What would you ask for here?

[mbcdefg]

Back in February we rented out a little city-owned hall for DD’s first birthday party which we held yesterday. We’d put months of planning and quite a bit of money into it. We rented the hall specifically because we thought our house wouldn’t be cool enough. It got rave reviews on the city’s FB Moms group.

The hall was 86 degrees. (Outside was 88.) Everyone was sweating buckets. I had to go out for more water and a bunch of people left early telling us they couldn’t stand it.

The city had a staff member there for the duration - when we got there and MH asked her why it was so hot and could she turn up the AC, he said she fiddled with it a bit and then basically just said she didn’t know how to work it and we should ask our guests if they might know. (Her little office was nice and cool.) Guests were hanging out in a hallway and the kitchen because it was significantly cooler. People were fanning themselves and complaining the whole time.

I’m so, so angry. And incredibly embarrassed. We put a lot of work and thought into this party and the heat made it not enjoyable at all. MH and I didn’t eat anything or really get to talk to anyone other than apologizing for how hot it was. Everything came together so well then the heat ruined it.

I don’t know what we should ask for. Full refund? We were required to pay upfront. Even the place we ordered the food from said they’d used it and loved it and so would we. The guy from the city we booked it though was very nice the whole time. MH said he’ll go talk to him this week. He also said he doesn’t know how to react if they say they won’t reimburse us ... is small claims court even worth it for $600?

And the money isn’t even the point. It was just humiliating, and disappointing because all we wanted was a nice, classy party for DD. My family has a history of throwing poorly thought out, uncomfortable, cheap-looking parties and I just wanted something nicer for DD. Not fancy or $$$, just NICE.

[VillainV]

I would be pretty upset, and ask for AT LEAST a 50% refund, maybe more if it could have created a dangerous situation for elderly relatives. Because really, you can’t hold an event in an 86 degree room, and the employee whose JOB it was to help you was clueless and kind of disrespectful.

[boiler717]

First of all, what does your contract say? Does it specifically mention ac? I don’t think ac is likely to be a guarantee anywhere, unfortunately.
It really stinks this happened, and I’m so sorry. I bet it was a big deal to you than to your guests — I’m sure they thought your party was lovely and the lack of AC isn’t a reflection on you.
I would ask for $250 refund on the space, but prepare for $0.

[jennistarr1]

I am sorry, that really stinks. I would ask for a refund

[penguingrrl]

I would absolutely demand a full refund. It was unusable.

[minionkevin]

I would ask for a full refund and settle on 50% back minimum.

[krystee]

They should have called and told you beforehand so you could have canceled (with no charge) or warned any family members who are elderly or have medical conditions to stay home. They also should have offered fans or other cooling measures for you. I would request a full refund.

[Velar Fricative]

That is horrible, I’m so sorry.

If the a/c was broken, I’d like to think they would have reached out to you beforehand to warn you, and maybe had fans set up or something. So that tells me it was working and the person whose job was to supervise and ensure a smooth party didn’t have a clue. It is hot as balls here so yes, I’d demand a full refund and expect less than that, but I would expect something.

[vamoose]

I would expect a full refund. I would focus On The conditions in the building being a health hazard for your guests and how many people had to leave because of the heat. I would make sure they know you spent quite a bit on food and whatever for a party that you and your guests were not able to enjoy because of their negligence in maintaining their facilities.

[puppylove64]

You paid $600 for this place?! I would demand a refund or blast them on social media.

[cricketwife]

I agree with asking for a full refund. However, with it being a city place, I would expect squat. They are not likely to be customer service driven, sadly. I’m so sorry, that sounds truly awful.

[konapoppy]

I am so mad for you. I would definitely expect a full refund.

[brooke77]

Ugh! I’m so sorry. $600 is a lot! I would expect a full refund.

[raangoli]

I am so sorry that happened. I know how long you’ve been planning her party. I’d definitely contact the city and ask for at least a 50% refund.

The lady didn’t offer fans or something to help cool it down? I’d probably be pissed about her careless attitude and that there was nothing she could do.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I'm so sorry that happened. I would definitely ask for and expect a full refund because it sounds like your event was essentially ruined. In hindsight, you probably should have talked to the girl running the place more, and insisted she call someone who DID know how to work the AC, but even that would have taken you away from your party to deal with. If they are rude or give you a hard time about a refund, I would go all out blasting them with negative reviews online, but hopefully they will be apologetic and work with you!

[Gwen]

You are well within your rights to ask for and expect a full refund for space that was not useable. As a city owned venue, I can imagine that there is an elected official responsible for the venue. They have a staff. Begin with your contact, but if you are not satisfied with their answer or ability to reimburse you, call that official’s office with the details.

I’m so sorry that you were disappointed.

[jenny1980]

They charged $600 to rent a small city owned hall?! Yeesh! Unless you're in an area where A/C is not a given (it's not where I live), I'd absolutely ask to be refunded the rental fee.

[pugz]

Full refund and blast them on social media

[icedcoffee]

I’d want a full refund. $600 is kind of insane to begin with.

[lilac05]

I would ask for a full refund. Wait to blast anything on social media until you talk to the person who did the coordinating with you. It could be that the a/c went out that morning and the employee truly didn’t know what to do and then handled it poorly. You may speak to the coordinator and find that he is unhappy about the situation, too. I would guess that to be the case, especially since it came so highly recommended by more than one person.

When you talk to him, emphasize that you booked the Hall precisely for the a/c because you weren’t sure yours could handle it. I would avoid using the word “unusable” because you DID use it, albeit uncomfortably.

At the end of the day, though, I’m sure the guests thought you threw a lovely party and everyone is well aware that whether or not the A/C worked in the building at that moment was beyond your control. They were there to celebrate your DD, and that’s exactly what they did. If they’re used to “poorly thought out, uncomfortable, cheap-looking parties” they were probably super impressed by everything else...everything you COULD control. There’s no reason to be humiliated or embarrassed because a piece of equipment broke and the person working didn’t know what to do. That is no reflection on you. It was out of your control.

If their a/c malfunctioned, they may even be covered for the loss of your rental by insurance. I’m optimistic you’ll get your money back, at least most of it, provided there’s nothing in the contract that excludes that.

[bugandbibs]

I would ask for a full refund and file a dispute with my credit card if I didn't get it. I would 100% blast social media after you get your money back as a warning to others.

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

[isabel]

Jul 1, 2018 12:20:09 GMT -5 vamoose said:

I would expect a full refund. I would focus On The conditions in the building being a health hazard for your guests and how many people had to leave because of the heat. I would make sure they know you spent quite a bit on food and whatever for a party that you and your guests were not able to enjoy because of their negligence in maintaining their facilities.

Not to mention the health hazard of having food out in 86 degree heat. Those kinds of temperatures would cause food to spoil much more quickly than at typical indoor temps.

[Mrs.flang]

I don't think its unreasonable to ask for a full refund at all. Although I'm not sure what I'd expect or settle for, because I'm usually a pushover in these situations.

But I mostly wanted to say I'm really really sorry it didn't go as planned. I know we sometimes feel a lot of pressure and baby's 1st birthday is one of those times. I remember you put a lot of thought into the menu, and I hope you have some happy memories of the day.

[mbcdefg]

Thanks, all. MH is going to go to talk to them today to see what they say.

Re: health hazards, we had one elderly infirm person, one newborn, and several children age 1-2. 

Price was $125/hour and we booked four hours (including setup and cleanup), plus a $125 security deposit. We were there about 20 minutes after our allotted end time to clean up so there had better not be an overage fee. 

boiler717, I don't remember offhand if the contract mentioned AC (MH handled all the booking arrangements) but the brochure/website for the space definitely mentioned that it had AC and heating. 

mofongo, we're in the Newark NJ metro area. It's been really hot this past week. 

raangoli, I didn't deal with the city employee on-site but MH said he talked to her. At first she blew him off completely when he asked why the hell it was so hot ... then she just sort of poked at the AC controls and said, "IDK how to work this. Ask around with your guests to see if they know." Then pretty much just hid in her AC office adjacent to the room. No offers of fans. Apparently, as we found out after the fact, MH's cousin and even one of the daycare teachers we'd invited went in to ask her WTF was going on. 

The facility had two rooms, large and small. We rented out the large room. The small one remained locked until near the tail-end of the party when the lady unlocked it and said we could all go in there to hang out, or just transfer all our stuff in there (sternos, tablecloths, decorations, some toys out for the kids). What The Fuck. 

bugandbibs, unfortunately we paid cash (stupid us - we just wanted to get the bill out of the way) so we can't dispute a CC charge


Thank you all for your support. I don't do a whole lot of things well but I pride myself on being a good hostess, therefore I was so, so embarrassed by all of this. 

[Velar Fricative]

Did the smaller room have a working a/c?

Even if you hadn't been able to move your party into that room due to the attendance number, at the very least since it apparently wasn't booked by anyone else at the same time, they could have unlocked it earlier so people could go in there to cool off when they want to (if the answer to the above question is yes). Yeah, it would suck to move back and forth between two rooms but given this awful heat wave, I'd make do with that since the dummy that was there doesn't know how to operate an a/c.

I really hate when people post on social media before they've spoken to management and given them a chance to make things right, so I would not do that yet. If they give you a full refund, I wouldn't go on full blast but I might post in that FB group you mentioned and just let people know that if they have parties coming up there, they should check on the a/c juuuust in case. If they don't take your complaints seriously? Full blast all the way.

I'm even angrier on your behalf given the update. But I would tell you that if I were your guest, I would never blame you and your H for this.

[raangoli]

Ugh I agree that I am even more mad now knowing that there was another room that might have been a place for your guests to go and was a bit cooler.

I hope your H can speak to someone today and that he isn't like MH who goes from zero to hulk smash angry in 5 seconds when he encounters BS.

[mbcdefg]

Velar Fricative , it seems like the smaller room's AC worked better. I didn't go in but my cousin and her newborn were hanging out in there once it was opened. The kitchen was between the small and large rooms, with one of those big bar-like windows that opened into the smaller room (hope I'm making sense here!) and when I went in the kitchen for something I could tell that the smaller room was significantly cooler. We put the cake out for DD earlier than planned and when I announced it I apologized to everyone for the heat and let them know that the smaller room was open if they wanted to go in - but most people left once they'd had the cake.

Agree with you that I'm going to wait to see what kind of response MH gets before I go to social media.

raangoli , MH said the same thing, that he hopes he can control himself (verbally - violence is not a concern, just wanted to post this publicly! lol) if they wind up telling him there's nothing they can do. He said he'll bring DD with him to (a) play up their emotions and (b) help him keep cooler. (Moot point since he's now on parenting duty all summer, but you know what I mean.) He asked how quickly we could train her to pout and cry, "My birthday party was RUINED!" lolol

The man he booked the party through originally was very very nice, and I called him late last week to ask about handicap access and he was very nice to me on the phone. So I hope he doesn't give MH the runaround. We didn't get that impression from him so it's going to be very disappointing if he tells MH to buzz off. MH and I talked about it and he's going to stress the point that we'd heard good things about the room, we liked how pleasant and easy the booking process was, and if it wasn't for the excessive heat we gladly would've used it again for future events - because, really, everything wound up looking really nice and if not for the heat I would've been very very happy with the end result.

[raangoli]

mbcdefg It sounds like they will hopefully be reasonable to deal with - they might also be mortified of this happening because of the poor light it puts them in and potentially causing to lose repeat business. I think your H has a good plan. (And I also wanted to say that MH gets verbally angry, he does not ever literally Hulk smash anything )

[mbcdefg]

Jul 2, 2018 10:16:07 GMT -5 raangoli said:

mbcdefg It sounds like they will hopefully be reasonable to deal with - they might also be mortified of this happening because of the poor light it puts them in and potentially causing to lose repeat business. I think your H has a good plan. (And I also wanted to say that MH gets verbally angry, he does not ever literally Hulk smash anything )

No worries, I know what you meant <3

On a happier note, all, look at the amazing cake my brother and FSIL got for DD! It tasted fantastic, too. 

[Velar Fricative]

OMG now I want pancakes AND cake.