ComplaintsforThe GlassHouse SJ LLC

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On March 25, 2023 I called The Glass House Downtown ************. I also went online to fill out a inquiry about a wedding / reception. The ad states will negotiate starts at **** . price detail. It ask the customer to put a negotiate price.I put *********** just as a gesture to their starting price of ***** I got a call the next day that a lady name ******** was out on a family emergency so i gave my condolences and hung up.I. have a disability and needed to address the accomodations needed . On March 29, 2023 I get a call back early in the morning stating sorry we can not help you . your budget doesn't meet our standards you Can't Afford Us , you need to look somewhere else and started laughing about it as if someone was in the room with her . I stated that was out of order and was not funny at all. Shocked at the rude response my wedding party was upset that i was treated that way . On March 30, 2023 ******** calls back to apologize as she acknowledged. her being unprofessional . she stated she will make it right by putting a proposal offer in my email and instead added a extra ***** fee onto the quote . not realizing that the matter only got worse. I wanted to contact the owner Sales Manager as 4 people in my wedding was calling as well to let be aware of the rudeness and discrimination to someone with a disability .I am hurt by this and wanted to only have the opportunity to enjoy my special Day at the Glass House but was not given a fair opportunity. Due to ******** assuming i couldn' t afford it .Thanks to The Glass House personal Staff. The Owner needs to Train his staff better and treat Customers better. I have a friend who was treat the same way and if multiple people are stating similar experience when trying to book a event at this venue some changes need to be made especially price Gouging from out of her mouth and without reading what the advertisement states . she is not fully aware of the starting price or the negotiation statement stated. Unacceptable

  Business response

  04/19/2023

  The Glasshouse wishes to respond to the allegations and complaint filed on 4/1/2023 BBB Complaint ID ********.  We received the complaint on 4/11/2023.
  
  The customer reached out to our sister **********/25/23 through a marketing website, Weddingwire.com. We received her inquiry listing her budget.  The site shows our starting venue rental at $5,700.  This depends on the day of the week, as weekdays are less costly than our premium day of Friday or Saturdays.   It does not include food,beverage security, sales tax and service fees of 22%.   Below are details of emails and phone conversations.
  
  I have worked with ******** for over 3 years.  She is known to be very professional and a seasoned event planner.  The customer received several quotes that would include food as a buffet, which is less costly than plated meals, a reduction in the venue price for the day requested,as an attempt to come to an equitable price. The quote was provided on 3/24 from our sister property *********************** and 3/30 for the services discussed with the customer about the **********************.  Although we were unable to meet her expectations with pricing, we would never alienate a potential customer with accusations nor inappropriate behavior. 
  
  The Glasshouse and *********************** are equal opportunity employers, promoting diversity and ethnicities to provide the best service for our customers and make their special day extraordinary and memorable.
  
  The allegations of laughing stating you cant afford us,are false statements.
  I believe the customer was unable to understand the different proposals on several occasions and perhaps became frustrated in the process.  After several attempts to explain the pricing packages provided, the customer gave up and emailed they were not interested.  ******** wished her the best and accepted her decline.

  We would have loved the opportunity to discuss with ******************, however as The General Manager I was never reached out too nor were any of our staff nor management.  We went through our call and email logs and unfortunately ****************** nor her family/friends tried to discuss with us and the first we heard of this complaint was when it was sent to us through the BBB.  We are truly sorry that we could not accommodate ****************** and wish her all the best in her planning and celebration.

  Warmly,

  ***************************, General Manager

  ***************************

  
  
  Incident Report-
  _________________________________
  
  March 26th First touch email
  
  March 27 @10:20AM
  The customer called and left a message *Stated She has a budget of $7,000 for a wedding of ******* people on a Saturday 6/4/2023. ********* left a Voicemail to discuss clients vision and budget, and our offerings.

  
  March 28th @ 9:10AM
  ******** reached out to the customer, following up from her previous voicemail. 
  Congratulated her on her engagement and kindly let her know that our pricing exceeds her budget for a Saturday at The Glasshouse and offered ideas to helps us create a package closer to her budget. Customer stated she was not amendable to the given ideas nor changes to her vison and wants in order to help us work within her budget.
  The customer explained that she thought that we could match her budget. 
  ******** told her that hosting 100 people for food and beverage alone will exceed her budget. 
  The customer suggests outside catering as an alternative. 
  I informed her of the outside catering fee. 
  The customer didnt understand. ******** mentioned the Venue rental fee's that were published and that she was referring to, and she didnt understand why we kept adding on fees. ******** told her where they were listed, working with her and reviewing the packet and she still didnt understand nor was amenable to listen to the explanations.
  The customer then got offended because ******** didnt know how else to explain the pricing structure to her after reviewing the Packet with her, addressing it in a few different ways and apologizing for her frustrations.

  
  March 30th @ 3:47PM
  ******** calls the lead and apologizes for the previous misunderstanding, with hopes of trying to create a better customer relation. 
  Spoke to the customer for about an hour, getting to know her needs.
  

  @ 4:22PM
  Estimate sent to Customer - discount on the Venue Rental is given to be sympathetic to her budget.

  
  @5:00PM
  Customer calls ********, after hours
  Estimate is discussed, Customer mentioned her mom going through the sales packet because they thought they would need more food.
  ******** introduces a possible solution to look at *********************** and explains it may be more suitable to her budget.
  The discussion lasted about 20 mins.

  
  @ 5:20PM
  ******** texts Customer the website for *************************, as discussed
  
  March 31st @ 10:17am
  ******** calls asking about the estimate.
  The customer states she is confused because it is $10,000 more than she was expecting for her $7,000 budget.
  ******** apologized but expressed that this is how much it costs to host a wedding considering her wants and needs and necessary sales tax and service fees for labor, to provide the reception and amenities she is requesting on her date. 
  The customer said she has time before she will decide.
  
  April 5th @ 4:45PM
  The customer emails ******** stating she is no longer interested.

  
  April 6th @ 9:08AM
  ******** sends an email wishing her the best for her future wedding.

  
  

  Customer response

  04/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 19882874
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************, I am very disappointed that the Owner would reply taking up for the Employee without hearing the Conversation between myself and his staff member ********. And they keep insisting that i can not afford their Venue. The price is only a Negotiation Quote never once does it say that is what i can afford. The Owner and his Employee both stated that she tried to reach back out to me and admitted she apologized for her wrong doing but trying to offer me a pricing that was higher than the Quote. At this point i would never want my reception their and it shows that this Company is very Bias and do not take **************** as a priority . i stand strongly about my decision and i will make sure that this situation is known to others that wanted to use this facility as well. I Also have a Co worker who experienced the same issue by the same staff member ******** and recommended that no one uses this venue. I Dod not want a free service just a fair service and was not treated Fairly .

  Business response

  05/03/2023

  It is most unfortunate that the customer was unable to understand the proposals we presented.  After numerous emails and telephone conversations, we discounted as much as we could.  The posted rate was rental for the facilty, not the food and beverage selections or guest count or any other details.  This was explained multiple times to the consumer, who could not seem to understand the explanations.  We dropped the pricing on services to try to accommodate her in as much as we could.  We apologize for the misunderstanding, but there is no further action available to resolve the matter.  ******** categorically denies talking to the customer in the tone suggested.  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩