Bonnie A.
Yelp
I have been going to Mr. Smalls since the mid-2000's. I've been in multiple bands that have played there and always been treated very well. I came tonight for a charity event at the funhouse, and while I had a great time once I made it into the venue, one of the staff members was rude enough to make me never want to come again. On my way in, the line in front of me had about a half a dozen folks waiting to get in, and each one of them was met with an abominable attitude and complete rudeness. One man simply wanted to know where he should check in to go to both events happening, and he was legitimately screamed at by this woman who insists on calling everyone "friend" while accosting them. The man was so shook he tried apologizing multiple times to no avail, and was met with more rudeness. What need is there to literally SCREAM at someone who is just trying to do the right thing?? Several people were yelled at and treated like they were stupid for not already having their documentation ready at the front of the line. Many people haven't even been to a show since COVID, why are we all supposed to know what to do?? Another friend who was in one of the bands playing was stopped and yelled at while escorting the woman in a wheelchair for whom the event was for. He'd already been there for two hours and had checked in already. I watched as multiple people in line were met with distrust and animosity for simply not knowing how to check in properly.
Every single venue has their own rules now in this COVID landscape, and we're all just trying to live and find some joy. No one can be expected to innately know how each one works, and being hostile towards your patrons who are literally trying to donate towards a charity event is completely unnecessary. This woman treated everyone as if they were trying to mug her as we gave our cancer donations. I'm sorry if COVID has made working a door more difficult, but it's made everyone's lives more difficult.. you're not special. People who had to get tests were given literally no direction by her (another woman working who saw the insanity did come and explain, thank Christ), and each test sold has 2 tests... why not tell patrons that before they spend $25 each on money that could have gone to a donation?? I had to get tested because she thought my card was fake (it's not and I've literally never had any issue with it before and have toured all through Appalachia through this mess) and the person next to me did too. We walked together to the testing, and about 5 minutes later, he said "why the hell did we both buy these if there's two tests inside?? Is Smalls really that hard up to make a buck? I had to explain what to do to about a dozen confused folks I saw on the street too because that woman was too important to do her job. When I returned with my negative test, there was a new woman at the door who greeted me kindly and I said "wow, you're so much nicer than the other woman who was here." and she tried so hard not to laugh it looked like it hurt.... so I can't be the only person who knows this woman has no people skills.
Like I said, I've been coming to Smalls for forever, and I've never had a bad experience until now. I don't know what crawled up this woman's ass and died, but... maybe find a profession that doesn't deal with people. Find some fucking joy in your life and rethink your choices. A couple of years ago this would have been a physical fight, but I woke up and didn't choose violence. I'm happy to say that this event sold out (despite this asshole being so belligerent that a few people straight up left and went home), but Smalls, please talk to your staff about treating people like people. Screaming at people who are trying to donate to a cancer fundraiser is not the vibe you want.