Rasta Taco - Fail
Since making this post back in March, we have received a number of comments from people who were supposedly done wrong by Rasta Taco. It seems things took a turn for the worse when the head chef quit with no notice, requiring the owner to cancel catering events on the day of.. Many complained that they had not received their deposit back.. Mario, the proprietor, has recently contacted us, asking for this post to be removed, based on claims that the many comments were bogus, and from people who were not his customers..
We appreciate Mario’s request, and understand his need to wipe the slate clean and move forward with his business. However, we don’t think its entirely fair to simply delete this post, given the fact that after careful research into the source of all our comments (using IP address logs and other technical data), the vast majority appear to be from unique visitors and not from a single disgruntled employee (as Mario had alleged)..in other words..THESE ARE REAL PEOPLE GETTING SCREWED!!!
We will remain faithful to our readers and allow this story to play out on its own..Taco Town has always believed in journalistic integrity. We are an independent voice. This is in the public domain now..All parties are welcome to comment..If you have good things to say about Rasta Taco, by all means, please chime in..I have also sent emails to the people who have made negative comments in the past, asking them to update us on their situation..
Update: I’ve removed the comments of anyone who has posted with and invalid email..please repost a new comment with a valid email if yours has been deleted..if you have a complaint with Rasta Taco, I urge you to give Mario a call to resolve the matter (his phone number is posted in the comments).
JT said,
July 2, 2008 @ 10:24 am
Scheduled and paid for catering service and none showed up. They called 3 hours before the party and cancelled, had problems with the company. I understand stuff happens but you don’t leave you customer hanging 3 hours before the party without food!!! No matter what you have to make it happen…refund takes forever too…very very bad business
Debi Miles said,
July 24, 2008 @ 3:45 pm
Just wait until they call two hours before your wedding reception and say they won’t be able to make it. A month later they still have given me my $1,000 refund. No business sense, lied about vehicles involved in an accident. No one should deal with this company!
Erin said,
July 29, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
I used them to cater an event and they out sourced the catering with another company who only stayed for half of the time I paid for and did not provide the items that I ordered and paid for in advance. I emailed and called the owner and have heard nothing back! Additionally, my credit card was over charged by $300. I would NEVER recommend Rasta Taco for catering.
Gundo said,
July 31, 2008 @ 8:38 am
The day of my daughters party, they out sourced the catering to a guy who was late, spoke no english, and did not have all the food and the margarita machine I had ordered. They guy only stayed half the time he was suppose to. Trying to get in touch with the owner, Mario, and he is avoiding me. I have left a dozen voicemails on Mario’s cell and have emailed him, as well. I am owed a refund, for the food and drinks I paid for that did not show up. Do not know if I will ever get the money back. Shame on him. Very bad business.
DM said,
August 9, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
I have filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau. Easy to do on line and I suggest everyone else do the same. Maybe we should all show up at their business at the same time and ask for resolution.
Brandy said,
August 24, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
Wow! I think I just figured out why nobody from rasta taco is getting back to me about the catering I paid for over a year ago for my wedding next month! Holy crap, I think I better figure out another game plan, I knew this would effin happen. Thanks to all of you for posting your nightmares, hopefully I have time to find someone else to take their place. As for getting back my deposit, has anyone been successful???
Keola said,
September 30, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
Excuse me, but how can people not hate you if you don’t even RETURN calls to tell people there are problems? These people have every right to be pissed, YOU RUINED A SPECIAL DAY FOR THEM. It’s not just the lost money, it’s the lack of consideration, the multiple mistakes, and “apologies aside?” No, those should be forefront. These people did what was needed to conduct a business deal, you should have done what was need to not sever future business possibilities and referrals.
That’s my suggestion.
Mario said,
October 16, 2008 @ 1:54 pm
Hello World. As noted in the OC MexFood Blog, in it, you will see a detailed letter of the demise of something great. I have made offers to repay ALL and any party that was affected by a negative outcome. I am certain; Mr. DeSimone has not made that offer. I have several proofs of thank you letters from all sorts of customers who used us and who took sympathy of what I was left with. A BIG MESS. And, have used us since.
Yes, we did outsource some of the events. I had ZERO alternatives. It was either try and fulfill and obligation, or cancel. I chose to source out a great and honest vendor to step. One of which, we have aligned with.
Yes, Michael DeSimone is no longer with the company. With a notice of resignation at 7.30pm on a Friday night… the night before three weddings….I had no other option but have to cancel SEVERAL PARTIES. The DAY OF!!! No cook, no food.
What was I suppose to do? I hold personal debt in the area of 55k (verifiable) due to Mr. DeSimones stunt. So, I beg all of your pardons if I have not paid all of you back.
I have two fulltime jobs…. that are just for paying Mr. DeSimones gesture of bad business.
My telephone number is 949-842-6936.
Me a “putz”? No, ladies and gentlemen, a man of integrity.
Rasta Taco will relaunch under the same principles in which it was founded; Good, honest and hard working company.
So sorry so many people have so many comments without checking sources. This will be the last mail I write to address this issue.
Best Regards,
Mario Melendez
Owner, Rasta Taco.
Elizabeth said,
November 2, 2008 @ 11:50 am
I read the above comments. They sound harsh. We hired them for an even two weeks ago, and I have to say, it was the best food I ever had. Period. The man in charge explained the demise of the operations manager…so… I think those who fell “like they want spit on the face” of the owner, should think twice. The servise was great.. and very, very accomadting. I recommend them all day 5 Stars.
Eli
Christian said,
November 10, 2008 @ 1:42 am
There’s actually several different reasons why I deleted the nasty comments. One is that the very first one that came through was anonymous and they told me to contact them so they could tell me how bad Rasta Taco was but then they left no contact info. Then I left a comment telling them to give me their contact info so I could contact them as they requested and they still never relayed their contact info to me.
Another reason is that the negative comments come in waves. I’ll get about three in a very quick period then a week or so will pass and then I’ll get another two or three.
Another reason is that the business has been reorganized so it’s a completely different ballgame now and negative comments made at a period in time when the business organization was substantially different shouldn’t be held against it now and since the reorganization I have only received positive comments on it.
Another reason is that as time went on the negative comments that were being left were taking on a tone that is simply out of place for my blog. My blog cannot be a discussion forum for people talking about where a certain person lives in hopes of tracking them down. Whether or not somebody was wronged in a business deal and how a resolution is sought after is beyond the scope of my blog.
And there are more reasons than that.
Brandy said,
November 10, 2008 @ 4:42 pm
I have just sent an email to you Chappy, and thank you for inquiring about the situation. I assure you that I was a legitimate customer of Rasta Taco, or I should say, I was supposed to be a legitimate customer. I booked a year in advance for my wedding that was held september 20, 2008. I didn’t hear from the woman who was their catering coordinator for a while, and I didn’t think much of it. I called about 6 weeks away from my wedding to see what my final balance was so that I could get the cashier’s check. When I called the woman’s number, it was disconnected. I tried calling the actual restaurant number as well as Mario’s cell. My calls, emails and myspace messages were never returned, there was never any effort on Rasta Taco’s part to inform me whether or not they’d be there. About 2 weeks before the wedding I luckily found another caterer who could pull through, but we also had to work with less money than was budgeted for food because of the fact that Rasta Taco still had our deposit.
Two weeks after the wedding I called Mario and he actually answered. I proceeded to tell him that I had booked him for my wedding and he asked when it was, it astounded me that he had no idea who I was and when I told him it was 2 weeks past, he seems to stumble through his words, and rush to get off the phone.
What really got me is that there was no mention of losing the cook or any of the mishaps I’ve seen him write in his response here. He simply told me of his 92 year old Uncle dying and having to take care of his Aunt. He never once apologized, just spewed a bunch of excuses.
He promised to return my call later that day, which not surprisingly never happened. I have called and been very polite, until my last phone call. I left him a message and gave him a week to call me back or I’d be taking him to court. He never called. If he is in serious debt and can’t pay me back right away, I might have been able to find the patience to wait if he had at least given me enough respect and courtesy to call me back and explain what was going on.
I’ve been left in the dark and very saddened that his catering co. was not part of the wedding. His taco cart was the inspiration for our wedding and the style, theme and music were all planned around having Rasta Taco. It was more than an upset and I’d appreciate the return of my money and the courtesy of an apology.
Cabeza De Taco said,
November 10, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
thanks Brandy…
September 20th wedding - that was less than 2 months ago.
Mario? got a response for Brandy?
Mario said,
November 10, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
yea…call me. How much do we owe. And it will be paid.
Mario
burnt said,
November 11, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
I was extremely disappointed to receive a call 4 hours (not the night before) my wedding on 6/21/08. I, like Brandy, have been told one lie after another. I was never informed that a cook quit…perhaps a call when that happened would have alleviated some of the pain and stress on my wedding day. Instead what I was told was that there was a horrible car accident, the equipment was lost and the chefs were in the hospital. So not only did I have the stress of trying to find someone to feed all my guest (4 hours before the wedding), but then I also felt horrible for his staff…hoping that their accident wasn’t caused by the winding roads to get to my wedding destination. I tried desperately for weeks to get in touch with someone to find out, not only about my refund, but also to check on the status of his drivers. I was played, big time. I too, could have been more compassionate had a single person at Rasta Taco chose to tell the truth instead of lie after lie.
My husband and I fell in love with the food…which is why we booked them, but the lies and deception and lack of concern for client retention (we would have used them over and over again, based on the food alone) have left us extremely unsatisified and disappointed. My mother paid the deposit, and then some, and has gotten nothing but the run around from Mario.
So Mario…make me eat my words and be the stand up man that you say you are and pay back all these people you burned. You say you are working 2 full time jobs…well we all work hard for our money…our money that you had no problem taking, and not repaying…so now we are all in tough spots. I hope you get it together and take on the responsiblity that is yours and pay everyone back, like you say you will.
Mike Desimone said,
November 14, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
Chappy
I am mike desimone, marios old chef. A couple things, i did not post the comment in sept, never been on this site before. I quit with full notice and understanding of mario, he bounced 3 paychecks on me, and i informed him of all other employees checks that had bounced. This was on monday of May 19th. I was an employee and have since been hounded to pay his still neglacted bills. I have been working at another restaurant since June. Mario will not return my calls or pay me or the other 6 past employees. I have all names and numbers if you like, also his main investor and landlord have filed suits. I would like the posting with my name removed. Mario is a shady guy and still owes a lot of people, I have not heard from even one person that mario has said to have paid back. I am more than welcome to discuss any questions you might have, I have a full timeline written down. He also did not have a production kitchen or any kind of ins. after May 21st, he did all cooking in his personal kitchen. Shady
Thanks
Mike DeSimone
949-606-6862
Cameron (Prefer not to use last) said,
December 16, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
Dear Whomever It May Concern,
I am an ex employee of Rasta Taco, and i would like to share my side in case it helps clear the name of Mike DeSimmone. I worked for Rasta Taco from the start of the company under Mike, and I also worked under him catering for his last company before Rasta. (For the sake of that companys possible reputation trouble i’d prefer to keep in to myself). There was never ANY kind of bad business in the kitchen with Mike DeSimonne, he is a professional and would NEVER walk out without notice the night before 3 weddings. From the get-go all of the caterer’s and I knew Mario was a shady character but our love for the company and respect for Mike kept us working as long as we all did. All together in the countless parties i worked with Mr. Simonne there was never one complaint. Business ethics had always been on his top priority and it is a shame that he had to partner with such a shady character in the creation of Rasta Taco.
Thanks,
Cameron
Cameron55×55@hotmail.com