This weekend was amazing ~ reunited with some friends & a successful housewarming brunch. The rare indulgance this weekend was Chandon’s étoile & a reserve, but I can’t remember the name.
Maybe it was Chandon Customer Service
This makes up for it!
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Rodrigo Lenartowicz
Date: Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Subject: Experience at Chandon on 2/8/09
To: customerservice@chandon.com
Good Morning
I would like to bring to your attention a rather unpleasant experience
my friends and I had on 2/8 at the Tasting Salon. Although the staff
at the Salon was incredibly attentive (mainly Rebecca and Jeremy who
were wonderful), one member who we interacted with definitely did not
fall in the same category. Unfortunately, we did not catch his name
but I must say that his passion for wine and its proper protocol for
tasting came in the way of good customer service.
My friend had asked for a tasting from Jeremy (I believe that was his
name). He gave her the first tasting in a certain glass and we didn’t
think much of it aside from the fact that the wine was great. When she
was ready for the second tasting, Jeremy was unavailable so she got
the attention of this older man, grey hair, glasses, to provide the
second pour. In lack of a better term, this man snapped at her for
drinking out of the incorrect glass. Literally taking the glass out of
her hand, mumbling inaudible words, followed by a series of rants
“this is the incorrect glass, this is not how you should be drinking
this, this wine must be tasted in this glass, in this manner, etc etc
etc.”
It took us by surprise because he was so forceful, so angry. She
didn’t choose the glass, it was provided to her. It was all so quick,
so shocking that we were speechless.
At any rate, someone from our group went downstairs and spoke to a
team member about the situation. We then saw someone speaking to
Rebecca outside (possibly about the incident) however nobody came to
apologize. Not a manager and most definitely not Mr Chandon (as we
nicknamed the angry older gentleman).
The wineries in Napa are well aware that not everyone who visits the
area is a connoisseur /sommelier. If the winery provides XYZ wine in
XYZ glass, some people, like my friend, have no reason to question it.
However, it seems that Mr Chandon feels differently. My friend is the
quiet non-confrontational type, so instead of getting angry, she
cried. Instead of writing this email, she is “over” it. But I wanted
to bring it to your attention because his behavior was unacceptable
and inexcusable.
The ambiance at Chandon, the location, the property as a whole was
beautiful. The interaction we had with other staff members was very
pleasant. I would highly recommend Chandon and I personally would go
back to visit. I will just give whomever I recommend to go to Chandon,
a heads about Mr Chandon.
Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
Rodrigo Lenartowicz
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Rebekah CHRISTIE
Date: Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Subject: Domaine Chandon visit on Sunday, February 8th, 2009
To: Rodrigo
Dear Mr. Lenartowicz,
I am saddened to hear that you had a negative experience visiting the
tasting room at Domaine Chandon on Sunday, February 8th. I appreciate
you taking the time to provide us feedback from your visit. No one
who visits Domaine Chandon should ever be treated in the manner in
which you were. ”Mr. Chandon” acted very unprofessional, and his
behavior was clearly not in line with Domaine Chandon customer service
standards. I am extremely sorry that you left the winery without an
apology, which would never have happened had I been aware of what
transpired during your visit. I cannot express in words exactly how
serious our managment team is taking this. Customer service trainings
are provided several times a year, and we also have secret shoppers
visit us once a month to provide us feedback to ensure that we are
providing the best possible customer service that we can. Your
particular experience has provided us with an opportunity to better
reflect on how we can improve in hospitality.
The tasting room at Domaine Chandon has had a grand reputation as a
very fun, warm and inviting place to visit. It is also an opportunity
for us to share our passion of food and wine with our guests. I am
both shocked and disappointed to learn that of the tasting room
employees left such a negative impression with your group. Please
except our sincere apology for the level of unpleasantness and
discomfort you experienced. I look forward to you visiting us again
in the future, but in the meantime, I’d like to send you two bottles
of wine of your choice, if you can provide me with a physical mailing
address.
Our deepest apologies,
Rebekah Christie
Salon Lead
Domaine Chandon-Napa Valley
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Rodrigo Lenartowicz
Date: Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 5:43 AM
Subject: Fwd: Domaine Chandon visit on Sunday, February 8th, 2009
To: Renee Hernandez
Mira nena!! I’ll have them ship it to you… .Sunshine in a bottle? 
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