| rev:text
| - The Pittsburgh Improv is unfortunately another great idea hamstrung by the details of mediocre execution (some specific examples at the end).
The setup is nice, a delightful--if a bit sterile--reproduction of what you'd think a comedy club should like if you watch enough TV. The interior is clean; the seats are comfortable; and it's an OK atmosphere to see a show and laugh.
It's too small, however, to attract many of the best acts, which limits its ability to ever become the central hub for Pittsburgh comedy. Most of the big names that have recently come through Pittsburgh--Jim Gaffigan, Louis CK, Second City--all perform elsewhere (though they managed to get Bob Saget, to their credit).
But the biggest problem is the food and drink. They're very up front about their mandatory two item minimum, but the forced service requires that you spend extra money and get interrupted by waitstaff at least several times during the show. The prices are well above what I'd consider reasonable given the quality, and I'd begrudgingly--or even happily--just shrug off the cost the same way I would a stadium concession stand markup...but the food is bad. You're forced to either (a) buy extremely overpriced drinks (3.50 for a soda, for example, with no refills--or ten dollars for one with refills), or (b) buy moderately overpriced food which you wouldn't want in the first place. I thought the ten dollar chicken sandwich looked reasonable, until a few bites in I decided I'd rather just throw away the money than keep eating it.
Still, I think this place has a lot of potential; the core idea is very workable; and they do attract some really good comedians. Two stars for now, with high hopes for improvements.
A few specific drawbacks which could be VERY easily fixed:
1 - A lot of the drinks didn't have prices on them. I know this isn't uncommon, but at a venue where every question you ask interrupts not only your own show-viewing experience as well as the experiences of your neighbors, it's an incredibly poor decision here. Make everything on the menu exceptionally clear. It's not that hard.
2 - Put the drink prices on the website too. An Improv representative has personally responded to many of these Yelp reviews, and she once said "Our menus and pricing are listed on our website, which makes for easy planning!" I'm calling shenanigans. Not all the prices are on the website, which makes for difficult planning.
3 - Reminding me to tip my server during the show AND adding an automatic gratuity to the check makes me feel like you're trying to trick me. It's kind of an unprofessional way to say goodbye to one's customers.
4 - Since the $3.50 soft drinks don't come with free refills, the servers shouldn't ask "would you like a refill on that?" or anything of the sort. They should ask "would you like another one?" instead. They should also respond to requests for refills by saying "we don't offer refills, but I'd be happy to get you another one." Just because there's a 10 dollar refillable soda option on the menu doesn't mean people all figure it out. Most patrons don't even bother reading the beverage section of the menu if all they want is a standard beverage offered almost everywhere (like a cola or diet cola), and the reading difficulties imposed by the darkness make them even less likely to browse the offerings.
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