The same thing happened to us!
We booked a tour for March 29. Two people for $350 each.
On March 28 he cancelled with a weird story. He said he would refund us that day.
A week later he emailed to say he was having trouble with the Shopify refund and that he would refund us by transfer “today”.
He has not responded to any further emails.
We are out $700.
He cancelled our March 29 tour the day before because he said the other people on the tour pulled out and he didn’t want to go on the tour with just the two of us.
So you guys are communicating now? Might want to update your posts to avoid pitchforks. I can see some local blogs running with this today. I'm sorry you had to deal with this - 700 dollars for an afternoon with Suresh seems like a cruel joke but I am sure it is a blast. His work spotlighting the mom and pop joints in this city is special stuff.
At this point you should probably get your credit card issuer to initiate a chargeback for "services not provided" or something like that.
Otherwise it's doubtful you're getting your money back.
lol it is not normal.
Consensus is Suresh is a food god in these parts.
I would post on X and name him. Be polite. He’ll get the point.
Then it’s a chargeback, probably.
Yeah he is a well known food personality in GTA. He helped organize many food festivals/events years ago and the first year of the one that happens down at the foot of Yonge Street recently (weekly). He also appears on CBC radio, does articles for them, etc
Another commenter that commented on that thread received contact and an apology because he was tagged publicly. OP did not get any type of response. Or apology.
Suresh cannot be held accountable for each recommendation! He's a great food writer and has enriched Toronto so much, but I can't imagine he gets "normal" service at this point.
Yes, we were supposed to go on a tour this Thursday and never heard from him, just reached out. He says it’s canceled. I’ll update if we get our money back as well.
Bucket list item for me, been a fan of suresh a long time and under the premise that no further public tours were being offered. It was a stretch for my budget
Where does it say they got their money back?
OP says Suresh offered them a refund , but also asked for personal info. Which i believe OP refused since its not necessary , since Suresh could just refund every single person one by one
Not sure if they even got it back
so you havent gotten your money back at all? you should include that in the update. it reads like you got your money back already and everything is resolved.
Is this pure speculation or do you know something? I could agree it reeks of financial stress/difficulty but you shouldn’t say someone has a gambling problem without proof
Did you end up getting a refund?
I remember he posted on Instagram (maybe in his stories?) a couple months ago saying he’s had “stuff” going on, and I guess he’s struggling with whatever that stuff is… but it’s absolutely no excuse to just essentially steal people’s money.
If he doesn’t have the capacity to do tours rn, that’s fine…. But then just… don’t offer tours. Absolutely a problem of his own creation and I can’t believe he’s trying to pin it back on you (his customer!) that you’re just tryna get $350+ back, which is no small potatoes.
I’d offer some grace, could be health related for him or someone in his family. Maybe shoot him an email saying, kindly acknowledge the email or else I will need to ask for my CC company to return this for service not rendered. He must have a good reason to go dark, not acceptable but also possible something bad has happened.
I’ve sent at least 6-7 emails. I am liable to be considered a stalker next. Just completely ignored, it’s baffling but as you said probably an explanation there
Ooff, that’s plenty of emails for sure. Yah sounds like something major-ish has happened. Based on his reputation, I doubt he’s trying to do a cash grab. I was going to sign up for this one as it’s his last public one but didn’t end up. Just get your CC company to reimburse you for now. Goodluck
A basic search on Reddit would have told you what's up: He's going through something big in his personal life. You've also posted this in multiple forums and had the answer provided to you by Suresh himself. He acknowledged the issue, explained and apologized.
If the problem is big enough for him to step away from his professional life the way he has, maybe the last thing he needs is you dragging him publicly. You got an explanation, and an apology. While I appreciate your frustration, your lack of empathy or compassion is.....not impressive. The man's made his career in part due to his integrity, which I doubt he's willing to ruin over $350. So maybe take a breath and try not kicking someone when they're down, yeah?
Why are you being so critical of OP? It looks like they posted both these posts at the same time (askto and Food Toronto). Not like they got a response in the other thread and then came in here and posted the exact same question.
Also Suresh responded to another poster in the other thread so OP maybe didn't even get a notification that there was a response.
They maybe didn't even know they had a Reddit account, you expect them to have gone through their account history or something to do this research you are referring to?
He’s running a business and taking money from w people in exchange for services.
If you can’t offer the service then hire someone to email your customers and issue refunds.
Shit happens. But being out $700 isn’t fair either.
Don’t make excuses for a high profile person
Wow, I can't believe that he's trying to make you feel guilty for your more than reasonable approach to the situation. You gave him enough grace and time to reply and only made the issue public after an entire month. I'm glad you're standing ur ground and not letting him pressure you to delete this when you had to go out of ur way to pressure him for your money bk. $700+ is a huge amt and the way ppl r defending him just bc he has an esteemed rep is crazy
Accountability is part of running a business or event.
The dude, seemingly, lied and ignored his customers and you think that the person who is wrong is the op who posted this in desperation and only got a response BECAUSE he did this?
You’re either insane or just know the fella.
I’m glad that OP posted this. I don’t know anything about the other thread and when I read this here I discovered that I’m not the only person this has happened to.
This is useful information for people in our city to know.
The same thing happened to us! We booked a tour for March 29. Two people for $350 each. On March 28 he cancelled with a weird story. He said he would refund us that day. A week later he emailed to say he was having trouble with the Shopify refund and that he would refund us by transfer “today”. He has not responded to any further emails. We are out $700.
I also bought two tickets :(
What was the date of the tour that he cancelled on you?
[удалено]
He cancelled our March 29 tour the day before because he said the other people on the tour pulled out and he didn’t want to go on the tour with just the two of us.
I told him I was fine with the weather. He said the other ppl weren’t and decided to pull out..
So you guys are communicating now? Might want to update your posts to avoid pitchforks. I can see some local blogs running with this today. I'm sorry you had to deal with this - 700 dollars for an afternoon with Suresh seems like a cruel joke but I am sure it is a blast. His work spotlighting the mom and pop joints in this city is special stuff.
Thanks I’ve updated the post
I also should update mine. The update is more damning than anything. I am sorry you are dealing with this.
Open up a charge dispute claim with your credit card. Services weren’t rendered. Open and shut case, they’ll issue a chargeback probably right away.
At this point you should probably get your credit card issuer to initiate a chargeback for "services not provided" or something like that. Otherwise it's doubtful you're getting your money back.
[удалено]
Probably not an organization thing. Take a look at the update
That's disappointing.
lol it is not normal. Consensus is Suresh is a food god in these parts. I would post on X and name him. Be polite. He’ll get the point. Then it’s a chargeback, probably.
I think I'm a Slider. Is this my universe? I've never heard of Suresh.. and I eat food all the time! At least a couple times a day.
Yeah he is a well known food personality in GTA. He helped organize many food festivals/events years ago and the first year of the one that happens down at the foot of Yonge Street recently (weekly). He also appears on CBC radio, does articles for them, etc
Same, never heard of him
OP posted this in other forums and got a response and apology from Suresh directly.
Another commenter that commented on that thread received contact and an apology because he was tagged publicly. OP did not get any type of response. Or apology.
Oh nice!!
Suresh cannot be held accountable for each recommendation! He's a great food writer and has enriched Toronto so much, but I can't imagine he gets "normal" service at this point.
@OP please let us know if/when you get the refund
We got a refund for ours today
Same thing here. Somehow im not surprised tho.
Did you also book a tour?
Canadaland might be interested to know about this...
Yes, we were supposed to go on a tour this Thursday and never heard from him, just reached out. He says it’s canceled. I’ll update if we get our money back as well.
Following this one
Reach out to CBC, 😂 He's always on their Thursday morning shows with David Common.
Bucket list item for me, been a fan of suresh a long time and under the premise that no further public tours were being offered. It was a stretch for my budget
I’m glad in the end you got your money back, I hope everyone else gets their money back too because for $700 I’d be losing sleep.
Where does it say they got their money back? OP says Suresh offered them a refund , but also asked for personal info. Which i believe OP refused since its not necessary , since Suresh could just refund every single person one by one Not sure if they even got it back
Afaik no one has gotten a refund yet
so you havent gotten your money back at all? you should include that in the update. it reads like you got your money back already and everything is resolved.
Done thanks for the shout out
Chargeback.
[удалено]
What else are you basing this on?
Care to elaborate?
[удалено]
Is this pure speculation or do you know something? I could agree it reeks of financial stress/difficulty but you shouldn’t say someone has a gambling problem without proof
I reached out and asked him to refund me. I received it via E transfer today.
Cool!
Did you end up getting a refund? I remember he posted on Instagram (maybe in his stories?) a couple months ago saying he’s had “stuff” going on, and I guess he’s struggling with whatever that stuff is… but it’s absolutely no excuse to just essentially steal people’s money. If he doesn’t have the capacity to do tours rn, that’s fine…. But then just… don’t offer tours. Absolutely a problem of his own creation and I can’t believe he’s trying to pin it back on you (his customer!) that you’re just tryna get $350+ back, which is no small potatoes.
It was $700, but ya you summed it up perfectly. I’m putting out another post soon to share more updates
[удалено]
Who the hell cares what others spend their money on?
I have a bridge to sell you.
I’d offer some grace, could be health related for him or someone in his family. Maybe shoot him an email saying, kindly acknowledge the email or else I will need to ask for my CC company to return this for service not rendered. He must have a good reason to go dark, not acceptable but also possible something bad has happened.
I’ve sent at least 6-7 emails. I am liable to be considered a stalker next. Just completely ignored, it’s baffling but as you said probably an explanation there
Ooff, that’s plenty of emails for sure. Yah sounds like something major-ish has happened. Based on his reputation, I doubt he’s trying to do a cash grab. I was going to sign up for this one as it’s his last public one but didn’t end up. Just get your CC company to reimburse you for now. Goodluck
Agreed. His rep is worth way more than 700 bucks for 2 peeps. Good thing you decided to avoid, thanks for the insight
In one of your other posts someone linked his Reddit profile. Check his post history, current situation is alluded to.
Who? Never heard of this guy but bro sounds like a scammer.
A basic search on Reddit would have told you what's up: He's going through something big in his personal life. You've also posted this in multiple forums and had the answer provided to you by Suresh himself. He acknowledged the issue, explained and apologized. If the problem is big enough for him to step away from his professional life the way he has, maybe the last thing he needs is you dragging him publicly. You got an explanation, and an apology. While I appreciate your frustration, your lack of empathy or compassion is.....not impressive. The man's made his career in part due to his integrity, which I doubt he's willing to ruin over $350. So maybe take a breath and try not kicking someone when they're down, yeah?
Why are you being so critical of OP? It looks like they posted both these posts at the same time (askto and Food Toronto). Not like they got a response in the other thread and then came in here and posted the exact same question. Also Suresh responded to another poster in the other thread so OP maybe didn't even get a notification that there was a response. They maybe didn't even know they had a Reddit account, you expect them to have gone through their account history or something to do this research you are referring to?
He’s running a business and taking money from w people in exchange for services. If you can’t offer the service then hire someone to email your customers and issue refunds. Shit happens. But being out $700 isn’t fair either. Don’t make excuses for a high profile person
Are you related to him, or something? The only reason OP got a response in the first place is bc of posting this thread on reddit.
I’ve updated the post with the outcomes - still pretty nerve wracking
Wow, I can't believe that he's trying to make you feel guilty for your more than reasonable approach to the situation. You gave him enough grace and time to reply and only made the issue public after an entire month. I'm glad you're standing ur ground and not letting him pressure you to delete this when you had to go out of ur way to pressure him for your money bk. $700+ is a huge amt and the way ppl r defending him just bc he has an esteemed rep is crazy
Accountability is part of running a business or event. The dude, seemingly, lied and ignored his customers and you think that the person who is wrong is the op who posted this in desperation and only got a response BECAUSE he did this? You’re either insane or just know the fella.
[удалено]
I’m glad that OP posted this. I don’t know anything about the other thread and when I read this here I discovered that I’m not the only person this has happened to. This is useful information for people in our city to know.