Our new son in law wanted to give back to other veterans and have their reception at the VFW. Almost a year out my daughter contacted the VFW to save the date. We hadn't spoken in awhile, so Ashlee called to check in. We were told that the previous person left and the reception wasn't on the calendar. Pure panic, at this point. They had to jump through hoops, there were told something in person, amd something different in texts. Our veteran son in law was treated horribly. Two nights before the wedding the VFW demanded payment in full or we couldn't have the reception there. Due the many issues of VFW employees and issues we have had from the beginning we wanted to pay all but $200 upfront. The bar manager went ballistic on us and under duress we paid. She also made it very clear that we should not have been giving extra time to set up, so we tried to get out within the six hour time frame. We did not feel welcome to be there the whole time we had on the contract. After the reception, while cleaning and checking to see what needed to be done, the VFW refused to return any of our deposit because their volunteers vacuumed, ON THEIR OWN instead of giving it to us while we were cleaning. Then ON THEIR OWN cleared plates, while we cleared glasses. We also told them at 5pm to stop serving and they did not stop. My daughter asked also, they continued to serve. They don't listen and they aren't customer focused. The VFW is not the place to hold a reception or private party. read more