Venue I'm interested in has bad reviews. What to do?

Re: Venue I'm interested in has bad reviews. What to do?

• OliveOilsMom member

  

  March 2012

  You could ask for a list of referrals of people who have used their facility before.  Then you can call them and ask how their events went.
  
  Also, keep in mind that sometime people only put complaints on websites.  So they may be isolated incidents.
  
  I'm not familiar with Farrington Manor, so I can't offer any personal opinions on the place.

  

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• NRod70

  

  March 2012

  I don't know of this place personally and out of curiosity I tried to find reviews on it.  It seems like it is hit or miss, but...the only reviews that i came across (on several different sites) were a bit older.  Like 2007, 2009.  Majority of the complaints seemed to be about food, then secondly was the serving staff and decor.

  
  

  You went and took a tour of the facility yourself?  You seemed to like the place, so maybe the have renovated since these reviews?  Hopefully they have a new chef since then as well. lol.

  
  

  I honestly would try to find some one you know that has attended a function there or held their own event and hear what they have to say about it.  Its really hard with these online reviews because a majority of the time the only people to write a review either had a most memorable time and want to share OR you have the person who had such a terrible time and was so pissed by the time they left, they feel the need to tell anyone and everyone who will listen.  You hardly ever find that middle ground.

  
  

  Good luck and go with your gut instinct.  That usually is right!!

  

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• Rangergirl

  

  March 2012

  Something I would check into are the dates and times of the bad reviews to see if all of them happened around the same time... it could be that several people involved in the same wedding had a bad experience went out and plastered every site they could find... or it could be that they had a different staff or different ownership etc at the time those reviews were done and now they are under different people. Try to go by the most recent reviews to get the most clear picture of what recent brides had gotten since those will be the closes to what you're looking at. Also if you try doing a Google search under your venue and then click on reviews it may bring up reviews that aren't on The Knot or Wedding Wire like most people look for... I got a ton more reviews for my venue from doing that and even got a bunch of reviews posted by guests that way. Lastly, I'd print out the reviews, bring them to your venue and say look I want to be really honest, this is what I found, how can you assure me that these issues won't be a problem at my wedding? Good Luck!

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• TaraW1979 member

  

  March 2012

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_south-new-jersey_venue-im-interested-in-has-bad-reviews-what-to-do?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:128Discussion:5d0e61bb-ad1a-4da0-842c-fd4d3a021c44Post:7eda94b6-e542-42a9-b8c2-c72ee37d28e7">Re: Venue I'm interested in has bad reviews. What to do?</a>:
  [QUOTE]Lastly, I'd print out the reviews, bring them to your venue and say look I want to be really honest, this is what I found, how can you assure me that these issues won't be a problem at my wedding? Good Luck!
  Posted by Rangergirl[/QUOTE]
  This is great advice! I would do just this! 

  

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• Neumz member

  

  March 2012

  Thanks for all the replies! I went on their facebook page, found a comment from a bride who recently got married there, and sent her a private message asking about the place.  She said everything at her wedding was wonderful and that the bad reviews are from when the place had different owners.  This would also explain the recent renovations and name change!

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