I visited Beach Buds on 9/4/2023. I support the local DJ's in the Northwest Indiana Area and the line up was excellent. I will note here I have a career supporting major companies who have achieved several JD Power awards. I understand achieving those types of accolades is not within your attainable goals. I mentioned this because I know all too well what good customer service should look like. Here's my observation. We arrived the beach and attempted to park by Beach Buds and the area was full. We were able to pay the fee, park and walk about 6 minutes back to Beach Buds. There was a group of us and we proceeded to sit in the Patio area under a ledge (facing Lake Michigan). We all decided to purchase food and drinks. The line was horrible to order and to pick up. This entire process for me took about 20 minutes. Upon retrieving our food, we went to have a seat back within the patio area. We decided there one 2-seater that if we moved it we could eat, drink and be out of the sun. We moved it and got settled and ready to eat and drink. The manager immediately came out and said we can't have you move the furniture. The new location for the 2 seater was not even 4 feet away from it's original placement. We asked what difference it made if we were patronizing the establishment and just wanted to be out of the sun. The "person in charge" not sure if she was a manager or not, basically said no. I would like to add here there was a couple there also sitting under the ledge drinking out of their water bottles and not eating or drinking. Because there are also rules in place that you cannot drink or eat outside food I have to assume these were relatives of the Beach Budz staff. They were out of the sun where we were attempting to move the other chairs next to them. My immediate thought was with the amount of time it took to order and receive our food and drinks management's efforts should definitely be concentrated elsewhere. Instead of improving the amount of time patrons stood in line and ensuring a quicker process she left her staff to come talk to us. If you have ever visited Beach Buds you know that the food and drinks are not cheap. A complete meal with drink will cost you approximately $30-40. There were 5 of us who purchased drinks and food. The alternative was to move our group across the street, in the shady grass, and have someone bring food and drinks which is what so many others did. The discussions in the grass with about 60 of us concluded we wouldn't patronize the establishment ever again with all the rules. I understand you still saw an increase in your numbers from last year ( year over year) however think of the money you potentially lost. This created a negative customer experience for so many of us when it could have had a positive impact on your establishment. Please understand when there is a need to relax your "Rules" especially when dealing with a mature crowd and individuals spending money to support you. Some rules are meant to be broken especially if it's not impacting safety or your brand image. read more