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Tiki Oasis III Bartending |
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
|  Posted: 2003-05-12 7:13 pm Permalink
Hope somebody is telling the management about this so next year the problem will be fixed. If I go next year I sure as hell am not going to pay 9 clams for a crappy drink, and I expect the bartenders to have a professional manner. Forget that. I'll cajabuz in my room first then hit the bars, maybe smuggle in some rum and order cokes. Hell I wasn't even there and I'm gettin' pissed off.
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Tiki Rider
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 05, 2002
Posts: 497
From: South Orange County, CA
| Posted: 2003-05-12 7:20 pm Permalink
The first crappy drink in the plastic tiki mug was $9 and if you wanted a re-fill of the same crappy drink in a regular plastic cup then that was $6.50 if I remember right what I was told by the drink server at the pool. I'm not sure, I think after the 1st one I bought, I just went and made my own.
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Luckydesigns
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 15, 2002
Posts: 1893
From: Costa Mesa
| Posted: 2003-05-13 01:19 am Permalink
I gave up on the bar the second night. Thus was born, punk-rock-coors-light-night at the Bamboos' room. I had a great time there and to be honest, at that point, if I had any more rum, I don't think I'd be typing this right now.
An event like the Oasis and a bar like the Reef should have the correct drinks. You don't have to be that British guy in 'Cocktail' in order to make a mai tai correctly.
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Formikahini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 1491
From: Houston, Texotica
| Posted: 2003-05-13 3:42 pm Permalink
Ha! I guess I kinda forgot to ever even go IN the Reef Bar! The Humuhumu, Formikahini, and Cajeannetiki room had all the refreshments I needed. I think I had something somewhere else, too...maybe room 135? (Not much left in our little fridge after I left, I can say that much.)
Oh, well, sounds like I didn't miss much at the bar!! But somebody made my drinks WAAAY too strong - oops, that was me. Nevermind.
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SugarCaddyDaddy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 03, 2002
Posts: 1500
From: Huntington Beach, California
| Posted: 2003-05-13 9:53 pm Permalink
See if you can tell who had a cocktail from the Reef Bar  and who had one of Al's Room 135 Cocktails 
 
(photos courtesy of Mig)
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[ This Message was edited by: SugarCaddyDaddy on 2003-05-14 10:38 ]
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RevBambooBen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 7198
From: Huntikington Beach
| Posted: 2003-05-13 10:58 pm Permalink
CLASSIC!
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TikiPug
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 14, 2003
Posts: 778
From: Den of Sin / Pug's Pair-A-Dice
| Posted: 2003-05-14 10:03 am Permalink
I ordered a pina colada that tasted like crap, but I thought it was because I was drunk. Oh well, now I know.
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PolynesianPop
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2341
From: Corona, Ca
| Posted: 2003-05-14 10:15 am Permalink
SCD, that's some funny sh*t!
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Poly-Pop *
Bartender, make mine a glass of WATAHHH!!!!!
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CaseyJPS
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 14, 2003
Posts: 184
From: Palm Springs
| Posted: 2003-05-14 12:43 pm Permalink
Ladies and Gentlemen-
Thanks for your comments. At the very least, I THINK YOU ALL DESERVE THIS EXPLANATION. It is obvious we don't know a whole lot about running a food and beverage operation, which is why we were soooo apprehensive about re-negotiating the bar BACK from La Casita Restaurant, at a HUGE cost, so we could have this guest amenity available, and have some control. Aside from our one part-time bartender (and someone please tell me which one was rude) and two part-time servers, we had no other staff in place for TIKI OASIS III--Friday was a surprise, to say the least. So, other than those three part-timers, everyone who had anything to do with the bar "service" was NEW when they showed-up on Saturday--and we didn't hire any of them until Friday night when we realized what a disaster we had brewing. I think that pretty much explains the poor service and crummy cocktails (although, a few "lucky" guests commented on how great the cocktails were). Moving on, the liquor license is held by La Casita. When La Casita closes, the REEF has to close (which is always by 9:30pm, at the latest). We have already negotiated with La Casita to have the restaurant open until midnight in 2004, meaning the REEF can stay open as well. And, BY LAW, when a business holds the type of liquor license "we" have, outside beverages are not allowed in any of the licensed areas (pool or Tahitian Lanai). We have already consulted with a seasoned Beverage Manager, to help with the process of bringing the REEF up to our guests' expectations. We sincerely regret our inability to find someone of this caliber prior to our opening on March 28 of this year. With all of this experience behind us, WE EXPECT THE REEF TO BE OPERATING AT FULL-TILT COME JANAURY 2004. Our goal is to operate the REEF in a manner that compliments the outstanding artful makeover executed by Ski, Crazy Al, and Bamboo Ben. WE ARE EXTREMELY GRATEFUL THEY, AND ALL OF YOU, HAVE WELCOMED US INTO THE WORLD OF TIKI. We feel blessed and very fortunate to have this kind of support! Thank you all! Casey Jones; Director, World information Center
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Chongolio
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 02, 2002
Posts: 2765
From: The Coast of Kauai
| Posted: 2003-05-14 1:19 pm Permalink
Ha ha ha ha ha
You guys are killing me.
Chongolio
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Tiki_Bong
Deleted
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 0 | Posted: 2003-05-14 1:28 pm Permalink
Casey,
I thought you all were trying hard to make us Tiki Freaks happy. Life is usually about trial and error - we all learned a few things that we can apply next year.
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SugarCaddyDaddy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 03, 2002
Posts: 1500
From: Huntington Beach, California
| Posted: 2003-05-14 1:30 pm Permalink
Ok, all kidding aside, even though alot of people didn't get very good drinks, I must say that Casey is right about La Casita. They did pretty much have the Caliente's hands tied on operations and quality control. The taller of the two bartenders, Robert, actually said outwardly that he was not a bartender, but, in order to help out, he stepped into help ease some of the pressure off of the "main" bartender, who also admitted that he really wished he had a Grog Log or Intoxica book to go by since the drinks being requested were totally foreign to him.
Robert was very helpful. The other bartender, I believe, just didn't know what he was getting into.
Most people were, understandibly, expecting top-notch drinks at this event. I would too. With all the really hard work that BambooBen & CrazyAl did on the bar, I was hoping that all of that would not be overshadowed by the lack of tasty drinks, but unfortunately, I think that's what happened.
I will be returning to The Tropics, not only because of Tiki Oasis IV, but because I know that Casey really does everything in his power to accomodate his guests, and I support any business that believes and practices customer service. Yeah, you can't change what already happened , but believe me, Casey will do anything and everything possible to ensure that next years drinks will be better.
Casey's always open to suggestions to make The Tropics better all the time, so maybe a drink consultation with Beachbum Berry, Big Al & Martiki? As an addition or backup to next year, why not get the bartenders from Trader Vic's to come down like they did at Tiki Farms Tiki Bash in San Clemente in 2002?
Just my 2 coconuts worth
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PolynesianPop
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2341
From: Corona, Ca
| Posted: 2003-05-14 1:41 pm Permalink
I'm glad that Casey is actually concerned about the bar situation. Anywhere else, and we could have easily been shrugged off. At least there will be an effort to improve things and maybe we'll be lucky enough to get tropical drinks made the right way - with fresh mint, fresh lime/lemon juice, etc. Other than TV's (and the Lagoon Room), who's really doing that anymore? Here's a chance to setup the bar right! If so, a return trip for a weekend to Caliente Tropics would be worth the trip - on my own without having to be coaxed out for a big event like Oasis.
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Poly-Pop *
Bartender, make mine a glass of WATAHHH!!!!!
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Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2003-05-14 2:42 pm Permalink
hmmm, sounds sincere to me, I mean he didn't have to respond, but he did.
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(Hello all my relatives)
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kahukini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 28, 2002
Posts: 555
From: Saint Louis
| Posted: 2003-05-14 2:54 pm Permalink
and we didn't hire any of them until Friday night when we realized what a disaster we had brewing
Casey Jones, you're cool. How long will it take till we get our own indie movie? The scene of the Caliente Tropics managers pulling people in off the street on Friday night to bartend, classic!
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