Cooking at the Cottage

Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter, dated 8/19/16, regarding a complaint from Complaint ID [redacted] I have read the customers statement of the problem and below please find my response The customer and her husband have attended Date Night a number of times since late 2014, either by themselves or with other couples/friends When MrCustomer called to cancel on 7/29/(date of class) the phone was answered by [redacted] , my full time employee, and she was told that they had to cancel due to a family emergency She explained the cancellation policy to MrCustomer and he said that he understood the policy and that was fine Our cancellation policy is posted on the website, is stated in the reminder notice sent days before the class, is stated in two places on the class brochure (both printed and posted on our website), is acknowledged by the customer when registering for the class by checking the box agreeing to the policy or it is verbally explained to the customer if the registration is done by our staff over the phone or in personThe only exception I make to this policy is if I am able to sell the seat(s) to someone on a waiting list, then we can offer the customer who cancels a class credit Since the class was not sold out, we had no waiting list and were not able to fill the two tables reserved and paid for by MrCustomer That being the case, we stood by our cancellation policy in an effort to be fair to all of our customers We feel each customer has the same value as the next – that the first time customer should be treated the same as the long term customer That someone purchasing a $cookie cutter is as important as the person who purchases the $mixerMrsCustomer must have called back after 6:pm the evening of 7/29/and spoke to my husband, ***, who had just arrived to work the Date Night class She asked for the manager and he told her that someone would be in later that evening and to call back She never identified herself or left a phone number [redacted] is an owner, but does not handle the day to day operations of the Cottage, and leaves the details of the Cottage up to the staff or myself to address If she called back later that evening, Date Night was in progress and we were in the process of working with the people in class and weren’t able to answer the phone Sometimes that is a choice that must be made in order to give good service to the customers in class There was no message left on the voice mail MrsCustomer did call back and leave a message on that Saturday, 8/1/ The message was relayed to me since I was not on site I planned to call her back on Monday, 8/3/but MrsCustomer visited the store before I had a chance to return her call She spoke to my employee, [redacted] , and [redacted] called me and conveyed her complaint I asked [redacted] to let MrsCustomer know that I was very sorry, but in fairness to all of our customers, we would need to stick to our cancellation policyI was very sorry that Mrand MrsCustomer didn’t feel that they were treated fairly in this instance I have enjoyed working with them in the past I very much appreciate their business and have also appreciated that they have chosen to bring other people with them when they attended Date Night classes I was very sorry to hear that they didn’t agree with my decision and would not be back They both subsequently unsubscribed to our email newsletter and that made me sad I never thought that it would be perceived that I was “hiding behind my employee” when MrsCustomer came into the store on 8/3/and [redacted] relayed my decision to her Because I was not physically present in the store that day, [redacted] had permission to speak on my behalf since MrsCustomer was looking for an immediate answer It is most unfortunate that our messages crossed without me actually being able to speak with MrsCustomer in person The weekend happens to be my busiest time in the store, and paperwork and phone calls are always relegated to Mondays In no way was I avoiding her, but simply had not had time to return the call before she came in to the storeBeing a small business owner, each day I am forced to make decisions that I would rather not make We go out of our way to offer a reasonable cancellation policy and work to fill cancellations that occur during the days leading up to the class If we can fill the seat/table, we are more than happy to put that customer in the credit book But I stand by my position that all customers of Cooking at the Cottage, no matter how big or how small, how frequent or how infrequent they shop with us or attend classes deserve the same level of treatment and respect That is the only way I feel that I can be fair to all and show each one how much I appreciate their supportOn the next page please find our advertised cancellation policy which was agreed to by MrCustomer upon his registration for classHaving attended additional classes here, both he and his wife should have been very familiar with our policy Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this complaintSincerely, [redacted] , Owner Cooking at the Cottage NEW UPDATED CLASS REGISTRATION & CANCELLATION POLICY Cooking at the Cottage classes are a ticketed event, filled on a first-come basis and payment must be made at the time of registrationONLINE registration is NOW AVAILABLE, can be done in person or by phoning the Cottage at (502) 893-(no email requests honored)Payment is due at time of registrationWe accept all major credit cardsIf paying by Gift Card, please have your card, available since we will need the numbers printed on the back of the cardPlease bring your card with you to class for redemptionIf paying with a split payment (gift card & credit card) or using a store credit, you must call the store to register REQUESTS FOR REFUNDS OR TRANSFERS MUST BE MADE SEVEN (7) FULL DAYS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED CLASSWE ARE SORRY BUT WE CANNOT MAKE EXCEPTIONS Cooking classes are like tickets to a performance, concert or sporting event: the show must go on, so we encourage you to send a substitute if you are unable to attend If you cannot attend class and can’t find a substitute, please let us know anytime during the 7-day period before class and if we are able to sell your seat(s) from a waiting list, we will issue you a store credit to be used for another class (not merchandise) during the next months Due to the availability of ingredients, sometimes the chef must substitute recipes in class or, because of time constraints, not every recipe scheduled is preparedWe will provide the class with a packet of written recipes but you are encouraged to make your own notesAll classes are held in our classroom at Cooking at the Cottage, unless otherwise notedParticipation in a Cooking at the Cottage hanclass places you in a typical cooking environment with inherent riskBy registering for a Cooking at the Cottage event, you agree to release Cooking at the Cottage and its staff, employees and contractors, from all liability arising from direct or indirect damages or injuryWe reserve the right to substitute instructors in a given class, if necessaryWe want all of our students to have a great classroom experience so please arrive on time, keep talking to a minimum during class and silence your cell phoneYou may wish to bring a sweater to class because the temperature in the classroom does vary If we cancel a class due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances, you will be notified by phone or email as soon as the decision is made and a credit for another class will be issuedHowever, if we hold a class, there will be NO CREDITS or REFUNDS due to the weather, whether you attend or not Don’t forget all classes are held at Cooking at the Cottage, Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY Visit our website at www.cookingatthecottage.com & sign up for our newsletter, sent by e-mail twice monthly! Thank you for your patronage, loyalty and friendship! We look forward to seeing you in our kitchen!

Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter, dated 8/19/16, regarding a complaint from Complaint ID [redacted]. I have read the customers statement of the problem and below please find my response. The customer and her husband have attended Date Night a number of times since late 2014, either by...

themselves or with other couples/friends.  When Mr. Customer called to cancel on 7/29/16 (date of class) the phone was answered by [redacted], my full time employee, and she was told that they had to cancel due to a family emergency.  She explained the cancellation policy to Mr. Customer and he said that he understood the policy and that was fine.  Our cancellation policy is posted on the website, is stated in the reminder notice sent 8 days before the class, is stated in two places on the class brochure (both printed and posted on our website), is acknowledged by the customer when registering for the class by checking the box agreeing to the policy or it is verbally explained to the customer if the registration is done by our staff over the phone or in person. The only exception I make to this policy is if I am able to sell the seat(s) to someone on a waiting list, then we can offer the customer who cancels a class credit.  Since the class was not sold out, we had no waiting list and were not able to fill the two tables reserved and paid for by Mr. Customer.  That being the case, we stood by our cancellation policy in an effort to be fair to all of our customers.  We feel each customer has the same value as the next – that the first time customer should be treated the same as the long term customer.  That someone purchasing a $1.25 cookie cutter is as important as the person who purchases the $699.00 mixer. Mrs. Customer must have called back after 6:15 pm the evening of 7/29/16 and spoke to my husband, [redacted], who had just arrived to work the Date Night class.  She asked for the manager and he told her that someone would be in later that evening and to call back.  She never identified herself or left a phone number.  [redacted] is an owner, but does not handle the day to day operations of the Cottage, and leaves the details of the Cottage up to the staff or myself to address.  If she called back later that evening, Date Night was in progress and we were in the process of working with the people in class and weren’t able to answer the phone.  Sometimes that is a choice that must be made in order to give good service to the customers in class.  There was no message left on the voice mail.  Mrs. Customer did call back and leave a message on that Saturday, 8/1/16.  The message was relayed to me since I was not on site.   I planned to call her back on Monday, 8/3/16 but Mrs. Customer visited the store before I had a chance to return her call.  She spoke to my employee, [redacted], and [redacted] called me and conveyed her complaint.  I asked [redacted] to let Mrs. Customer know that I was very sorry, but in fairness to all of our customers, we would need to stick to our cancellation policy. I was very sorry that Mr. and Mrs. Customer didn’t feel that they were treated fairly in this instance.  I have enjoyed working with them in the past.  I very much appreciate their business and have also appreciated that they have chosen to bring other people with them when they attended Date Night classes.  I was very sorry to hear that they didn’t agree with my decision and would not be back.  They both subsequently unsubscribed to our email newsletter and that made me sad.  I never thought that it would be perceived that I was “hiding behind my employee” when Mrs. Customer came into the store on 8/3/16 and [redacted] relayed my decision to her.  Because I was not physically present in the store that day, [redacted] had permission to speak on my behalf since Mrs. Customer was looking for an immediate answer.   It is most unfortunate that our messages crossed without me actually being able to speak with Mrs. Customer in person.   The weekend happens to be my busiest time in the store, and paperwork and phone calls are always relegated to Mondays.  In no way was I avoiding her, but simply had not had time to return the call before she came in to the store. Being a small business owner, each day I am forced to make decisions that I would rather not make.  We go out of our way to offer a reasonable cancellation policy and work to fill cancellations that occur during the 7 days leading up to the class.  If we can fill the seat/table, we are more than happy to put that customer in the credit book.  But I stand by my position that all customers of Cooking at the Cottage, no matter how big or how small, how frequent or how infrequent they shop with us or attend classes deserve the same level of treatment and respect.  That is the only way I feel that I can be fair to all and show each one how much I appreciate their support. On the next page please find our advertised cancellation policy which was agreed to by Mr. Customer upon his registration for class. Having attended additional classes here, both he and his wife should have been very familiar with our policy.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this complaint. Sincerely, [redacted], Owner Cooking at the Cottage  NEW 2016 UPDATEDCLASS REGISTRATION & CANCELLATION POLICY Cooking at the Cottage classes are a ticketed event, filled on a first-come basis and payment must be made at the time of registration. ONLINE registration is NOW AVAILABLE, can be done in person or by phoning the Cottage at (502) 893-6700 (no email requests honored). Payment is due at time of registration. We accept all major credit cards. If paying by Gift Card, please have your card, available since we will need the numbers printed on the back of the card. Please bring your card with you to class for redemption. If paying with a split payment (gift card & credit card) or using a store credit, you must call the store to register.  REQUESTS FOR REFUNDS OR TRANSFERS MUST BE MADESEVEN (7) FULL DAYS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED CLASS.WE ARE SORRY BUT WE CANNOT MAKE EXCEPTIONS Cooking classes are like tickets to a performance, concert or sporting event: the show must go on, so we encourage you to send a substitute if you are unable to attend. If you cannot attend class and can’t find a substitute, please let us know anytime during the 7-day period before class and if we are able to sell your seat(s) from a waiting list, we will issue you a store credit to be used for another class (not merchandise) during the next 12 months. Due to the availability of ingredients, sometimes the chef must substitute recipes in class or, because of time constraints, not every recipe scheduled is prepared. We will provide the class with a packet of written recipes but you are encouraged to make your own notes.All classes are held in our classroom at Cooking at the Cottage, unless otherwise noted. Participation in a Cooking at the Cottage hands-on class places you in a typical cooking environment with inherent risk. By registering for a Cooking at the Cottage event, you agree to release Cooking at the Cottage and its staff, employees and contractors, from all liability arising from direct or indirect damages or injury. We reserve the right to substitute instructors in a given class, if necessary.We want all of our students to have a great classroom experience so please arrive on time, keep talking to a minimum during class and silence your cell phone. You may wish to bring a sweater to class because the temperature in the classroom does vary. If we cancel a class due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances, you will be notified by phone or email as soon as the decision is made and a credit for another class will be issued. However, if we hold a class, there will be NO CREDITS or REFUNDS due to the weather, whether you attend or not. Don’t forget … all classes are held at Cooking at the Cottage, 3739 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY 40207. Visit our website at www.cookingatthecottage.com & sign up for our newsletter, sent by e-mail twice monthly! Thank you for your patronage, loyalty and friendship! We look forward to seeing you in our kitchen!

Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter, dated 8/19/16, regarding a complaint from Complaint ID [redacted]. I have read the customers statement of the problem and below please find my response....

The customer and her husband have attended Date Night a number of times since late 2014, either by themselves or with other couples/friends.  When Mr. Customer called to cancel on 7/29/16 (date of class) the phone was answered by [redacted], my full time employee, and she was told that they had to cancel due to a family emergency.  She explained the cancellation policy to Mr. Customer and he said that he understood the policy and that was fine.  Our cancellation policy is posted on the website, is stated in the reminder notice sent 8 days before the class, is stated in two places on the class brochure (both printed and posted on our website), is acknowledged by the customer when registering for the class by checking the box agreeing to the policy or it is verbally explained to the customer if the registration is done by our staff over the phone or in person. The only exception I make to this policy is if I am able to sell the seat(s) to someone on a waiting list, then we can offer the customer who cancels a class credit.  Since the class was not sold out, we had no waiting list and were not able to fill the two tables reserved and paid for by Mr. Customer.  That being the case, we stood by our cancellation policy in an effort to be fair to all of our customers.  We feel each customer has the same value as the next – that the first time customer should be treated the same as the long term customer.  That someone purchasing a $1.25 cookie cutter is as important as the person who purchases the $699.00 mixer. Mrs. Customer must have called back after 6:15 pm the evening of 7/29/16 and spoke to my husband, [redacted], who had just arrived to work the Date Night class.  She asked for the manager and he told her that someone would be in later that evening and to call back.  She never identified herself or left a phone number.  [redacted] is an owner, but does not handle the day to day operations of the Cottage, and leaves the details of the Cottage up to the staff or myself to address.  If she called back later that evening, Date Night was in progress and we were in the process of working with the people in class and weren’t able to answer the phone.  Sometimes that is a choice that must be made in order to give good service to the customers in class.  There was no message left on the voice mail.  Mrs. Customer did call back and leave a message on that Saturday, 8/1/16.  The message was relayed to me since I was not on site.   I planned to call her back on Monday, 8/3/16 but Mrs. Customer visited the store before I had a chance to return her call.  She spoke to my employee, [redacted], and [redacted] called me and conveyed her complaint.  I asked [redacted] to let Mrs. Customer know that I was very sorry, but in fairness to all of our customers, we would need to stick to our cancellation policy. I was very sorry that Mr. and Mrs. Customer didn’t feel that they were treated fairly in this instance.  I have enjoyed working with them in the past.  I very much appreciate their business and have also appreciated that they have chosen to bring other people with them when they attended Date Night classes.  I was very sorry to hear that they didn’t agree with my decision and would not be back.  They both subsequently unsubscribed to our email newsletter and that made me sad.  I never thought that it would be perceived that I was “hiding behind my employee” when Mrs. Customer came into the store on 8/3/16 and [redacted] relayed my decision to her.  Because I was not physically present in the store that day, [redacted] had permission to speak on my behalf since Mrs. Customer was looking for an immediate answer.   It is most unfortunate that our messages crossed without me actually being able to speak with Mrs. Customer in person.   The weekend happens to be my busiest time in the store, and paperwork and phone calls are always relegated to Mondays.  In no way was I avoiding her, but simply had not had time to return the call before she came in to the store. Being a small business owner, each day I am forced to make decisions that I would rather not make.  We go out of our way to offer a reasonable cancellation policy and work to fill cancellations that occur during the 7 days leading up to the class.  If we can fill the seat/table, we are more than happy to put that customer in the credit book.  But I stand by my position that all customers of Cooking at the Cottage, no matter how big or how small, how frequent or how infrequent they shop with us or attend classes deserve the same level of treatment and respect.  That is the only way I feel that I can be fair to all and show each one how much I appreciate their support. On the next page please find our advertised cancellation policy which was agreed to by Mr. Customer upon his registration for class. Having attended additional classes here, both he and his wife should have been very familiar with our policy.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this complaint. Sincerely, [redacted], Owner Cooking at the Cottage
 
 
NEW 2016 UPDATED
CLASS REGISTRATION & CANCELLATION POLICY
 
Cooking at the Cottage classes are a ticketed event, filled on a first-come basis and payment must be made at the time of registration. ONLINE registration is NOW AVAILABLE, can be done in person or by phoning the Cottage at (502) 893-6700 (no email requests honored). Payment is due at time of registration. We accept all major credit cards. If paying by Gift Card, please have your card, available since we will need the numbers printed on the back of the card. Please bring your card with you to class for redemption. If paying with a split payment (gift card & credit card) or using a store credit, you must call the store to register.
 
REQUESTS FOR REFUNDS OR TRANSFERS MUST BE MADE
SEVEN (7) FULL DAYS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED CLASS.
WE ARE SORRY BUT WE CANNOT MAKE EXCEPTIONS 
Cooking classes are like tickets to a performance, concert or sporting event: the show must go on, so we encourage you to send a substitute if you are unable to attend.
If you cannot attend class and can’t find a substitute, please let us know anytime during the 7-day period before class and if we are able to sell your seat(s) from a waiting list, we will issue you a store credit to be used for another class (not merchandise) during the next 12 months.
Due to the availability of ingredients, sometimes the chef must substitute recipes in class or, because of time constraints, not every recipe scheduled is prepared. We will provide the class with a packet of written recipes but you are encouraged to make your own notes.
All classes are held in our classroom at Cooking at the Cottage, unless otherwise noted. Participation in a Cooking at the Cottage hands-on class places you in a typical cooking environment with inherent risk. By registering for a Cooking at the Cottage event, you agree to release Cooking at the Cottage and its staff, employees and contractors, from all liability arising from direct or indirect damages or injury. We reserve the right to substitute instructors in a given class, if necessary.
We want all of our students to have a great classroom experience so please arrive on time, keep talking to a minimum during class and silence your cell phone. You may wish to bring a sweater to class because the temperature in the classroom does vary. 
If we cancel a class due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances, you will be notified by phone or email as soon as the decision is made and a credit for another class will be issued. However, if we hold a class, there will be NO CREDITS or REFUNDS due to the weather, whether you attend or not. 
Don’t forget … all classes are held at Cooking at the Cottage, 3739 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY 40207. Visit our website at www.cookingatthecottage.com & sign up for our newsletter, sent by e-mail twice monthly! 
Thank you for your patronage, loyalty and friendship! We look forward to seeing you in our kitchen!