点评:I am genuinely embarrassed that I brought my team here.
I made a reservation. They knew ahead of time that I was bringing my team for a meeting. We showed up, ordered wine and pizzas, and planned to enjoy the winery while we met.
Within about five minutes of arriving, I was approached twice about parking because they had “customers coming.”
Except… we WERE customers.
There was also a reservation for a group of 18 that day. That group arrived on bicycles, which were not parked in the parking lot. And throughout our approximately three-hour visit, multiple tables remained empty.
Our photographer had already spent probably 15 minutes talking with staff before we arrived and was waved in and directed where to go. Nobody told him that he needed to park somewhere else. Then suddenly, once the rest of us arrived, moving vehicles became incredibly urgent.
That pretty much set the tone for the entire experience.
Then there was the wine.
Five fruit flies poured out of one of our bottles of wine into the glass. We brought it to their attention. The response was, “Would you like a new glass?”
A new glass.
My husband did raise concerns about the way we were being treated. When other customers arrived, I specifically quieted that conversation because I did not want our experience to interfere with theirs.
So I was particularly surprised when management later accused my husband of yelling at a staff member in front of guests. That absolutely did not happen, and I was there.
We stayed approximately three hours and spent money, although by that point I honestly ordered food partly because I felt obligated to. I already wanted to leave. I was embarrassed that I had chosen this place for my team because I did not feel like we were wanted there.
And here's the part that makes the whole thing especially unfortunate from a business standpoint: eight people in our group are business owners. Four own multiple businesses and were specifically exploring this winery as somewhere they might return to in the future.
Not because we deserved special treatment. We didn't.
But we absolutely expected to be treated like customers.
Unfortunately, the response from management afterward made the experience worse. I was told that what we had wasn't a “reservation,” it was a “three-hour meeting.”
Yes. It was a meeting. They knew it was a meeting when I made the reservation.
If meetings aren't welcome, say that when someone tells you they're bringing a group for a meeting. If there's a time limit, say that. If there are specific parking requirements, say that. None of those things were communicated to me beforehand.
I love supporting local businesses. I especially love introducing other people to local businesses I enjoy.
Unfortunately, I won't be introducing anyone else to this one, because I won't be back.
翻译:我真的觉得很尴尬,居然带团队来到了这里。
我提前做了预订。他们早就知道我会带团队来开会。我们到了之后点了葡萄酒和披萨,打算在开会的同时享受一下酒庄的氛围。
然而,我们刚到不到五分钟,就有人两次来找我,说因为“有其他顾客要来”,所以我们的停车问题需要解决。
可是……我们不就是顾客吗?
那天还有一组18人的预订。那群人则是骑着自行车来的。那些车并没有停在停车场里。在我们大约三小时的参观过程中,好几个桌子始终空着。
我们的摄影师在我们到达之前,大概已经和工作人员交谈了15分钟,随后他被招手示意进入,并被告知该去哪里。没人告诉他需要把车停到别处。可当我们其余的人都到达后,车辆移动竟变得极其紧急起来。
这基本上奠定了整个体验的基调。
还有葡萄酒……五只果蝇从我们的一瓶葡萄酒中飞进了酒杯里。我们把这个情况告知了他们。他们的回应是:“您需要换个新杯子吗?”
一个新杯子。
我丈夫确实对我们受到的对待表示过担忧。当其他顾客到来时,我特意终止了那个话题,因为我不想我们的经历影响到他们的体验。
所以,后来管理层指责我丈夫在宾客面前对工作人员大喊大叫时,我格外惊讶。那种情况绝对没有发生,而且我当时就在现场。
我们待了大约三个小时,也花了钱,不过说实话,当时我点餐 partly是因为觉得有义务这么做。其实我当时就想离开了。由于感觉我们并不受欢迎,我为自己给团队挑选了这家地方而感到难为情。
而从商业角度来看,最可惜的一点在于:我们一行八个人里,有八位都是企业主。这四个人各自经营着多家企业,当时他们正在认真考虑将这家酒庄作为日后可能会再次光顾的地方。
并不是因为我们配得到特殊待遇。我们并不配。
但我们绝对期望能像普通顾客那样受到对待。
遗憾的是,管理层事后的反应让情况变得更糟。他们告诉我,我们事先所做的并非“预订”,而是一场“持续三小时的会议”。
没错,那确实是一场会议。我在预订时他们就清楚那是一场会议。如果不欢迎有人组团来参加会议,那么在有人告诉你他们要带一群人来参会时,就应该说明这一点。如果有时间限制,也请说明。如果有特定的停车要求,同样需要说明。但这些信息事先都未曾告知我。
我很乐意支持本地商家。尤其喜欢向他人推荐那些我喜欢的本地企业。
可惜的是,我不会再推荐其他人来光顾这家店了,因为我不会再回来了。