Bristol Catering

Client rented the [redacted] House (***), a Victorian historical home in Crescent Hill for his December wedding The [redacted] contract was signed by the client on July 21, 2015.After reviewing the emails between the client and Aaron, there is no correspondence regarding holiday or any other décorThe [redacted] board and volunteer committee decorates the house, and have been doing so the first weekend after Thanksgiving, since Bristol began managing the property in The decorations have always been tasteful in accordance to the Victorian styleWe are event planners, so items discussed in meetings regarding décor, set up are clearly documented in our files The client arrived at the house on the day of his weddingAt that time the client told Aaron he did not want any holiday décor, Aaron removed all of the items from the mantles and tables, so the client could then provide his own décor He was not authorized to remove a decorated tree the great room or from a large urn on the groundsAnother staff member [redacted] , stated after she removed the décor from the dining room mantle, the client asked him to put it back on the mantle, since it was to bare without the decorationsThe [redacted] rental contract is for the rental use of the house, which the client usedIt does not mention anything about décor or furnishings, since they are often changed by the house committee or *** board of directorsAgain, I’ve reviewed all of the emails between the salesperson and the client, there is not any mention that the client, who rented a Victorian home in December, did not want holiday décorIn my past experience, most weddings in December want holiday décor, so they may save money on their own decorationsWhile we do not like any client to be unhappy, both the [redacted] and Bristol Catering felt we did everything possible to make the client happyThey used the house, which warranted the full rental, ate the food, which warranted the commissions on food and beverage (as stated in contract).Until the time the client lodged a complaint with the Revdex.com, he was trying to recoup venue commissions of $from the houseI forwarded the [redacted] board his emails and after the discussion with their executive committee, they declined to waive the food commissions to the clientNow he is lodging a complaint for rental fee and reimbursement for floral arrangements in the amount of $3092.50; that seems excessive and unwarrantedI have documentation available if needed; all emails between the client and the salesperson regarding their event, Bristol Catering invoice, contracts for both the [redacted] and Bristol Catering (which reflected the venue commissions), emails to and from the [redacted] board/executive committee regarding the client complaint and the [redacted] response regarding said complaint

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.I am disappointed that the response from the business offers no apology or admission that someone should have informed us of the decorations or intent to modify contractual agreements so it will be more clear to others in the future the extent to which the venue is decoratedWe have also decided to settle this offer, as we wish to move forward
Regards,
*** ***

Client rented the [redacted] House ([redacted]), a Victorian historical home in Crescent Hill for his December wedding.  The [redacted] contract was signed by the client on July 21, 2015.After reviewing the emails between the client and Aaron, there is no correspondence regarding holiday or any other décor. The [redacted] board and volunteer committee decorates the house, and have been doing so the first weekend after Thanksgiving, since Bristol began managing the property in 2000. The decorations have always been tasteful in accordance to the Victorian style. We are event planners, so items discussed in meetings regarding décor, set up are clearly documented in our files.  The client arrived at the house on the day of his wedding. At that time the client told Aaron he did not want any holiday décor, Aaron removed all of the items from the mantles and tables, so the client could then provide his own décor.  He was not authorized to remove a decorated tree the great room or from a large urn on the grounds. Another staff member [redacted], stated after she removed the décor from the dining room mantle, the client asked him to put it back on the mantle, since it was to bare without the decorations. The [redacted] rental contract is for the rental use of the house, which the client used. It does not mention anything about décor or furnishings, since they are often changed by the house committee or [redacted] board of directors. Again, I’ve reviewed all of the emails between the salesperson and the client, there is not any mention that the client, who rented a Victorian home in December, did not want holiday décor. In my past experience, most weddings in December want holiday décor, so they may save money on their own decorations. While we do not like any client to be unhappy, both the [redacted] and Bristol Catering felt we did everything possible to make the client happy. They used the house, which warranted the full rental, ate the food, which warranted the commissions on food and beverage (as stated in contract).Until the time the client lodged a complaint with the Revdex.com, he was trying to recoup venue commissions of $356.40 from the house. I forwarded the [redacted] board his emails and after the discussion with their executive committee, they declined to waive the food commissions to the client. Now he is lodging a complaint for rental fee and reimbursement for floral arrangements in the amount of $3092.50; that seems excessive and unwarranted. I have documentation available if needed; all emails between the client and the salesperson regarding their event, Bristol Catering invoice, contracts for both the [redacted] and Bristol Catering (which reflected the venue commissions), emails to and from the [redacted] board/executive committee regarding the client complaint and the [redacted] response regarding said complaint.

I do agree that Bristol Catering should be on the complaint, as they were the primary contacts for the venue and initiated the contract. I also feel that the [redacted] House should remain on the complaint as well, as it was the actions of the [redacted] House board that resulted in...

the problems we experienced.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
My husband and I have reviewed the response from Bristol Catering and disagree with their comments.  The response from Bristol Catering references prior communication between us and a representative of Bristol to resolve this.  To clarify, the current amount that we are requesting from Bristol Catering reflects a return of the rental fee for the [redacted] House and reimbursement for the fees from decorations and floral arrangement we paid, which were greatly overshadowed by the extensive Christmas decorations.  I also wish to reiterate, as I have in previous e-mail communications with the Bristol Catering representative and in the initial complaint filed with the Revdex.com that all of the floral arrangements and decorations that we paid for were not able to be placed in the [redacted] House due to the Christmas decorations.  The response from Bristol Catering indicating that all Christmas decorations were removed is inaccurate.  I have pictures taken at our reception by a friend which clearly shows extensive Christmas decorations throughout the house.  I also wish to note that only a few of the decorations were removed and we requested only 1 item to be placed on the mantle due to the mantle appearing bare.  I wish to clarify at this point, it was an hour before the reception, our florist had already left for another event and there was nothing available to be placed on the mantle.  The item we requested to be left on the mantle was more grayish in color and blended into the background.  It was later swapped out by Bristol Catering staff with gold decorations, which stood out and did not blend into the background.  Had the decorations not been there in the first place, the mantle would not have been bare as it would have been decorated using the floral decorations we paid for.  Aaron [redacted], the Bristol Catering event coordinator, gave no direction to our decorator or to the florist when he opened the venue for them to begin decorating, choosing to leave until I contacted him regarding the placement of Christmas decorations throughout the house. In regards to the contract for the rental of the house, there is no mention of holiday decorations of any kind, thus giving no indication the house will be decorated.  There is also no clause in the contract providing the house committee or board of directors the freedom to decorate the house without informing the party renting the venue.  The contract does specifically state “Any deviations from the contract must be in writing and signed by the licensee and [redacted].” The response from Bristol Catering mentions finding no mention of the Christmas decorations in any e-mail communications between us and the Bristol Catering event coordinator.  This is correct, at no point during any of our communications did Mr. [redacted] indicate the house would be decorated for Christmas.  We conveyed our feelings that we did not want any Christmas decorations and discussed wanting to avoid the pretense that we were throwing a Christmas party during all of our meetings with Mr. [redacted] in person, thus we did not see the need to be repetitive during e-mails with him. The response from Bristol Catering mentions that previous people who have rented the [redacted] House have preferred the Christmas decorations, as this eliminates a need for them to pay for a decorator.  While this is irrelevant to our situation, as we communicated clearly that we did not want any Christmas decorations in the venue, it was known to Bristol Catering that we would be decorating the venue, we mentioned this numerous times and our decorator even accompanied us on a visit to the venue to review the layout. It seems that everyone involved with Bristol Catering was aware of the fact the venue would be decorated for Christmas, yet never informed us of this.  We were always up front that we discovered the venue after visiting an arts festival held on the grounds of the house and were dependent upon them for information regarding the venue. The response from Bristol Catering referenced the offer to forward prior e-mail correspondence and signed contracts and agreements.  I would add that I can also forward those as well.  I can also include photographs taken at our wedding reception by a friend which show the extent of the Christmas decorations.
Regards,
[redacted] Mclean

Given the misunderstanding of the decorations we would like to offer a refund of the venue commission of $356.40. This is the amount the client paid in commissions to the ** House and the initial amount requested to be refunded. This has been paid to the ** House and they have declined to refund it therefore we will refund from our account. We do not have direct control and do not receive the rent for the ** House or pay or control the decorations. We offer this refund as we want to show good will and sincerely want to have good client relations as we truly care about our guest experience.