Ambiance On the Water

Not worth the $ 50! It was a very short ride, the canal was littered with a lot of trash & there were a lot of homeless people hanging out by the canal. It was definitely not the perfect ambiance.

My soon to be fiancé’ and I had received a gift card from friends for a Gondola ride sold to them at Independence Center by Chris Sperry, the Manager/​Partner of Ambiance on the Water
. My fiancé’ was in town for our engagement party that weekend so I called to inquire about Gondola availability. Chris very politely told me the earliest Gondolas slot available was 10:30PM. When I told him I had a gift card, he told me he I couldn’t use a gift card this night, since he was unable with his system to verify the card. I curiously asked why he couldn’t verify his own company’s gift cards? He then explained he didn’t keep gift card information on site but he would still first have to verify it. (When I mentioned the purchasing person’s name he remembered selling her the card). He then said since it was my engagement party and my fiancé’ was only in town for another day that he said he would verify the card off site and then call me back if a Gondola slot became available the next day. 24 hours passed. No return call. The next day, after our engagement party, my fiancé’ asked if we could stop Ambiance to see if they had any Gondolas available. Upon arrival an Ambiance employee immediately stepped out and asked us if we’d like to go on a Gondola ride on «this perfect night.» My fiancé’s said, «Why yes, do you have any Gondolas available?» She said, «We have several! Just a few minutes wait.» At this we told her about our gift card. She immediately replied, «Oh, we don’t accept gift cards here without a reservation. All our information is off site.» I asked, «Isn’t this kind of an outdated way to run a business in 2014?» She just looked at me. We left the area and my fiancé’ flew out the next day. A couple of days later I received a call from Chris Sperry. Again, very polite, but rigid. I suggested he consider inexpensively updating his gift cards system to meet the needs of customers who receive Ambiance gift cards, as gifts. (Again, I thought it strange that in this day and age of technology gift card information couldn’t be stored in a data-​base on site, paper files, or even a simple back-​up on his hand-​help smart phone; especially since they sell gift cards and this is a revenue stream for them). I told Chris I wouldn’t be using the gift card given to us at this point since my fiancé’ is no longer in town. Instead of offering to refund the card value to the original person who purchased it, who he knew, or suggesting I transfer it from my name to another person in town who could use the gift card, Chris replied nonchalantly, «Well, that’s your choice.» My feel was he was glad he didn’t have to actually provide a service for the retail gift card sale he’s already made. The conversation went downhill from there. At which point I told Chris that I had a moral obligation to share my experience on
«not because this happened to us, but so that it doesn’t happen to others in the future. I am fulfilling my duty to those who purchase Ambiance Gondola ride gift cards for others. (I cannot speak about the actual Gondola rides Ambiance offers, we never experienced one of these). Today I looked online to review the water quality of Brush Creek. According to the below article it is not advisable to make contact with the water in Brush Creek:
Due to the high concentrations of bacteria and other contaminants in Brush Creek, it is not recommended that individuals come into direct contact with the water.
In the future I will personally pass on the Gondola Rides at Brush Creek in Kansas City for the above reasons.
A: Flash floods in the Brush Creek Watershed sometimes present a hazard to citizens, visitors, and businesses. Urbanization has reduced ecosystem integrity and diversity in the basin and has resulted in degraded water quality. Holistic, creative solutions are needed at the personal and watershed-​wide levels to reduce runoff, enhance ecosystems and improve water quality. Due to the high concentrations of bacteria and other contaminants in Brush Creek, it is not recommended that individuals come into direct contact with the water. brushcreek​wa​ter​shed​.com/​w​p​/​?​p=131

I decided to propose to my girlfriend (now Fiancé) with a romantic gondola ride on the Plaza. The person who assisted me to come up with a plan was very helpful, and pulled off the entire plan without a hitch! My now fiancé was SO happy and pleased! Thank you Ambiance on the Water for a night to remember for life!