CAUTION - DO NOT book wedding at Surf Club in New Rochelle!

MrsMcBain

We had our wedding at the Surf Club in New Rochelle in July 2013.  We had read the other horrible reviews but somehow thought it was other people just griping.  Boy, were we wrong!

We had the same experience as most of the bad reviews:

- Slow service, no callbacks

- Lack of care, extremely low attention to detail

- Big promises in sales room, little delivery on big day

However, it got much worse!

1.  DISHONESTY - They disrupted our wedding after the ceremony and demanded $2,500 cash before they would serve dinner.  This was a false claim of "extra people" and they would not accept a check or credit card.  Our groomsman had to drive all over town looking for ATM's - this delayed the wedding 90 minutes and we were not able to have a proper dance.  My bride was obviously in a panic and there was no reasoning - I overheard the owner, Sal, swear at us while he was talking with one of his minions.

2.  BAIT AND SWITCH - We negotiated our wedding with their salesperson, got it in writing, and then he mysteriously dissappeared from the place.  We got a call months later, after paying $5K in downpayment saying "are you still getting married here?"  We received a call 6 days before the wedding and they changed the signed contract by removing the Viennese hour unless we paid more!

3.  UNETHICAL - They wanted everything in cash since the day we locked in our date.  Perhaps everything isn't on the up-and-up.  Will copy IRS on this review.

4.  BROKEN PROMISES - Everything from "top shelf" liquor that was never served, to carving stations that never appeared.  They force you to use their florist who then significantly overcharges.  They promised to charge "half price" for children and vendors - they ended up charging us full price and more.

5.  POOR TREATMENT of vendors - the photo booth guy had to carry his equipment up the stairs because they gave him a liability excuse on the elevator. The DJ, videographer and photographer were all limited to what they could do and where they could go even though we had the place to ourselves.  While they were demanding the extra cash from #1 above - they would not let the DJ play music.

Needless to say, it was a cluster from the very beginning.  They have a nice location, but feel that no effort or investment needs to be made on customer service.

Two thumbs down.

Esther Morales

thanks for the info.

Fallon271

OMG! That's terrible!! They should be shut down!!

JoAnne1027

OMG!!

SURF280

As per the complaint below from two con-artists that are a “Fortune 500 couple” maybe because they scam people and don’t pay their vendors, below please see our responses per paragraph in red. You will see that all allegations are untrue, and proven according to emails that Michelle Ragusa has sent.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 Here is the story:

 

CAUTION - DO NOT book wedding at Surf Club in New Rochelle!

 

We had our wedding at the Surf Club in New Rochelle in July 2013.  We had read the other horrible reviews but somehow thought it was other people just griping.  Boy, were we wrong!

 

We had the same experience as most of the bad reviews:

 - Slow service, no callbacks: Below is a response from Michelle Ragusa, email dated June 30 covering all three of these comments:

Which leads me to Jamie, who has been PHENOMENAL! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Truly, you have always taken my call- been there to answer any question big or small.  You really give the feeling that you understand how stressful this is and truly care about making the customer happy.  When Carlo disappeared, and Rick never called, you were there.  I explained my worry over the fact that our contract which we agreed upon with Carlo was different when we went to give our down payment.

 

  Lack of care, extremely low attention to detail

- Big promises in sales room, little delivery on big day: This is a response from Michelle Ragusa, email dated June 30 covering all three of these comments 

We came into your establishment in July of last year 2012.  We met Carlo, and immediately fell in love with the place.  He was very responsive via email, and helpful.  We immediately agreed and left our down payment.  He did not always have the best memory, but always seemed to make up for it with apology and care.  He, Jay and I agreed on the package with the Viennese hour.  We got so specific in details, we even spoke about the red, white and blue sparkles on the gelato!  He painted a vision any bride and groom would cherish on their most beautiful day.  He compelled us to book on the 4^th of July, a Thursday (which I was originally not fond of) and said he could get us a good rate b/c of the day. He depicted every aspect of a perfect day from the fireworks over the Long Island Sound to the Strawberry Dacqueries/Pina Coladas to the Viennese Hour.  We took into consideration Jay is Canadian (and Canada Day is July 1) and we thought it would be a fun theme and holiday for our relatives.  Perfect…

 However, it got much worse!

 

1.  DISHONESTY - They disrupted our wedding after the ceremony and demanded $2,500 cash before they would serve dinner.  This was a false claim of "extra people" and they would not accept a check or credit card.  Our groomsman had to drive all over town looking for ATM's - this delayed the wedding 90 minutes and we were not able to have a proper dance.  My bride was obviously in a panic and there was no reasoning - I overheard the owner, Sal, swear at us while he was talking with one of his minions.: According to their floor plan which Michelle and Jay created they were well aware that they had extra people and an extra table that they tried to sneak in. This is why as per the contract all final bills are to be paid two weeks prior to avoid this issue especially on the day of the event.

 

2.  BAIT AND SWITCH - We negotiated our wedding with their salesperson, got it in writing, and then he mysteriously dissappeared from the place.  We got a call months later, after paying $5K in downpayment saying "are you still getting married here?"  We received a call 6 days before the wedding and they changed the signed contract by removing the Viennese hour unless we paid more! The only reason they received a call from the accounting department is  because they never sent in any additional deposits as per their contract. They received a written proposal with the Viennese hour on it. Their contract clearly says no Viennese.

 

3.  UNETHICAL - They wanted everything in cash since the day we locked in our date.  Perhaps everything isn't on the up-and-up.  Will copy IRS on this review: Untrue. When there is a breech in contract and you don’t send in any additional payments and do not pay two weeks prior to the event and want to pay the day of the wedding cash is required. They also asked several times to the florist and salesperson if we can waive the tax if they paid cash.

 

4.  BROKEN PROMISES - Everything from "top shelf" liquor that was never served, to carving stations that never appeared.  They force you to use their florist who then significantly overcharges.  They promised to charge "half price" for children and vendors - they ended up charging us full price and more: Again Untrue: They received a written proposal with Top Shelf liquor on it. Their contract clearly says well liquor . As for the florist. Michelle sent several pictures of floral centerpiece that cost over $300 saying money is no object!

 5.  POOR TREATMENT of vendors - the photo booth guy had to carry his equipment up the stairs because they gave him a liability excuse on the elevator. The DJ, videographer and photographer were all limited to what they could do and where they could go even though we had the place to ourselves.  While they were demanding the extra cash from #1 above - they would not let the DJ play music.: Actually we had to talk all of their vendors into staying since they didn’t want to pay them. No one uses the stairs. We have a loading dock and freight elevator for all of our vendors.

 Needless to say, it was a cluster from the very beginning.  They have a nice location, but feel that no effort or investment needs to be made on customer service. In the 22 years we have been in business we have never dealt with two scam artists like them. When you’re dealing with a couple who creates fake contracts  and doesn’t pay their bills to any of their vendors they try to defend themselves in this manner. The Surf Club is glad their wedding is over!

 Two thumbs down:. For this bride and groom!!!