Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/20/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Special Event Factory was secured via my wedding planner, *************** for my 25th Wedding Anniversary and Vow Renewal on 9/10/22. The total cost of services for my event was $8175.16 for flowers and decor. In this purchase was a doorway garland ***** in the amount of $1875.00 which was not there for my event. This ***** was key for my reception. The owner, ************** said the flowers for *********** was lost in shipping via **** I was offered a refund in which ************: However, she could not provide until she received her funds back from the wholesaler and ****** I expressed my dissatisfaction around my delay in obtaining a full refund and that my refund was contingent upon her refund from her vendor. After going back and forth, ************ has refunded me $600 and there still is a refund balance due to me in the amount of $1275. I would like to receive my refund and avoid small claims court if possible.Thanks,***************************

  Business Response

  Date: 12/21/2022

  Thank you for your patience while I formulated a response to this complaint. The current trajectory of the email chain was unlikely to result in an outcome that would be pleasing to the clients. It did not appear that it would be beneficial to continue going back and forth while we are awaiting ******* reply, however I will explain once again the details of the is*** at hand. 
  

  They are requesting a full refund of the entire $1875 for the floral ******* where the florals were present and the greenery never arrived to us correct? While we have never have had a situation like this occur in the several years weve been in business, this is a situation to where our hands are tied. 
  
  Perhaps there was some confusion in my last email, allow me to provide some further clarification. We are not bound contractually to provide a full refund of any monies paid and we have also never agreed to refund the full amount of *********** in any communications. The total amount for *********** was $1875, we ordered greenery from our wholesaler that was lost in shipment as per ****** Ive sent the letter over from ***** with their reply for transparency as well as every communication I have received from my wholesaler. 
  
  There appears to be a disconnect on the chain of events listed below:
  
  The greenery was ordered from our distributor, they shipped however it never arrived, ***** lost it and said the shipper has to refund us. I waited for the shipper to reach out to ***** in the meanwhile I refunded the items that werent present immediately that were of my control (the florals). I emailed the wholesaler many times about the refund and they sent me $600. I immediately sent that over to the clients through PayPal. PayPal took over a week to release the funds. I reached out to the wholesaler requesting the full $800 that was paid for the greenery and they told me they sent the amount minus another order even though ***** never sent them a refund. 
  
  -It also appears that we are not aligned in how pricing works for a service and product based business such as ours.
  
  The total amount paid does not solely cover the greenery it covers the florals, materials etc.
  The funds we spent on replacing the greenery on the day of your wedding with what we could find was about $300+. We also ordered florals for *********** that arrived so as per the contract we are allowed to make changes/substitutions for situations such as these, our team added 4 ft of florals and candles (picture attached) to the base of the wedding arch as well as put additional florals on each place setting, tablescape and the fireplace mantle and sweetheart table.
  
  Also as a courtesy, they were not charged for the 10x10 Drapery that we installed on the day of after we were asked to provide it less than 48 hours prior to their wedding day.
  
  What was paid for:
  25ft of greenery ******* with florals ($1875)
  
  What was provided:
  10x10 Drapery ($150)
  4 ft of greenery ******* at the base of the wedding arch with candles ($195/ft= $780)
  Replacement greenery cost to us ($300+)
  Total: Approximately $1200
  Client was Refunded: $600

  The client also stated they did not sign the contract, however our records show that it was viewed as well as once an invoice is paid that constitutes as an agreement to the said contract. As per our contract, there is a Force Majeure Clause in which states that "when and to the extent such failure or delay is caused by or results from acts beyond the impacted partys (Special Event Factory) control . The Impacted Party shall use diligent efforts to end the failure or delay and ensure the effects of such Force Majeure Event are minimized. The Impacted Party shall resume the performance of its obligations as soon as reasonably practicable after the removal of the cause.
  
  We have done everything on our end to fulfill the obligations within the contract and have refunded the items that were under our control. We have also gifted the client an $175/complimentary arrangement on her birthday as a good faith offering to appease her while she loved the florals as per her email, she is still not satisfied and threatened to *** our small business.