We've been up the Smith Tower before, and once you are on the Observatory level,the experience and staff are wonderful -- very friendly, good food and drinks, and of course the great venue itself.
However, last night highlighted for us -- members of their Smith Tower Rumrunners club -- an ongoing issue, not with the venue itself, but with lobby staff. After checking their hours, we arrived with guests last night after dropping $12 for parking in the convenient lot nearby. There was a sign inside, saying something like the Observation Deck was full -- we'd seen them let in a large group ahead of us -- but since we're in their club, figured it might be just the matter of a wait, or maybe club members were still OK.
When we got to the front desk, we were told there was a private event, and we would not be allowed up. I indicated we had not been aware, and the woman in charge informed me that the announcement of the closure was posted on the bottom of the Hours page on their website (which I had referenced, but had not scrolled past the fine text at the bottom of the Hours information and lower image bar -- and thus did not see). To prove this, she immediately brought up the website, and again verbally confirmed the correctness of her statement. Condescending? Insulting? Check.
It took us some time to find somewhere else to take our guests, standing in their lobby, and judging by the near-constant stream of people they were verbally having to turn away, it appeared we were not alone. A list of alternate places to go in the area while the Smith Tower was not accepting general customers that evening was not provided, which would be more or less standard at many other places we can think of.
We might have let this pass, but this is not our first unhelpful encounter with the Smith Tower Experience front desk. When I first spoke to them last year, just to get some information, before we'd ever been there, the supercilious attitude was one of the things I remember most from the interchange. I persisted, trying again another time, and after making it to the Observatory level, was glad I did.
When my wife and I got our Rumrunners' cards, both of our last names were misprinted on them. I called, concerned it would cause problems with entry. The person who answered (I'm inclined to think the same one) informed me that it was because of the way our names were written on their sign-up sheet -- in essence, letting me know it was our shortcoming in filling out their forms that had caused this. While my handwriting is not the best, they did also have our printed receipt to work from if there had been a legibility issue, so we really failed to see the problem.
Our suggestions:
1) Next time there is a private event, the sign out front might actually say "Private Event".
2) Post Private Event announcements somewhere prominent on the website -- say, at the TOP of the Hours information page -- would ensure more people see it. Maybe even putting a note out on your tab in Yelp to the same effect?
3) Having that list of other places in Seattle's historic area guests that have to be turned away might be interested in seeing instead, when a Private Event is in effect.
4) Attitude adjustment, notably not automatically, proactively blameshifting to your would-be customers when a misunderstanding occurs. Being right isn't everything.
I would really have preferred to give a higher score, and to have not written this review; our last experience on the Observation Deck was pretty magical. However, if we don't mention what needs improving, that does the Smith Tower venue no favors either.