Food/drink service continues to be horrendous after one week. They are either completely under-staffed and/or dis-organized. Another problem is that the table call buttons don't light up, and the TV that displays the service requests isn't legible from many tables (bad angle to some, too far away from others), so the dealers don't even know if the request is live or not. And even if it is, expect at least a 20 minute wait. I've actually waited an hour for service on Saturday night with the service request on the TV.

I can't imagine why the kitchen isn't throwing more staff at this to solve it at least until they get organized better. But today I found out some more idiocy that is contributing to the long wait time. Behind the coffee station is an open room containing a soda fountain, with ice dispenser and water as well. Instead of waiting for soda and water refills, it would be easy for players to simply get their own. If they stocked some cups, they wouldn't even have to get their initial drinks from wait staff. This would significantly improve service by offloading a bunch of work from the wait staff and allow them to focus on getting orders and food out faster. But if you try to get your own refill, floor staff will tell you that it's not allowed.

I mentioned this idea to a long time player, and he laughed. He said that years ago they used to have a soda fountain for the players, but it was killed by, get this, the wait staff. They want to get that extra $1 tip from delivering free drinks, it's a high profit margin area for them. I can't tell you how angry this makes me. Those waitresses have one of the best paying jobs in the casino, proof is that the turn-over is virtually nil, and they are probably averaging at least $40 or $50 per hour, more than most of the "pro" poker players, with almost no variance. And they are making your service worse just so they can squeeze you for even more money.

I am no longer going to tip them for delivering me free waters or sodas, and I urge every other regular to do the same. Once it becomes a standard that you don't tip for that stuff, I'll bet servers will let mgmt do the right thing.

It's the only way to handle a situation created by the poker room's policy despite my 10 years lobbying against it. So I use the system to my advantage: If the MM system is good for one thing it's that it acts as a 'nit collector' at the main game. Play lower for an hour and I can get back into a better game. Since I can't ask for a table change that's what I have to do.

btw, there are quite a few players who do the same.

They also took away our easy self serve water next to the coffee. Back to bringing a bottle and filling it at fountains.

No water cooler is a big negative but at least the coffee is real coffee and is saving me $500/yr at Starbucks.

Having been in line behind poker room waitresses cashing out in multiple casinos night after night I can promise you this is 100% absolutely false and the theoretical numbers you just said are complete and total BS.

CAZ has some of the best F&B staff I've ever seen. Give them a break, and let's have some credit where credit is due.

q/q

The waitresses at CAZ imo are awesome. They are nice and really do care about doing a great job. I do agree however that the service has been terrible so far at the new building. I assume this is just because of all the kinks getting worked out. I dunno what their hourly is, but I assume it's decent because the turnover really is basically zero.

Daliman - What can I say, I hate must moves and I hate the 3/5 game even more. But a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do....welcome to live poker

Mark

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with it whatsoever as long as people follow the rules, and plan on doing it myself in the future when it behooves me. I just thought of what I consider an interesting name for it and expect full accreditation for it in the future. But the real Q is, is there a monkey still on your back after last night's sesh?

I still hate the new building, if that's what you're asking. Folding for 5 hours straight was not fun...

Mark

They've added a cold water urn next to the coffee machine, one prob resolved. They've also apparently redone the sign-in system bec it did'nt have my preferences or board name as before. We'll see how that goes.

About the self serve soda years ago:

The Dept of Health nixed it bec the ice was in a tub (rather than being dropped down from a dispenser), which meant that anybody could adulterate it. Rather than changing the ice system they stopped us from self serv, a real bummer at the time.

I've also seen the CAZ casino waitresses cashing out hundreds and hundreds of dollars of chips, I'm just not dumb enough to think that is solely tip money or enough information to estimate their pay rate. Instead I watch what they get tipped at my table, and multiply that by 3-4 tables, and add in the $10 per hour or so that is the minimum wage pay + value of benefits they are making and they can't be too far from $40 per hour.

You and I could argue over our different impressions of their specific hourly rate, but the facts are clear. Their turnover is almost non existent, no one is leaving because they can't find another job as a server that pays anywere near as well.

If "best" is at rolling of eyes at special requests, providing service at a leisurely pace, or best at having a pissy demeaner, I'll give credit. I mean come on, they aren't even near the 50 percentile. Top notch service means getting orders in a reasonable time, getting them right more than 50% of the time, and comes with a welcoming attitude that isn't clearly faked.

A couple years ago their attitude was so poor they had to be among the worst servers anywhere. Of course there are always a few superstars like Tim, but there are very few in that category.

I don't think you've been playing regularly for more than a year or so, and I admit their attitude has been much improved the last few years. But even so your first sentence only applies to about half of the day shift, at most.

And it tastes like crap and comes in crappy coffee cups.

That's the story they give, but my source claimed that was just a pretext to protect the server water/soda tips. Obviously they could have done a dispenser, and kept it. In fact the new soda station has an ice dispenser, so there is no health issue now. So why doesn't the room open it up and put some cups in there?

Again my service was still horrendous today, and given with the same sarcastic demeanor by one of the dayshift specials. I'm not entirely blaming the servers for the lousy service, most of the blame clearly goes to kitchen/staffing issues. But I"m also not happy being treated like a jerk just because I want to order food now because I've been waiting a half hour, and want food prepared the way I asked with the drink I asked for, instead of the randomly prepared food and selected beverage the server brings me.

But I'm not telling anyone not to tip the wait staff. I still tip all of them for food service, and tip the 50% who are genuinely pleasant and hardworking very well.

But it's self defeating to tip servers for eventually bringing you a glass of water or soda that you could have gotten yourself immediately without this asinine policy in place. If players stop tipping for the sodas and waters, the servers will beg management to let the players get their own.

yes that would be a true statement.

This I agree with. The chief complaint I keep hearing about the 2 biggest Phoenix poker rooms night after night is "Where's service? I can't get service and can't get my own drink." I'm very surprised that they have both gone the direction they have on this issue. Sit around for half an hour waiting for a thimble sized pepsi that's watered down. Yay. That sure is amazing service. Let's tip a buck for that one! We're having fun now.

Slot players tell me the problem is the same. The solution one of them told me is to go to the food court and buy the biggest soda they have for 3 bucks. Heck, it's the same price (versus 3 $1 tips for the same amount), it's not watered down, and you don't have to wait 30 minutes wondering if you're ever going to see the waitress again. That's hard to argue with considering the alternative.

Would the waitress' money would be that badly affected by letting customers get their own sodapop? Then they might be able to... you know... get more orders out instead.

I guess we both have to be wrong though and I doubt they'll ever change. There's no way the casino would do this if it wasn't in their best interest... would they? It's frustrating.

If 20 ppl will transfer me $5 each on FT I will use it to bribe the wait staff to bring ML corn flakes and tomato juice the next time he places an order w/e it is. I will be there w my new phone and post the video.

Why can't the servers have the wireless handheld order takers?

Overkill.

Five bucks will probably get the job done.

But then he wouldn't have $95 profit.

I would never do it anyway bec if the normally sanguine ML is going off about this it is one of his 'things' as we all have and I wouldn't do anything like that to him. Frankly I agree w/ him in some respects. Many of the servers are dull and matter of fact, no realization that they are in the hospitality business and that their attitude would never suffice in a regular restaurant, even Denny's, of which I have too much experience. But, for me, after so many years I guess I'm just used to it.

Did they change uniforms with the move? I was wondernig why one of the hot ones was looking kinda fat.

Not only did they change the uniforms they keep them at the casino and the staff have to show up earlier than they used to in order to change. I'm told that each uniform is on the sort of movable system that dry cleaners use and they enter their number and the system brings it to them.

playing 1/2 the other night and an older gentleman orders apple pie a la mode....gets his pie about 30 mins later and u can tell he is very excited to dive in....next thing i know the guy jumps out of his chair spitting pie out of his mouth....they put a big ol glob of butter on his pie instead of ice cream

service sucks /thread

It's funny seeing you guys complain about your comp system and the ordeal you go through to get your free drinks, whereas the local cardroom has no comps at all and no free sodas at all.

Whoa, you have to pay for soda? I've played in a couple of places like that and it makes my blood boil. How f'n cheap do they have to be? And our not-working-quite-yet comp system is new to us. Btw: I've noticed over the years that poker players are hyper sensitive to what bargains they can get food/beverage wise. There are few things that we drool over more than a free buffet which is why I want to go play in Tunica.

And have you ever noticed that whenever a player gets a meal it is so often inspected by other players? 'What did you order? Let me see. That looks good, I think I'll get one.'

The funniest thing that I ever saw along those lines was years ago at Commerce. Somebody ordered watermelon. Those Commerce people sure don't skimp on watermelon, you get an entire quarter of a big melon. 10 minutes later servers are bringing out 50+ watermelon orders including one to me. And that made me want to see their refrigerator. IMR, the thing must be huge.

How are the limit games here? I want to try and build a bankroll with some low limit games. I visited the poker room the other day and the 3/6 and 4/8 games seemed like donkfests. The players in the 8/16 game seemed pretty decent, not to mention the 30/60 game. I was thinking of regularly playing the 4/8 game as the skill level seemed basically as low as the 3/6 but the rake hits you a bit less. Do they regularly run anything between 4/8 and 8/16 and how is the skill level in those?

Thats true...I'm a regular at CAZ, have been since I moved to Tempe a year ago from Boston. I was skeptic at first playing in a spread game because basically it becomes a "limit" game at some point, but because people basically just call you all the time and not raise you, the game typically is a true no limit game. I just wish I could overbet shove in some pots when I'm deep stacked with someone