Getting Deposit back?

Fittle · 19-11-2012 10:57AM #1

Hi all, my wedding is booked for around this time next year, and already I am having serious issues with the venue. When I say 'serious', it's nothing that can't be fixed, but our 'dedicated wedding coordinator :rolleyes:) isn't the most efficient. the wedding fair was very impressive, and she had promised us the sun, moon and stars before we gave our deposit (2k) and hasn't delivered on anything yet..I appreciate that the wedding is a year away, and to her, that might be an eternity, but her customer service isn't great at all. For example......She had said we could go and see the DJ at one of the 7 weddings she had before Xmas... (he is part of our 'package')...I had sent her an email asking if she could give us a rough date, at which point she sent me his mobile number, saying my 'contract' was with him directly, and not with her and that I'd have to arrange that myself.

I had to ring her on two occasions about getting the deposit to her at a certain time of day, she never rang me back, never acknowledged that I rang her when I eventually went up to her, was very dismissive and hadn't a clue who we were!! Despite the fact that I handed her 2k in cash, she wouldn't validate our parking ticket (2euro!!!) either!!

Like I said, all quite minor issues just now, but it's really making me wonder if I should have gone somewhere else...we signed a contract etc, so I am assuming we couldn't get the deposit back if we didn't use this hotel?

Sleepy · 19-11-2012 11:07AM

Get out the contract and go through it with a fine-tooth comb for a cancellation clause you can use.

Otherwise, I think you'll need to either suffer through; complain about her poor service to her manager and request to be assigned a better co-ordinator (maybe not a good idea, could cause problems to be seen as "difficult" come residents lounge time) or kiss the deposit goodbye and book elsewhere.

Fittle · 19-11-2012 11:10AM

Thanks Sleepy. I was beginning to think I was becoming a bit of a Bridezilla;), but these issues are pretty minor now and she doesn't seem remotely interested in sorting them out, so it doesn't bode well for me at all when I consider that the issues closer to the day might be much bigger! (can't afford to kiss the deposit goodbye!)

Another thing has sprung to mind - friends of mine chipped in and got us a voucher for the venue (100e) - my pal went up with the cash to speak to her directly and put the money off the wedding, she had no record of us, the wedding, the date, nothing!!! It was only when I contacted her myself later that she said 'Oh yeah, sorry, I couldn't find your details earlier....' (my pal also reported that her customer service skills were abysmal!)

newmug · 19-11-2012 11:11AM

If its in the contract that she's to be your "dedicated" wedding coordinator, and she's not showing much dedication, then thats a breach of contract. You have every right to get your deposit back. To me, dedication would be at least knowing who you are!

clint_silver · 19-11-2012 01:21PM

Fittle wrote: »

Thanks Sleepy. I was beginning to think I was becoming a bit of a Bridezilla;), but these issues are pretty minor now and she doesn't seem remotely interested in sorting them out, so it doesn't bode well for me at all when I consider that the issues closer to the day might be much bigger! (can't afford to kiss the deposit goodbye!)

Another thing has sprung to mind - friends of mine chipped in and got us a voucher for the venue (100e) - my pal went up with the cash to speak to her directly and put the money off the wedding, she had no record of us, the wedding, the date, nothing!!! It was only when I contacted her myself later that she said 'Oh yeah, sorry, I couldn't find your details earlier....' (my pal also reported that her customer service skills were abysmal!)

draft the incidents in very clear matter of factness letter. send it via email and posted letter to her, her manager and the owner of the hotel if you can find them. request a change of co-ordinator now. this is your one day to get it right and you dont want anything to go wrong and for the amount of money you're spending youd rather go somewhere else than have it ruined dealing with the incompetence youve faced so far.
wouldnt stamp the 2e ticket? Id have started screaming in front of her in the most unreasonable fashion that a human being could possible muster.

Fittle · 19-11-2012 04:53PM

clint_silver wrote: »

wouldnt stamp the 2e ticket? Id have started screaming in front of her in the most unreasonable fashion that a human being could possible muster.

I know - the truth is we didn't have any change, only an envelope full of 20 x 100e notes to give her. My partner laughingly said 'I hope we get free parking after this!' and she replied that it wasn't 'hotel policy' and we would have to pay, like every other customer!!

I was a bit taken aback to be honest, but it has been my first real dealing with a hotel on this level, so I went out to the car and found a load of coins, came back in and got a 2euro coin to validate the parking!

abrr1000 · 19-11-2012 05:43PM

Ah that's terrible - 2eur FFS.
When we went to view our hotel we got to stay in bridal suite for free, dinner and breakfast included to experience it for ourselves. The communication has been great although slow (but they are very busy) and always dedicated.
It's alot of money to lose and you don't want to start off on a negative note.
I wouldn't go in roaring and shouting first, I'd maybe book a call with her and sort out any concerns I have in a civil manner. If she doesn't remember who you are after that its off to the hotel manager/owner.
Good luck

Here Comes The Trio · 19-11-2012 11:40PM

It's all too common to hear about wedding venues being awful at replying - how annoying!!!!! I would definitely log all the details of them forgetting/not delivering on promises/generally poor customer service and send it to her and anyone else above her. And one year away is not an eternity, hotels get bookings 2 or 3 years in advance, one year is relatively soon so to speak! Whether you're next month or next year you still are entitled to fair treatment and as another poster said - they could at least remember your name! How frustrating... I would ride it out alright but make sure you nip it in the bud and knock some sense into them so they think twice about neglecting you.. and you most certainly are not being a bridezilla!!!

Senna · 19-11-2012 11:42PM

abrr1000 wrote: »

If she doesn't remember who you are after that its off to the hotel manager/owner.

Your concerns are valid and needs to be sorted now rather than leaving it till a month before the wedding and having a "bad taste in your mouth", a talk with the general manager would probably be best.

But please don't expect wedding coordinators to remember you.
I have 160+ brides that are booked for the next 3 years, not to mention the 170 from 2011/2. I really cant remember everyone and even through I may have sat and talked to you for a couple of hours and maybe met you 3/4 times in a week, come a couple of weeks later, i might not remember you (but hopefully i'll remember the face).

Vojera · 20-11-2012 12:12AM

Fittle wrote: »

Another thing has sprung to mind - friends of mine chipped in and got us a voucher for the venue (100e) - my pal went up with the cash to speak to her directly and put the money off the wedding, she had no record of us, the wedding, the date, nothing!!! It was only when I contacted her myself later that she said 'Oh yeah, sorry, I couldn't find your details earlier....' (my pal also reported that her customer service skills were abysmal!)

I find this part pretty much shocking, to be honest. Any time we've contacted our hotel or gone in person the first thing they've done is pulled our file up on the computer. I wouldn't expect everyone there to remember us, but even the ones that do will still go straight to the computer because that's how they print our receipt. How else can they be sure they're clearing it off the right account?

movingsucks · 20-11-2012 05:29PM

I thought there was a recession on and places would be so happy to be getting money in that they'd make sure to take care of their customers!!
Obviously not

abrr1000 · 20-11-2012 08:46PM

Senna wrote: »

But please don't expect wedding coordinators to remember you.

I think after handing over €2000 euro deposit they should at least pretend to remember you while pulling up your file to find out who you are.

Here Comes The Trio · 20-11-2012 11:29PM

abrr1000 wrote: »

I think after handing over €2000 euro deposit they should at least pretend to remember you while pulling up your file to find out who you are.

Excellent point, a little white lie could have gone a long way there!

Senna · 21-11-2012 12:08AM

abrr1000 wrote: »

I think after handing over €2000 euro deposit they should at least pretend to remember you while pulling up your file to find out who you are.

Well if they are pulling up your file, then they know you are a wedding couple

Gatica · 21-11-2012 10:44AM

if you're handing over 2000 Euro, you're probably a wedding couple...

Senna · 21-11-2012 11:36AM

Gatica wrote: »

if you're handing over 2000 Euro, you're probably a wedding couple...

This was after they paid the deposit, they called back in.

All i'm saying is, dont expect a wedding coordinator to remember every couple, they should remember the face and realise that yes this couple have a wedding booked, but as to remembering their name and date of their wedding, probably not and they'll have to ask for the date of the wedding and discreetly pull up the file to see the other details.

Gatica · 21-11-2012 11:55AM

I agree that a coordinator shouldn't remember every couple or their names. If there's a wedding or two every weekend, that's a lot of faces and names.

However from the OPs post, it seemed that they needed to arrange a certain time to hand over the deposit, which to me implied they were coming in with cash in hand:

Fittle wrote: »

I had to ring her on two occasions about getting the deposit to her at a certain time of day, she never rang me back, never acknowledged that I rang her when I eventually went up to her, was very dismissive and hadn't a clue who we were!! Despite the fact that I handed her 2k in cash, she wouldn't validate our parking ticket (2euro!!!) either!!

OP, while not validating a 2E parking ticket is a small issue, the fact that they didn't have a record of your wedding date/name on file when your friends went in, is not. Maybe it was a once off as they'd not had time to put it on the computer file, coordinators often have records in their own diaries... However, the thing with the DJ seems a bit dismissive to me.

Fittle wrote: »

.She had said we could go and see the DJ at one of the 7 weddings she had before Xmas... (he is part of our 'package')...I had sent her an email asking if she could give us a rough date, at which point she sent me his mobile number, saying my 'contract' was with him directly, and not with her and that I'd have to arrange that myself.

If his services are part of a package, then your dealings are with her and not him. He's a party they're outsourcing, and not something you're expected to arrange yourself. If this is how she intends to approach this, I'd talk to her manager and make it clear that this is not acceptable. You're buying a package for a reason: because everything is being included under the one price, and the services are done through the hotel! It's saving a couple time and hassle arranging band, caterer, etc... themselves. As already suggested, I'd make a list of your valid misgivings, with dates and details and forward to the hotel manager. If they don't act on it, you'll take your business elsewhere. Also, consult someone in the legal profession about how you'd go about getting your deposit back based on their lack of service and attention.

Sleepy · 21-11-2012 12:07PM

Also OP, when meeting with the manager - push for the next package up or some extra freebies with your package if you're happy to have the wedding there with a different co-ordinator.

Fittle · 21-11-2012 12:20PM

Thanks alot everyone.

I am reluctant to ask for another wedding coordinator at this stage - as far as I'm aware, there are only 2 'dedicated wedding coordinators' in that department (this phrase makes me laugh to be honest, particulary as they use it as one of the 'free' items as part of the package!) and I don't want this to backfire on me;)

While I completely agree that I didn't expect her to remember us specifically, there was a discount offered if we got the 2k in before 5pm on a particular Friday...I'd been in touch about getting into her at 4.45pm, so that really was my issue about her not knowing me. Completely different if I'd only met her at the wedding fair and just arrived, unannounced, but I had phoned and emailed her and she didn't even pretend to acknowledge either the call or the email!

Anyhow, I had a read over the contract - it specifically says that the 'services' offered with the package are 'external' and that my contract is with those service providers, and not the hotel (the lady doing the seat covers, the dj and the people making the cake are all of these), so she may have been within her rights offering me the dj's phone number.

However, I doubt he can contact a bride and groom and ask if we can gatecrash their wedding for half an hour to check him out, can he? I would imagine that's something only the hotel can do (which is what she promised me she would do)?

Sleepy · 21-11-2012 12:27PM

Any DJ or Band will be fine discussing that with a wedding couple. It's absolutely normal to have prospective clients hanging at the back of the function room for half an hour to check out the band/DJ.

Toto Wolfcastle · 21-11-2012 12:28PM

Fittle wrote: »

However, I doubt he can contact a bride and groom and ask if we can gatecrash their wedding for half an hour to check him out, can he? I would imagine that's something only the hotel can do (which is what she promised me she would do)?

I would think that it would be up to him to do it. The couple, like you, will have a contract with him, so it would be up to him to get the permission on the bride and groom. If someone turned up without him asking permission then it would come back to him. In any case, I'd imagine that he has been in contact with the bride and groom before the wedding so it's not like he'd just be calling them up out of the blue.

Senna · 21-11-2012 12:51PM

I would still talk with the general manager, if you are having issues probably other brides and grooms are having issues also and the manager may not be aware there are problems if no one wants to approach him or her. I know the €2 is minor, but i just cant get over it, its just bad practice. It the same as if they offered you tea while you waited to meet the coordinator and then they charged you for it. Not major, but still bad practice.

I picked you up wrong with the deposit, you spoken to her, arrange a time and she didn't know who you were or acknowledged you.:rolleyes:

If you dont want to take this any further, could you arrive down when the other coordinator is working, maybe have a quick chat to him/her, see if you find that person is easier to deal with? I'm sure you could deal with that person from now on, just set up appointments to meet X rather than Y. There will probably be crossover anyway and as the months progress you would have met the other coordinator anyway.

Getting Deposit back?

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