I'll NEVER wash that hand again...*sigh*

[TheOtherVillainess]

Last night, hubby, his parents, sister, her husband and two friends of MIL's all trooped out to the West End and the American Airlines Center to see Smuckers' Stars on Ice which featured two of my favorite skaters, Scott Hamilton and Alexei Yagudin *insert drooling smilie here*.

Dinner was so-so. We went to our usual place, the Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End which is a stone's throw from the AAC. They originally told us it would be a 25 min wait. No big deal. We wait...and wait..and wait..and wait. It ends up being an hour and a half wait with us pre-ordering our dinner from a server we snagged and then rushing to eat in like 10 min before having to leave to get to the AAC on time for the show. FIL was NOT happy and let a mgr know. He also calculated the bill himself because they'd added in a 15% gratuity due to party size (there were 6 of us) and left out the tip because we'd been forced to wait so long.

But once we arrived at the AAC, everything was great. We had tickets ON THE ICE which was really cool. Several times during jumps and what not, we all got sprayed with ice particles from the skaters' blades, which was pretty cool. I also got to see my favorite skaters, Scott Hamilton, Alexei Yagudin and Yuka Sato up close. Ekaterina Gordeeva and her husband Ilia were there. SIL and I cracked up because Ilia kept passing behind our seats to get to his seat on the other side of the arena up in the stands. We guessed he was surrounded by family or body guards or something because he seemed to know the folks seated around him pretty well. I wonder if the other people in that section knew it was him?

The best part came at the very end of the show. Because we were seated on the ice, the skaters came up and shook our hands. I got to shake hands with Alexei and Scott and I swear I am never ever ever washing my hands again. *sigh* Alexei Yagudin is SO incredibly hot up close and he's got a butt to DIE for. *drools*
And Yuka Sato is so sweet, so tiny like a little porcelain doll. I never realized how tiny she really is till I saw her up close when they did this move where she skated towards us and it seemed like she was gonna crash into us when Todd Sands and Todd Eldridge (who is also REALLY REALLY hot up close) grabbed her.

Hubby and I had a great time and we can't wait to go next year. MIL grabbed an order form out of the brochure we were given and went to mail in for next year's tix as soon as they left. If you mail in for next year's tix early enough, you get on ice seats, which is how we got our seats this year. We did the same thing last year. As soon as the show was over, MIL raced to the post office with her checkbook and stamped envelope to get the form in the box so it'd get there early enough.

I can't wait for next year's show. I bet it's even better than this one and this one was pretty darn good.

TOV

 

[KathyTX]

Originally posted by TheOtherVillainess
He also calculated the bill himself because they'd added in a 15% gratuity due to party size (there were 6 of us) and left out the tip because we'd been forced to wait so long.

Seriously? You stiffed your waiter because you had to wait for a table? In a highly trafficked tourist area on a Saturday evening, I'd be shocked to NOT have a long wait.

I don't see how the waiter had any control over the wait...

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Thank you for posting that Kathy.


Servers really have no control over how quickly you get a table. In fact, it sounds like they really made an effort to get your food to you ASAP once a table was available in spite of a large party size. When people "punish" the waitperson for things that really aren't their fault -- they end up working for way less than minimum wage.

I understand that your FIL felt there was a problem, but the appropriate action would have been to take it up with the restaurant manager and asked to have the drinks or meal partially comped.

 

[SugarBear]

Yes, it was out of line to not leave a tip. It sounds like the server went out of their way to make sure that you got your food as soon as possible.

 

[luvindisneyworld]

I cannot Believe that you did not leave a tip.It was not the servers fault that you had to wait.If they had of told me the wait was 25 mins and then after about 45 mins i would hae been talking to someone and not have taken it out on the server.The server done their job and they were stiffed .If I were you I would not expect good service when you return.That is the reson i am not a server anymore.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I didn't agree with my FIL stiffing the waitress. It wasn't HER fault the stupid front people made us wait an hour and a half. But since he was paying for the meal and we were running way behind, I didn't object either.

If they had of told me the wait was 25 mins and then after about 45 mins i would hae been talking to someone

My FIL did talk to someone after about 40 min. Then after an hour, he sent BIL (who is bigger, burlier and a lot meaner looking than FIL) to talk to someone. Then after about an hour and 15 min, he sent DH (who tries his hardest to reason with people before going fully ballistic) to talk to someone. Each time we were promised it wouldn't be that much longer of a wait and that we would be the next large party seated. Over and over again, we heard parties of 5 and 6 called, but never ours until the very, very end which I think made FIL even more upset.

TOV

 

[DisneyObsessed]

Anyway.....I'm jealous. I have always wanted to go to that ice show. I just never wanted to pay out the money they want for it. We watch on TV all the time.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

My ILs have gone for years. This is only the second time DH and I have gone and we loved it.

In each of the programs you are handed as you walk in, there is an order form for next year's show. In order to get seats like we got, you have to order them practically the same night as the show. MIL, crafty person she is, knows this and asked us if we wanted tix for next year. She said she'd write out the check right then and we could pay her back whenever. We told her yes, she filled out the form, wrote the check and drove like heck for the nearest post office to drop the envelope in the box. So...we'll probably have the same good seats again next year, which will be really cool.

The best part was getting to shake Alexei's hand. I swear I almost fainted right there wh en he walked up to me. Also, at one point during the show I think Todd Sands winked at me!

TOV

 

[jjskribs]

Scott Hamilton is going to be the guest speaker for graduation at my son's college. My son is only a sophomore so we won't be attending graduation but I bet he gives a fantastic motivational speech.

 

[antkim]

Not trying to be a jerk here but I have to say that not tipping the waitress was just wrong! She NOR the hostess can really predict how long the wait will really be. Some people finish their meals quicker than others so tables turn at different rates. Someone should have said something to your FIL or dug in their pockets and left the tip themselves. 15% is not a great tip anyways. Sorry, but I waited tables and bartended for MANY years it this just struck a sore spot. The waitress did her job therefore she should get paid! And, yes I KNOW that you are not obligated to leave any tip but again it wasn't because of poor service that FIL stiffed her it was because he had to wait too long for a table.
I'm glad you were able to enjoy the show and had such great seats.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

TOV - I can relate. Last year we had on ice seats for Stars and DD7 was thrilled.
When the skaters came around to shake hands, instead of Jamie Sale shaking DD's hand - she said, "Thanks so much for coming, Sweetie" and gave her a big hug!

The best was a few years ago at a Pro-Am event in Hamilton Canada. We (DD5 at the time) and I were first row right down from the "kiss and cry". All the skaters passed by us on the way to get their marks. Because DD was there, all the fans around us kept yelling out to the skaters, pointing out "the little kid" (I think they just wanted them to come over to get photo's)......anyway, DD got kissed by Alexi, Brian Orser, Kirk Browning, Michele Kwan, Sarah Huges, and more I can't remember!

Unfortunately Stars on Ice is not coming to Atlanta this year

Thanks for the report TOV!

 

[MickeysMommy]

OMG! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Scott Hamilton. We saw him in '84 after the olympics when he was on tour with Randy Gardner and Tai Babalonia and I have loved him ever since (mind you I was 9 at the time) but I just think there isn't another skater like him. Brian Boitano is a great skater but he is a different kind of skater, more dramatic for instance. I'm jealous.

 

[Blondie]

FIL was NOT happy and let a mgr know. He also calculated the bill himself because they'd added in a 15% gratuity due to party size (there were 6 of us) and left out the tip because we'd been forced to wait so long.

That really is unfortunate for the waiter because it certainly wasn't his/her fault that the restaurant was so busy. Maybe next time you can go to a restaurant that takes reservations? I know that on busy nights you still may have a bit of a wait, but I doubt for the length of time you waited.

Sounds like the show was wonderful, Scott Hamilton has been a fave of mine for many years!

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

was thrilled.
When the skaters came around to shake hands, instead of Jamie Sale shaking DD's hand - she said, "Thanks so much for coming, Sweetie" and gave her a big hug!

The "kiss and cry" was the exact reason MIL wanted floor seats this year. Last year, we were sitting in the first row behind the floor seats and when MIL attempted to lean forward to shake Scott's hand at the end, the security guard jumped in front of her.
That really made her mad and she was determined from then on to get floor seats the next go round.

I know that on busy nights you still may have a bit of a wait, but I doubt for the length of time you waited.

If I hadn't been there, I wouldn't have believed the amount of time we waited either. I know predicting how fast tables will turn over isn't an exact science and it wasn't really the waitress's fault we weren't served earlier. BUT....I do think that the non-tipping was justified to a point because of the time we were forced to wait, the fact that the waitstaff in charge of the list didn't have it together at all (or so it seemed) and because WE had to grab someone from the bar to even take our order. The waitress did nothing other than bring out what we'd already ordered 15 min beforehand. If I had been in charge (and I wasn't, though I wish I had been) we'd have been eating take out from Hooters down the street instead of waiting an hour and a half at Spaghetti Warehouse.



TOV