Complaint Review: Big City Chefs - San Diego California

Although it's been years since this incident, I just came across this report online and thought it would be helpful to correct several false statements contained in it. This is a very simple contractual case. We contracted with the customer to cater their wedding and make their wedding cake. Two weeks before the wedding, the customer's venue informed us that we would need to provide it with an Additional Insured Endorsement for workers' compensation insurance. We explained that our chefs worked as independent contractors on large catered events, meaning that under California law, we were not required to carry workers' compensation insurance and instead carried General Liability Insurance. Since we did not carry Workers' Compensation insurance, we could not provide it to the venue, and the venue did not allow us to work there. At no time did we cancel or refuse to provide insurance information; rather, the venue decided that we could not work there at that time, and we were booted off of the event after many meetings, tastings, and discussions. We did revise our contract to contain only the wedding cake, which was to be delivered in the afternoon at the venue. My chef confirmed with me that she had made the delivery at the venue and been told where she could leave it by a service person, although no wedding party guests or staff had yet arrived at this point. We had previously contracted with a number of clients for a number of wedding cakes, all of which have always been delivered. We had contracted with hundreds of clients for other events and have always fulfilled their orders. There is no reason to assume that we would not have actually shown up, and there is no evidence that we did not arrive. The customer's assertion that we never delivered the cake is not correct. What is correct, however, is that the client called us several hours after the cake's delivery asking where it was. I called Chef Williams, who was already working on a different event in San Jose, 45 miles away, for the evening, and she described the area where she left it, but the client was unable to find it. We were very distraught over the situation and since Chef Williams was engaged at another job for the evening and our company office and myself were 500 miles away, I in fact asked my mother (whom for some reason the client doubts was my mother despite our shared last name) to drive 25 miles to the location to see if the cake may have been thrown away, as we suspected it might have been dropped or damaged by a venue maintenance person and cleaned up. We did not suggest that the client would have thrown it out, as that makes no sense. And at no point did we tell the client that Chef Williams was "on her way," as we had made it clear that she could not leave her other job. This is why my mother stepped in. My mother, while being screamed at, searched the premises, supervised the maintenance staff's search of the trash, but also found no evidence of the cake. Although we could not locate the cake and to this day have not solved the mystery of its disappearance, the responsibility of its absence laid with us. We should have obtained a receipt from a venue staff or maintenance person in order to trace its whereabouts and to hand off the post-delivery responsibility. Since we did not, we agreed the next day to immediately refund the customer's payment in full, and we credited the full amount on their credit card immediately. As it may take several weeks for credits to appear on credit cards, the customer may not have seen the credit within one week, but it had already been made, and the customer's assertion that we had taken her money and not refunded her is false and potentially libelous. The bottom line is that we contracted with her for a cake, she did not receive the cake, and we refunded her money as any respectable business would do. She was not "ripped off." A last point of libelous and false information is the customer's assertion that I had not been or am "no longer licensed" with the California State Bar. This is completely false. I am, in fact, a fully licensed member of the State Bar in good standing, and am currently registered on a voluntary "inactive" status that many bar members choose when not actually representing clients as an attorney. However, it does not affect my license or my ability to practice law at any time if I choose to return to "active" status by updating my records with the State Bar. The customer's statement that I am no longer licensed is potentially damaging to by legal reputation and, because it is false, may be legally actionable as libel. I appreciate the opportunity to correct the false information contained in the customer's report, especially that which may legally be proven to be libelous. While I understand the customer's emotional words and was myself very upset that the missing item was, of all things, a wedding cake, the customer is opening herself up to significant potential legal liability by making false and damaging statements. This was really a very straightforward contractual matter that we took care of quickly and fairly by offering an immediate and full refund. Please visit our website or other review sites to read our many wonderful testimonials.

Although it's been years since this incident, I just came across this report online and thought it would be helpful to correct several false statements contained in it. This is a very simple contractual case. We contracted with the customer to cater their wedding and make their wedding cake. Two weeks before the wedding, the customer's venue informed us that we would need to provide it with an Additional Insured Endorsement for workers' compensation insurance. We explained that our chefs worked as independent contractors on large catered events, meaning that under California law, we were not required to carry workers' compensation insurance and instead carried General Liability Insurance. Since we did not carry Workers' Compensation insurance, we could not provide it to the venue, and the venue did not allow us to work there. At no time did we cancel or refuse to provide insurance information; rather, the venue decided that we could not work there at that time, and we were booted off of the event after many meetings, tastings, and discussions. We did revise our contract to contain only the wedding cake, which was to be delivered in the afternoon at the venue. My chef confirmed with me that she had made the delivery at the venue and been told where she could leave it by a service person, although no wedding party guests or staff had yet arrived at this point. We had previously contracted with a number of clients for a number of wedding cakes, all of which have always been delivered. We had contracted with hundreds of clients for other events and have always fulfilled their orders. There is no reason to assume that we would not have actually shown up, and there is no evidence that we did not arrive. The customer's assertion that we never delivered the cake is not correct. What is correct, however, is that the client called us several hours after the cake's delivery asking where it was. I called Chef Williams, who was already working on a different event in San Jose, 45 miles away, for the evening, and she described the area where she left it, but the client was unable to find it. We were very distraught over the situation and since Chef Williams was engaged at another job for the evening and our company office and myself were 500 miles away, I in fact asked my mother (whom for some reason the client doubts was my mother despite our shared last name) to drive 25 miles to the location to see if the cake may have been thrown away, as we suspected it might have been dropped or damaged by a venue maintenance person and cleaned up. We did not suggest that the client would have thrown it out, as that makes no sense. And at no point did we tell the client that Chef Williams was "on her way," as we had made it clear that she could not leave her other job. This is why my mother stepped in. My mother, while being screamed at, searched the premises, supervised the maintenance staff's search of the trash, but also found no evidence of the cake. Although we could not locate the cake and to this day have not solved the mystery of its disappearance, the responsibility of its absence laid with us. We should have obtained a receipt from a venue staff or maintenance person in order to trace its whereabouts and to hand off the post-delivery responsibility. Since we did not, we agreed the next day to immediately refund the customer's payment in full, and we credited the full amount on their credit card immediately. As it may take several weeks for credits to appear on credit cards, the customer may not have seen the credit within one week, but it had already been made, and the customer's assertion that we had taken her money and not refunded her is false and potentially libelous. The bottom line is that we contracted with her for a cake, she did not receive the cake, and we refunded her money as any respectable business would do. She was not "ripped off." A last point of libelous and false information is the customer's assertion that I had not been or am "no longer licensed" with the California State Bar. This is completely false. I am, in fact, a fully licensed member of the State Bar in good standing, and am currently registered on a voluntary "inactive" status that many bar members choose when not actually representing clients as an attorney. However, it does not affect my license or my ability to practice law at any time if I choose to return to "active" status by updating my records with the State Bar. The customer's statement that I am no longer licensed is potentially damaging to by legal reputation and, because it is false, may be legally actionable as libel. I appreciate the opportunity to correct the false information contained in the customer's report, especially that which may legally be proven to be libelous. While I understand the customer's emotional words and was myself very upset that the missing item was, of all things, a wedding cake, the customer is opening herself up to significant potential legal liability by making false and damaging statements. This was really a very straightforward contractual matter that we took care of quickly and fairly by offering an immediate and full refund. Please visit our website or other review sites to read our many wonderful testimonials.

Although it's been years since this incident, I just came across this report online and thought it would be helpful to correct several false statements contained in it. This is a very simple contractual case. We contracted with the customer to cater their wedding and make their wedding cake. Two weeks before the wedding, the customer's venue informed us that we would need to provide it with an Additional Insured Endorsement for workers' compensation insurance. We explained that our chefs worked as independent contractors on large catered events, meaning that under California law, we were not required to carry workers' compensation insurance and instead carried General Liability Insurance. Since we did not carry Workers' Compensation insurance, we could not provide it to the venue, and the venue did not allow us to work there. At no time did we cancel or refuse to provide insurance information; rather, the venue decided that we could not work there at that time, and we were booted off of the event after many meetings, tastings, and discussions. We did revise our contract to contain only the wedding cake, which was to be delivered in the afternoon at the venue. My chef confirmed with me that she had made the delivery at the venue and been told where she could leave it by a service person, although no wedding party guests or staff had yet arrived at this point. We had previously contracted with a number of clients for a number of wedding cakes, all of which have always been delivered. We had contracted with hundreds of clients for other events and have always fulfilled their orders. There is no reason to assume that we would not have actually shown up, and there is no evidence that we did not arrive. The customer's assertion that we never delivered the cake is not correct. What is correct, however, is that the client called us several hours after the cake's delivery asking where it was. I called Chef Williams, who was already working on a different event in San Jose, 45 miles away, for the evening, and she described the area where she left it, but the client was unable to find it. We were very distraught over the situation and since Chef Williams was engaged at another job for the evening and our company office and myself were 500 miles away, I in fact asked my mother (whom for some reason the client doubts was my mother despite our shared last name) to drive 25 miles to the location to see if the cake may have been thrown away, as we suspected it might have been dropped or damaged by a venue maintenance person and cleaned up. We did not suggest that the client would have thrown it out, as that makes no sense. And at no point did we tell the client that Chef Williams was "on her way," as we had made it clear that she could not leave her other job. This is why my mother stepped in. My mother, while being screamed at, searched the premises, supervised the maintenance staff's search of the trash, but also found no evidence of the cake. Although we could not locate the cake and to this day have not solved the mystery of its disappearance, the responsibility of its absence laid with us. We should have obtained a receipt from a venue staff or maintenance person in order to trace its whereabouts and to hand off the post-delivery responsibility. Since we did not, we agreed the next day to immediately refund the customer's payment in full, and we credited the full amount on their credit card immediately. As it may take several weeks for credits to appear on credit cards, the customer may not have seen the credit within one week, but it had already been made, and the customer's assertion that we had taken her money and not refunded her is false and potentially libelous. The bottom line is that we contracted with her for a cake, she did not receive the cake, and we refunded her money as any respectable business would do. She was not "ripped off." A last point of libelous and false information is the customer's assertion that I had not been or am "no longer licensed" with the California State Bar. This is completely false. I am, in fact, a fully licensed member of the State Bar in good standing, and am currently registered on a voluntary "inactive" status that many bar members choose when not actually representing clients as an attorney. However, it does not affect my license or my ability to practice law at any time if I choose to return to "active" status by updating my records with the State Bar. The customer's statement that I am no longer licensed is potentially damaging to by legal reputation and, because it is false, may be legally actionable as libel. I appreciate the opportunity to correct the false information contained in the customer's report, especially that which may legally be proven to be libelous. While I understand the customer's emotional words and was myself very upset that the missing item was, of all things, a wedding cake, the customer is opening herself up to significant potential legal liability by making false and damaging statements. This was really a very straightforward contractual matter that we took care of quickly and fairly by offering an immediate and full refund. Please visit our website or other review sites to read our many wonderful testimonials.

Most of the refunds are done by reversing a credit card transaction. The editor here explains the process. Search for it. Possibly, a check could be reversed in a similar manner. I'm not sure, because I never use checks. Did you check out Big city before you hired them? What other local weddings did they do? Were the clients satisfied? No worker's comp? Gee, that doesn't look good! When I see that, I know the place is running on empty. Time to make other plans. Paid in full in advance? Another bad move! The food is cheap. It's the time and service that costs the big money. They really shouldn't need a big deposit up-front. Again, I'd walk away on that point too. Trust a business with something as important as a wedding day? Nope! Sorry! I'd have picked up the cake the night before, in person. Then, it would either go into my home fridge, or else the one at the location. I count on the world to cheat me and screw things up. So, I always take precautions, and err on the safe side. Trust me, no cake was thrown out. It was never delivered in the first case. But, in court, they could make a reasonable doubt. Hopefully, they will lose enough business from your complaint that they might consider paying you to resolve the matter in this public forum. Best of luck!