— The Servd Guarantee
Six promises in one small fee.
Every SERVD booking carries an 8% Guarantee fee, added on top of your chef’s rate. Your chef keeps 100% of their price; the 8% pays for the six protections below. Nothing else. No hidden line items, no quiet retainers.
Why we put this in writing
A guarantee should mean something specific.
Most marketplaces bury what they actually owe you under a word like “trust” or “protected” and call it a day. We’d rather say it out loud: here are the six things we’ll do if something goes wrong, and the timelines we’ll do them on. If we miss any of them, write us and we’ll make it right.
The six protections
What the 8% actually buys.
01
If your chef cancels, we make it right — or refund every dollar
If a confirmed chef cancels within 72 hours of your booking, our team finds you a qualified replacement chef. If we can't, you get a full refund — including the Servd Guarantee fee — within 24 hours.
02
Every chef is vetted, background-checked, and certified
No chef appears on SERVD until they've passed identity verification, a criminal background check (via Checkr), and a current food handler certification review (ServSafe or equivalent). All three are required to take bookings — no separate badge needed, no exceptions.
03
Satisfaction guarantee
If the experience materially differs from what you confirmed — wrong menu, dietary needs ignored, misrepresented service — file a claim within 48 hours. Our team reviews within two business days and issues a partial refund or platform credit if the claim holds.
04
Your funds sit in escrow, not cash-in-hand
Your booking payment is held by Stripe and only released to your chef 24 to 48 hours after the event you booked. You never pay your chef directly. If a cancellation falls under our policy, the funds are returned to you automatically — not chased.
05
Day-of human support
A real SERVD team member is on call by phone or text during your booking window. Not a chatbot, not a ticket queue. We aim to answer in under five minutes if something goes sideways on the day.
06
$1M general liability coverage on every booking
SERVD carries a $1M general liability policy that extends to every booking on the platform — so a broken vase, a slip in your kitchen, or a stained countertop has real coverage behind it. Every chef is ALSO required to carry their own $1M policy as a condition of approval; ours is the layer that protects you no matter what.
Protection 03 · How to file
If a dinner went sideways.
The Satisfaction Guarantee above is the promise. Here’s how it works in practice when something a chef confirmed at booking shows up materially different on the night.
01
File within 48 hours of the event
Email disputes@servdchefs.com or open the floating chat in the bottom-right and ask for a dispute. Include the booking date, the chef’s name, and what materially differed from what you confirmed at booking. Photos help.
02
We review within two business days
A SERVD team member — not a contractor, not a chatbot — reads your message, pulls the booking record, and reaches out to your chef for their side. We aim to land a decision inside two business days.
03
Resolution: refund, credit, or replacement
If the claim holds, you receive a partial refund, a platform credit, or a replacement booking — whichever fits the situation. Refunds land within five business days. Credits are instant. Replacement bookings are coordinated by our team.
Coming soon · Phase 2
Property damage protection up to $500.
A SERVD-funded reserve covering minor in-home incidents during a booking — broken glasses, stained countertops, scratched cookware. Filed within 48 hours, resolved within five business days. Ships with our v2 release.
Where the 8% goes
The math, in one paragraph.
For a $600 booking, your chef sets their price and you pay $648 ($600 + $48 Guarantee fee). Your chef receives the full $600 they agreed to — never a penny less. The $48 funds the replacement coverage, the chef vetting program, the escrow, the day-of support line, the satisfaction reserve, and the $1M general liability coverage we carry for every booking. We don’t take a commission from your chef. Ever.
Questions about a specific booking?
Day-of issues go to the human support line. Anything else, write us — we answer everything.