Well, I can't say I'm happy about this, but we lost another potential caterer. And I have to write to complain about this one on the sole basis that it took him OVER THREE WEEKS to turn us down.
Specifically, we were turned down by a restaurant in Louisville called J. Harrod's restuarant in Prospect, KY. The caterer in charge turned us down because we have a limited guest list (about 100 people) and he would need to travel his staff about 40 miles out to our farm. Understandable, all of it. It's a perfectly legit reason to say no.
What isn't legit... is the time it took him to say no. We first talked to him on December 4th. At that time, he told me that he would HOLD THE DATE unless someone else came along. And he asked me to email him some options. Which I did. After that, I didn't hear back from him until TODAY. I called him once during this time and he didn't answer or return my call... but it's the holidays, so I understood. Caterers are hopping at this time of year.
Then, yesterday I wrote him this email...
I guess customer service just moves slower in Kentucky. Frankly, it almost makes me want to set up a rant-n-rave sit for caterers in Kentucky. I've dealt with enough of them.
Specifically, we were turned down by a restaurant in Louisville called J. Harrod's restuarant in Prospect, KY. The caterer in charge turned us down because we have a limited guest list (about 100 people) and he would need to travel his staff about 40 miles out to our farm. Understandable, all of it. It's a perfectly legit reason to say no.
What isn't legit... is the time it took him to say no. We first talked to him on December 4th. At that time, he told me that he would HOLD THE DATE unless someone else came along. And he asked me to email him some options. Which I did. After that, I didn't hear back from him until TODAY. I called him once during this time and he didn't answer or return my call... but it's the holidays, so I understood. Caterers are hopping at this time of year.
Then, yesterday I wrote him this email...
Mike;His response to me came today...
First, happy holidays... Now that we're in that brief period of respite between Christmas and New Years (at least for some of us), I wanted to touch base with you regarding the bid for our wedding on October 11, 2008. Is there any information you still need from us? Also, when can we expect more information from you? We're trying to plan a trip to town in January and would love to get all our ducks in a row before then.
Kris, I really appreciate you considering us to cater your wedding.Why did it take him a month to figure that our? And why didn't he tell me sooner, when it occurred to him? The fact that he kept me stringing along for three plus weeks without a word... all this time thinking I was set for a caterer... pisses me off to no end.
The size of our staff combined with the travel involved and the venue is not a good fit for J. Harrod's.
I guess customer service just moves slower in Kentucky. Frankly, it almost makes me want to set up a rant-n-rave sit for caterers in Kentucky. I've dealt with enough of them.
