Seeking Advice: Issues with Jenny Yi, an STR Designer

[Steffany Boldrini]

I want to share my experience with Jenny Yi, an STR designer in case others have had similar issues. I hired Jenny Yi to design our latest STR in person, she demanded that I pay the full amount of her services upfront, $7,500, which I thought was strange as we are used to paying half upfront and half once it's completed, but proceeded anyway because a couple of people recommended her. Unfortunately, my experience has been problematic, to put it mildly:

• * Communication: There were significant communication issues, including difficulty scheduling calls, which is still an ongoing problem.
• * Additional Charges: Jenny requested that I deposit on her checking account an additional $20-25k for her to purchase furniture, which I refused because I thought it was very strange, opting to give my card # instead.
• * Work Quality: Jenny never showed up to the house, she sent 2 people instead, she never mentioned she would not show up herself, she never asked for approval to send two others instead, they did not complete the job, and there were multiple unauthorized charges on my card.
• * Receipts and Expenses: Once I brought to Jenny's attention that we were 20k above budget, she refused for days to give me the receipts, saying that I needed to give her my credit card statement first. After a lot of back and forth, she proceeded to share a few receipts, with multiple duplicate receipts, that do not total to amount that I was charged on my card, and there are discrepancies in the charges such as multiple mattresses, multiple coffee makers, 116 towels, etc. She ended up "finding" 5k that was put on other clients orders, she refunded 5k and still refuses to get on a call to review all the receipts for the remainder of unauthorized charges.
• * No calls accepted to review receipts: I have asked Jenny several times for the last 3+ weeks to get on a call to review the receipts and all of the items that are in the house, I have given her several deadlines to resolve the issue, she has never accepted any of my invitations to join any calls despite me pleading her to do so as my credit card payment is now due and has a 29.99% interest rate if not paid.
  
  I have found several people that were also affected with just 2 facebook posts. I’ve reported this to the FTC and have legal counsel. If anyone has had similar experiences with Jenny Yi or has advice on further steps, please share.

[Sarah Kensinger]

Quote from @V.G Jason:

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:

Quote from @V.G Jason:

Quote from @Steffany Boldrini:

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:

I have never heard of her before but recommend a number of other STR designers. Unless the designer has a good social/online footprint with designs I like, I would think twice before hiring them no matter what others say.

 I picked her exactly because she had a good social and online footprint!! Found several others affected by this individual.

Social media is a lie. Why would you believe that?

You are in control of how the set up works, if you need interior designer help. They suggest, you buy and place.

Social media is the new way to market and sell things, anyone not doing it is missing a HUGE opportunity! The designer talked about has a completely different account then the designers I usually recommend, and I would have had red flags to begin with. Also, I recommend someone follow a company/person/business on social media for a few months and see if they would be a good fit.  

I know what social media is. I don't live in a ****ing cave.

It doesn't contest my statement--it's a lie.

I wasn't speaking as if no one knew about social media. I was speaking about the power of marketing on social media. There are lies everywhere in life, even some right on this forum! We don't let those people control us; we control them which is why it's impossible for anyone on this forum who is sketchy to get ahold of me. With social media it's up to the user to follow authentic genuine people/accounts, and it's up to the user to post authentic genuine content. We control what we see, follow, and share, not the other way around!

I'm not sure why this caused such a reaction, but I can say the language above is completely unnecessary and out of order on this forum.