| rev:text
| - I want to like this place, I really do, but every time I come back I am underwhelmed by the experience (at best).
The last two times I've come, I was given free (or close to free - my last "free" tickets included a nearly $3 surcharge) tickets. Given this, my expectations for the quality of the comedy were fairly low. Comedy is hit-or-miss when it's popular, and when a Saturday night show can't sell out it's not a good sign. I say this to emphasize that my review has nothing to do with the comedy - it is 100% about the service.
Tempe Improv, unfortunately, follows an antiquated comedy club model that's hurting them more than it's helping them. On one of my recent visits, my party wasn't given menus - apparently they don't have enough menus for all their tables, and our server was not inclined to get some brought upstairs for us. What ensued was an awkward game of 20 questions with our server to figure out what was on the menu, how much it cost, and whether it would satisfy our two-item minimum. I ended up looking up the menu on my phone so I could tell what items were vegetarian-friendly (not many).
Our server seemed scatterbrained and hurried, and he frequently forgot basic items we asked for (cups of water, a glass for my boyfriend's bottled beer, refills of bottomless sodas...).
We received menus on our last visit, but they weren't particularly helpful. Only the food has prices, and it is impossible to tell what will and what will not satisfy the two-item minimum. This forces us to engage in another game of 20 questions with the server to determine what we can and should order.
Three of our party ended up ordering bottomless sodas to satisfy the minimum. One of our party ordered two bottled beers. (A note about beer at Tempe improv: they have an extensive mixed-drink menu, but absolutely no beer on tap. Not even shitty domestic beer. That's nearly unacceptable in this day and age.) I didn't want to drink and I wasn't hungry, so the soda was one of my few options.
I was expecting it to be $11, because that's what we paid the last time we came (a Thursday). Nope. It was $15 - plus tax and 15% gratuity (more on that later). My boyfriend's two beers (a far lower profit margin than sugar and water) were $6 each. It's highway robbery to charge $15 for a soda in the first place, but charging 25% more than the beers and 36% more than a 'Thursday soda' really bothered me. It just speaks to how out of touch the Improv is.
The Improv decides to tack 15% gratuity onto every bill, regardless of party size. I assume this is to avoid people tipping the servers based on the quality of the comedy rather than the service, but it's still obnoxious. I tip 20% minimum unless the service is really horrible, so it bothers me when institutions assume I won't tip and charge me for it anyway. That is the fastest way to ensure a minimum (15%) tip from me. If you're that concerned about your servers getting adequately compensated, you should adjust your prices, but don't force me to pay for it regardless of service quality. Our servers both times were adequate (though not stellar), but I would like the ability to adjust my tip down if service is truly horrible.
At the end of the show, we were unable to leave the way we came in. Big, burly men were standing in front of the doors at the back of the theater and telling us to leave through the doors at the front of the room. They routed us through Copper Blues via the exit doors. That move was in incredibly poor taste, given that the owners of the Improv own Copper Blues, too. I already felt taken advantage of at the show ($15 soda, forced tip, bullshit ticket surcharge, no menus, barely adequate service...), and I certainly wasn't about to spend any more money just because they forced me to walk through their bar.
And that's the crux of the issue. The owners of these places (Improv and CB) are so far out of touch with how to run a customer service-oriented business that they're literally driving their customers away. I have no inclination to be fleeced of my money in such shady ways, especially given the quality of the comedy.
They could easily earn my business (comedy notwithstanding) if they posted their prices on EVERYTHING, printed more damn menus, nixed the mandatory tip, and rethought the two-item minimum. I don't think it's necessary. I would happily pay a reasonable cover (~$10) and buy ONE reasonably-priced item (no more $15 sodas - charge $4 like everywhere else), even for mediocre comedy. I can't drink 2 alcoholic beverages in one comedy show, and lots of folks do but shouldn't.
Even if I'm offered "free" tickets in the future, I won't show up. The experience just isn't enjoyable enough to warrant it. It's a shame, because it wouldn't be hard to fix.
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