So It's Not Just Me

What follows is an email I got from a buddy tonight about an experience he had at a spo pizza place, also tonight. My re-publication is totally unauthorized, which is a good way to totally piss off a friend and also explains why I'm keeping him anonymous. (I'll ask forgiveness later.) But I'm also pretty sure he wouldn't mind a little assistance venting.

And I guess I'm more than a little motivated by the fact that I feel like there's something way wrong with the culture at some of our local joints. There are more great ones out there than bad ones and I'm overdue for the praise post. But tonight, for me, it's pretty simple . . . I sweat out a living every day and I'm not willing to just hand my money over to some douche that treats me like shit.

Feel free to draw your own conclusions . . .

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Oh man, what a disaster. Long story short, don’t expect anything more than goon employees, incompetent owners, poor service, mediocre food, but yet good beer from any pizza joint in Spokane.

Early April: I call David’s to ask if they had a room that my professional society could have a meeting in. Sure, they say. We will reserve the room for you. How many people? About 20 people I say.

May 12th: I call David’s to confirm our “room reservation”. 25 people confirmed. 5 pizzas, salads, and water will be waiting for us.

May 13th, 12:50 PM: Call to David’s to confirm “room reservation”. Talk to the owner who has no idea my name is in the book (he didn’t bother to look in the book) But he did add, by the way, you need to be on one check and we can’t separate the checks. Okay, no problem I say.

May 13h, 5:30 PM: I get to David’s and check out the room. Not bad…all to ourselves.
6:00 PM, the David’s employees proceed to seat other people in the room we have reserved.
6:15 PM, the pizza’s come out, but no water, no service, and still a room full of loud people
4x6 screen set up and Power Point and projector at the ready. Speakers waiting to start.
6:20 PM the continuing education lecture starts with about 15 other people in the room yelling away, like nothing was going
on. WTF???
6:40 PM, [Pie-Holers] behind us still chit chatting away, actually yelling over our speaker.
7:00 PM [Pie-Holers] get pizza and start [vigorously stuffing pie into said holes]. Volume in the room goes down in time for our second speaker to start his presentation.
7:30 PM: second speaker is finished
7:40 PM: I settle the tab for the 25 of us…$90 in pizza + $8 tax. Not bad until I get to the register and here: “You did hear about our reservation policy when you called didn’t you?” Me, “ah, no?”. “We do one check and add a %15 room use charge to the bill”. I proceed to tell the goons that they are fucking idiots, and normally when I reserve a room, I expect to have it to myself. Some discussion ensues. I say something to the effect of, “I know it’s not your fault, but when a group reserves a room for a meeting, it usually means they get it to themselves. We will never come here again”. Apologies.

And the owner is a tool, but he was gone and I haven’t had any more discussion with him.

And they ask me what I drink? Man…you just can’t win around here. I think next month we’ll have our society meeting at a radiator shop on Division. At least we’ll get some piece and quite.