Fine Dining Chefs

Before addressing what happened, here are our terms in plain English. When a client books, we collect a retainer deposit. That secures the event date and the chef for their schedule commitment, and we turn away other inquiries for that date. Seven days prior to the event, we collect final payment. At that point the event is finalized, menus are crafted, ingredients are procured, and the chef is paid for their final time commitment. Long before an event takes place, we already have hundreds of dollars committed, even for a small two guest dinner. Now to explain what happened. This reservation was fully booked and fully paid. A retainer was paid. Final payment was completed. The event was scheduled for Saturday. The call requesting cancellation came in on Wednesday, three days before service. When my wife answered the phone, she began explaining our standard process. She did not get through her first explanation. The moment the words non refundable (retainer deposit) were mentioned, the caller became immediately irate. He began yelling, screaming, interrupting her repeatedly, and threatening to leave bad reviews to ruin our business. He stated that his wife would also leave reviews and said he works for a marketing company and would use it to destroy us. My wife was not allowed to speak, stated she was uncomfortable, and handed me the phone. My name is Jeff. I am the owner. When I heard him become irate with my wife, I began recording the interaction. From the moment I took the call, the behavior escalated further. I was screamed at, interrupted every time I tried to speak, called names, demeaned, and personally attacked. I was told I had no empathy, that I did not care if my employees die, and that I was a terrible person and business owner. He repeatedly screamed about the Airbnb cancellation and weather while refusing to allow an actual conversation. This was not a discussion. It was a one sided tirade. All of this is recorded and is truly incredible to listen to. Here is what potential clients should understand. At no point during the initial portion of this call were we allowed to explain options. Regardless of policy, we were willing to work with this reservation. We always offer rescheduling within one calendar year and do so routinely. Unfortunately, due to the level of yelling and interruption, that option could not be clearly communicated until several minutes into the call, and even then it was shouted down. The caller hung up, and the reviews followed shortly after. For context on how we actually operate, this same week another client called us on Tuesday concerned about weather. Their event was scheduled for Friday. They asked to move it to Thursday and then asked if we would relocate the event entirely and travel to Atlanta. We said yes and adjusted everything to make it happen. For further clarity, two guest private dining experiences are not high profit bookings. On a $300 event, our costs before the event is even completed are already over $200, just in labor and supplies already purchased. After travel, premium ingredients, and chef compensation, there is little to no margin. Our policies exist to protect commitments to our chefs and vendors, not to take advantage of anyone. We are always willing to work with people. We do not tolerate screaming, cursing, threats, or abusive behavior toward myself, our staff, or especially my wife. Across all platforms, we have maintained stellar ratings, including a 5.0, because we take care of our clients and show up with professionalism and integrity. The caller stated during the rant that he was going to make this our first one star review. This response is here so future clients understand exactly what led to it. Edit: The weather NEVER got bad, and all of our events were completed safely as scheduled. We have also CONFIRMED with the Air BnB host that the Shehorns canceled their booking. They were NEVER "kicked out" or forced to cancel.