Hi Ladies - just wanted to post a warning about a recent bad experience at Lucille's, a piano bar in downtown Milwaukee (esp. since I see if recommended on a few threads here).
I attended a bachelorette party last night, and the MOH had made a reservation for a table for 12 at 9PM - this package also included a drink for each attendee. Her credit card was charged $220. We arrived just before nine - upon arrival, our hands were stamped, our ID's were checked - and then there were several moments of confusion, after which we were informed that they were overbooked + that they did not have a table for our group. Our party's name, time, and size were clearly written on the reservation sheet, but we were told that "we shouldn't have been given a 9PM reservation" (this was repeated several times). The staff didn't seem to know what to do - in a few minutes a manager arrived. In a speech that sounded rehearsed + insincere, he informed us that he did not have a table, but that he would give us each a free drink + put us at the top of the waiting list for a table. The MOH pointed out that our pre-paid package INCLUDED a free drink, and that therefore this was not an acceptable solution, and the bride asked for free drinks for the night (keep in mind we had paid $220 already, so we felt this was fair). He responded that he "could not do that", and repeated his previous offer - waiting list + a drink for each. Then one of the other staff came back, and he told us he had a table of four (which was of NO use to our party of twelve). After we did not accept this, the manager offered us our money back, which we accepted. As he was paying back the MOH (in cash, which seemed an odd way to refund a credit card purchase - no record of the transaction?), we continued to push for him a solution that got us what we wanted - a table for all of us + some acknowledgement that they were in the wrong + attempt to fix.
FULL DISCLOSURE - by this point, the bride was irate, the MOH was trying to hold back tears, and I was disgusted at the cavalier attitude exhibited by the manager. When he responded with "I don't have a table - what do you want me to do? (not sincerely, but in "not my problem tone"), I responded with "I want you to do your ^%$# job" (not yeling, just a forceful statement). At that point he ordered me to leave or threatened to have me thrown out. He did not/would not give us his name or a contact number (despite repeated requests) even before this happened. FYI, I was not drunk in the least.
Not excusing my choice of words - but what pushed me over the edge was the lack of accountability + failure to even TRY to go "above + beyond" or acknowledge - with sincerity - the huge disappointment + inconvenience they created. If they realized 9PM was too late for a reservation, or that they were overbooked, they could have called the MOH ahead of time + acknowledged this. And the refusal to comp additional drinks - c'mon, if you're overbooked you've made your revenue goals for the night, a few free drinks won't hurt you. And if he honestly didn't have the authority to do this, I would question their overall management practices.
Our party ended up going across the street to Whiskey River, where the staff (bartenders, bouncers) were great, we got a table on the roof deck, + had a great time.
IN SUMMARY: Lucille's piano bar sounded like a lot of fun, but due to the poor organization/management, I would never consider returning. If you do choose to make a reservation, make an early one - but if I were you, I wouldn't.