Tosca Marquee Tosca Terrible Service for a Catering Hall Bronx, New York

On May 15, 2011 I had a communion party for my son at this establishment. The service was disastrous to say the least. We arrived at 12:15 for the 1pm party and they hadn't even begun to set-up the room. Because of this, the DJ could not get in and set-up his equipment. There was total disorganization among the staff. Their excuse was that the manager's wife was in a car accident. My wife and I had to assist the staff in setting up the room. The floor was filthy. The excuse from the staff; there was a late party the night before.
Our guests were forced to wait in the cramped lobby and were not allowed to enter the room while the staff was eating from the half set-up buffet. When they finally let our guests in, there were no bartenders and no one at the omelette station. The continuous response from the staff was "someone is coming now". This went on for quite some time.
We had requested a champagne toast, which was noted in the contract, yet there were no champagne glasses on the table. When told of this, it took the staff quite some time to get them on the table and fill them. When they finally did, the glasses were covered with dust and dust was floating in the champagne. All of these delays resulted in cold food and embarrassment to my wife and I.

 Once we were able to begin our party and allow our guests to eat, the chafing dishes at the buffet were constantly empty. There was only one staff member in the room that had one-hundred guests and, although he tried his best, he was completely overwhelmed. Empty dishes were piling up on the tables. I had to get the maitre d to have him remove the dishes from the tables. At one point, several of my guests were clearing off the tables themselves so as not to have dirty dishes sitting there. In addition, not once throughout the entire event, did someone even come around and offer to fill a water glass.

 Once my guests had eaten and the DJ was able to begin playing, the staff began to carry centerpieces, fixtures, tables and chairs through the middle of our party into the next room. When my wife confronted one of the staff members and asked her to stop, she just laughed at her.
We also asked for a sundae bar for the kids (stipulated in the contract). This was in addition to the cake we had purchased on our own for the adults. At one point in the evening, I saw people walking around with ice cream. When I went to the buffet, right in the middle of the dinner food they had dropped three big bowls of ice cream.
Never once did anyone approach me to neither cut the cake nor ask/inform me that dessert was to be served. When they finally put coffee out, they did so without cups. Numerous guests had to ask the maitre d for them since there were no staff members in the room. Cookies were also to be served with dessert and never were.
Once the event had ended, I requested a meeting with the manager and the maitre d. My wife and I brought all of the above points to their attention. The maitre ds continually stated that under the circumstances he could understand my frustration. When asked what circumstances he stated that he was caught off-guard and overwhelmed. I told him that I booked this party over 9 months ago and it was his job to be prepared for it. His response to me was Yes. It is my part-time, weekend job. 

 I have spoken with the manager (Melissa) on several occasions since the event in an attempt to come to an amicable resolution to this situation. Each time she has told me that the owner (Eddie) had to be consulted. She said that the owner offered me a $500 credit towards food in the restaurant or another event. I asked to speak to him personally and was told that he was unavailable. I told her that the offer was unacceptable and that I was extremely unhappy with the service. She told me that she had to confer with Eddie. She called me back and stated that they would give me credit for the service charge and gratuity. She then explained that by credit she meant I could use that amount towards food in the restaurant or another event. I told her that if she credited my card for the total amount of service charge and gratuity that would be acceptable. I have not heard back from her since.