Dani B.
Yelp
I have been wanting to go to Thunderbird Lounge for a long time, so when an artist was coming through Phoenix, I was excited to hear it the show was at this lounge. I gathered up a bunch of friends and was anticipating the venue and show for weeks. The venue itself is great. Cool vibe and a great patio for concerts. I'd probably give this place five stars except for a few big things, the largest being service.
The three bartenders were probably the worst servers I have ever experienced. Let me say first that the place wasn't that busy. Maybe the patio had a lot of people for the music, but the bar area never had more than two people deep and often tables were empty. A few times I asked the different servers different questions and their responses were short and when they answered they seemed to be annoyed with everything. They were running around behind the bar acting like they were doing a lot but all it did was make the patrons act like they were in a rush, so I decided to just get a beer, not to take their time up. I asked them nicely what they had on tap because I couldn't read what was on the draft selection. The one male server simply stood to the side and pointed and groaned that I asked the question. I struggled with vision so the servers should be more patient and if some asks a question, respond kindly. After all they are in the service industry. The next time I went up, the bar was even more empty so I thought now was a good time to ask a question about specialty cocktails. All servers typically love this opportunity because it's a chance to upsell. I saw some gummies on the counter and wonder about drinks and simply asked "what kind of drinks do you have that could use these (shark and peach) gummies?" And a different male server barely answered and said "whatever you want." Didn't offer a cocktail or menu or anything. Again this made me feel like a huge burden. My last final time trying to order a drink was with the female. Again only one or two people standing at the bar and with their being two other servers, I thought I'd ask a question about the concerts that typically make their way through Thunderbird, as I like to see shows every couple of weeks. I asked a loaded question and said, "are shows typically free here, and what kind of music typically comes though?" and she only answered one part of my question, and said "yes" to the free concerts, but never answered my question on music, leaving me hanging. Again, I felt like a complete annoyance.
Another downfall of the venue was that it was quite dirty. I wanted to play the video games, but a lot of the controllers look like that I've been cleaned in weeks. The lounge has great seating inside and outside for the guests, but then at different points I sat at different tables and there was no one going around to clean cans and cups, so when you would sit down, the table would be full of trash. A big reason why my group didn't get pizza. Who wants to eat at a table with 20 cans/cups that aren't yours?
The place is everything set up to be awesome, it just so fell short of a lot of these things, which were so big for me that I will definitely share my opinions with others and take into consideration next time I go.