Unimpressed.
We booked the Cotswold Bar Company for our wedding. Whilst the bar served its purpose, I was unimpressed with James’ conduct and attitude, so would not recommend using them.
For context, the company has a policy whereby no free drinks are to be provided / consumed after a certain time. Whilst I can understand why this is, I explained that I would not be agreeing to the terms and conditions as, whilst I would not be providing additional free alcohol after the meal, I did not want to be worrying about getting a bill because somebody was seen with a drink that we had provided. As promised, I did not provide any additional alcohol, nor did I police this, as I had been up front about it and wanted to enjoy my wedding.
After the event, I received an email from James, which explained that he was conflicted about giving me back my deposit because, whilst we had hit our minimum spend, he had seen people walking around with our drinks. He said that he would give us our deposit back, as long as we were happy that the terms of our agreement were met. This felt very passive aggressive to me and as though my integrity was being questioned - I also held up the terms of our agreement.
He also mentioned that they had sold virtually no beer or gin; some of which were ones that we had specifically requested. Knowing how much some of my guests had spent, I found this a very odd thing to be upset about. It was a hot day and people were enjoying cocktails; plus, I can’t control what people drink and there was nothing in the contract suggesting certain proportions of specific drinks needed to be consumed.
However, what I was most disappointed about was how he spoke to my guests. I had several individuals tell me that he’d been rude when he saw them with drinks that he hadn’t provided. As far as I’m concerned, this is inexcusable.
I emailed James with these points to allow him to address them before writing a review. The email I got back felt dismissive and lacked any real answers to my questions. It was signed off with: “moving forward I believe I have addressed your points and we will continue providing couples with our service throughout the rest of 2023 and beyond”. To me, that is not someone who is open to feedback, nor someone who cares about how they are perceived by their customers.
In summary, there are numerous options when it comes to bars for events. I certainly would not be recommending them.