House of Blues Update #2

As folks might recall from this blog entry, our anniversary evening was interrupted due to the House of Blues, Anaheim changing, at the last minute, the They Might Be Giants show from “All Ages” to adult-only, after we had bought the tickets for our daughter and her friend to go with ellipticcurve to the show. They came home early, with merch, but still annoyed. A subsequent blog entry noted how we had a message from the General Manager of HOB Anaheim to call him.

Today, in a conference call, ellipticcurve, S&F, and I spoke with the General Manager. We heard his explanation of how this SNAFU happened, and how he is working to prevent it from happening in the future. S&F spoke up and expressed her concerns, and he took the time to listen to her and to apologize to her. This was good, and I feel this helped teach her a lesson that there are proper ways to react to problems, and they will lead to a resolution. He indicated he wanted to make it up to us (which we would like to do by letting the original trio attend a concert at sometime, whilst the missus and I (and perhaps, separately, ixixlix and her hubby) can have respective couples-only evenings.)

As documentation of our discussion, I received the following email from the General Manager:

It was pleasure speaking with you today. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to explain the issues surrounding the show “They Might Be Giants”. The situation that occurred was  unfortunately unavoidable but caused you  much aggravation and for that I sincerely apologize. We here at HOB have won numerous awards for our guest service. While we strive for perfection in our daily operation, we know that we are human and that things can, from time to time go awry. Our response to those situations that go awry is what separates us from others. I apologies for the situation that occurred and would like to take this opportunity to invite you back to HOB Anaheim as my guest to see a show. Please check our website for a show that interest you, contact me, and I will make the necessary arrangements to make sure you have a memorable visit.

I publically commend the House of Blues Anaheim for their responsivness to this issue, and how they paid attention to customer comments. Good job!

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House of Blues Update #1

As folks might recall from this blog entry, our anniversary evening was interrupted due to the House of Blues, Anaheim changing, at the last minute, the They Might Be Giants show from “All Ages” to adult-only, after we had bought the tickets for our daughter and her friend to go with ellipticcurve to the show. They came home early, with merch, but still annoyed.

Folks might also recall that not only did we write a letter to the General Manager there, but so did our daughter. We had a call on our phone machine from the General Manager, very apologetic. He asked us to call him back, and he would try to make it up to us.

We’re working on getting in touch with him, but I’d like suggestions on what to request. Looking at the Anaheim upcoming event list, there doesn’t appear to be much kid-friendly. At least, I don’t suppose that the Violent Femmes, Throw Rag, Thrill Kill Kult, or the Gore Gore Girls are kids bands. There also doesn’t seem to be much kid friendly at their other venues (Sunset Strip, Universal Amphitheatre, or stuff down in San Diego). So, if he offers comp tickets, what good are they? So, what do you suggest?

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Anniversary Update&#151House of Blues Rant

As readers here know, yesterday was my 19th wedding anniversary. Here’s an update on what did and didn’t happen.

Gifts. I ended up getting gf_guruilla the promotional package at the Burke Williams spa, as well as a nice card from the company store. She hasn’t had a chance go to shopping for me yet. 🙁

Dinner. We ended up going to Versailles for dinner. Versailles is a Cuban restaurant that we used to go to when we were dating. Yum. Cuban Roast Pork.

Small & Feisty. The plan last night was for ellipticcurve (EC) to take Small & Feisty and the Karate Kid to the 7:30 PM They Might Be Giants concert at the House of Blues in Anaheim. This concert had been advertised as “All Ages” (we checked), so EC bought the tickets. They get there (after a 40 minute drive and dinner), and learn that at 6:00ish, a decision was made to age-restrict the concert to 16 and older. Yes, the money was refunded, and the kids got merch and shirts, but it created a hell of disappointment—both from the kids as well as the parents who were expecting the kids to be out.

[Rant On] I don’t blame the band on this one, but I surely blame the venue, and plan to write a strongly worded letter to them. I would have had no problem had the decision been made long in advance, but to change it about an hour before the concert is just poor form, and poor public relations. It is not as if the kids were unfamiliar with the content. We had kids strongly looking forward to this concert, and watching a video of TMBG from the mid 1990s when they got home is just not the same. Disappointed 9 year-olds are not fun. This does not make me want to go to a HOB venue. C’mon HOB: If you book a group that issues kids albums and did a kid concert last time they were in LA, you should expect kids at the show. [Rant Off]

[For ellipticcurve‘s rant, click here]

At least the kids took it well. EC took them out for ice cream and I think they hit some lego shops. We had a TMBG video for them to watch as well. But live music is so much better!

Sigh.

[Update: In the responses, you’ll find the letter we’re writing to them, as well as the letter my daughter wrote to them.]

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Long Day/Anniversary Advice

Today has been a long day: I’m on East Coast time (i.e., up at 4:00 AM, at work by 5:30 AM for telecons that run from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM) this week, and working to catch up on all the vacation-accumulated debris. Naturally, I’m exhausted (and came home with a headache). Bleh.

A week from today is my 19th wedding anniversary. Following up on a suggestion when I asked about birthday gifts, I’m exploring a spa package for my wife. I’m open to suggestions on what should be in the package (i.e., what services—I’ve done some searching (link; link) and see different types of massages, facials, etc.), as well as recommendations for specific spas in the San Fernando Valley (sample search). I’ll note I’m not the most romantic person, which is why I’m asking. We are going to go out for dinner, perhaps a movie that night; ellipticcurve will be taking S&F and the Karate Kid to They Might Be Giants in Anaheim and bringing them back late that evening.

P.S.: ellipticcurve and I were talking at lunch about words such as Attorneys-general, Ladies-in-waiting, Mothers-in-law, i.e., words where you pluralize the noun and the noun is a prefix for the adjective. Is there a formal name for such words?

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