Rashell B.
Yelp
Hi everyone!
I have worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for 14 years, and I take most bad reviews with a grain of salt. I have waited since the incident to review because I was so incredibly upset, if I could give zero stars I would. And this review is for Roger Bubel and how terrible he made this franchises customer service look.
I booked Ben & Jerry's to cater my wedding back in February for August 11th, 2018. We chose Ben & Jerry's because we love their ice cream and aren't much of cake people. I found it fishy that they did not require a deposit for the off-site catering but I kept checking in every couple of months to follow up making sure we were all set. I was an event planner for years so it is in my nature to follow up. When I followed up via email the week of my wedding on August 8th, Roger responded with a simple:
"Unfortunately, I have just had emergency knee surgery, so I am unable to cater your Event
my apologies
Roger Bubel
Ben & Jerry's Napa"
I responded of course apologetic for his surgery but so confused how being such a large successful company, how they couldn't send anyone else out, the wedding was in 3 days and our 200 person wedding was dessert-less. I was firm but still had sympathy for him just getting surgery.
He responded to my response with:
"sorry, surgery just happened, fracture
do not know of others who cater this"
So I called the Napa location, and by that email I was under the impression he had literally just had surgery and couldn't work. Well he answered the phone. And then he went on to laugh at me and was very condescending, without ANY sincere apology. He told me to call the catering headquarters in San Francisco, which if he had any respect for the reputation of Ben & Jerry's that should be his job.
We ended up getting Cold Stone, which was fine, and their customer service was absolutely flawless, but it was not the same as having my favorite ice cream, Ben & Jerry's.
Everyone at my wedding knows of this incident because I had boasted in excitement about having Ben & Jerry's instead of cake, so naturally they were wondering what happened. I hope you take a big consideration into hiring people like Roger who really don't seem to care about the service they provide to your community, because he really needs some hospitality training. I consult in customer service, and he was atrocious to work with.
Kind regards,
Rashell