Price is good. Service and PR- deplorable, Rating -one Star
I would give the vendor a rating of 1 star.
The fees for the rental furniture were fair and competitive but the behavior of the owner-manager was atrocious!!
When I first visited the store on a Saturday morning I talked with the assistant [Tyler, a decent gentle man] and listed the items to be rented. I mentioned that we would like the furniture to be delivered on a Saturday morning and picked up on Sunday around midnight after the wedding reception. Tyler told me the weekend delivery and pickup charges would be higher than standard and he will let me know the exact cost after talking with the boss {Mr. Dudley] who was out that day. A few days later I went to the store to put in the deposit and met Mr. Dudley. I told him we may need the delivery an hour earlier [10 am] and pickup time may also be a bit later. Weeks later I called to make a few changes to the order and told the gentleman [named John with a friendly voice] who answered the phone that I was able to arrange with the wedding venue manager for furniture pickup on Monday morning instead of Sunday midnight. He put me on hold to talk to the manager/owner [Dudley] and then confirmed the reduced delivery fee and the revised bill.
On Saturday, the day one of the event Mr. Dudley came to deliver goods on time [10 am] but made it very clear that he had to sacrifice some family business to accommodate the early delivery, and that the dismantling/ pickup has to be on Sunday night starting at 11 pm on the dot. I tried to tell him we already discussed the Monday pickup arrangement with his office and the time as well as the revised bill was agreed upon with his acquiescence per his office staff. He refused to listen and accused me of interrupting him and threatened to stop the delivery and call the police if I continue to talk to him. He became agitated, and in an abusive condescending style [with a distinct disdain and undertone of racism towards Asian Americans] told me he doesn’t want to see or talk to me anymore.
Later that evening during serving dinner our wedding planner and catering staff noticed that 100 pieces each of the forks and spoons ordered from ASE were not delivered and we had to rush to procure them from an alternate source. Mr. Dudley later claimed those were delivered and we just missed them [unverifiable to us].
His behavior the next day, the wedding and reception day, was more outrageous and atrocious! He showed up at the venue in the evening around 9 pm and told the event coordinator he would start dismantling the stage at 11 pm and must pick up all supplies and leave the place by 12 and we must make sure there’s no delay in his schedule. When informed about this I immediately came out from the reception hall and told him the reception party would take at least till midnight to wrap up and asked for his cooperation and told him we would pay for the extra hours as stipulated in the contract. In a raised voice he demanded cash payments on the spot. We didn’t have cash on hand and offered a check payment instead. He was in no mood to listen and called on the security guards at the premise [paid for by me] and demanded I go away and not talk to him anymore. Sensing his disruptive, arrogant, uncompromising attitude we decided to bring the ceremony to an early ending. We closed the bar and with an apology to the distinguished guests present [including the Honorable Ambassador and Consul General from a big friendly Asian country] proceeded to stop the music and the dance and allowed him to start the dismantling process.
This extremely arrogant, abusive, and outrageous conduct that I was exposed to could not and should not go unchallenged. I was humiliated and intimidated in front of many folks in the venue [Savannah River Pavilion] during an ongoing wedding ceremony and reception. It was the most devastating, dehumanizing life experience I ever had in my 40 years of residency here in Augusta.
I feel obligated to provide a factual review of my experience with ASE in public media and report to relevant business and government agencies for the benefit and awareness of future clients considering doing business with ASE.
There are many competitive business outlets here that know how to treat customers with decency and respect and no one deserves to be humiliated and intimidated while receiving a service they are paying for. If this gentleman is incapable to change his awful, rude behavior towards customers he should retire or else the business would be destined for shutdown sooner or later.
