Complaint: 11083644
I am rejecting this response because:
I appreciate the efforts of the Health Dept. and the cooperation of Downey's in investigating the source of the food poisoning effects my girlfriend suffered after eating at Downey's. That part of my complaint is now resolved.
It does not resolve the other, larger part of my complaint, which is a price:value and experience issue. The dining experience - at least the one we experienced - was dramatically inferior to the restaurant's promise and price point, in every way. Yes, from the table setting to the food.
The owner seems to suggest in his response that since we stayed through the meal then the restaurant is absolved of responsibility for quality. I'm not sure what he would have had us do. We had confirmed reservations so couldn't exactly back out once seated and served. At that point we were basically committed to enduring dinner there. I would have happily left early if I had imagined the owner would have thought differently about handling this complaint.
Again, the customer experience both during dinner and now, in trying to resolve this issue, is dramatically inferior to any I have seen when there is a significant customer dissatisfaction issue in view. I simply wish the owner would recognize that issue and offer to resolve it.
We believe that the complaint regarding the alleged food poisoning was resolved in several ways. First and foremost, the Health Department responded to the complainant after a thorough inspection of our facility. Included in their inspection was a thorough inspection of where our food was sourced. There was not any indication of anything that would cause food poisoning. Secondly, there is not any mention of any other location where the complainants had a meal on that same day. We also do not really know if she had a flu or any other condition that might be indicated by her symptoms. And most importantly, it is telling that there were seventy two other diners in our restaurant on that evening. Not one, except the complainant, had an issue with food poisoning.
We do not believe that a customer can refuse to pay because of their sense of “value and experience.” They each paid half of the amount for their dinner, and each left a respectable gratuity. The only complaint he made during the evening was that he did not like the veal dish he had ordered, and he chose another entrée.
In his follow up information he sent to you, he states, “...we were basically committed to enduring dinner there. I would have happily left early if I had imagined the owner would have thought differently about handling this complaint.” They could have left at any time. We have been offering a fine dining experience for 34 years, so we might deduce that our prices are reasonable. There wasn't any reason he could not have simply said that the menu, the room, the accoutrements on the table were not up to his standards. We certainly would not have forced him to stay. His comment in italics (above in this paragraph) seems to suggest that he anticipated receiving a full refund (which he has requested) and yet..... he stayed and continued to eat and drink. Again, they could have left at any time,
When they arrived and found the restaurant half empty, they might not have noticed that the tables were filled again for the second seating within the hour.
When he was unhappy with the quality of the table settings, when the cabernet was uninteresting, when the salad was boring, when our home cured prosciutto was less flavorful than common Parma, when the soup was over salted, when the veal loin had an unappetizing cross section, when the beef fillet was the blandest meat in his working memory, when the vegetables could have been from a diner.... And finally that the chef should be cooking for the airlines, there was no reason why they could not have left.
The comments in the preceding paragraph are all his opinions. Our opinion is that not one of his comments is basis for a refund of the four course meal they ate.
Before he contacted us directly, he posted reprehensible comments and insults about D[redacted]'s Restaurant on Open Table, Yelp and Trip Advisor. And only after he posted his comments did he email us suggesting that a refund was in order.
Considering all of these factors we stand by our decision to deny a refund.
Sincerely,
[redacted] & [redacted] D[redacted]
On New Year's Eve we offered a four course dinner. It was posted as such on our...
website, including a menu with choices of each course as well as the price for the dinner, excluding wine or tax. The customer who contacted you booked via the web. He and his dining companion ordered and ate everything that we served to them, including two glasses of wine. They each paid separately, both left a normal tip and left.
The next day we found his email, which is copied for your perusal. We chose not to respond to his email after reading the scathing reviews he wrote on Open Table, Google and Yelp before contacting us. Those reviews are also available for you to read, some of which we found really insulting.
On January 5", 2016, our health inspector arrived and showed paperwork that the guest reported the alleged food poisoning. We showed her their guest check so that all the food could be reviewed. There were 74 guests in our dining room on that night, and not one other person claimed that they were ill after dining in our restaurant. We offered to call all who had consumed the same dishes, but the health inspector declined. She conducted a thorough investigation and concluded there were no violations of good food handling practices that might have caused any alleged food poisoning.
The vehemence of this customer's complaints are an anomaly. His rant against the food served, the wine, the décor, the linens and the china were over the top. His reservation was at 9:00 and of course there were a few empty tables, which booked again at 9:30. Everything was wrong in his opinion from the moment he walked in the door. We very rarely get a complaint about anything at Downey's; let alone every single thing! We've been doing things right for over thirty years, so to read online about how bad everything was seems excessive. Other online reviews are overwhelmingly Five-Star positive as was the verbal appreciation of other guests on the night in question.
Based on the lack of evidence of any wrong-doing on our part regarding the alleged food poisoning and the fact that this customer did indeed eat and drink everything that he was charged for, we decline to offer any re-imbursement. This was communicated to him by mail dated January 9".
Sincerely,
J[redacted]
Complaint: 11083644
I am rejecting this response because:
I appreciate the efforts of the Health Dept. and the cooperation of Downey's in investigating the source of the food poisoning effects my girlfriend suffered after eating at Downey's. That part of my complaint is now resolved.
It does not resolve the other, larger part of my complaint, which is a price:value and experience issue. The dining experience - at least the one we experienced - was dramatically inferior to the restaurant's promise and price point, in every way. Yes, from the table setting to the food.
The owner seems to suggest in his response that since we stayed through the meal then the restaurant is absolved of responsibility for quality. I'm not sure what he would have had us do. We had confirmed reservations so couldn't exactly back out once seated and served. At that point we were basically committed to enduring dinner there. I would have happily left early if I had imagined the owner would have thought differently about handling this complaint.
Again, the customer experience both during dinner and now, in trying to resolve this issue, is dramatically inferior to any I have seen when there is a significant customer dissatisfaction issue in view. I simply wish the owner would recognize that issue and offer to resolve it.
Regards,
E[redacted]
We believe that the complaint regarding the alleged food poisoning was resolved in several ways. First and foremost, the Health Department responded to the complainant after a thorough inspection of our facility. Included in their inspection was a thorough inspection of where our food was sourced. There was not any indication of anything that would cause food poisoning. Secondly, there is not any mention of any other location where the complainants had a meal on that same day. We also do not really know if she had a flu or any other condition that might be indicated by her symptoms. And most importantly, it is telling that there were seventy two other diners in our restaurant on that evening. Not one, except the complainant, had an issue with food poisoning.
We do not believe that a customer can refuse to pay because of their sense of “value and experience.” They each paid half of the amount for their dinner, and each left a respectable gratuity. The only complaint he made during the evening was that he did not like the veal dish he had ordered, and he chose another entrée.
In his follow up information he sent to you, he states, “...we were basically committed to enduring dinner there. I would have happily left early if I had imagined the owner would have thought differently about handling this complaint.” They could have left at any time. We have been offering a fine dining experience for 34 years, so we might deduce that our prices are reasonable. There wasn't any reason he could not have simply said that the menu, the room, the accoutrements on the table were not up to his standards. We certainly would not have forced him to stay. His comment in italics (above in this paragraph) seems to suggest that he anticipated receiving a full refund (which he has requested) and yet..... he stayed and continued to eat and drink. Again, they could have left at any time,
When they arrived and found the restaurant half empty, they might not have noticed that the tables were filled again for the second seating within the hour.
When he was unhappy with the quality of the table settings, when the cabernet was uninteresting, when the salad was boring, when our home cured prosciutto was less flavorful than common Parma, when the soup was over salted, when the veal loin had an unappetizing cross section, when the beef fillet was the blandest meat in his working memory, when the vegetables could have been from a diner.... And finally that the chef should be cooking for the airlines, there was no reason why they could not have left.
The comments in the preceding paragraph are all his opinions. Our opinion is that not one of his comments is basis for a refund of the four course meal they ate.
Before he contacted us directly, he posted reprehensible comments and insults about D[redacted]'s Restaurant on Open Table, Yelp and Trip Advisor. And only after he posted his comments did he email us suggesting that a refund was in order.
Considering all of these factors we stand by our decision to deny a refund.
Sincerely,
[redacted] & [redacted] D[redacted]
On New Year's Eve we offered a four course dinner. It was posted as such on our...
website, including a menu with choices of each course as well as the price for the dinner, excluding wine or tax. The customer who contacted you booked via the web. He and his dining companion ordered and ate everything that we served to them, including two glasses of wine. They each paid separately, both left a normal tip and left.
The next day we found his email, which is copied for your perusal. We chose not to respond to his email after reading the scathing reviews he wrote on Open Table, Google and Yelp before contacting us. Those reviews are also available for you to read, some of which we found really insulting.
On January 5", 2016, our health inspector arrived and showed paperwork that the guest reported the alleged food poisoning. We showed her their guest check so that all the food could be reviewed. There were 74 guests in our dining room on that night, and not one other person claimed that they were ill after dining in our restaurant. We offered to call all who had consumed the same dishes, but the health inspector declined. She conducted a thorough investigation and concluded there were no violations of good food handling practices that might have caused any alleged food poisoning.
The vehemence of this customer's complaints are an anomaly. His rant against the food served, the wine, the décor, the linens and the china were over the top. His reservation was at 9:00 and of course there were a few empty tables, which booked again at 9:30. Everything was wrong in his opinion from the moment he walked in the door. We very rarely get a complaint about anything at Downey's; let alone every single thing! We've been doing things right for over thirty years, so to read online about how bad everything was seems excessive. Other online reviews are overwhelmingly Five-Star positive as was the verbal appreciation of other guests on the night in question.
Based on the lack of evidence of any wrong-doing on our part regarding the alleged food poisoning and the fact that this customer did indeed eat and drink everything that he was charged for, we decline to offer any re-imbursement. This was communicated to him by mail dated January 9".
Sincerely,
J[redacted]