a miscommunication and working with us to resolve it, the owner became rude and confrontational and even told Donna that she didn't think she would want her coming back to the establishment.
That was extremely disappointing.
We were not demanding anything unreasonable. We were simply relying on what one of the employees had communicated to us after speaking with the owner. If there had been a misunderstanding, we would have understood. What we did not expect was for the conversation to become so hostile.
I do want to give Jake credit because he was wonderful throughout the situation. We also appreciated that they accommodated the additional friend who came with us, even though that person was not part of our original reservation.
Unfortunately, the owner's manner of handling the situation overshadowed what could have simply been an understandable misunderstanding. As a small business, customer service and the way you communicate with customers matter.
We left disappointed--not because of the credit, but because of how my friend was treated. A difficult situation can be handled professionally and respectfully, even when there has been a misunderstanding. That was what we expected, and unfortunately, that was not our experience.
