"Great food, terrible service"
Des Moines, IA
July 19, 2011
McElroy's catered my brother's wedding a couple of weeks ago. The food was wonderful, but everything els about the experience was terrible. It would appear that, despite several months advanced notice, they were unable to staff the event appropriately. The catering staff on site requested assistance not only from the event facility staff, but also from the family/guests attending the wedding. As the Personal Attendant, I was approached several times for assistance in serving the head table. Though I was happy to help make the reception go as smoothly as possible, it was the responsibility of their staff to ensure that the event was adequately staffed, and serving was covered. Asking any guest to serve (whether they are related or not) is simply unacceptable. The dinner service was packed up immediately after the initial group went through the buffet line. Several guests were not served at all, and had to rely on leftover sandwiches. No one had the opportunity to go back for second helpings, even though there were servings for approximately 70 additional guests. The family had the understanding that, at the very least, everyone attending the reception would have an opportunity to enjoy the meal if they chose to do so, and that was not the case. When the dinner service was cleared, the catering staff approached the father of the groom and demanded immediate payment. The staff made it clear that gratuity was not included in the overall fee. Their website, as well as the signed contract indicate that an invoice would be sent following the reception, and that payment was expected a week afterward. My father missed several wedding reception events as he was looking for his checkbook to pay your staff while the reception was still going on. The entire experience negatively affected the wedding reception. Several friends were planning to use their services, but have since cancelled due to the poor level of service.
This is the subjective opinion of an independent reviewer and not of Decidio, Inc.