A wedding is one of life's most important occasions, and the banquet carries the sincerity and dignity of the newlyweds' families.

Mr. Hu, a resident of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, booked a high-end wedding banquet package at 2,599 yuan per table at the Platinum Joy Banquet Center in Xinjian District, Nanchang, more than half a year in advance for his son's wedding, hoping to hold a dignified and perfect celebration.

Afterward, however, he claimed he encountered the distressing problem of the dishes served not matching the pre-booked menu, leaving the family deeply embarrassed in front of relatives, friends, and the in-laws.

According to Mr. Hu, he finalized the banquet scheduled for October 3 back in February of this year and paid a deposit of 10,000 yuan on the spot.

After the wedding, Mr. Hu settled the remaining balance of 54,900 yuan as agreed.

He had thought the happy event had come to a successful close, but the day after the wedding, multiple relatives and friends reported one after another that the banquet dishes were of poor quality, and the in-laws also told the newlyweds that the dishes served were different from the menu previously provided.

"My friends and relatives all said my banquet was too poorly done, the dishes were too bad. My in-laws told my son that the dishes seemed to have been swapped, different from the menu previously sent to him. This matter made me lose a lot of face," Mr. Hu said.

Prompted by relatives and friends, Mr. Hu took out the wedding menu he had confirmed with the hotel earlier and compared it against his memory of the dishes served that day. Upon checking, he found that 7 of the 14 pre-booked main dishes were inconsistent with the original menu, and 2 staple foods had also been replaced. All 26 tables were affected:

Grouper was replaced with mandarin fish; hand-torn lamb chops were replaced with braised mutton; Cantonese-style roast goose with char siu was replaced with tea-scented duck; Cantonese-style black pepper beef short ribs were changed to pepper-shredded crispy bones; chicken-broth shredded pork with pickled bamboo shoots was replaced with a rich golden broth stewed with premium mushrooms; garlic vermicelli with Cuban lobster was changed to garlic vermicelli with steamed Boston lobster.

The staple foods originally designated as potstickers and glutinous rice cakes were replaced with fresh meat buns and egg tarts.

After the incident, Mr. Hu immediately contacted the hotel to discuss compensation, but after multiple rounds of negotiation, the two sides still could not reach an agreement.

The matter also had a considerable impact on Mr. Hu's family. "Because of this, I didn't sleep all night, and even my relationship with my in-laws has become a bit strained. This mistake is entirely the hotel's fault. My demand is that at the very least they give me a 50% discount."

Facing the dispute, Mr. Tang, the person in charge of the Platinum Joy Banquet Center, admitted to reporters from City Scene that this was a work error by the hotel and explained the reason: "At the time, he chose a menu priced at 2,599 yuan. We had both a new and an old version of the menu. During the process, the salesperson may have placed the order using the old version of the 2,599 yuan menu. Of course, its value is also 2,599 yuan, but the guest had booked our new 2,599 yuan menu, which means six or seven dishes were different."

Mr. Tang said that after the incident, the hotel immediately reviewed the problem and proactively proposed remedial solutions. Initially, it offered compensation at three times the price and also suggested arranging for Mr. Hu's relatives and friends to dine at the hotel so the hotel could apologize in person: "We offered compensation at three times the price, and because the guest cares a lot about face, we also said we would arrange for 10, 20, or 30 of his relatives and friends to have a meal, and our hotel would raise a glass and apologize. But the guest may not have been able to accept the solution we offered."

Later, the hotel upgraded its proposal again, raising the compensation amount to 20,000 yuan, but still failed to gain Mr. Hu's approval.

On October 7, reporters from Jimu News called the hotel involved to verify the matter again. A staff member said that the menu is divided into an old version and a new version. What the guest booked was the new version, but what was served was from the old menu. However, this was not a last-minute dish substitution, and there was no fraud against the guest.

At present, the two sides have temporarily failed to reach an agreement on the compensation plan. The hotel is also actively handling the matter and hopes to resolve it properly.

Staff from the Xinjian District Market Supervision Administration said the matter is still under investigation.

Mr. Hu said he will subsequently safeguard his lawful rights and interests through legal channels.

Netizens: Having a happy occasion ruined like this really is a bitter pill to swallow. Now that things have come to this, how should it be remedied? What do friends think? Have you ever encountered an unexpected situation at a wedding banquet, and how was it finally resolved? You are welcome to leave comments and join the discussion.

Special statement: This article was authorized for publication by the "Shangguang Account" affiliated unit of the Shangguan News client and represents only the views of that affiliated unit. "Shangguan News" is only an information publishing platform. If you believe the published content infringes your relevant rights, please contact us for deletion!