Truly the most baffling experience I have had in decades of seeing shows, from hardcore matinees to arena gigs. Treatment from staff that was so rude and indifferent that it felt like we were being filmed for a prank show.
Transportation problems meant we arrived late to see a friend play. We thought we'd be able to catch half the show maybe, but when we arrived the woman sitting at the door said "she's almost finished." When we said we still wanted to go in (the stage itself is behind a door through the bar), the woman said "I've already closed the till for the door, it's all counted up." We clarified that we would be happy to pay the cover, but the woman - extremely irritated in the face of *literally* nothing but a friendly standard transaction - said she would have to text an unnamed staff member to see if we would be allowed to enter.
As our friend started to play the last few songs, we stood by the door (in quiet disbelief - we gave no attitude at all) while we waited. My companion asked if we could stand by the back to see the last of the show; we'd be happy to pay whenever. "No, not until I hear back." Then, *after nearly 20 minutes*, the last note of the show rang out and the door person said "OK, you can go in - that will be $26." After the show had ended. Again, it felt like a joke, or someone was just trying to ruin our night. The key to this complaint is that *we were willing to pay to go in when we got there* - we weren't trying to be sneaky or get something for nothing. The reason we couldn't go in was because she had "closed the till"!
I have worked at venues before, and put on shows for all kinds of audiences. It is incredibly unprofessional to not have any sort of policy or system in place for possible latecomers - any space used for the arts will establish this. But it goes from unprofessional to rude when your front-of-house staff is obnoxious and rude for no reason at all. We ended up going next door to the taco place next door, Chilo's, where the staff were friendly and the drinks were good (and where nobody else had ever heard of a door policy like that, either).
Venues come and go all the time - the iconic ones stick around because they're good to the people who come to see shows there. I hope someone in management reads this and has a think about figuring out a policy to deal with people who arrive late for whatever reason, and has a think about the attitudes of the people they have working for them. A huge, huge bummer. read more