My husband and I held our 250+ person wedding reception at The Fez Banquet and Wedding Center at 2312 Brodhead Road in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania in December
Unfortunately, during our reception a distressing incident occurred. Just before dinner a water pipe in the wall burst, partially flooding the ballroom. A number of our tables had to be hastily removed and quite a commotion was caused during our toasts by the staff using shop-vacuums to attempt to clean the area. During our reception and in the month following, The Fez never contacted us regarding this incident. As I did not think it was acceptable to expect clients to hold their reception in a partially flooded ballroom, and I did not believe that we had received the full service we had paid for from The Fez, I wrote to the owner, explained the situation, and asked him to consider refunding a fraction of the cost of our reception. His response dismissive; he blamed the bursting of the pipe on an "Act of God" and refused to consider any remuneration. My subsequent letters were similarly discounted. I was shocked and disappointed, to say the least, that The Fez would exhibit such blatant disregard to customer service, and that they would think it acceptable to hold a reception in a partly flooded hall.
There were a number of additional negative aspects of our experience at The Fez that, while not major issues in and of themselves, collectively contributed to our overall sense that The Fez has little regard for client and guest satisfaction.
1) The parking situation was atrocious (although throughout the planning phases we were assured that parking is never a problem at The Fez). The parking lot is dimly lit at best, uneven, and full of potholes. The Fez plans multiple weddings on the same evening, making an already bad parking situation even worse (particularly for the guests of the later wedding).
2) Although you're required to pay 15% gratuity on whichever liquor package you select, The Fez still puts "tip jars" on the bar (despite no mention of this practice in your contract). Having already paid gratuity on our bar tab, we had planned for our guests to enjoy an evening entirely at our expense, and not have to worry about having cash on-hand for tips. As it was The Fez endeavored to charge our guests for something for which we had already paid.
3) The Fez appears to have only one staff member employed to handle ALL of the planning for ALL of the weddings and events at The Fez. This means that your reception is the number one priority for about the 5 days prior to your event. Communicating with the one staff member who handles the planning is difficult at best (she called me by the wrong name!) and this can be extremely frustrating when you're trying to figure out the many reception details.
4) The wallpaper in the ballroom was peeling and the restroom was dingy (chipped, peeling old wastepaper basket, broken vanity covering, etc.). While these are small details, I think they speak to The Fez's general lack of commitment to guest satisfaction. These are things that would be quite simple and inexpensive to fix but would go a long way in improving the overall atmosphere.
I would be extremely hesitant to recommend The Fez to any other couple planning a wedding reception. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, not to mention hugely expensive and stressful! The reception venue you choose should be committed to making things as perfect as possible for your special day, and not just counting dollar signs as your guests walk in the door. Client satisfaction is certainly not The Fez's priority. read more
