I’m not cheap, though sometimes I appear to be. I have no problem paying $400 even $600 dollars a night for a hotel; I never thought $100+ for a pair of sneakers was pricey. And if it’s a gadget, I’ll totally pay top dollar. But there’s a catch: I have to feel it’s worth it.
If for instance, I am at a restaurant that is using a large sheet of paper instead of a tablecloth, I do not expect to pay 20 bucks a plate for dinner; that’s the situation I found myself in, however, Saturday night.
My parents had bought Diana and me a gift card to Naples at Downtown Disney. I suppose I can’t really complain because it was free, but I still will.
For those who have never been there, let me explain where my rage comes from. The place attempts to bill itself as classy, but right at the door there’s a huge creepy cartoony type chef that looks over the restaurant.
We were seated at a table upstairs, where the first thing I noticed was that a giant sheet of white paper substituted for a tablecloth; I thought about asking the waiter for crayons, so I could color on the table, but then I’d be the one who wasn’t being classy.
As we waited for dinner, Diana pointed out that the ceiling was painted; classy, right? Like the Sistine Chapel, right? Wrong. This Sistine chapel had a dumb looking Anne Geddes wannabe baby painted on the ceiling; and just to make sure it wasn’t kind of classy, they put sunglasses on the kid. I’m all for making your kids look cute, but not when I’m trying to eat a meal with my wife that is supposed to be at least somewhat romantic and intimate.
The food was good (albeit overpriced), and I decided to just not think about all the things that took away from the atmosphere of the place—until I was just about to walk out the door. That was when I was hit in the gut by a balloon—a balloon animal to be more precise—actually I think it was a sword, but it doesn’t really matter does it?
Call me old fashion, but when I pay sixty dollars for a dinner, I don’t expect candles, but I also don’t expect a guy to be walking around making balloon animals for the kids. The only thing missing from the whole experience was Mickey Mouse walking around for photo ops—then again maybe we were just early.
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2 comments:
The waiter was nice at least...
Very well written! I think one of the great things about a downturn in the economy is that I see more people talking about value for their money. I think good things will come out of more people thinking like you.
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