Dishonest, Unprofessional behaviour from The Griffin in Illovo Junction JHB

Good Day to you all

It is with deep sadness that I feel obligated to share my experience with you, and explain how the Griffin at Illovo Junction ruined my 21st birthday.

A month before my birthday I began preparing for my party. I started early because once exams began I knew I would have very little time to sort things out. I thought I was making a wise choice when I made the decision to have my party at the Griffin, however I was wrong.

I should have realised early on how horrible the service was. It took me two weeks just to gain an initial quote and that was after I called multiple times asking for one and being placed on hold until my airtime ran out and eventually I only received my quote, that took the chef only 5 minutes to type out, but it required me going there during my exams and refusing to leave until I received a quotation.

The chef was kind enough to waive the hiring fee after I voiced my grievances and he did apologise. After this I thought we were back on track.

A week later I scheduled a meeting with the chef to discuss the menu. He agreed to the time and date given. I arrived on time with my aunt who had taken time off work to come for support. We waited for an hour and the chef was unable to see us. The manager Caleb was of no help and upon speaking to him he stated that we should only deal with the chef because the chef was the one handling the party from the beginning.

So I made another appointment to see the chef the week before my party to finalise the menu. We added in different things and made some changes. Hence I was promised a new quotation that same night by the chef. He did not send it so I reminded him the next day and I had not received a quote.

On the day of my birthday, the day I turned 21, just 3 days before my party. I received a whatsapp from the manager stating that my space had been given away to someone else who had paid their deposit.

Naturally I rushed over there and demanded an explanation. Caleb simply stated that because I hadn't paid the deposit, the space had been given away. I explained that I couldn't pay the deposit without a final quote. I didn't know how much to pay and that I was still waiting for a quote. He was rude and unhelpful.

He said that he tried to call me and that I didn't answer. I explained that today was my birthday and that I was out celebrating with friends and family as well as I didn't have the number saved so I didn't know who was calling. But that didn't matter to him. In his eyes he believed just one missed call gave him justification to give away my space for my party without evening trying to SMS me or email me.

We tried calling the chef who I was dealing with to try and sort this out, however he did not answer his phone and later on he blocked me on whatsapp.

3 days before my party. The invites have been sent. People were flying in and the management at the Griffin did not care that they had *****ed me over.

The next step was that we tried contacting the owner, Michelle. She was even more rude and unprofessional. Here only option after I explained my situation was to downgrade my party to a smaller space.

Michelle also refused to accept blame or admit that there was miscommunication between her staff. She claimed that was partly my fault. I don't know how she expected me to pay a deposit without receiving a quotation. Her excuse was that she had called me and I told her that I did receive a quote. Which was true. However this was 3 weeks ago before the changes were made and I required a new quotation. After an hour of trying to make her understand my situation, she then told me that the chef I was dealing with had taken the week off.

So now 3 days before my 21st birthday party, on my birthday I'm told that all the effort and time I had taken off from my studies to plan this party was going to waste. My situation didnt matter to her and personally I felt like all she cared about was money.

The booking that had gotten the place was bigger and obviously more expensive. I'm appalled at how both Caleb and Michelle pushed me to the side and ignored my complaints.

Money was never the issue for me. I was willing to pay for the party in full on the day they told me that the space was booked out. All I required was the quote.

Both Caleb and Michelle did not care that not only did they ruin my birthday but they also ruined my birthday party.

I left with things unresolved and with great disappointment in this establishment who couldn't even admit to their own mistakes and felt justified in ruining my birthday.