Difficult Vendor

minttobemrsb

Okay, fiance and I really wanted to do our wedding at the country club in our town. We called (I am currently 2 hours away from home finishing my Masters degree) and talked to their event coordinator and really liked the sound of everything. We were given all of the details about size, amount of guests, rules for deposit, etc. I wanted an idea of cost breakdown and she said she would send me the forms,but she could quote me over the phone since she had all the paperwork. She gave us cost for food pp, cost of chair setup outside for ceremony, grounds fees, and additional services. It was perfectly within our budget. My mom went to the venue to make sure everything was what we wanted and put down the deposit. Now, I just received the info packet that she sent and the prices are totally different! Catering pp is much more than she quoted, grounds fee is double, and there are WAY more "additional fees" that she did not mention. I completely understand that it was a quote and there is always going to be some minor changes, but we're talking a couple THOUSAND dollars! We have a meeting with her next week to talk about the situation. The deposit is nonrefundable. HELP!! Am I crazy if I go to the office and pitch a fit, true bride-zilla style?! I am super easy going and very laid back about most things, but this may cost us a lot of money that we don't have because we were lied to. I also know the manager of the golf course and country club, but I don't know if it is appropriate to file a complaint or not. 

HELP PLEASE!!

beethery

You should have told the coordinator that you preferred the prices in writing in case of discrepancy, so that you'd have it to back you up. Go talk to the vendor and see what you can do. I think you're SOL though.

Also please please please use paragraphs, that was difficult to get through.

KatWAG

minttobemrsb said:

Okay, fiance and I really wanted to do our wedding at the country club in our town. We called (I am currently 2 hours away from home finishing my Masters degree) and talked to their event coordinator and really liked the sound of everything. We were given all of the details about size, amount of guests, rules for deposit, etc. I wanted an idea of cost breakdown and she said she would send me the forms,but she could quote me over the phone since she had all the paperwork. She gave us cost for food pp, cost of chair setup outside for ceremony, grounds fees, and additional services. It was perfectly within our budget. My mom went to the venue to make sure everything was what we wanted and put down the deposit. Now, I just received the info packet that she sent and the prices are totally different! Catering pp is much more than she quoted, grounds fee is double, and there are WAY more "additional fees" that she did not mention. I completely understand that it was a quote and there is always going to be some minor changes, but we're talking a couple THOUSAND dollars! We have a meeting with her next week to talk about the situation. The deposit is nonrefundable. HELP!! Am I crazy if I go to the office and pitch a fit, true bride-zilla style?! I am super easy going and very laid back about most things, but this may cost us a lot of money that we don't have because we were lied to. I also know the manager of the golf course and country club, but I don't know if it is appropriate to file a complaint or not. 

HELP PLEASE!!

Are you a member of the country club? Maybe that is why the prices are so different. 

Unless you have the quote in writing, I dont think there is anything you can do. I am really dont think pitching a fit, zilla style will get you anywhere but escorted to he parking lot

minttobemrsb

Sorry for the rant. I didn't actually intend to go up there yelling and screaming. I was using that more rhetorically lol. Also, I never thought that writing on a blog in non-paragraph form would be that hard to decipher through. 

Hindsight, yes, I should have had her send it to me prior to paying the deposit. I guess I think when someone says, "I have the form right here in my hand. Here are our prices", I expect that to be true. 

Either way, we will pay it because we love the venue and everything else we budgeted for has actually been FAR less expensive than we expected- never a bad thing! I guess I just felt that it was rude for her to quote us so far off from the true prices. Honestly, we most likely would have booked anyway, but we could have avoided the surprise costs. 

Thanks for your honesty though. 

minttobemrsb

Also, it is no longer a private club, so there aren't memberships. The club went public about a year or 2 ago. 

I did just find out that this coordinator is brand new! I'm thinking it may have just been a misunderstanding. I am in no way blaming her for the mistakes made on my part. I was just wondering if anyone has had to deal with situations where there were discrepancies. 

Also, we have not signed a contract yet. So far we have only signed a form saying we paid the deposit to RESERVE THE SPACE. I'm hoping this might make a difference. 

esstee33

minttobemrsb said: Sorry for the rant. I didn't actually intend to go up there yelling and screaming. I was using that more rhetorically lol. Also, I never thought that writing on a blog in non-paragraph form would be that hard to decipher through. 
Hindsight, yes, I should have had her send it to me prior to paying the deposit. I guess I think when someone says, "I have the form right here in my hand. Here are our prices", I expect that to be true. 
Either way, we will pay it because we love the venue and everything else we budgeted for has actually been FAR less expensive than we expected- never a bad thing! I guess I just felt that it was rude for her to quote us so far off from the true prices. Honestly, we most likely would have booked anyway, but we could have avoided the surprise costs. 
Thanks for your honesty though. 

****************************
Reading a giant wall of text with no paragraphs is hard to read in any format. 

Call the venue, ask politely why the prices are higher than you were quoted, and see what they say. Maybe they don't have updated paperwork, maybe she was telling you some kind of promotional pricing over the phone, maybe their pricing has just changed in the time between when you called and when you put down the deposit. It's always worth asking, though. 

levioosa

If you decide to officially book this venue, definitely go over your contract with a fine toothed comb before signing.  Make sure everything is spelled out regarding pricing, minimums, changes, etc.  

minttobemrsb

levioosa said:

If you decide to officially book this venue, definitely go over your contract with a fine toothed comb before signing.  Make sure everything is spelled out regarding pricing, minimums, changes, etc.  

thanks! I will definitely do that when we go up there next week. She was very nice when I spoke with her on the phone earlier and seemed very eager to help us fix it. We were told that the list that was used for the quote (that she got from the cabinet) was outdated, however, they would honor the previous prices since that's what we agreed upon. I'm glad it all worked out. 

yogablossom

You got very lucky! I was going to say--she probably quoted an outdated price sheet or something, which blows.  But that's great they will honor that! Shows they know how to do business.