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By Michele Ebbert
Over the years I have written about my children and grandchildren; have referred to their endeavors in a variety of ways. The following review was written by Michele, after she hosted a party earlier this week. One thing about my kids – they can all write.–Judi Curry
This is specific to Porkyland’s catering, and not the restaurant itself. I contacted them via email asking whether their 4th of July special would be available throughout the month, since I was hosting a dinner party on the 9th. Two days later they got back to me & confirmed that it would be, so I sent another email asking whether they delivered. I never heard back from that email – not a good sign.
I called on July 5th and left a message – again, no response. I know I should’ve looked for another caterer, but I’d been in Australia for 6 weeks & was really craving carnitas……..! Called again on the 6th and talked to a man who assured me they do deliver and took my order……..but asked that I call back later that day to talk to the Catering Manager to confirm. I left a message for her but was more than a little nervous when her voice mail instructions say that she would try to return calls within 1 business day……..and now my dinner party was about 1 business day away!
So now it’s Sunday, July 7th and I called again & reached the Catering Manager……….who tells me that she doesn’t think they can deliver when I need it on Tuesday! Now I’m getting a little frustrated – I’d been trying to confirm for several days, had been told by the man I spoke with that everything was set………and now, 2 days before my party she’s telling me they might not be able to deliver?! She told me she’d have to check with somebody else but couldn’t do that until Monday (the DAY BEFORE my party!) and promised to get back to meMonday morning.
Naturally, given the way they seem to do business, she didn’t call as promised and I had to call her. I was thrilled when she said they could deliver when I needed them to and we made all of the arrangements.
That should have been the end of it, right? The meal should have been delivered & everybody goes away happy……..right? Well, not quite. The delivery was nearly 30 minutes later than arranged, they overcharged me on the delivery fee, & the carnitas were mostly tough & dried out. I’ve liked Porkyland’s food for years, and would probably continue to eat in the restaurant but I will never have them cater anything for me again. With as many other options as there are in San Diego for great Mexican food, I would think Porkyland would either step up their customer service, or just get out of the catering business altogether.
What a shame. I have used Porkyland before upon the recommendation of my daughter. Maybe their move to La Jolla wasn’t in the best interests of their customers.