Tea'd Off

[Te]

I didn't have to do it. It actually took time to do it. I had already addressed my issues with the owner but since nothing came of it (a half-hearted apology and lots of excuses), I took the time to add my HONEST review. Why? I wished someone would have warned me or at the very least advised me against spending over $400 for a tea party that fell far short of claimed expectations. I wanted to be helpful to others.

Instead, I find that posting an honest review based on my personal experience, invites others to post reviews where I am personally attacked for having very legitimate complaints. I gave Olivia's Dollhouse Tea Room an honest review. I realize not everyone will agree because perhaps not everyone will have the same experience. However, others need to realize that my experience is mine and if I chose to share it , it was hoping that perhaps it helps others make a more educated choice about spending that much money at this establishment.

I resent being attacked and stereotyped as "difficult to please." This Jennifer person doesn't know me. I had a reasonable expectation based on the amount of money I was charged and based on their company claims (by Olivia's Dollhouse) to deliver clean, friendly, efficient service and positive party experience. That is not what I got.

If anything, my review should be helpful to Olivia's Dollhouse in that it gives them opportunity to address and improve how they run their business. And, yes, my daughter and her guests enjoyed themselves, but, again, for the money and their cliams, it should have and could have been better.

I wish this site's administrators would have the ability to control or at least offer "review posting etiquette." I am going to think twice about contributing to any more reviews if I can expect backlash and personal attacks.

[yresim]

I agree that the person that posted after you was extremely rude for saying that you must be impossible to please. I found your review to be very detailed & informative: you were very specific about exactly why you were displeased with the experience. These kinds of details allow the reader to make up his/her own mind about the place.

Good idea about the etiquette thing. Unfortunately, etiquette is a constant problem on the Internet, because people feel safe from backlash (so they can say whatever they want without consequences). I'm not sure it would have been possible to filter the review in question, since she didn't use any foul language, and the rest of the review is apparently genuine.

I hope you won't let one rude person spoil the experience for you. Detailed reviews are hard to find.

~Yresim~

P.S. I noticed that there are 5 California locations for Olivia's Doll House (Rosewood in West Hollywood, Lyons in Santa Clarita, Newport in Tustin, Thousand Oaks in Thousand Oaks, and Fair Oaks in Carmichael). The first four are pretty close together. Perhaps you and the other poster are talking about 2 different locations? Just a thought.

[jzero]

Review in question for those following at home.

Honestly, I think you are reading way too much into that one sentence. It is a little bit more pointed considering your review is the only negative one on there, but it's pretty benign, and fairly common in reviews. You wrote a well-thought-out and helpful review, and that's what counts. If it was a more overt jab, I'd be peeved, but in this case, I'd err on the side of "not specifically directed at me" and just let it slide.

For Ilya...if you're reading...is it possible to make TeaMap support carriage returns? It's so hard to read when you can't make paragraphs

[ilya]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've made the change.

[jzero]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've made the change.

You are the man, as always!

[Te]

This is quickly snowballing into an attack on my review. Another "review" was posted and the bulk of it attckes what I wrote.

That's fine people are entitled to their own opinion. However, I am being attacked because this site's adminitrators do not offer the option for me to reply to those exagerated accusations about MY experience. To shed some light, here are the correction for DeShaun's latest post on my review:
- MY contract did not state I should bring my own utensils (I'm looking at it now and nothing)
- When I spoke with the owner and coordinator about my special requests, BOTH assured me (four days prior to my event) that THEY would take care of them for me.

DeShaun further generalized and lied: "I can see where certain things were not true. None of our parties were surprises, however, an acquaitance I know who is planning her party at one of the DollHouses is surprising her daughter. I have learned that IT is not up to the staff to participate in planning a surprise."

- First, to state that certain thing are not true without actually being at my party, is an assinine assumption. The only support she offers is the old "I know someone who" excuse to support a lie. Moreover, the owner and the coordinator should have been forthright and TOLD me it was up to me to surprise my daughter (which neither did). Instead they assured me they would help me do so and the coordinator even asked me to describe my daughter so they can plan the SURPRISE accordingly...she even gave me her email address so I could sen her photos of my child, again four days prior as requested.

By the way, SLANDER is to deliberately lie to hurt a reputation. All that I stated in my review is substantiated through (not thru), emails, contracts and conversations with company staff. Again, the review, the point of any review, is to provide helpful informtion to those who may find it useful --not to attack another review YOU don't happen to like. If I were looking to to slander or hurt this business, I wouldn't have gone the xtra step to discuss my issues with the owner and FURTHERMORE inform her that her company web site had a Trojan virus and that they may want to look into it and fix it so as not to cut visits to their site.

- Also, neither their site nor contract state I had to bring my own plates and cutlery:
"Parents are considered invited guests and we do not charge for the parents. We provide complimentary ice tea, lemonade, pretzels and cut vegetables and dip. If you would like to bring in a party platter, pizza or a large subway sandwich to subsidize what we offer please feel free to do so. "

Overall, I would not have felt as I do about my experience had the owner and coordinator not ASSURED me four days in advance that they would address my requests nor had they not fail to disclose helpful information prior to my party.

Regardless of anyone else's experience with Olivia's Dollhouse, in MY CASE, they dropped the ball and thus made MY experience negative. THUS, my review.

Again, I ask the administrators of this site to remove my review or allow me to respond to defend it (I can't even post another review for this business).

Otherwise, I don't appreciate being attacked unfairly...I can argue those posts constitute LIBEL:A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation. b. The act of presenting such material to the public.

I would have addressed this privaetly with this site's administrators, but that option is not offered on this site other than through this board. I will contact legal council on this matter.

[rhpot1991]

I would have addressed this privaetly with this site's administrators, but that option is not offered on this site other than through this board. I will contact legal council on this matter.

Easy killer.... we are talking about an internet review site now right??? The point of the site is for people to voice their opinion, you are voicing yours and they are voicing theirs. The reason you can only do one review is to keep the numbers fair, otherwise you would have people giving the same place very high or very low reviews and slandering the numbers.

-John

[Kestrel]

I can definately understand where you're coming from. The point of these reviews is supposed to be to offer a review of, in this case, a teahouse, not to try to discredit another reviewer.

I also understand why you made those requests beforehand to accomodate the needs of the girls at the party - it was a very considerate thing of you to do and they did drop the ball by making promises to you that they didn't go through with. I have food allergies myself, to spices, which makes it always an adventure going out to eat.

The most recent review of Olivia's Dollhouse is the one that, to me, seems entirely inappropriate. There is almost no review - the poster, DeShaun, spent the vast majority of the post complaining about one of the previous reviews and essentially calling another reviewer a liar.

"Let's be careful when we slander one's business!"
-the English-obsessed, red-penning proofreader in me feels it necessary to point out that, if it was indeed untrue, it would be libel, not slander. Slander is spoken, libel is written.

"Don't just book a party and expect the unimaginable. Who books a party at chuck-e-cheese and expects a doll when they leave? Then gets upset and writes about it? Be fair!!! And if you know your child is soo easy to please and has a ball at a make-up counter, then why not just take her there??"
-this just seems abrasive, aggressive, and deliberately derogatory

If anything, I think the most recent post should be removed, as it is more an attack on another poster, complete with accusations of slander (lying), than a review.

To Maggie - just forget about it. I know it stings to be accused of lying and to be attacked and provoked and not be able to defend yourself, believe me. But no one with any amount of sense is going to take DeShaun's "review" seriously - you posted an honest review, said what actually happened, and gave your honest opinion about the party. It'd be a disservice to other people looking for honest reviews about Olivia's Dollhouse to pull your review down just because there were people who didn't like what you thought. You spoke honestly - please do leave your review up for people to read, and don't let yourself be driven off of giving an honest, if unfavorable assessment, just because certain people will attack you for having opinions different from their own.

[AnnaAult]

Why is Olivia's Dollhouse even listed on Adagio's site?

They're not a tea shop or tea room -- it's a kids dress-up party site. They don't even serve tea -- they serve tea-pots of lemonade to the kids.

http://www.oliviasdollhousetearoom.com/html_index.html

[Jeanine Trikilis]

I have sent in 2 reply's and have yet to see them posted. Please let me know why that is?

[Kestrel]

Two replies to what?

[Brianne]

a friend of mine went on line to research a party place for her daughter's birthday. she found the tea chat dialouge amusing in regards to "olivia's doll house tea room" and e-mailed me immediately. i had my daughter's 7th birthday party at olivia's recently, so my friend was looking for something different since our daughter's share many of the same friends. she just hoped to find something as magical as at olivia's in the hopes of the girls not having to do the same party so close together. anyhow, we both rushed to figure out what was going on in this dialogue. all in all, after reading all of the hype, she booked her party at olivia's without hesitation. bored at work, i just wanted to add to the "chat". first let me say, that contracts can change daily. maybe it was the case that maggie's contract read one thing and deshawna's (or deshawn...sorry for name spelling) read something different. it is possible. i do know that my contract from our party said that we had to bring utensils if we wanted to bring food for the adults because it was not an ADULT party! that was very clear in my contract as i wanted to bring lunch for the parents as well and i brought in extra napkins and forks, etc. whatever the case, get over it. maggie's feelings/experience was on one end of the spectrum and deshawna's feelings/ 3 time experiences was at the other end. different parties and different experiences. for me, we had a great time. staff was great, the place was neat and clean, all the girls had a great time. it was just overall wonderful! in contradiction to, i think it was "kestrel's" e-mail/comments, we found it amusing that he went on and on to pick at deshawna's review. while reading his statement's, he did exactly what he complained about. my girlfriends and i have PLENTY of "common sense" and we actually felt that deshawna's e-mail was valid and warranted having had 3 olivia party experiences. what did she LIE about? we didn't understand that part! if it was because she said sometihng like, "this is untrue", does that mean she said, "so and so is a LIAR"?? hmmm! and why does that make her a LIAR??? i believe that was in there somewhere. interesting! and the talk about "slander" and "libel", okay, that was good. but tomaYto...tomaHto (tomato)! and, libel CAN be a form of "written" OR oral statement that defames. and chances are, when we actually WRITE something in protest, we have most likely VOICED it also, voiced as in slander! so tomaYto...tomaHto. we noticed that at the end of the review from maggie, she writes, "save your money b/c this is a major disappointment." what people don't realize is that when we voice/type things like this, it is only to hurt that business. "contructive criticism" is voicing your opinion-which we should be able to do- but in a way that is helpful! maggie's e-mail was not in kindness at all, so maybe it was the case that deshawn vented on that. if i didn't know any better, or didn't have any "sense", i'd turn away from a business with a review like maggies. but b/c i do have common sense and do consider myself "sensible", and just so happen to have just had a wonderful party at olivia's doll house, i was able to read through that review. maggie was upset and that is very unfortunate. but think about it, maggie's e-mail was not to encourage people to do their research. her e-mail said to "save your money b/c it's a disappointment" excuse me...a major disappointment." i actually had some of the same feelings that deshawna had. i don't want to get too caught up into all of that, but we can't get upset when we type things like that and it comes back to bite us in the butt. before 2 degrees, i worked retail in high school and in parts in college. that is when i came to terms that there are some people you just cannot please. it is out of this world at times. some people are just complainers. and then you have people who are are genuinely concerned with a complaint and want to voice it. there is definitely a difference! for example, i have a son and voiced to management how wonderful it would be to have some dress up attire for the boys, like power ranger, or police uniforms, etc. they were courteous and said that other moms have mentioned that also. but then it dawned on me, THIS IS A DOLLHOUSE...why would they have power ranger and police uniforms in there? duhh!!! besides that, so many of our party places are geared for boys, so let the girls have a doll house!! comments on deshawn's review were noted as rude...rude from people who didn't have a party there! since i have experienced a party at olivi'as, i didn't find her e-mail reude at all. in closing, maggie's review should remain posted and deshawn's also. maggie's review was her review and deshawn's was hers; both rightfully admitted!! just like mine is mines and we had a super time at olivia's doll house tea room. all was written and stated in our contract and by phone, and there were no surprises. my girlfriend has booked her party there also and looks forward to it. the girls will have a great time even if the parties are somewhat close in time. they can't stop talking about my daugther's party so it will just be a double treat for them. reviews are nice, but honestly, do the homework for yourself. on that note, MY PARTY AT OLIVIA'S DOLL HOUSE TEA ROOM WAS A SMASH HIT! SO GLAD WE DID IT!

[Jeanine Trikilis]

I am the owner of Olivia's Doll House and I wish to address Maggie's negitive review of her experience at the Doll House. First of all Maggie is not being forth right when she said she contacted me about this. I never heard from her until she desided to post her grievances on your website. She is also not being truthful when she says her contract did not state that she needed to supply her own untensils. She received the same contact I've been giving to all my clientele since we opened 13 years ago and it states it quite clearly. When someone starts their grievances based on lies you must dismiss everything else they say, because they can't be believed. She also said I have Trojan's on my Website. This is an absolute LIE ! My website is protrolled by anti-virus protection and her statement is very damaging to visitors who might believe her and therefore not visit my website to inable them to form thier own opionion. I am asking you to remove that right away if you have'nt done so already. Also I checked into the parties given that day and found that the mother who had her party right before Maggie's loved it, and so did the mother right after it. Ummm... what does that tell you? I think the sourse the complaint is coming from is where the true problem lies. I book parties from this site all the time and have continued to do so since this negitive posting was added . Thank goodness the feedback I'm getting is that this woman's complaints are unfounded and common sence tells them to do the research and form their own opionion regarding the legitimacy of her comments. I ask your visitors to visit our website and form their opionions. 99% of my clientele leave happy and feel we delievered over and beyond their expectations That is an excellant statistic. However, every now and again we do get a sour puss who just can't be pleased. Our goal is to fulfill the dreams of the child , not cater to a parent who focuses on minor flaws and imperfections. Nobody is perfect. I have learned to dismiss people like this and concentrate on the ones who appreciate what we do and know through experience that we offer up only the best.

[xyb]

Maggie, I'm with your original thought. Why create a place for customers to review a place, when all negative reviews are automatically deleted?

And then block people from posting subsequent reviews??

What kind of web site is this?

I had to voice my opinion, because I had a *terrible* experience, contacted the owner, and got no response. In an effort to find out what went wrong, I posted a negative review.

Yes, I was hoping to warn other people, because it was totally embarassing to be escorting my mother to what was supposed to be a *wonderful* tea, only to find the place locked up tight.

Hm.

What gives? Is the tea community that secretive??

[rhpot1991]

And then block people from posting subsequent reviews??

If I remember correctly, users are limited to making a single review in order to stop any flame wars or any sort of chatting going on in the review section. That stuff belongs here in the forums instead.