ESPN Invitational - Would you complain/ask for a refund (or partial)?
- Thread starter ISUCyclones2015
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It would be different if they had disclosed the actual products they were providing. I suppose they have plausible deniability because all they said was "hot food," but none of us would have expected hot dogs, cold deli meat, or a hot pretzel upon request. This seems like misrepresentation.
Would you have paid the same price knowing more precisely what you were getting?
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Can I ask what you would have expected? Remember you are at a sporting event and buying a ticket anyone in the public can buy, this isn’t a luxury box or a VIP area. It’s $90 bucks for court side access with unlimited food and two cocktails at Disney. This is exactly what you should expect
In the off chance you make the experience better for someone else in the future, worth it
I’ve been to a Kansas City chiefs vip a couple of times, I think it’s the kingdom club based on their website. But anyway, the food they had were bbq pork and brisket sliders, specialty salads, gourmet mac and cheese, wings, and some other gourmet stuff. Definitely something where some thought was put into it. So I guess that would be my experience and what I would expect if I purchased a VIP package.
Couldn't you just buy a couple of beers and hot dogs or burgers from the concession stand and spend less? Arena looked pretty empty, yet small. Looked like good seats all around. Sounds like you wasted some money. Sorry about that. I doubt they will give you a refund if you watched all three games and consumed their food/drinks.
You got ripped off by Disney, chalk it up to an experience that 99.9% of people have.
In theory I always thought that would be cool but in reality it’s just kinda weird
I can see both sides here. I don’t think I personally would complain at this point, but I also don’t think this sounds like it’s up to Disney standards so I can see why a person would be disappointed (and would consider calling). Disney usually has better attention to detail (see some of their offerings at Epcot), and I don’t consider hot dogs adult food.
Personally if I were going to mention something, I probably would have the second night…but I would have definitely expected better. (The buffet experiences at the parks have way better food than what you got for less money.)
If you do call, I would talk to them reasonably though. I wouldn’t demand anything…
If you demand some type of a refund you’re not being reasonable (I don’t particularly like the term Karen, but it fits). It’s like the people that eat their whole meal then complain about it being wrong and expecting a discount. If you provide them constructive criticism of your experience in hopes it will improve for people in the future you’re doing a good thing.
I'll this from seeing the pictures and things may have changed from 2016 when I went but in some ways (maybe they have a couple of different fieldhouses there at the complex) that doesn't fully look like the arena ISU played at in 2016 and also back then it was just a regular arena setup and there were no luxury lounge areas whatsoever.
I wouldn't expect a refund, but I think it's fair to provide feedback on the lackluster food options. I'd expect a little more than just burger/hotdog for that price.
Were the hot dogs and hamburgers all you can eat? I would have ate 30 and made myself sick. My grandpa use to go to old country buffet for breakfast and try to stay for lunch for the one price of breakfast.
My wife and I were in the VIP area on Thursday night with a "let's see if we like it one night 1 before investing anymore" and thought it was a cool spot to watch the game from, but not worth the extra cost.
It didn't help that Thursday night (and most nights, from the looks of it) the area was dead with hardly anyone in it. Definitely missed out on the vibes of the stands.
I will say is that the one night we did it, getting a seat in the lounge was never an issue, even during halftime. But one of my first thoughts was how easily those few couches could be overrun if a few more people ponied up for the area.
Another benefit is that I couldn't find a full bar outside of the VIP area, so if you like mixed drinks it's your only choice and the gentleman tending bar on Thursday poured pretty generously.
As for the tourney as a whole, it was fine but nothing special. The local alumni club had a fun gathering before our first game in the baseball stadium where they opened up a concessions window and had a bar with Cyclone paraphernalia everywhere, including on their digital menus. Thought that was a nice tough. The only other restaurant on site was closed Thursday but open the rest of the weekend while the massive soccer tournaments were going on.
Also shoutout to the local alumni club for the game watch on Saturday night. What a game to watch with a bunch of fellow 'Clones.
It didn't help that Thursday night (and most nights, from the looks of it) the area was dead with hardly anyone in it. Definitely missed out on the vibes of the stands.
I will say is that the one night we did it, getting a seat in the lounge was never an issue, even during halftime. But one of my first thoughts was how easily those few couches could be overrun if a few more people ponied up for the area.
Another benefit is that I couldn't find a full bar outside of the VIP area, so if you like mixed drinks it's your only choice and the gentleman tending bar on Thursday poured pretty generously.
As for the tourney as a whole, it was fine but nothing special. The local alumni club had a fun gathering before our first game in the baseball stadium where they opened up a concessions window and had a bar with Cyclone paraphernalia everywhere, including on their digital menus. Thought that was a nice tough. The only other restaurant on site was closed Thursday but open the rest of the weekend while the massive soccer tournaments were going on.
Also shoutout to the local alumni club for the game watch on Saturday night. What a game to watch with a bunch of fellow 'Clones.
I don't think the OP is complaining about the fact that he ate the food. I think the issue is that the type of food provided wasn't what he would expect when buying a VIP pass. I don't think the analogy of eating a full steak and then asking for a refund because it wasn't good is applicable here, because it wasn't the fact that he ate it, he just expected better quality for what he paid.