We all want our big day to be perfect and preparations to be fun. So, if you don’t want it all to be ruined, think twice before having a wedding in CHIJMES.
This is not an attempt at childish bitching. I know this is long but please spare it a little time. I feel that it needs to be heard and people have a right to know in order to make an informed choice. Do yourself this favour. After all, it’s your wedding. And it’s once in a lifetime.
My fiancé and I spent months trying to find an appropriate venue. It’s no easy feat and is really time-consuming but it is still a fun process because it’s for our big day. We finally settled on Chijmes as our venue and made a tentative booking for it. We were delighted that we found a what we had thought was our dream venue. In the time that follows, I corresponded by emails and a few phone calls with Jenny from Chijmes. It was mainly to ask questions and to work out the details of the package. At one point, Jenny even sent us the contract for signing because we were really serious about Chijmes. But we spoke and found it still exceeded our budget and I got in touch with Jenny again.
Shortly after, I received an email from Collin, Chijmes’ Sales Manager, informing me that Jenny has left. That was abrupt but after speaking with Collin, he seemed ok. We had made an appointment on a Wednesday, 6.45pm to iron out the last details of our package. My fiancé and I felt ready to sign as long as the talk that day went well. And we were confident it would. That Wed morning, Collin called to say that someone else is coming to sign the contract that day for the same date that we wanted and will be paying up on Fri. I was shocked! He said there was a mistake and Jenny failed to tell us there was already a tentative booking on the date we wanted when we first spoke to her. As we spoke, I felt that Collin was taking the matter too lightly and his motive was merely to get us to change the date. In that same conversation, he switched his story from the guy was coming to sign today, to the guy has already signed, to the guy is signing at 2pm that afternoon. He said he wanted both couples to have the best wedding ever. I didn’t feel like he meant a word of it because he obviously did not understand what the sudden change entailed for me. He even said from a business point of view, the other couple was going for the more expensive menu and that made more sense. I was so shocked that I told him to speak to my fiancé instead.
My fiancé informed me thereafter that in their conversation, Collin was very unprofessional. Also, instead of trying to trying to find a way to resolve the matter, his objective is really to get us to change the date. If he wanted us to consider it, he should let us know what he could offer. It’s a basic form of service recovery. But of course what we really wanted was the date more than anything else. Anyway, Collin made no such service recovery attempt and instead ironically said we were trying to pull a fast one on him. We asked for contact details of senior management since we felt this was getting nowhere. He told my fiancé he’s the highest in authority at Chijmes and when we asked about the management company that Chijmes came under, he was evasive. My fiancé took time off his work to go down to Chijmes that afternoon to talk with them again and also contacted Low Keng Huat Ltd which we researched that Chijmes was under. The next day, we were told that we would meet with a senior management on Friday afternoon.
We both took leave and time away from work on Friday for the meeting. Between Wed and that day, it was sleepless nights. We had agreed that what we wanted was our date, we were not after any cheap deals. So, on Friday we met with Ms Chin, CFO of Long Keng Huat Ltd and Collin. Unfortunately, the meeting did not turn out well. They told us that there already was a tentative booking on our date before we came on and anyway, there is a clause on the form which said our tentative booking was valid for only 10 days. Firstly, we were never told there was a prior booking. We kept thinking we were the only ones on the list. That they double booked is a very silly and basic error. Secondly, if the 10 days thing is so strictly adhered by, isn’t it basic to inform us when the 10 days was up? Yet, they kept using this against us. We were also appalled that they kept reiterating the fact that the other couple had already signed and paid, there was no way we would be able to get our date. We felt they could have attempted to resolve matters informing the other couple and by offering an attractive package to see which of us would be willing to take it and forgo the date. They did no such thing and simply tried to force the change on us. The meeting was not at all productive and it ended with them telling us they would get back to us by Tues on what they could offer us so that we would consider taking another date.
We were really disappointed and the wait was excruciating. Come Tues, we didn’t hear from them so I emailed Collin and Ms Chin for updates. No reply. Later in the day, my fiancé contacted Ms Chin. She said Collin has gone on long leave and his colleague will reply by “end of the day”. I don’t know what was her definition of “end of the day”, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and we waited till 8pm. My fiancé again contacted her but she said she’s in a meeting. An email finally came in at around 9.40pm. In short, they were not willing to offer us anything at all. Zilch. They were just giving us the “standard package”. We were appalled, livid and really devastated. We had put all other planning on hold so we could hear their decision and this is the reply we get for the long painful wait. My fiancé left a message for Ms Chin to call back after her meeting. She never did.
We waited till the next day before calling her. In short, she said she sees no need for service recovery. He asked for the email of her managing director and she said he has no email. My fiancé told her not to talk like he is a kid. Then she said she doesn’t have the email with her. Finally she gave it to him unwillingly. It is indeed shocking that even the senior management is so unprofessional. Now, we are back to square 1 in our planning and we can’t really proceed with the bridal studios or photographers ‘cos we can’t have a confirmed date or venue. Many hotels are already booked. And, we have to tell all our friends and relatives that things may have to change. Chijmes meant something a little bit more to me because it was my school’s original site (although I didn’t study there myself) and we held a few events there. Right now, the memory of this place is completely ruined...
