A fiery exchange between a Boston restaurant owner and a would-be customer over a canceled reservation has sparked debate over online civility, steep cancellation fees, and how businesses talk to customers.
On Thursday, Trevor Chauvin-DeCaro shared a series of screenshots on his X account detailing an alleged interaction on social media with Jen Royle, the owner of Table in the North End. According to the Instagram direct message featured in the screenshot, the restaurant owner “wanted to personally thank” Chauvin-DeCaro for “screwing over” Table and its staff when he disputed, through his credit card’s travel insurance, a $250 fee he incurred when he canceled his Jan. 6 reservation at the restaurant.
“I really hope in the future you have more respect for restaurants, especially small businesses such as mine,” the screenshot of the message read.
The post also included screenshots of Chauvin-DeCaro’s response and his explanation for the cancellation.
“My decision to use my credit card’s travel insurance to address the lofty cancellation fee was not made lightly and certainly not with the intention to ‘screw over’ your establishment or your staff,” Chauvin-DeCaro wrote. “It is crucial to note that my cancellation was due to unforeseen circumstances, specifically hospitalization, which falls under the protection of my travel insurance.”
“This was not a matter of disrespect or disregard for your business but a legitimate use of my consumer rights under exceptional circumstances of finding myself in the ER,” he added.
Table’s cancellation policy, according to its website, states that guests won’t be charged if they cancel up to 72 hours before their reservation. The restaurant offers a prix fixe menu for $125 and states that “every reservation requires a valid credit card through RESY. Upon booking your reservation, you agree to our policy.” Same-day cancellations and no-shows are charged the full price. “There are absolutely no exceptions to our cancellation policy. We are a very small restaurant. Please be considerate.” Chauvin-DeCaro said he called to cancel about six hours before he was due at the restaurant.
Wild story incoming. Last month, we had to cancel our Boston trip after I was hospitallized. As a result I had to use travel insurance to get my money back on our hotel, train, and restaurant reservations. Today I got this message from @tableboston pic.twitter.com/d7jc84rllJ
— ghostface stuck on the subway (@trevorshowvan) February 22, 2024
Royle’s attorney, Michael Ford, told the Globe Friday that the restaurateur is now receiving death threats online and that they have been in touch with the Boston Police Department.
When asked why Royle reached out to Chauvin-DeCaro on social media, Ford said: “You work so hard as a small business owner. You work so hard as a woman-owned business. It is a challenge.” He also indicated that Royle doesn’t believe Chauvin-DeCaro canceled because he was hospitalized.
In a phone interview Friday, Chauvin-DeCaro explained that he had planned the trip to Boston to see Madonna at TD Garden with his husband and some friends. Their Amtrak into Boston from New York City ended up getting “majorly delayed,” and at the same time, Chauvin-DeCaro began to “feel terrible,” prompting him to cancel the trip and seek medical attention.
“So we decided to go home and figure out what was going on with me,” Chauvin-DeCaro said. “I had a telehealth visit, they recommended that I go to the ER. I went to the ER.” He said he spent around 16 hours in the ER dealing with the illness, including the “entire next day in the hospital” due to follow-up appointments.
“In all of that mix, we’re calling hotel, we’re calling Amtrak, we’re calling Table,” he said. “Everyone else was able to deal with my Chase card directly and handle the travel protection that is on my card.” Chauvin-DeCaro said that when he called Table, “They were like, ‘This is our policy, if you have a problem with it, if you’re, quote, ‘butt hurt about it,’ take it up with your credit card directly.’”
Chauvin-DeCaro called his credit card company to dispute the charge and was told they would “take care of it.” “And then I never thought about it again,” Chauvin-DeCaro said. “Flash forward to almost two months later and I get a DM from Table, and all of the screenshots are up, saying shame on me.”
“I was shocked that a business would do that,” he added. ”So I was mostly posting so my friends could be shocked with me. And now it’s like, over 2 million views on X.”
After the screenshots were shared online, the social media accounts for Royle and Table were made private. The restaurant is now listed as “permanently closed” on Google, though Ford said Friday afternoon it is “very much open.”
While the response to his X post has been “overwhelming support,” according to Chauvin-DeCaro, he said he’s also received negative messages that have prompted him to mute the post.
“I don’t need the death threats and the f-slurs and all of that,” Chauvin-DeCaro said. “It feels weird trying to prove that I was in the hospital to strangers on the internet.”
Chauvin-DeCaro also claimed that Royle and the restaurant have blocked him on “nearly every platform” and had shared some of his personal information on social media. Ford, Royle’s attorney, said she unintentionally shared documentation of the credit card dispute, which included the last four numbers of Chauvin-DeCaro’s card, on social media to disprove his allegations. It was taken down shortly after, Ford added.
This is not the first time Royle has communicated with her customers. Known for being blunt, witty, and at times, profane, she has made a mark on X by calling out unhappy diners and internet trolls, and speaking freely on her political views. Once, her X bio read: “Unlikely to apologize.”
Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com. Diti Kohli can be reached at diti.kohli@globe.com. Follow her @ditikohli_.
"exchange" - Google News
February 24, 2024 at 01:12AM
https://ift.tt/RdxDGSs
Fiery exchange between Table owner and would-be customer goes viral - The Boston Globe
"exchange" - Google News
https://ift.tt/NQVacqD
https://ift.tt/xnVBUa3
Exchange
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Fiery exchange between Table owner and would-be customer goes viral - The Boston Globe"
Post a Comment