Recently, one of our DJs played at Dinolfos Banquets . I laughed, having had a similiar experience myself, and after speaking to several different DJs, I have come to the conclusion that Jim’s experience is the norm rather than the exception.
Jim writes- Friday July 10, 2009 I had the opportunity to DJ at DiNolfo’s in Homer Glen. The Ceremony was done there at 6:00pm and lasted about 20 minutes. After the ceremony, the room was opened for about 35 minutes with no bar service. Guests just roamed around with nothing to do-(not a good start for a wedding reception). This is unusual in the banquet world, at every other place I’ve worked, the bar opens immediately after the ceremony is done, creating the right atmosphere for a good celebration. Not here though-They had a cash bar set up in the lobby. That explains the reason for the gap in time. Seems like they are trying to suck out every dime they could.
There was a lack of supervision in the room. Any contact I had with the hall was through a server. Where was the halls Coordinator? The photographer told me that the bride had to demand that the linens be changed due to holes in the cloths- she said they tried to cover them with plates, also some napkins were pre-stained. Yuck.
The staff seemed to be following their own agenda with very little regard for the guests. They insisted the cake be cut after the introductions and immediately began to noisily break down the cake table as the speeches were taking place. Think of it. A bus boy closing the legs of a table and rolling it away 10 feet in front of the Matron Of Honor while she was proposing her toast. Couldn’t they have waited a little? Also during this time, the music was booming through the thin walls from the DJ next door. This place is really beautiful on the outside, but sometimes beauty is only skin deep. For instance, they had beautiful chair covers and then served boxed wine in plastic carafs. Very elegant?
A below average dinner was served family style and was completed within an hour. I was invited to eat as a guest, but when I went to the bar to get a drink, I was refused because I was the DJ. Apparently DJ’s aren’t responsible enough to enjoy a drink or two. Or they could simply be that cheap. I wondered if they discounted the meal for the DJ as well (Not!). I did get a 10 oz plastic cup full of ice and diet coke. Woo hoo! I requested a cup of coffee 1/2 hour after dinner and was told it was not available.
In addition to Jim’s rants, I have had my own issues with Dinolfo’s- They require the DJs to have a liability insurance waiver to work there. Who do you think absorbs that cost? And they won’t let us tape our cords down on their dancefloor. They say the tape ruins the finish. I must wonder, who’s the brainiac that chose a dancefloor finish that can’t stand up to gaffers tape? First of all, they built the place with no electric near the dancefloor. Duh, whats the DJ supposed to plug into? Was an outlet built into the floor going to cost that much extra? OK, so we have to run our cords 50 feet to the outlets on the wall. Well, we have to tape them down for safety (we don’t want grandma tripping over loose wire), then they get nuts about the tape. In their defense, they did provide some throw rugs to toss over the chords, but it looked bad. They should change their name to D’Awfuls. I recommend you choose a different hall.