After an odds-defying bad session of VP things had to get better, right?
Not necessarily.
The aftermath of last weekend's VP debacle was a visit to a host to ask for a dinner comp before slinking back home.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, you'll have to use your slot points. New policy."
After calling her attention to a loss which would equal a house payment or two (or three...) Ms. Unsympathetic still would not budge.
"Fine then", I grumbled. "Ask your supervisor. I'll wait".
Ms. "2010 Generosity Award Winner" later returns with (drumroll) ... a buffet comp.
No longer in the mood or with the energy to argue (the loss itself was debilitating enough) I proceeded to the buffet.
Instead of just walking in, it had one of those zig-zag entrances where you walk all the way down, then all the way back, then all the way down again, as if a few hundred people were in line ahead of you. Only, there was nobody else in line. So, there I am, on the Olympic slalom course, exhausted. Where's a skateboard when you need one?
And, yes, it does get worse.
Without boring you with the details of the meal, simply envision hospital food. And make it a doctor-prescribed BLAND diet. To wash it down, the coffee was burnt tasting, as if it had been in the urn since the Sands and Desert Inn days. Maybe Bugsy even had the first cup.
It's never an issue with me to move on and simply avoid a bad restaurant in the future. But I did want to leave my two cents worth with the manager.
And so, with what would be the trifecta of bad experiences in a dreadful day, I asked for the manager to be paged.
He approached sullenly.
I commented, "You know, there are excellent buffets at nearby casinos. This meal just wasn't up to snuff".
The manager, undefensive and addressing me as if I were a stockholder and not a customer, responded as follows:
"Our marketing strategy is to cut costs. The other buffets are investing in improvements. That's not our goal".
Huh?
"And besides, they're farther away. We're convenient. Location, location, location".
I'm now too stunned to respond. But I knew there was one last comment before he sent me on my way.
"In fact, we may be raising prices soon, too".