The Red Hook Country Inn B&B

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond[redacted] is a specialty lunch room sharing space in a private, accessible room at the back of the Red Hook Country Inn.y We opened on May **, for weekend service between 11:AM and PMOur service is loosely based on a "British style" high tea with a tiered tray of at least (1/4) sandwiches per guest with a variety of salads and baked items both savory and sweet We also include a continuously filled pot of tea for each guest and a finger tray of desserts at the end of the mealWe like to begin our meal with a "shot glass" of fruit soup, serve scones with freshly made clotted cream, homemade preserves, whipped butter and honeyFollowing the scones, we present the sandwich tray and then a dessert tray of finger sweetsAt the end of the meal, we may offer a taste of sorbet as a palate cleanser, if the guest has room left! [redacted] had reserved for September * for a group of to guests for a PM reservationAt that time I asked about dietary issues and was advised that two persons were gluten-free and one was a vegetarian I contacted Wendy hours and again hours in advance of the date to confirm the number of guestsThe total increased to The group contained five adults and seven youngstersThe PM reservation was set up using four of our seven tables leaving three additional available for other reservations and/or a walk in Although we suggest reservations, especially for six or more, if we have a table available in a workable time we will happily accept a small number of persons as walkinsOn that Friday, we had a party of three walkin at 11:AM and another party of two at noonThe person group began to arrive at 12:PM and finally sat everyone a few minutes after PMAt that point our other two tables were almost completed with their lunch serviceOur two other table reservations arrived after 130p.We immediately began preparations for the individual pots of tea with individual flavorsWe offer a taste of soup and based on certain fruits, periodically it is made with glutenThat day, it was a new flavor combination of watermelon and mango and I erred on the side of caution as my husband/chef was unavailable to confirm that it was indeed gluten-freeBased on that knowledge I suggested not having the soup for those two girls and instead we opted for a dollop of sorbet, which was gluten-freeWe keep sorbet on hand in the event the guest would like to have a pallet cleanser at the end of their mealIt is not an automatic inclusion in the price.A large tray of regular scones was delivered on a platter and a second platter with gluten-free scones was also presentedThe taste of the scones is incredibly good and there is no difference between them except the flour.I was clear and advised the speaker for the group that I was out of the non-gluten-free scones, however on her next visit I would give her two.Next, four different trays of salad sandwiches were presented to this groupThey contained salads of egg, chicken curry and fresh seafood with crab and shrimp, ham/turkey/Swiss cheese along with baked brie in pastry, mushroom and spinach duxelle in Filo dough, smoked salmon on endive with cream cheese and capersThe gluten-free tray for the two girls contain the same exact ingredients which were all gluten-free, all on gluten-free breadsNot one person made a complaint other then the earlier disappointment and lack of understanding about the non-gluten-free scones.I personally assisted our server Elaine to maintain a constant flow of food presentation while she ‘managed’ each teapotElaine poured tea and refreshed hot water throughout the entire lunchThere was no time lag, delay or problemsThere were no complaints.At the desert presentation, that particular day I had prepared an option of fresh berries shortcake or the tray of finger sweetsKnowing the gluten-free needs, I prepared a separate tray of finger dessertsWhen I asked the “spokesperson” whether they would prefer the finger tray or a berry shortcake she replied “BOTH”As I clearly explained in detail on the first telephone call later in the day as I arrived back in my driveway, I had just been requested to immediately leave my premises to go nearby and assist my close friend whose husband had just had a massive heart attack in their driveway and diedIn my moment of shock, instead of re stating the word OR, I blinked and said it would take me a bit of time and turned away to prepare itThere should have been an up charge however in that moment of shock, it was easier to just quickly prepare the shortcakes before leaving to help my friend a few blocks awayAlso as I was in the kitchen, I was requested to add slices of additional delicious gluten-free chocolate cake, again without charging them.I immediately walked out the door knowing that everything was in control, drove two blocks to my friend to stay with her child while she followed the ambulance carrying her husband and as I drove back to my own home the first of the harassing phone calls beganIn my emotional state I could not even grasp what the complaints were and I asked for her to send them in an email so that I could review and respond with intelligenceI immediately offered them to return completely at my expense! I explained that I was just returning from a death scene and could not think or speakOn Monday afternoon she called again and I explained that I would respond to her email following the funeral.I’ve read and carefully reviewed her email and found it to be frivolousI did however, calmly respond and explain away any of her concernsI offered in addition, to send certificates of 15% discount if they came individually and to send six fresh non-gluten-free scones through the mail and she could pick up the two cold watermelon mango soup ( ounce servings) and also a container of sorbet for the remaining guests (who didn’t think about it until they returned home).I took the time to contact three other tables who either wrote the same day, a glowing review on Facebook or gave us a verbal glowing reviewI will happily provide names and phone numbers who will confirm the quality of the food provided and the outstanding service.In the last four months since we opened, this is the first and only person who has not been delighted with the experience of food and service at Maggie’s RoyalTeaWe pride ourselves on our product and service.In the spirit of excellent customer service and kindness, I’ll stand by my offers as listed above for a period of months

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted] , and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because: [Your Answer Here] We are not interested in the offer that has been put forthBecause of the terrible experience we had there is no way we would want to come back down to the establishment againThe irresponsibility of her not understanding gluten-free and not being sure what is in the food she is serving I would not put my girls at risk, not to mention sending food through the mailIt is not a kind offer it is a irresponsible offer and we want a refund for the terrible experience In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above Sincerely, [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
[Your Answer Here]
In response to what *** has written there are so many things in this response that is not trueIt would take an essay to go over those but I have already made everything clear in my first responseAgain the thing that is the absolute most disturbing is that she takes zero accountability for the way us the customers perceived The serviceIt does not matter how many other people were there that day or four months prior to that what matters is the experience we had and the amount of money we paidThe two things that stand out the most in our experience is the absolute lack of accountability that she takes for the way that she treated us, spoke to us, and the general attitude towards usTo this day she still wants to blame us the customer for a terrible experience There were so many things that happened that day September * and since then that again I have already gone over in my first letterThe other thing that stands out that is so disturbing is the lack of accountability for what is actually in the foodWe made reservations six weeks prior to be sure that we would have the service that we requested because of the size of our partyThe day of as state she did not have enough regular scones because she gave them to a walk in partyThe tea did not come out all at once but took a long time She was unsure if the soup had gluten in it and went back-and-forth about thatThat is terrible business practice as well as the gluten-free scones were served on the same tray as regular stones which if you have a gluten-free allergy there cannot be a mix! That is dangerous not to mention offering to send food through through the mail is not a practice we are interested in partici***ing in, let alone going back down to an establishment that treated us so poorly when we were trying to have a sweet celebration with our young dayThe offer that she's making does not make up for the amount of money we spent which is why we were asking for half the money back originally but now because of the way she has treated us we would like every bit of our money back
It is honestly appalling the way she has treated us as customers and what she doesn't understand is that this was our first experience at her establishment and of course will absolutely be our lastWe do not want discount, food sent through the mail, or anything else from her other than a refund due to the absolute disgraceful way she has treated us and responded to a customer who was not pleased with the money they spent for an awful experience.I have attached some of the texts that were sent but it would only allow me to send four so there are more that will prove how terrible and experience it was.
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]
 We are not interested in the offer that has been put forth. Because of the terrible experience we had there is no way we would want to come back down to the establishment again. The irresponsibility of her not understanding gluten-free and not being sure what is in the food she is serving I would not put my girls at risk, not to mention sending food through the mail. It is not a kind offer it is a irresponsible offer and we want a refund for the terrible experience.
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

I am sorry that this guest was unhappy. My kind offer stands.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond.[redacted] is a specialty lunch room sharing space in a private, accessible room at the back of the Red Hook Country Inn.y We opened on May **, 2017 for weekend service between 11:30 AM and 4 PM. Our service is loosely based on a "British...

style" high tea with a tiered tray of at least 6 (1/4)  sandwiches per guest with a variety of salads and baked items both savory and sweet.  We also include a continuously filled pot of tea for each guest and a finger tray of desserts at the end of the meal. We like to begin our meal with a "shot glass" of fruit soup, serve scones with freshly made clotted cream, homemade preserves, whipped butter and honey. Following the scones, we present the sandwich tray and then a dessert tray of finger sweets. At the end of the meal, we may offer a taste of sorbet as a palate cleanser, if the guest has room left! [redacted] had reserved for September * for a group of 6 to 11 guests for a 1 PM reservation. At that time I asked about dietary issues and was advised that two persons were gluten-free and one was a vegetarian.  I contacted Wendy 48 hours and again 24 hours in advance of the date to confirm the number of guests. The total increased to 12. The group contained five adults and seven youngsters. The 1 PM reservation was set up using four of our seven tables leaving three additional available for other reservations and/or a walk in.  Although we suggest reservations, especially for six or more, if we have a table available in a workable time we will happily accept a small number of persons as walkins. On that Friday, we had a party of three walkin at 11:30 AM and another party of two at noon. The 12 person group began to arrive at 12:30 PM and finally sat everyone a few minutes after 1 PM. At that point our other two tables were almost completed with their lunch service. Our two other table reservations arrived after 130p.We immediately began preparations for the 12 individual pots of tea with 12 individual flavors. We offer a taste of soup and based on certain fruits, periodically it is made with gluten. That day, it was a new flavor combination of watermelon and mango and I erred on the side of caution as my husband/chef was unavailable to confirm that it was indeed gluten-free. Based on that knowledge I suggested not having the soup for those two girls and instead we opted for a dollop of sorbet, which was gluten-free. We keep sorbet on hand in the event the guest would like to have a pallet cleanser at the end of their meal. It is not an automatic inclusion in the price.A large tray of regular scones was delivered on a platter and a second platter with gluten-free scones was also presented. The taste of the scones is incredibly good and there is no difference between them except the flour.I was clear and advised the speaker for the group that I was out of the non-gluten-free scones, however on her next visit I would give her two.Next, four different trays of salad sandwiches were presented to this group. They contained salads of egg, chicken curry and fresh seafood with crab and shrimp, ham/turkey/Swiss cheese along with baked brie in pastry, mushroom and spinach duxelle in Filo dough, smoked salmon on endive with cream cheese and capers. The gluten-free tray for the two girls contain the same exact ingredients which were all gluten-free, all on gluten-free breads. Not one person made a complaint other then the earlier disappointment and lack of understanding about the non-gluten-free scones.I personally assisted our server Elaine to maintain a constant flow of food presentation while she ‘managed’ each teapot. Elaine poured tea and refreshed hot water throughout the entire lunch. There was no time lag, delay or problems. There were no complaints.At the desert presentation, that particular day I had prepared an option of fresh berries shortcake or the normal tray of finger sweets. Knowing the gluten-free needs, I prepared a separate tray of finger desserts. When I asked the “spokesperson” whether they would prefer the normal finger tray or a berry shortcake she replied “BOTH”. As I clearly explained in detail on the first telephone call later in the day as I arrived back in my driveway, I had just been requested to immediately leave my premises to go nearby and assist my close friend whose husband had just had a massive heart attack in their driveway and died. In my moment of shock, instead of re stating the word OR, I blinked and said it would take me a bit of time and turned away to prepare it. There should have been an up charge however in that moment of shock, it was easier to just quickly prepare the 10 shortcakes before leaving to help my friend a few blocks away. Also as I was in the kitchen, I was requested to add 2 slices of additional delicious gluten-free chocolate cake, again without charging them.I immediately walked out the door knowing that everything was in control, drove two blocks to my friend to stay with her child while she followed the ambulance  carrying her husband and as I drove back to my own home the first of the harassing phone calls began. In my emotional state I could not even grasp what the complaints were and I asked for her to send them in an email so that I could review and respond with intelligence. I immediately offered them to return completely at my expense! I explained that I was just returning from a death scene and could not think or speak. On Monday afternoon she called again and I explained that I would respond to her email following the funeral.I’ve read and carefully reviewed her email and found it to be frivolous. I did however, calmly respond and explain away any of her concerns. I offered in addition, to  send 12 certificates of 15% discount if they came individually and to send six fresh non-gluten-free scones through the mail and she could pick up the two  cold watermelon mango soup ( 1 ounce servings) and also a container of sorbet for the remaining 10 guests (who didn’t think about it until they returned home).I took the time to contact three other tables who either wrote the same day, a glowing review on Facebook or gave us a verbal glowing review. I will happily provide names and phone numbers who will confirm the quality of the food provided and the outstanding service.In the last four months since we opened, this is the first and only person who has not been delighted with the experience of food and service at Maggie’s RoyalTea. We pride ourselves on our product and service.In the spirit of excellent customer service and kindness, I’ll stand by my offers as listed above for a period of 6 months.