TERRIBLE SERVICE FOR GROUP PARTY

We pre-arranged for a group of 120 guests (12 children) to have the lunch buffet at this restaurant. We were repeat customers and thought it would be a perfect place to celebrate our son’s baptism. At first they wanted to charge us the $30 banquet price but when I said we would have to find another venue, they came back and said we could pay the buffet price and they would set us up on the banquet tables, which is really a continuation of the buffet area but w/ round tables. I should’ve known it was going to be a bad event b/c until the new coordinator took over, all previous people seemed uninterested in us having a large party there and we were getting different quotes all the time. In fact, when we initially asked for some party info back in October, we observed the waitress asked the (?) manager to talk to us but he told her he was too busy, even though he was sitting at the bar watching tv. However, the new coordinator, Joan, was pleasant and we thought the price was appealing. WRONG. Here is just a sample of what we experienced today.
1. They wanted to charge us 20% service charge and kids only 5 and under were half price, despite the email confirmation I provided them that indicated an agreed 18% service charge and kids 10 and under were half price. After much argument, the owner agreed to the previously stated pricing on the email but sarcastically said, “I’ll take $3 off just for tipping you.”
2. The manager told me there were too many guests). He said “You and your 50,000 guests…it’s too many.” They were aware of the # of guests and # of kids (we didn’t go over).
3. Joan previously told me (and confirmed in an email) that no unexpected guest would be turned away. When a family of 6 (which included two kids age 2 & 4) came late, the waiter initially refused to let them sit at an empty table together and wanted them to separate and sit in the single empty seats at the other tables. This, despite that there were about 10 other empty tables and plenty of room.
4. We started at 12pm as planned and were never previously told to be done by a certain time. At 2pm (even though the buffet doesn’t end until 3pm), the waitstaff and manager rudely told our guests it was time to leave. They even turned off all the lights so it was dim in the room.
5. When we asked for hot water to heat up my son (the guest of honor’s) bottle, the waiter said to get it from the bathroom. When we said there was none in the bathroom, the waiter said he couldn’t give us hot water.
6. When a guest asked for a takeout box (for the cake we brought in), the owner said very rudely, “I don’t have that…do you want me to go to Costco and buy you some.”
7. The manager complained about there being too many kids even though there were aware of how many kids were coming. They even shooed the kids away from the stage even though the kids were playing normally. That’s fine to tell us to get off the stage but the way it was said was rude and embarrassing to our guests. One owner even put his hands on one of our guests and told her to move because she was on the stage.
8. Joan and I previously agreed that sodas would be paid per person w/ free refills. We didn’t want pitchers since many of our guests did not drink soda. Upon arriving, pitchers were placed on all the table. The manager (the same one who wouldn’t talk to us in Oct) gave me attitude and said it was too hard to keep track of how many people ordered per glass and he didn’t care what Joan and I had arranged. The waiter said he was too busy to count who had soda and it was my responsibility to do so.
9. When my husband was questioning the owner on his attitude, the owner rudely walked away.
10. A waiter said to me there were too many people (again, even though they were aware of how many were coming) and I should’ve organized it better (not sure what there was to organize).
11. At the end, when we were complaining about the service and the discrepancy in price, the owner shushed me and told me to stop talking. He then made a mocking sound when one of our guests also complained.
12. They told us they didn’t have to give us good service because we were paying the buffet price but being allowed to sit in the banquet hall (even though they agreed to the price beforehand and agreed they could accommodate us and would seat us in the adjoining banquet area!).

We will NEVER NEVER NEVER go back there again. They lost 120 guests that were there along w/ the other family/friends who will hear about our TERRIBLE experience. We are also advising an organization we are members of to not proceed w/ plans of hosting a dinner party of 200 guests. It’s a shame this day was meant to celebrate our son’s baptism but they put a dark cloud on the occasion. DON’T LET THE PRICE OR FOOD FOOL YOU – NONE OF IT IS WORTH THE TERRIBLE SERVICE YOU WILL GET, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A GROUP PARTY. THEY ARE UNORGANIZED AND RUDE AND DON’T DESERVE A PENNY OF YOUR $$.