ComplaintsforCrystal Ballroom Franchises LLC

• Initial Complaint

  03/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have tried to resolve my complaints and issue with the Crystal Ballroom franchise, but nothing has been resolved. ***** from the Crystal Ballroom in ***************** location has not been cooperative with returning my phone calls. She is aware of my situation but refusing to resolve or call me back. On February 18, 2024 I had my daughter's event take place at the Crystal Ballroom. Things seemed to be going well until I was told from many guest that they were denied food that I had paid and catered for from a chef that I personally hired. I personally had paid for extra food so that my guest can be feed well. I was also told that the crystal ballroom staff members had packed the extra food up in their personal food containers and was taken home by them. In our contract any extra food that was left over at the end of the night all of it belongs to me. The staff members are not allowed to take any food home. But they did. I immediately reached out to the Crystal ballroom on February 19th and made them aware of the situation that occurred. But I was told that I had to speak to the head of the Crystal ballroom which is a woman name *****. I tried calling ***** that very same day, but she was not in the office and that she was first on vacation but then sick and that she would get back to me the following Monday. The following Monday she never called me. I felt as if they we giving me the run a round and ignoring my phone calls. I finally was able to call her and she finally picked up the phone after trying for so many days. We spoke about what had happened. She said to give her a few days so that she can check the cameras to see what happened. I told her I have my catering receipts of what was ordered and how much, and she told me to send it to ******* did. ***** finally responded with that she reviewed the cameras and that I was correct and that the staff members did in fact take food home. She stated that on March 5th she was going to send a check to reimburse me $500. Don't know where she came up with that *** when in fact I know that I had a lot more food left over than just $500. Also dessert were never replenished and that was also taken and not returned to me at the end of the night. The contract states that all foods are supposed to be returned to the client and as of today I 'm still waiting for a refund, & an apology.

  Business response

  05/08/2024

  Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. Please note that Crystal Ballroom Franchises is not directly associated with Crystal Ballroom *****************. However, we have taken the time to thoroughly investigate the issue you reported. According to our records, upon receiving the complaint, the client was offered a compensation equal to the amount of plates and our staff that were allegedly involved. Additionally, our review of the video recordings shows that the client and her husband were present during the food distribution and at no point did they express dissatisfaction.
  Based on these findings, Crystal Ballroom Franchises cannot provide further solutions at this time. We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your attention.
  

  Customer response

  05/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21489315
  
  I am rejecting this response because the compensation that ***** came up with I never agreed on. She took it upon herself to say here is $500 and that is all because that is all that was taken. I have spent over $5,500 on food and for her to think that $500 is sufficient is an insult to me. I had forward her all of my receipts from my chef.  This is not including my dessert's and cake bill, which she did not take into account when she did her accounting. Yes, they even took desserts home too.
  Unfortunately I heard that this is something that happens quite frequently at this venue, and that this is human nature for them to take things (food and liquor)  that dont belong to them and then act as if its the customers fault or problem. The audacity to admit that they are at fault and then recount that when someone writes a bad review is insulting. My satisfied compensation would be $1000 reimbursement. 
  Yes, they did in fact send me $500 but I had told her that this is not sufficient enough to at least send me an additional $500 to compensate all of my loses. And to be honest this is something that Im willing to accept although I know it should be a bit more. 
  Also to answer the question about my husband and I were watching them is not true. We were conversing with our guest while they were on the line for the food. I had no idea that I had to literally watch the servers serve my guest the food that I bought. Its disgusting that this is what youre implying that I knew when I did not because if I did, I would have said something right then and there to your servers. 
  Also this is why I had paid for this type of service from your venue. I expect to be able to just sit and relax and mingle with everyone without any worries. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Booked a wedding for my daughter for a November 9,2024 . Paid the deposit of ***** and also made 3 payments towards the wedding of ***** . I called to cancel the wedding, my daughter and her fianc started having second thoughts to a large wedding, my daughter was having anxiety issues and an ulcer due to the stress of planning this wedding, my daughter also was feeling extremely guilty that this wedding was causing such a financial burden on me , I have had to take odd and end jobs to make the payments of ***** monthly for 11 months . When I spoke to ******************* our wedding coordinator with the Crystal Ballroom on Monday to cancel I was informed that not only will the deposit not be refunded but the three payments I made towards the wedding will not be refunded, I actually made an extra payment to be ahead a little . I was told to read the contract that it was stated in the contract. Which it was , however with giving over 11 months notice to cancel, re- booking that date will be very easy . There was no justification as to why the added payments would not be refunded. I am so distressed over the thought of paying over $6,042.00 and receiving any money back even though the venue has ample time to book another event for the date .

  Business response

  12/28/2023

  To whom the may concern,
  
  
     My name is ***** and I am the owner of Event Venue *******, DBA Crystal Ballroom ************* located at ************************************************************, ** *****, franchise location of Crystal Ballroom.
  
  
  I would like to explain the full lifespan of ************************ from start to finish of what we have been through together since her booking here in October 17, 2022.
  
  
  When she, as well as every client of ours, books with our venue we have a contract of our terms and conditions that we have our client(s) read through, initial and sign prior to making any type of payment and deposit to ensure they understand and have the opportunity to ask any questions that they would like. Each section of our contract that speaks about money, includes a section for them to initial, to acknowledge and agreement to the terms. Along with the contract we have package options that our client(s) go through and choose to ensure they are staying within their comfort level through the process. We fully recognize that wedding can add up very quickly. Which is why our company is so unique and popular because we are an all inclusive production styled venue with all design and decor, planner, florals, lighting, rentals, ************. included to keep costs to a minimum overall. We also do not charge extra for the peek season.
  
  
  With our experience with ************************, her and her daughter (*******************) had chosen one our most expensive options. A Saturday evening, our middle tier package. (gold package) with an a la carte of an outdoor ceremony and a photo booth upgrade. At the time of booking our clients are not obligated to start so high up if they do not want to. They can always upgrade with us over time to keep their monthly installments lower, they just can not back track as we state in one of the last terms in our contract.
  
  
  Following her making a deposit with us on October 17, 2022 for the event date of Saturday October 28, 2023, the client had reach out to us to request to change the date from the original booked date to a new date of Saturday November 9, **** to give themselves more time to pay everything off in a more comfortable manor. We sent her an addendum to the contract and waived the date change fee of $1,500 for the new date in good business faith to the client. Additionally, we will note that we never did end up reselling the original booked date of October 28, 2023.
  
  
  Since that had taken place, the client had made one early voluntary event payment on April 17, 2023 in check form for the amount of $1,514.10 and then one on time payment made November 13, 2023. Following that event payment in November the groom, ***********************, had reached out via text message too Kat in a not so kind manner giving an ultimatum of us moving the event time or they would have to look elsewhere for another venue and cancel with us. (We have clear time slots for the events (11am-3pm or 6pm-11pm) as it is very common that we run a morning wedding then we have our production team flip everything for an evening event) So as to protect each investment we are strategic with the event time blocks which are communicated ahead of time. We came to making another acceptation for the client with starting 60 minutes earlier than the time slot was booked for, again in good business faith, to help keep the client happy and while making a plan with our production team on how we will make the event set up happen in a good timely manner to start at 5:00pm instead of 6pm. All of this communication took place via text between the dates of November 27, 2023 through November 28, 2023 which we will happy to provide if screenshots of those texts exchanged as well of our communication as well if needed.
  
  
  Following this encounter via text, *** received a phone call from ************************ on December 18, 2023 verbalizing that the wedding will no longer be taking place and asked what the cancellation and refund policy is. *** had responded that if you choose to cancel at any time any funds paid forth to the date will be deemed final sale and are non refundable and non transferable to another date or contract holder. After making that response, It is my understanding between this phone call as well as one other phone call that ********************** had made to Kat where ************************ had made *** feel very uncomfortable as the client continued to yell at her, threaten her and tell her how unreasonable she was being. She continued on the second phone call to *** to threaten that she will be obtaining a lawyer and further in that conversation how her husband is her attorney (we have yet to hear anything from him), going to the news to say how horrible we are and will post on ******** for clients to not utilize our services (which she did post on well over ***************************** the comments of her side of the story framing us to be the bad guys, which we had taken those stories down and reported her as harassment as well as blocked her from our page) as well as threaten to show up to the venue on November 9, **** just to see if we will resell the date to another client. *** had only one option at that point since the client had escalated so quickly to that nature and *** had a very little ability to say anything over the phone without interruption from the client, but to explain how if their is an attorney being obtained, she would upon the advice of council need to seize her communication and if the client will go into public saving to not utilize our services that we would create a countersuit for slander. This is the very very last resort that we ever want to have to use, but when something is being pushed so far over the edge, your options become only to a few choices of how to proceed.
  
  
  We as a company take extreme pride of how we conduct business and want each and every client to be happy at the end of the day. However, we are an individually owned and operated business that is franchised out. It make look to many that we are something so big but we are still small with one owner. We take it very seriously to ensure each client understand the terms of how the wedding business works. We sell dates. It is not something tangible but instead a service for which over the last year administrative work, planners, payroll, taxes, overhead, commissions, etc. is all covered from these monthly installments that each client makes. If we were to change dates or offer refunds to each request, we would not have our doors open today nor would we have any bit of consistency for anything (clients, dates, vendors, staff, overhead, etc.) which is why we have everything structured and explained upfront to each person who walks in our doors. In our eyes, consistency is the key to our success or any business for that matter. We have worked extremely hard to make sure all details are always communicated to each client and what the experience with us will be like. This is a big reason we hold the most 5 star ****** reviews in our entire Crystal Ballroom company as well as being one of the best serviced venues in North *******. (We invite you to please ****** us and read our reviews as it is our biggest pride.)
  
  
  The most important note we would also like to make is, towards the end of the first phone call on December 18, 2023 between Kat and ************************ is the mention that the bride (******) and groom (******) did in fact elope over that weekend without discussing the penalties it would leave ************************ in. We will attach an email that she had also stated with her mentioning of that as well as it looks like the client had forgotten to mention that in her claim. Many venues as well as wedding insurances would not even cover such circumstances including but not limited to change of heart or unforeseen events and acts of god so we feel in taking into consideration all of the encounters and aceptions that we have made for this client, we have only done in pure good faith and good business as we strive to deliver great customer service. However, we are obligated to work within our contracted and agreed upon terms.
  
  
  We hope this letter of explanation and response will help and thank you sincerely for your time.
  
  
  *****************************
  Owner 

  Customer response

  01/04/2024

   
  Complaint: 21041192
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I tried in good faith to request my payments made , it was actually 3 payments made in the amount of  $4,557.00 . I was indeed rude during my conversations with *******************, with that being said she was rude and snippy as well . I did state I would look into getting an attorney and discuss what options I have , I also mentioned my husband graduated from ************* but never stated that he would represent me in this case . I have made posts on the Crystal Ballrooms ******** page, but never stated anything fictitious or vulgar just the fact that any payments made beside the deposit for any future interests customers would not be refunded just stated what I was told by ******************* . I also requested to speak to the proprietor of the business which I was never given the opportunity to , so reading the response from ***** now seems a little late and also still no justification as to why the payments made toward the wedding venue cannot be refunded. Like I stated there is plenty of notice given that another event can be booked on that date. I also dont think it unreasonable to see if there is an event that will be booked on that date since in reality it cost me $6,057.00 with the deposit and payments and none of it be refunded. So as to my complaint, I still believe that requesting my payments is within reason and an effort should be made to return the funds. 
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  01/30/2024

  The original statement and explanation that was made on Thursday December 28, 2023 still stands.

  Customer response

  02/06/2024

   
  Complaint: 21041192
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I have requested on several occasions for justification as to what money or income was lost due to this cancellation, keeping the 3 payments made toward the cancelled wedding . Plenty of notice was given and the venue will re-book the November 9, **** date , I am more than willing to allow the venue to keep the $1500.00 deposit, however , not refunding the $4,500 made in 3 $1,500 payments have no justification or impact on the venue since no money was spent and plenty of notice of cancellation. So once again I am requesting the refund of the 3 payments of $4,500 . This request does not seem unreasonable since no funds were spent . 
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  02/09/2024

  The original statement and explanation that was made on Thursday December 28, 2023 still stands.

  Customer response

  02/17/2024

   
  Complaint: 21041192
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  The Crystal Ballroom has yet to disclose what costs have incurred to justify the reasoning of not returning the payments made toward the cancelled wedding. Once again plenty of notice was given so the date can be booked again, I have called , emailed requesting the return of the 3 payments  of $1,500 totaling over $4,530.00 . There was also a $1,500.00 deposit which I am aware will not be refunded if the wedding is cancelled. Making the 3 payments was difficult to make and actually one payment was an early payment, and the company is refusing to even refund that payment. This is not acceptable to refuse any refunds , its also not a very professional and honorable way to conduct a business. Once again I am requesting the 3 payments that were made toward the wedding that was canceled with ample time to rebook the venue on the November 9th **** date . I have requested to speak with the proprietor and I have not be contacted. Once again no justification as to money lost that gives the company the right to keep the payments made towards a wedding  that was cancelled so far in advanced. 
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Complaint against: Crystal Ballroom Casselberry FL and Crystal Ballroom Home Office Daytona Beach FL Nature: Refund Status for failed wedding contract Amount: $2,713 Myself, ***** ****, and ***** ****** booked a wedding venue (Crystal Ballroom Casselberry FL) on March 16, 2023. The wedding was to take place February 17, 2024. We agreed to a contract and payment plan for the wedding and began making payments starting March 17, 2023. March’s payment was $1,000, followed by April 14, 2023 for $1,000, our last payment was August 14, 2023 for $713. This totals to $2,713. We then received notice that the Casselberry FL location was shutting down on September 26, 2023. Crystal Ballroom offered us different locations to fulfill the original wedding contract or a full refund. We then attempted to book the Lake Mary FL location however, they informed us that there would be a price difference where we could owe more thus failing to fulfill the original contract. We then requested a refund on September 27, 2023. A follow up email was supposed to be received from Crystal ballroom on October 13, 2023 however we did not receive anything. That same day I called the Casselberry FL location where we originally booked the venue to inquire about the status of the refund. The Casselberry location informed me they do not deal with refunds and I would have to follow up with their corporate office in Daytona Beach FL. I then called the Crystal Ballroom Home Office and was informed to send an email to them and they would follow up. I sent an email that same day on October 13, 2023 asking for the status of the refund and when we could expect to receive it. We finally received an update on October 16 2023. The email was very ambiguous and did not answer when we were going to receive the refund. As of now November 12, 2023 it has been 46 days since we requested the refund. There have not been any updates from Crystal Ballroom since October 16 2023.

  Business response

  11/13/2023

  Hello,
  We would like to extend our sincere apologies for any inconvenience our clients may have experienced in recent times regarding the management of our Crystal Ballroom Casselberry location. Your feedback and concerns are of utmost importance to us, and we appreciate the patience and understanding during this transition period.
  Mr. Eli V******, who was responsible for the operation of our Casselberry venue, recently made the decision to resign from his role. This unexpected development had a significant impact not only on our valued clients  but also on the local community.
  In light of Mr. V******'s departure, our corporate office had to step in swiftly to address the various challenges that arose, including the loss of the opportunity to renew the current lease. We understand that this situation led to concerns among our clients, and we want to assure you that we have been working diligently to find solutions.
  I'm pleased to inform you that we were able to successfully transfer events to new dates for approximately 95% of the affected clients. However, we acknowledge that a small number of clients felt it necessary to request refunds due to a loss of trust in our brand. We want to assure you that our accounting office, located in Daytona Beach, is fully committed to processing these refunds promptly. We understand the importance of resolving these matters as swiftly as possible.
  Please bear in mind that taking over a business that was not in the best shape presented us with unforeseen challenges. As a management company based in Daytona Beach, we stepped in with the intention of stabilizing and revitalizing the Crystal Ballroom Casselberry. We ask for continued patience as we work diligently to address all outstanding issues.
  We are committed to providing all our clients with exceptional service, and we understand that clear and prompt communication is vital. Moving forward, we will ensure that all emails and inquiries are responded to promptly to prevent any future concerns or complaints.
  Once again, we apologize for any inconveniences you may have faced during this transition. We value your patronage and look forward to serving you better in the future.
  Best regards,
  Crystal Ballroom Franchises

  Customer response

  11/23/2023

  11/20/23, the refund check was finally received. Thank Better Business Bureau for assisting with this matter. 

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