DON'T DO IT!! LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES! Armed with 30+ years experience in the food & beverage…read moreindustry, a recommendation from a friend/chef, and a relatively small event (40ppl for a rehearsal dinner) to host, I was pretty confident with my choice. WRONG! I have never been so disappointed and embarrassed in my life! The entire process, from menu selection and price quotes (that wildly fluctuated dependent on who you spoke to that day); to unprofessional behavior (screaming at my 14 yr. old niece on the phone), to complete ineptitude. I made the mistake of referring my future in-laws there for rental equipment but Dente's could absolutely not keep track of anything; even with completely different orders (food vs. rentals), dates (uh? was that the 10th or 11th?), contact information (faxed my bill to my future daughter-in-law), and deposits ($300 made 3 mo. earlier that they insisted was only $100), requiring a faxed copy of cashed check to resolve -a deposit, incidentally, that they required but refused to send an invoice for (obvious red flag, that should have stopped me in my tracks) and which, in hind-site, was most likely orchestrated.
It gets worse. How about flat out fraud and thievery? Very strong words for a review, I know, but read this & tell me what else describes these very real nightmare I experienced at the hands of what I thought was a reputable business. I kid you not. To begin, every single price I was quoted was increased w/o my approval. Items were changed or completely omitted (no ziti, no fresh fruit, thinly sliced roast beef was substituted for the Tornados ordered, insufficient amt. of salad, insufficient amount & variety of dessert -of the 6 examples given I only recognized 2 (hint: it wasn't the pastries, cheese cake, or fruit tarts); they provided 2 per person, each approximately. 1" sq. In addition to raising the food prices ($15.99 to $16.99 ending @ $17.99 just 4 days before the event!), the price for delivery & set-up, quoted @ $50 was charged @ $75, an extra $200.00 deposit was required for rental of 40 standard champagne glasses (not even flute style!); all 40 were cleaned, double counted & returned yet $10 was taken out of my deposit for 2 missing glasses), and a $30.00 "credit card charge" was charged; funny since I was never informed of any such charge & don't use credit cards. My intention was always to pay in cash, which I had already put aside for that purpose. Why then you ask? Well, 4 days prior to the event, when they were still claiming that the original deposit made was only $100, they insisted on an additional $100 immediately to secure the rental order. I reluctantly complied and had my niece read off the numbers, including the pin & security code. Stupid on my part, I know but time was running out and I am unfamiliar with the area.
Here is the part that completely blows me away, the piece de resistance; they proceeded to charge the entire amount of the already inflated bill, $1,040 to my debit card within the hour, four days prior to receiving any goods or services, causing an account deficit, no less than four overdrawn transactions, and a zero balance in my account. That is completely unheard of in this business and very possibly illegal (awaiting confirmation from BBB & ACF to confirm). An isolated incident, you're thinking, perhaps. Everyone is entitled to a bungled job or two over an entire career, right? Not this time. They pulled the same with my new in-laws; they were quoted $10 per table but charged $15; I believe their "delivery" charge was also inflated (unconfirmed as of now); & were also charged a $30 credit card fee that was never discussed until confronted after the event. I have never written a poor review before in my life because it really is a tough business, but the only way to stop people that are blatantly dishonest is to get the word out and hope that I can prevent others from the same frustration I felt dealing with dishonest businesses.
The one star I awarded was for the food quality of some of the items I did order.
P.S. When my sister (also in the business) questioned them about premature charges ($1,000+) to my account, she was told that someone had just had a wedding cancellation for that weekend & didn't have a deposit for it. They needed to recover that money somewhere! Explaining that she was faxing them the cancelled check for $300 dollars she HAD sent in April, that we should not be penalized! Dente's now had in their possession $400 over and above the entire cost ($200 of hers & $200 deposit); a full $1,340 prior to any goods or services ever being received! What else can you call that but fraud, or thievery, or both!
