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The bottom line for any party is having fun. No matter the headache, no matter the stupidity, no matter the sloppy customer service, if the guests have a blast then it is all worth it. I think the guests had fun. I know The Kid did!
Posted at 10:31 a.m., Wednesday, June 21, 2006 (Honolulu Advertiser)
Entertainer Dick Jensen dies at 64
Advertiser staff
Dick Jensen, a nightlife figure in the Waikiki and Las Vegas of the 1960s through the 1980s, died this morning. He was 64. Nicknamed “The Giant” for his outsize talent, Jensen, who was inducted into the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts’ Lifetime Achievement circle in May, had been suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He died from complications from tracheotomy surgery, his daughter Renee Jensen Oliveira said.
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Dick (center) with Tom and Sweetie Moffatt
Dick was a kind man, a gentle Giant, an inspiration to all Hawaii’s performers, and one of the greatest local talents ever to rise to international fame.
He wasn’t Don Ho or Alfred Apaka or Sam Kapu…the men who made Hawaiian music famous. He was our very first Vegas-caliber showman, headlining next to Wayne Newton, Tom Jones, and Engelbert Humperdinck, doing the moonwalk long before Michael Jackson ever did it, dancing up a storm on the Ed Sullivan show (7 minutes, Ed gave him!), and traveling around the world to entertain his legion of fans.
In his latter years he became Reverend Dick Jensen, with such a fervor and passion for God. It was his wish that he be taken off life support on Father’s Day and be allowed to return home to the Lord.
He’s wowing ‘em in Heaven. Huzzah!
What’s the deal with customer service in the United States these days? I mean…geezus…don’t these companies want to keep their customers?
Take Dave & Busters (the one in Hawaii in particular). The Kid wants to throw her birthday party there. Since this is her first double-digit year, I’m willing to indulge her. It’s D&B’s, the party capital of the world…how bad can it be?
It turns out it can be quite unnerving.
They don’t return your phone calls because they’ll be “in and out of meetings all day.” Like no one else has that problem. When they do call you back, it’s because they “haven’t heard from you and will have to cancel your reservation unless you respond by 5pm today.” Half the staff always seems to be out for a week, so your account is passed around like a platter of canapes at a speed dating party. They don’t know how to read; they will book your party for 3pm even though you’ve emailed them four times to confirm it for noon. On top of that, when you need help with their 60-page menu guide (which lacks, astoundingly, a buffet suitable for both kids AND adults), they tell you that you’ll have to order off the regular menu, so your party has to be held in the main dining room but since it’s already booked at 3pm your party needs to be rescheduled for noon. Oh — you also can’t have one large table for 20, you’ll need to make do with two tables of ten.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!
I started this stupidity two weeks ago. I still don’t have a menu, I still don’t know what it’s going to cost me, they aren’t interested in putting together a custom buffet menu, and they require my credit card in order to reserve the space. The space! Why the HELL am I paying for the space if it doesn’t have any food in it?!?
This is the “ultimate party planning place?” This is the best customer service that D&B’s can offer? Oh. My. Fricking. Gawd. They can’t tailor my menu because they don’t want to break a sweat during working hours. It makes me want to scream. How hard is it to stick half of two buffets together for the requisite 20-person minimum and…I dunno…charge me for the more expensive buffet anyway. Sheesh! The cook can’t make grilled chicken and linguine for ten, he can only do it for twenty? Bar burgers come packaged ten to a plate, but they’ll only have one plate all day? Gimme a break!
My budget was always $400. $400 — for a buffet lunch! I asked them, “What can you give me for ten adults and ten kids for $400 (power cards not included)?” It seems all they can offer me is inferior customer service and a complete lack of interest. I was looking to throw a staff party there for 50 people. Now? Feh. I’ll find a place that not only wants to take my money, but wants to keep me coming back so they can get at more of it.
And now…it’s time for something totally different. La sis-o has me helping her with lore stuff again. Bwaha!