Wednesday, May 6, 2009

It was a moment of insanity



What was I thinking?

I am mother of the groom- all I needed to do was to get a dress and secure a place for the rehearsal dinner.

I did get my dress.
And as of Monday, thought we had a place for the dinner.
The woman who should have put us on the books did not.
Yep- less then 2 weeks out I found out I had 50 people and food for 50 people and no room to put them in.

And- this is a Hampton Inn, I expected more. Maybe that was the problem- I expected them, her, to act professionally and I found out that was not her style.

The first red flag should have been the unreturned emails back in January.Then the unreturned phone call - and then the unreturned email.
But I went on anyway- like a lost puppy- and continue to hound her until she returned an email.I thought I had her and the room.
She failed to write us in the book and then went on to book the room for someone else-
They offered us the lobby----------------
with a clean up fee----------------------

We declined and are now moving rooms else where.
Hampton Inn- I expected better.

Now to the good part.

The people at the B&B where the wedding will be called another B&B and they are taking our 50 people and our catered dinner.
NC Barbecue with the trimmings!

They are setting us up with tables and chairs at their pool area.
We have even booked into their B&B for the weekend.
( insert cheers here!)


Now the other insanity- we booked a show for this upcoming weekend.
Yea, I know- we thought we could make it.
I contacted the Rosedale yesterday and let them know we would not be there.
The director called me laughing.
She said," you thought you could do a show the weekend before a wedding???????"
Yea- I did- but we will not be there.
So apologies to anyone who planned to see us there- we will be here and open.
So come on by.
Mark is working on the mudbox- putting the wood together.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

even the best organization is only as good as the person they've hired to represent them on the front line... sounds like it all worked out for the best though

Julia said...

Meredith, You know, it seems that with the current economy, customer service would get BETTER not WORSE. And yet, I've found the opposite to be true, too, recently. I bet the B&B will be a better spot, anyway. Way to pinch-hit (potters are good at that)! Julia

Linda Starr said...

What a fiasco but you solved it in the end, good for you. Wish I could come by to visit and lend a helping hand and see your baby on the pond.

Barbara said...

Sounds like declining Hampton's surprisingly stingy offer was a good move and your problem turned into a bonanza for the guests and a B&B weekend for you. Tables by the pool- very nice. The wedding tiles - beautiful.

cookingwithgas said...

Hey all- I can't take all the credit- my son is going to be marrying one bright and smart young lady who took no guff off the manager at the Hampton inn- she walked and looked for something else.
She may be little, but she is tough!
Thanks for the support and there will be pictures!
Linda and all wish you could be there or here-

Shortstuff said...

Wow...have you had drama or what? Sheesh. I've been sorely disappointed with the lack of customer service I've gotten at Hilton Garden Inns, too, just for the record. I'm sure the B & B will be better.