Yesterday, a group of 18 went to Jost Vineyards for a day of laughter, wine and a delicious meal!!! Great company, beautiful venue and amazing food/wine was the experience we sought.
One of their tag lines which really spoke to me was "Come for the wine. Stay for the experience!"
A group of 18 can be loud, just by sheer numbers, add to that we all have been busy and really excited
about our day and being together!!!
We arrived at Jost Vineyards a 1/2 a hour early so we could enjoy the landscape, architecture, wine and do some shopping. We were met by a scowling, surly server who immediately told us "we were too early." There was no smile or welcome but a sense of "ohhh no are we in trouble." Some of the group ordered wine and we all shared our own experiences with products and made suggestions. 18 people create noise, laughter and conversations were everywhere. We took up space, no doubt about it! We could be heard... I am sure.
The server scowled at us the entire time we were inside. A few of us sat in the club chairs and an employee with a very welcoming smile came over and introduced herself as our tour guide. She was authentic and genuine. I told her how much I appreciated her warmth and hospitality as we didn't receive any up to this point. She was gracious. She was how you would want your company to be recognized.
We went outside for our tour that had been set up as a group tour. We arrived to see a lovely young couple from Ontario and to be joined by three others for the tour. Our group of 18 who were chatting, laughing, and in our own world and thought it would just be us as we had booked we're now apologizing to the others. Neither group (us or other tour people) did anything wrong just not the Jost experience either signed up for.
Fast forward to our meal experience. Prior to the tour we had checked out menus and made decisions on what we would like to order. (July 2nd our tour and reservations were booked and no restrictions were given.) We are shown to two tables for our group with 6 being in direct sun exposure. Our server was very frustrated from the beginning with a large group. His aggression and tone was very unwelcoming and very off putting. Upon passing out the menus our group became very chatty and lots of people speaking to each other and to him. Immediately, we noticed that it was a different menu and one of our top choices for a meal was no longer an option. This of course led to questions. Is this a different menu... first time we were told NO. Then it changed to Not for a group. No further explanation. Most were curious and wanted to know why. More Questions. At this point, the aggressive server yelled at us to SHUT UP. I need for anyone reading this to understand that he actually YELLED at us to SHUT UP. Very aggressively he told us that we needed to be quiet so he could hear us and we could hear him. 24 HOURS later I am still in shock at being yelled at by an employee of Jost Vineyards. I immediately left the area and walked away from the table in complete shock that this occurred. I spoke to our tour guide inside and asked if there was a manager. I started speaking with manager and another person from the group came in as well to speak with someone in charge over the complete disrespect offered to our group and to the Jost company being represented by this individual. We decided to take a deep breath and try and enjoy our meals. We rejoin the group. At this point to be told that they are running out of menu selections. So we again had to go and change our choices. The food arrival was very efficient and timely as well as delicious. The chef did a fantastic job with taste and presentation. Our group then decided to have coffee and dessert. The option was afforded to us as the bills arrived. We then explained to our eye rolling, scowling server that we wanted coffee and dessert. This again set off more eye rolling and a toss of the head. A few minutes later a different server brought out two plates of brownies with cream and a bit of fresh fruit as an apology to our group. We each received a 1/4 piece of brownie for our treatment. The coffee or choices of desserts never happened. We went inside where the food and beverage manager spoke to the group about what occurred. It never felt sincere, authentic or genuine from my perspective. The chef was behind the bar listening and he was very authentic and a good ambassador for Jost in his customer service along with his fantastic cooking.
In making the complaints, I feel that suggestions on improving should be offered or at least what should have occurred. 1. A sign outside that says "Quiet area... whispers only." 2. If with large group, please enter 3-4 at a time and remember rule #1. 3. Food
preparation- Jost was aware of having two groups of 18 arriving at same time for meals yet ran out of portions along with having a menu with limited options. Not great planning read more
