Tea party bus company pausing some expansion amid complaints over late cancellations, refunds
'Our goal is to ensure that people got above and beyond their value of what they paid for,' manager says
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A popular bus company that offers tea parties on wheels is responding after being accused of leaving customers stranded and not giving their money back.
The ABC7 Chicago I-Team received hundreds of complaints about Tea Around Town since their first report.
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The owner of the company saw the story and said they're not shying away from accountability.
Their regional manager flew into Chicago for an interview.
They say they have a plan to turn things around, after hearing the complaints.
People from Chicago and across the country said the company promised them a whimsical afternoon tea experience on a luxurious bus, but instead left them stranded in dresses, hats and fascinators.
Jonathan Morillo says it's a unique and complicated operation. In Chicago alone, there are anywhere from eight to 20 bus trips a day.
"We have aggressively expanded. Now, with that, and the manner in which we aggressively pursued the expansion, comes things like pain points," Morillo said. "It's incredibly disheartening. We do this and I do this, of course, because we have a passion for hospitality. So when things like that happen it truly does affect me and bother me."
He says they've experienced buses breaking down and delayed communication with customers when things do go wrong.
"We've learned that there's better ways to communicate, and quicker ways to communicate with our guests so that they don't get affected in such a short amount of time. And we give them ample time to plan if there is going to be an issue," Morillo said.
Morillo says they've hired a fleet manager who's responsible for buses and added more people to their customer service team to better address problems and refunds.
"Our goal is to ensure that people got above and beyond their value of what they paid for. And then go on, and like I said, come off there with an amazing smile off the bus, having had a great experience to go tell other people," Morillo said.
The company says they've halted their expansion to smaller markets to address all of the current issues and make sure things are running smoothly in their current cities.
