Last weekend my husband and I took a little road trip to Fairplay, Colorado. We had been meaning to check out historic South Park City for some time, so we were looking forward to a fun afternoon. And, being a beer blogger, naturally I had to add South Park Brewing to our itinerary. After a couple hours in the car we were more than ready for a beer. We walked into South Park Brewing and sat at the bar.
We were greeted fairly quickly, and the woman asked if we were just passing through, to which we replied that we were visiting South Park City. I ordered a double IPA, while my husband asked for a taste of the regular IPA. After trying the IPA the server asked what he wanted, and he said he would try a sip of mine to decide between the two and would then be ready to order. He wanted the double IPA, but several minutes passed without anyone coming back over to us (there were 3 ladies behind the bar). Tired of waiting, he got up to use the restroom, and a couple mintues later I was finally able to make eye contact with one of them and order his beer. (It wasn’t as if they didn’t know he was in need of a beer, so why I had to track someone down to get it is beyond me). When she brought the beer, I said “thank you,” to which she did not respond and walked away.
I was hungry, so I asked for a plate of nachos; the same woman looked annoyed and mumbled something inaudible. When she brought the food, we thanked her, and again she said nothing and walked off. The amount of attitude she gave us was unprovoked and unnecessary, and we had no idea why she was acting in such a way. Interestingly enough, she then smiled at the couple next to us and asked if they needed anything. When she brought them their next round of beers, she cheerily handed them over, the couple thanked her, and she smiled with a warm “you’re welcome!” At that point we were done. There was absolutely no reason we deserved the sort of treatment we received (the others behind the bar ignored us, so apparently the one “helping” us wasn’t an anomaly. One man working in the back actually smiled and asked if we liked the beers, unlike everyone else there).
Having a rude server is one thing; I mean, rude service isn’t acceptable, but it happens. A server that is disrespectful to certain customers yet nice & friendly to others is inexcusable. While the double IPA tasted good, it was difficult to enjoy it due to the treatment we experienced. The only “reason” we could come up with is that we clearly looked different than all the other customers. We were the only ones not dressed in outdoorsy gear. They knew we weren’t locals, so I guess they didn’t appreciate us being there, and they certainly weren’t subtle about sending their message.
Non-locals be advised: South Park Brewing would rather not waste their time on you.
Side note: South Park City was awesome. It was very interesting to walk through all the old buildings and learn about its history. I definitely recommend it, but I’d skip South Park Brewing.
