ComplaintsforHidden Acres Events

• Initial Complaint

  02/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I got married on September 2nd at Hidden Acres in Lytle Creek. It was supposed to be such a special day with no stress but Hidden Acres, was such a disappointment! They charge so much for such a special occasion and the staff added more stress and the workers were extremely rude. 1. The day before we had rehearsal and I get there and see chairs lined up outside and they were not the ones listed on my contract. I told ******, the coordinator, if those were the chairs and she said yes. I told her those are not the ones I rented. She then got on the phone to call ***** the owner and she said she didn’t have enough of the napoleon chairs, so she decided to bring the chairs that she had enough of. So that was the first thing that went wrong. Also, the clear chiavari chairs were old and they all looked yellow, from being stored outdoors. ******, asked me that she would try to get me the napoleon chairs that I requested but that didn’t happen. I told her I would take black chairs rather than chiavari chairs but of course they weren’t able to get any other chairs. So I had to settle for the old rundown chairs when I paid $1,200 for Napoleon chairs. 2. The day of the wedding, the ceremony chairs were filthy dirty and they were ready for the ceremony. Some chairs had staples sticking out and they wanted guest to sit on them. The employees gave attitude when asked to exchange the chairs for clean ones but again these chairs are not properly stored. 3. Now let’s to move on to alcohol. There was one bartender that was bald, he was harassing all the women. All the women felt uncomfortable. That same bartender was upcharging the drinks. We have statements to prove. We paid so much money for alcohol and it was all gone by 8pm supposedly. My guests shouldn’t have felt uncomfortable to go get a drink. That’s embarrassing, that my guest were feeling unsafe. 4. The waiters were so rude. They wanted my guests to go to the bar for water when the waiters were supposed to serve it

  Business response

  03/07/2023

  I got married on September 2nd at Hidden Acres in Lytle Creek. It was supposed to be such a special day with no stress but Hidden Acres, was such a disappointment! They charge so much for such a special occasion and the staff added more stress and the workers were extremely rude.

  Hi ********,

  We are saddened by this unexpected message and, admittedly, quite shocked. We pride ourselves on our service and the relationships we develop with our brides and grooms. To suddenly hear 6 months later that you were dissatisfied with your event has come as a surprise to us. From seeing you and your guests that night, to all of the positive feedback and beautiful photos on social media, we thought you were happy. Please know that our lines of communication have been open and we would have done our best to resolve any concerns both the day of and in the time immediately following your wedding had you reached out to us.

  1. The day before we had rehearsal and I get there and see chairs lined up outside and they were not the ones listed on my contract. I told ******, the coordinator, if those were the chairs and she said yes. I told her those are not the ones I rented. She then got on the phone to call ***** the owner and she said she didn’t have enough of the napoleon chairs, so she decided to bring the chairs that she had enough of. So that was the first thing that went wrong. Also, the clear chiavari chairs were old and they all looked yellow, from being stored outdoors. ******, asked me that she would try to get me the napoleon chairs that I requested but that didn’t happen. I told her I would take black chairs rather than chiavari chairs but of course they weren’t able to get any other chairs. So I had to settle for the old rundown chairs when I paid $1,200 for Napoleon chairs.

  To begin, we deeply apologize for the miscommunication with the chairs. Our solution to keep a cohesive look was to bring other clear upgraded chairs with equivalent value and to seek your approval of those, however you saw them before we were able to communicate the issue with you in person. While rental items are not new, our sister company has an excellent reputation of providing quality product. All of the items are properly stored in 20,000 sq ft warehouse/showroom and are consistently evaluated for quality control. We took your confirmation of “as long as they are new, clear Chiavari chairs” as acceptance and rented the remaining amount from an outside vendor, again ensuring they met our high standards. In the hustle and bustle of the wedding festivities we did not get an opportunity to discuss your thoughts or concerns further and assumed all was well since we did not hear from you. As the attached photos show, the chairs were all in great condition and looked beautiful. That being said, given that you are not satisfied but did confirm they were okay, we would like to offer you a 50% refund on the chair rental ($627).

  2. The day of the wedding, the ceremony chairs were filthy dirty and they were ready for the ceremony. Some chairs had staples sticking out and they wanted guest to sit on them. The employees gave attitude when asked to exchange the chairs for clean ones but again these chairs are not properly stored.

  We understand your concern regarding the chairs and how from your perspective they may seem to have been “filthy”. Our ceremony chairs are one of the first things we set out on wedding day since that is the first part of your event. The photos you provided show them still on the dolly and being set out. Just before guests arrive our service team does a wipe down of all chairs (along with a quick sweep of the entry, aisle and ceremony area) to ensure your guests are presented with a clean space. We do the final wipe down at the last moment because, given our rural outdoor location, dust, dirt and debris may enter the area prior to guests arrival. Again, we understand your perception, however while our celebrants, their friends and family are getting ready for the event our staff is working hard behind the scenes to ensure everything is up to our standards.

  3. Now let’s to move on to alcohol. There was one bartender that was bald, he was harassing all the women. All the women felt uncomfortable. That same bartender was upcharging the drinks. We have statements to prove. We paid so much money for alcohol and it was all gone by 8pm supposedly. My guests shouldn’t have felt uncomfortable to go get a drink. That’s embarrassing, that my guest were feeling unsafe.

  After reviewing our records, the bartender in question is a wonderful middle eastern man who has been in the service industry for 20+ years. We completely stand by him and his character- in fact, he has received nothing but praise and gratitude from our clients. We do understand terms of endearment (i.e. beautiful, darling, sweetheart, etc.) are not as appreciated in this generation as in generations past and will speak to him about refraining from using such in the future. We also understand it is part of his culture and sincerely apologize if anyone felt uncomfortable.

  We are unsure how to respond to an accusation of “up-charging”, as all of our drinks have a set price in our POS system. As standard in the industry, we have several tiers of alcohol and it is our bartenders job to offer our finest selections. Your guests enjoyed many of our top shelf selection, such as Don Julio, Patron and Grey Goose. According to your invoice, your hosted amount was to include beer, wine & well cocktails. Anything not falling into those categories would be an additional charge.

  Upon review of your timeline, with a ceremony starting at 4:00 PM, meaning a cocktail hour starting no later than 5:00 pm, it is perfectly reasonable for a $2000.00 hosted amount with 201 adult guests to reach the limit within a 3 hr span. To break it down a little further, 200 guests consuming just one drink an hour (at an average of $8/drink) could easily exceed the hosted amount in just over an hour. If even only half of the guests present consumed one drink an hour, the hosted amount would be exceeded by 8 pm. Our records indicated that your guests enjoyed the hosted amount and continued to frequent the bar until last call.

  4. The waiters were so rude. They wanted my guests to go to the bar for water when the waiters were supposed to serve it
  
  

  Lastly, please note that after dinner, once table service ends, our bar remains fully open for all beverages- including water.

  Hidden Acres staff has worked hard to gain trust and a great reputation in the industry. We understand we cannot please everyone, though we wholeheartedly wish this weren’t true. We apologize for anything that did not meet you or your guests expectations and will make sure to address these concerns with all staff and management. If you would like to take our offer for a partial refund on the chair rental, please reach out to our office Tueday- Sunday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm.

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