Elsmere Fire Co. No. 1, Inc.

Review: Complainant contracted with the Elsmere Fire Co. to rent hall for 2 hours beginning 1:30pm on June 5, 2013 for a funeral luncheon. Hall rental and catering services for 75 guests were paid for in full before the luncheon began via 2 contracts, one with the Fire Co. for $525 for hall rental and bar, and another with the [redacted] for $900 for catering. At or about 3:00pm someone flicked the lights off and back on in what was interpreted as a signal to begin clearing out, and indeed guests began exiting shortly afterwards, a fact I confirmed with numerous attendees. This was an unwarranted act that embarrassed our family. Additionally, complainant paid $375 for Beer, Wine & Soda on demand from the hall bar but there was no beer available upon arrival, causing numerous arriving guests to be turned away, and no draft beer at all during the luncheon. (Fire Hall subsequently purchased a few cases of canned beer.) In a follow-up call [redacted], Hall Chairman/contact person/contract signatory, stated she was unaware of warning lights. I asked her to please investigate and call me back but she did not respond to my request. The lack of beer she attributed to refrigeration maintenance, which she stated she was unaware of until shortly before the luncheon began. I then wrote [redacted] and asked for a partial refund but again she did not respond.Desired Settlement: I asked for a $300 refund. (Note that, as full payment was made upon arrival on the day of luncheon, family member who wrote the check included a $180 tip, so amount requested was only $120 more than tip amount.)

Business

Response:

Response:

While not on our letterhead, the following is wording of a letter sent to [redacted]

by me on August 01, 2013 in response to his complaint to the Fire Company. I

believe my response to [redacted] is also proper for my response to the Revdex.com and

I ask that you accept it as such. The following is what was sent: August 01,

2013 [redacted] Re: Elsmere Fire

Company Memorial Hall Rental on June 5th Dear [redacted] I am in receipt of

your letter sent to [redacted] dated July 13, 2013. I have reviewed the

circumstances surrounding the issues you raise in your letter. Below is my

response. It does appear that the lights flickered once for a brief moment

while you and your guests were using the Hall. We are not sure if this was due

to a power surge or if someone accidently hit the light switch. We do know that

no one from the Fire Company intentionally flicked the switch, and it was

certainly not our intent to signal to your guests that it was time to leave. It

is my understanding that at the time the lights flickered no one in your group

brought this to our attention. If so, we would have certainly made it clear to

your guests that they were not being asked to leave. In any event, I apologize

if some of your guests misinterpreted this momentary flickering as a signal

that it was time to go. As for the beer, I have been informed that beer was

made available to your guests, albeit several minutes after they arrived. The

beer was in bottles and brought in from an outside source due to equipment

issues with the tap. It is my understanding that the beer was cold and that we

obtained all of the brands of beer that had been requested for your event. Wine

and soda also were available to your guests as per the terms of the contract.

Contrary to your assertion, we do not believe the above issues were a violation

of the terms of the contract. Rather, it appears that the Fire Company honored

all of its contractual commitments, and took whatever steps necessary to ensure

that your guests enjoyed the use of our facilities. If you have any questions,

please do not hesitate to contact me. I have also cc’d the Fire Company’s

attorney on this letter in the event you wish to contact him. Thank you again

for bringing this matter to our attention. Regards, [redacted]

cc [redacted] Based upon these facts and the fact that

others thought a tip was warranted and actually issued a tip, we believe the

complaint is baseless and we will not be issuing a refund. We can not be

responsible for what someone thought a flickering of the lights meant

especially when it is at least possible that the flickering of the lights could

have been caused by a guest and not a representative of the Elsmere Fire

Company. I thank you for the opportunity to respond.

Sent on:

8/13/2013 10:41:08 AM

Consumer

Response: