ComplaintsforRed Restaurant Group LLC

• Initial Complaint

  08/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Restaurant states my Gift Card is invalid & will Not accept my cards

• Initial Complaint

  04/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  When came here recently, there were two hostesses at the front--a blonde and a brunette. The brunette was very pleasant and let us in the restaurant a few minutes early. The blonde complained loudly that she was tired and needed a shot. When the restaurant opened at 4:30pm she was eating snacks at the hostess stand. Our waiter, Mark, was not very good. We brought up the issue about the blonde hostess and he never got the manager. I noticed later in the meal that a long brown hair was in my water (that I'd been drinking the entire time) and the waiter did not alert management nor do anything to make this right. I brought these issues up to one of the managers, Toni, via email. We spoke on the phone and she was defensive, she made excuses for the poor service by the hostess and waiter instead of apologizing for them, she was flippant, unprofessional and combative. Her actions and tone made it clear that she was agitated with me, did not care about my business and had no sympathy for the poor service that my husband and I experienced. Worst of all, she took NO responsibility for what happened. She clearly does not have the skillset to handle customer issues. Also, the blonde hostess (who I originally called plump in the review) retaliated against me by illegally obtaining my phone number from my reservation. She sent me a CashApp request for $50 (the picture was of an individual flipping me off) and said "For trying to humiliate a girl at work, shame on you." I brought this up to Toni on 4/25 during our conversation. She asked me to send her an email with this information and I did. Also, my email expressed how I didn't appreciate Toni's unprofessional and rude behavior during our conversation. I never received a response about the breach of privacy nor have I received a sincere apology. Also, calling someone plump is a description, not body-shaming. Toni stepped way out of line when she accused me of body-shaming and that was highly unprofessional.

  Business response

  05/14/2023

  Hello,

  The guest that submitted this complaint was contacted by our HR and Service manager.  She was unsatisfied with the resolution.

  The guest and her companion we welcomed into the restaurant roughly 20 minutes prior to our opening time of 4:30pm due to the cold temperatures.  From 4pm to 4:30pm we have a meeting with our team and provide "family meal" for dinner.  Our main dining room is small.  We do not have a private waiting area for guests.  Our staff was eating family meal as we do every shift.  

  ******* ******* posted a body shaming review on Open Table.  She described the blonde host as plump.  This is a public facing post and we find it absolutely unacceptable to speak in such a cruel manager about anyone let alone a young woman who was confronted with this review.  We contacted Open Table regarding this review to which they agreed to take it down.  This is a very rare occurrence.  They agreed that the body shaming was inappropriate for their platform.  During her call with our HR manager ******* stated that "I am within my rights as a customer to post a review describing people however I please".  We have a copy of this email.   As a company we do not support this type of behavior and find it as said unacceptable and bullying.  Furthermore during *******'s phone call she became irate.  She was screaming and threatening.  We do not support any of our team members to be treated in this manner.  ******* was offered another time to have a call as it was becoming untenable.  She refused.

  After ******* *******'s phone call she sent an email making an accusation that the host in question had sent her a cashapp request.  The account information she provided does not match the hosts cashapp profile name or photo.  As such we cannot confirm that this is an accurate accusation. 

  Please let me know if you need any addtional information.  

   

  Customer response

  05/15/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.] 

   

  I have attached documents that fact check what the manager, Toni L******, has stated. She is currently lying to save face. Regarding her statement that we arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes early is a lie. We called at 15:20 CST (4:20pm EST) to request if we can arrive early. We entered the restaurant at 4:22pm EST. There was NO family dinner going on at the time. The staff was preparing to open. Once the restaurant opened at 4:30pm, the blonde hostess was the ONLY person eating at the hostess stand. We were seated at our table at 4:30 (when the restaurant was open) and we WATCHED her eating while she was at the hostess stand. You can check your video surveillance to verify this fact. 

  Also, the manager who responded to my email, Toni, lied about our phone conversation. I never threatened nor bullied her. I did become angry when she became combative with me when she called me to discuss my experience. Instead of asking me questions about what happened, she immediately chastised me over the alleged "body shaming." Calling the hostess plump is a description and not body shaming. Toni is using this to deflect blame and shift focus away from the poor experience that I had at your restaurant. However, when I asked her did she want me to change the review that called the hostess plump she told me 'No." However, I did change my review on both Google and Yelp. Also, I changed my review from 2 starts to 1 star due to Toni's rudeness when we spoke on the phone. 

  When I brought up the issue with Cash App she said that she was going to investigate and follow up with me. She asked me to send her an email with photos of the person who hacked my Cash App. She told me verbatim that, "We will continue this conversation at a later time." I never refused to be contact again. I made it clear that I wanted her to follow up with me. I sent her an email (attached above) on April 25th that had a copy of the Cash App request that the hostess sent me. Also, I expressed how I did not appreciate her rude, dismissive and flippant attitude over the phone. I told her that my legal team will be investigating the alleged breach of privacy. Toni never responded and my email was ignored. As a result, I filed a report with the better business bureau on April 28th. Once again, the management team did not respond to my complaint via the Better Business Bureau.

  I reached out to the restaurant again on May 14 and asked why no one had followed up with me. On May 15th, the management staff mentioned that they could only respond via the Better Business Bureau. And after weeks of silence, the same manager, Toni, replies to my complaint on the BBB. If I had not reached out, she would never have responded. 

  Toni L****** has continuously lied, attacked my character, and consistently tries to deflect blame by shifting focus away from the poor customer service that both she and her staff provided during our visit. She continues to harp on "body shaming" in order shift focus away from the lack of professionalism and unsanitary conditions that I experienced while dining here on April 22nd. She lied about performing an investigation into whether the hostess illegally obtained my phone number in order to send me a rude Cash App request as retaliation for posting a negative review. She lied about our conversation on the phone. She lied about the time that I arrived at the restaurant. She spends more time lying and deflecting than trying to make things right. 

  Also, my Open Table review was not removed. See the attached document of my review posted on April 27th. I was never contacted by Open Table stating that my review was removed or violated any guidelines. I need to speak to some else on the management team at the restaurant other than Toni L******. She is an unprofessional, vindictive liar and she should be fired. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ****** *******
  
  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My complaint is that the RED restaurant will not honor a gift card that I presented to them on December 30, 2022. The gift card is for $250 from the RED Restaurant Group that was given to me as a gift in December of 2017. The card was misplaced and then covid happened. I would like an equitable resolution from the business for the $250 gift card.

• Initial Complaint

  02/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I received a gift card certificate to the restaurant in June, 2019 as a retirement gift from my company. The certificate was for $200. The gift certificate is administered by **** ****** and has no expiration date. I made a reservation to dine at Red for December 17, 2021. My wife and I had great service and a wonderful meal. When presented the check I provided our server with the gift certificate. Minutes later she returned and said the restaurant no longer accepts the certificate. I asked to see the manager. He said they accepted the certificate at a point in time but no longer since the restaurant lost over $70,000. I am not sure what he meant by all that and my wife and I were just perplexed. We paid the bill and gratuity with a credit card( which totaled over $200) and we just left since they were unwilling to discuss it more. Subsequently, I emailed **** ****** and explained my situation and they replied that the liability rests soley with the restaurant. I then sent two letters to the owner of the restaurant, Gregg L*** at the Prospect address and have not had any response. Somewhere in these chain of events someone is getting shortchanged; the nice people that gave me the certificate and my wife and myself. I can certainly move on with my life and just write this off as a bad experience. But I want to get the restaurant to at least respond to me and accept responsibility. I have worked in downtown Cleveland for over 41 years and have supported the arts, sports and restaurants. And I want to make sure that others don't have to experience what my wife and I had to go through.

  Business response

  02/13/2022

  We were unaware of the issue the guest is describing with his gift card, and did not receive the letters in the mail. We would ask that the guest reach out directly to us either by calling 216-664-0941 or emailing a copy of the gift card to info@redpinecrest.com. We can then look into the gift card and see if there is a balance on the card.

  Customer response

  02/28/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Hi Kristi.  I have done everything you  suggested with regard to my issue with the Red Restaurant.

  
  

  I sent them all  the documents and I did not hear back. I then called the phone number you supplied and talked with the manager..I believe her name was Stephanie but not sure.Sorry about that. We had a  nice conversation and she said they are familiar with my complaint and will be getting back. It has been two weeks and I have heard anything.  It is just a shame people don't follow up. I feel I should just drop this matter but I would at least like an explanation why the gift card was not accepted.

  
  

  I appreciate the work you have done. 

  
  

  Sincerely,

  **** ******* 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩