Bad VDay Service

Ms. Lorena Burlak

Westbury Manor

1100 Jericho Turnpike

Westbury, NY 11590

Ms. Burlak;

As you are aware in October we booked Westbury Manor as our wedding venue. At that time we were provided a $100 gift card to your restaurant in lieu of a formal tasting. We were never advised that any special conditions applied to this card.

My fiancé and I decided that we would use the gift card on Valentine’s Day. What could be more romantic then dining at your future wedding locale? My fiancé called to make a reservation. He spoke with Antonio. While making the reservation my fiancé inquired about any applicable special menu, etc. We are aware that the restaurant is not typically open on Sundays and therefore made sure to inquire about the specifics. We were assured that all was normal except menu pricing would be ala carte 

We arrive at the Westbury Manor on 2/14/2010 at approximately 6:30pm and were disappointed by the level of service we received for the following reasons (Also, the restaurant was not packed to capacity by any means (the dining room in the Conservatory was busy but certainly not full):

·         Upon being seated and requesting drinks my fiancé requested a lime with his beverage. Drinks were delivered…sans lime. My fiancé requested one again. He waiter assured him he would bring it right over. Several minutes passed…the waiter passed by our table several times…no lime. Finally, I asked again and one was delivered.

·         The waiter called me “honey” several times. While this is not life threatening bad service, it is inappropriate and bothered me.

·         My steak was delivered sans steak knife. I had to wait several moments for one to be delivered. 

All of this could be overlooked as typical Valentine’s Day service except when the following occurred. Upon receiving our bill ($87.99) we decided we would pay with the gift card but tip in cash. We placed the gift card in with the bill and returned it to another server. A few moments later Antonio (the restaurant manager) arrives at our table to advise us that they cannot accept the gift card. He inquires about how we came upon to have the gift card (if it was “complimentary” from them or from another party, etc). Then he continues to tell us that if they accepted all “complimentary” gifts on holidays there would be no seating for “paying customers”. I asked him how I could possibly have known about this (on the menu it clearly states “no coupons” but a gift card is not a coupon…). He offered absolutely no explanation, however, repeatedly thanked me for understanding. Not only were my fiancé and I embarrassed at this table-side spectacle but we absolutely resented the implication that we were trying to get over on the Manor. There is simply nothing “complimentary” about the gift card we received. As two individuals who are paying over $7,000 to have an affair at your establishment we thought it would be a nice touch to dine there on Valentine’s Day. Whether the gift card was purchased by an individual or is simply part of the $2,500 we have already remitted to the Manor should not make an ounce of difference. I resented the implication that it was “just” for booking the wedding.  We, however, did not want to FURTHER cause a scene so we simply paid the bill on another card and left upset. 

To say that I was not satisfied or impressed by the treatment we received would be an understatement. In a business that relies so much on word-of-mouth and reputation this seems like a silly way to make the wrong impression. If somewhere it were stated that gift cards were not accepted on holidays (like on the gift card packaging or the menu, etc) I would have said nothing at all. I hope the Manor takes steps to restore our confidence.

Thank you, 

Amanda

Vincent