Last December, we were on the hunt for a delicious, extravagant sushi dinner. It was the holiday season and we were in the mood to drink, dine and be merry. I consulted Open Table and, as expected, all halfway decent Japanese restaurants were booked solid, except for Ozumo, a trendy downtown San Francisco spot. Ozumo is known for being extremely overpriced but we decided to just get ripped off and have a great time doing it. Well, little did we know just how much they'd rip us off--that they'd literally take the coats off our backs.After feasting on overpriced fish, top-shelf Sake and basically anything the cute waitress suggested, we paid the ridiculous bill and headed for the coat check. And that's where the story really begins. You see, our coats had vanished from the coat check closet. I took a look myself and all I could find was a disorganized mess of boxes and excess inventory competing for space with garments. We asked the proverbial questions: "Is it in another closet? Where is the original hostess who issued the ticket? What now?" I was wearing a fairly pricey Miu Miu long coat. My friend admitted to wearing a "piece of junk worth about $100." I insisted they take a report, which they did. We left Ozumo into a very cold night with no coats, no consolatory shot of sake and not even an offer to hail a cab on our behalf.
It's now approaching February and we are still getting the run around from Ozumo. I've filed a police report, been interrogated by Ozumo's "Insurance investigator," sent numerous emails and basically "project managed" getting them to reimburse me. Call me crazy, but if one of the most expensive restaurants in SF loses coats they inherently promised to protect, I'd think they'd bend over backwards to resolve the situation immediately.
But wait, it gets worse: They are now insinuating that we "altered" their hand-written coat checks in some elaborate plot to extort money from them. Ozumo's coat check is such a mess that they don't even use professionally printed tickets. Instead. they hand write numbers on pieces of flimsy paper.
Quote from Christopher An, Ozumo Manager:
First and foremost I would like to apologize for the delay in returning your message. I have spoken with my staff regarding Saturday night. They state that if in fact the coats were lost, it was neither intentional nor acknowledged. They assure, however, the coats were not stolen. I am inclined to believe they are truthful. I have spoken with Joe Fisher, Director of Operations, and he is fully aware of the situation. As of now, before we can proceed I will need the following: a copy of the police report you have filed as well as receipts for both coats. If you like I am more than willing to speak to Ms. Fisher and relay all necessary information as well. I realize you are in town for a few days and I would like to resolve this as expediently as possible.
Email from Alvin Wang, Ozumo GM
I have forwarded the information to the insurance company and am awaiting their response. I have spoken to the owner about this and he will not authorize me to write you a check for $1,300.00 I am sympathetic to your situation but I must deal with the facts. - I have a lost jacket that I have no receipt for. - I have a coat ticket that has been clearly altered. I know this is no comfort to you but that is the reality of the situation. As much as I would like to send you something I have been advised to let the insurance company handle this. I will call the insurance company tomorrow to inquire the status of your claim.
Thanks Ozumo, you're a class act!
11 comments:
The fact that they are trying to turn it around on you that you are committing fraud by altering the ticket, etc. is classic. F**k them, My work which is about 2 blocks from there will never go there again if I have a say in it. They are banned hard.
I can't believe that they are insinuating that you're some sort of confidence man. I was just at Blowfish recently and had some issues with the bill. They were so accomodating and gracious that they comped me the bill. Now that's service. I'll be staying away from Ozumo.
Maybe they need to change their name to 'O-sue-me'?
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it's soooo stating the obvious that osuckmo needs to rectify the matter. to insinuate that the customer is trying to defraud a restaurant is wretchedly pathetic.
Feel free to send an email to sushi@ozumo.com to let them know about your thouhts on the matter. I'm sure if they received a few hundred emails they might be willing to consider it a PR disaster.
Interesting. I always wondered what a restaurant or club would do if they lost an item at coat check. Guess I'll keep my jacket on the chair next time. I work at Schwab down the street and will post to our email list about Ozumo. I feel it's my civic duty!
I work on Spear Street, and will be getting my sushi elsewhere from now on. Good investment Ozumo, cheap out on a $1300 expense and lose who knows how much in business (our group at their at least twice a month).
This is the worst dining debacle I've ever heard. It puts Ozumo on the same level of customer service as Southwest Airlines, the DMV, and our country's current political process.
Not to mention, their accusations of claim check alteration are above and beyond the call of tacky.
I was considering Ozumo for our company's upcoming yearly dinner. Glad I heard about this before or I'd have about 100 angry people on my hands!
Don't insult Southwest et al. Customer dis-service is what I would call this. It's bad enough that they stole your coat, and insinuated that you are some sort of coat check ticket altering con man, but to make you deal with a damn insurance adjuster over a matter of $1300. Talk about throwing salt in your wound. C'mon, we all know what the average check is at Ozumo.
Thanks for the support, guys. As the weeks go on, it's becoming quite clear that Ozumo doesn't want to make this right. They haven't even paid my friend the measly $100 for her coat. The case has been picked up by a few reporters, stay tuned!
This makes me sick. Good luck!
I work in a South Bay Hospital (must keep the name confidential, but it rhymes with 'Miser'. Needless to say, many of my coworkers and physicians love to drive to 'the City' and extravagantly dine. I will definitely post this article on all floors and units to keep 'Oz' (see HBO special about prison) off the list of suggested restaurants. Even if they ever make this right, which I sorely doubt they will, the damage has been done. The fact that they are actually accusing the victim of falsifying evidence is despicable.
-Marc B.
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