Overshadowed by the riot in Vancouver on June 15, 2011, there was a Hockey Game before that.
The day started extra early for me. Being a Real Estate Agent definitely has its perks in terms of time flexibility. This is one of those times that it was really helpful for me and my friends. We called Joey’s on Burrard and Robson the day before to see if we were able to make reservations, they said they don’t take reservations. They advised that we should show up early to get seats, when asked how early, they only said they opened at 11am and would be seating on a first come first serve basis. So, I arrived at 10:50am. When I arrived they would only give me a table for 4, but we had 11 people and they would not allow me to hoard 2 tables and said that they would ask me to leave if other people with their groups were waiting. Mind you when I got there at 10:55am NO ONE WAS THERE and it turns out that 90% of the bar area was booked/reserved for “regulars” [Seriously, when they say no reservations, they actually took reservations for their "regulars" I felt so prejudiced]. In my mind, I am definitely a regular, I go there at least once a month and they don’t remember me or realize. Maybe there’s a “Membership Card” like Costco that I need to get in order for them to consider me a regular.
Next, I went to Joey’s at Bentall. Again, it was empty except for a few tables that had guests. Their rules were, half of your group must be here before you are seated. I had 11 people and they would stagger in every hour. There was no way that 5 other people could be here in the next 5 minutes. Essentially, they finding another way to say, “NO” but not actually say it. I was very hungry at the time and even proposed that I would eat brunch there and asked if they could seat me where when my friends came they could push another table together for me. Then, when more came push some more tables together. They had the tables and the section that this could be done, but the Manager there was a total jerk and said those seats are for people that are coming to eat lunch and most likely they would stay. I told him, I’m hungry, I want to eat! He just turned his head and looked around and said, he can give me a table in the back which has a bad view of the TV, but would only fit 4 people. When you have people want to hid you in the back room, you get a little choked. At this point, I had enough of Joey’s. I understand that I am one person trying to save seats for my friends, but I have a group of 11 people and I am willing to spend money to eat and drink until the game starts and end. I wanted to scream, “Just let me have a good time and give me a seat!” I enjoy the food at Joey’s but lately I feel the quality of their food and their service has dropped substantially. On the one day that meant the most to me wanting to spend my heard earned money at Joey’s to watch my beloved Canucks play, Joey’s treated me like garbage and really ruined my mood.
Across the street I went. Next stop was Cactus Club. Full with disappointment, I went to Cactus Club and hoped they would have a seat for my friends and I. It turns out they did, but I would have to wait until 3:30pm to be let in. They even had rules and regulations describing how they would seat customers. When I arrived it was 11:15 and I was 3rd in line for a table and that seemed great because it guaranteed my friends and I a table. The worst part was that we did not get to choose where we would sit. They said they would clear the restaurant at 2:30pm. Then if a seat was available they would give those to us. I was excited because I was able to choose these nice booths near the bar which seemed like there was great energy there. Around 12:30pm the hostess came out with a seating chart and was taking my name. I was getting hyped about game time now and felt good again. I could see myself in that booth and cheering on the Canucks. The hostess even said that every seat in the restaurant, you can see the TV. [Which sounds great, but is not. The views are seriously horrible! you can see the TV but you can't see the image well.]
CACTUS CLUB YOU LIAR
I was 3rd in line. It was first come first serve. You would think they would give the people that got there early to get the best seats first. This was not the case. They realized it took them less time to clear the restaurant and because my whole group was not there they started letting people with 9/11 people of their group here to go in first. We’ll at that time we had 8/11 people and we did not get to go in. They let the people behind me go in first, I didn’t say anything because you get more bees with honey. But, I honestly could not believe this! Yes, my group is almost here and are coming here as soon as they can because they need to work and will be here at 3:00pm because that is what your sign says. I told my friends to all be here at 2:30pm to make sure we are all here because would would be let in at 3:00.
In the end, we did not get the booths I wanted and got shafted with seat that had 2 posts in front of us, blocking the vision to the TV, my mood was crap before the game started. The people that lined up behind me got the seats we were supposed to get and I am just so surprised how this was just a craptastic day.
Overall, my friends said they did not mind the seats and were extremely benevolent about the situation and were grateful and happy to get a seat. The feelings of disappointment and anger were only felt by me. I felt I let them down because I am strong believer hard work, determination, and great effort will result in success. This day just showed the opposite. I made sure that I arrived in downtown early so my friends could get a great experience and have a great seat. I just wanted to see great results from my hard work. I felt I let my friends down. Ultimately, I was the only one that was not happy about the situation and the way I was treated by all these restaurants.
I do understand that these restaurants need to make money and can’t have people sitting around all day ordering a glass of water. It’s also hard to determine how much one would order if you seated them first and restaurants need to make money to sustain business. I totally understand that. I am not implying I am entitled to anything nor am I asking for it. I just wanted some fairness, if they said no reservations, then this goes across the board, even regulars. I said I was going to eat because I am hungry, then give me a seat (not in the back room, but somewhere I would get served). If you were going to have “first come first serve”, don’t seat the people behind me when I started waiting at 11:15am and an hour before other people started showing up.
Regarding the Riot:
My heart was a bit collapsed with disappointment and we were down 0-3. So, we decided to leave before the 3rd period and we were able to get out before the riot started.
