Friday, October 16, 2009

Update: To the Last Drop

For those of you who read yesterday's rant, here's an update: To the Last Drop owner Claudia Pierson called me back yesterday. Apparently, several students canceled at the last minute due to illness, and -- not having her class list at home -- she thought that everyone had canceled. That's why she didn't show up for class or call me about the cancellation.

She offered me a prompt refund, and she offered to let me bring a friend, at no charge, to the Nov. 5 class on dips and salsas, in which I was already enrolled. That seemed fair, and I was satisfied: I got a refund and a genuine apology, and I only had to wait a few more weeks to deliver a real review about this venue.

But a few minutes later, I got an e-mail from Claudia saying that the Nov. 5 class has been ... wait for it ... canceled. (Don't worry; she's refunding my full $100.) So, if you're keeping score, I have enrolled in four classes at To the Last Drop, all four of which have been canceled (only three of them with advance notice).

At this point, I can't recommend taking a class here. We have schedules. We make plans. In our very busy lives, we carve out two or three hours to take a class, where we hope to learn something new or build an existing skill. When you enroll in a class at To the Last Drop, however, it seems you're more likely to end up with a hole in your schedule.

1 comment:

Claudia Pierson said...

Ashley-

While I appreciate your "update" I would also appreciate an effort to look into the practices of culinary classes elsewhere, especially ones that are held by businesses of my size.

You are in the minority as far as cancellations and negative experiences and had you taken me up on the free class for you and a friend you would have had something other than a negative review to write.

Needless to say, you are welcome to your opinion but given your background it would have been my desire to have had it be an informed opinion.

My apologies again for the errors on my part. For what it is worth- the refund for both classes was by choice, not necessity. One was due to an error on my part for which I was happy to accept full responsibility-the other was by my choice and your place was the only one cancelled.