We don’t tend to get involved with online reviews and bickering, but this tale of piano woe caught our eye. It appears as a Google Review of a real restaurant — The Whitney in Detroit — so we presume it is real (if not rather contrived and obviously one-sided.)
It involves a female customer going by the name of “Piano Demon” who took offence at not being allowed to play the acoustic piano stationed in the restaurant, despite there being a resident pianist and the venue never allowing “open piano” events.
Apparently their entire anniversary dinner experience was completely ruined by this, as the lengthy and self-entitled review goes on to point out — after leaving a one star rating.
Let’s just take a look, paragraph by grisly paragraph (I think you can tell we’re not a fan of this diva demon):
Setting the Scene
I had a wonderful dinner at The Whitney this evening. Unfortunately I will never go back. NEVER. I hope the current owner of this restaurant reads this review in its entirety.
We’re all doing that.
Instant Dislike
When I first arrived at The Whitney, I was awestruck at the mansion. But I entered and saw a man I immediately did NOT like. I cannot explain it. His overconfidence and sense of belonging exuded a negative energy that repulsed me. I swear to God I’m being honest about this…
He then sat at the piano and my heart softened. I myself am a classically trained pianist & have been playing for over 35 years. I write my own music & have been published. I walked over with a smile & he invited me to play with him which I did. I told him of my experience. He did not ask me to sit at the bench and now I know why. He is a narcissist beyond compare. Stay tuned for the end of this story.
The Devil makes a knee-jerk reaction and assessment of an employee of the restaurant — the resident pianist Joel — and allows this to cloud her judgment of subsequent experiences. More about the definition of “narcissist” later…
Showing Off
At any rate…my handsome husband & I had a lovely anniversary dinner. We were offered to keep an anniversary menu (which I was excited for) but it never arrived. No big deal. We also did not get the bread that was advertised on the menu. But it also was not a big deal because I didn’t want to fill up on bread. The dining experience was phenomenal & I was greatly looking forward to the tour of the mansion. We spent over $400 on our anniversary dinner & graciously tipped our waitress Alexis.
Boasting, although seemingly not relevant to the review, but possibly relevant to the whole attitude.
The Altercation
At the end of the dinner I was drawn to the piano in a way I cannot explain. I wanted to play Etude in A Major (The Coral Sea) by William Gillock, a song that I learned & mastered at 14 years old. I told our server Alexis to imagine the beauty of Michigan when listening to this song.
I was just beginning the song & already had a crowd of customers standing around me while my husband was recording me. It’s truly a beautiful & magical song, and when performed correctly it sounds like water. I was wanting to play this song all night. Before I opened the baby grand piano, I was told that Joel was extremely protective of the piano & that he had already left for the evening. I assured the servers that I had already played with Joel (the Whitney’s Pianist) and that he would be ok with it. Oh my goodness was I ever wrong.
Before even getting past the introduction of this beautiful piece, Joel scolded me while closing the piano. He stated that this was his personal piano & that I had no right to sit at his bench without his permission. I calmly reminded him that I had already played with him earlier in the evening. He said as a fellow musician, I should know better than sitting at another pianist’s bench without permission. In this, he’s absolutely INCORRECT. And I rightly told him so. I would gladly welcome him at my own baby grand piano bench. But I am a different person than him. I allow children to experience the joy of music at my piano.
The sense of self-entitlement of this woman is beyond compare. She thinks she has the right to play a privately-owned piano in a private venue without permission, waving aside any warnings from staff, and then suggesting that her interpretation is the only correct one.
Seriously, Devil, you might be perfectly fine with anyone and everyone sitting at and playing the piano you own, but not everyone is. Both viewpoints are fine. It comes with ownership. Perhaps Joel was heavy-handed and brusque — we can only surmise from the account given by this “virtuoso” of 35 years… but he still has the right to refuse.
Who’s the Narcissist?
What we are dealing with here is an extreme narcissist pianist who cannot handle another pianist playing his instrument better than he can. It’s truly sad. If he cared this much about his piano he would install a lock on the key cover to prevent other customers from doing the same thing. And he would also tune this sad piano because it has clearly been neglected.
Nowhere does the Devil suggest that Joel said that only people who played less skilfully than him could use his piano. You assigned that to him. Perhaps he hasn’t installed a lock on the piano lid because he trusts the staff and patrons to respect the piano. One would also assume that the restaurant owners would ask Joel to have the piano tuned if it was really so badly neglected, to avoid the risk of putting off diners (I suggest that most people, even non-musicians, can recognise an out-of-tune piano — an instrument only to be appreciated in honky-tonk, parody or some other purposeful usage.)
You admit that you are “a different person than him” yet you think he should abide by your standards.
Take a moment to see the definition of “narcissist”:
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others.
Let’s take a look at the Piano Devil in light of this definition:
- thinks she is an important musician because of her background and achievements.
- wants to play in a crowded restaurant, while being filmed, to attract adoration and plaudits.
- refuses to understand or care about the feelings of the resident pianist, who owns the instrument, or the restaurant owners in which it resides.
Who is really the narcissist here?
Parting Curse
Shame on you Joel. Shame on you, The Whitney restaurant. This is NOT was Mr. Whitney would’ve wanted. Do better. I will never return to your restaurant & I will advise all of my friends (and I have many in Detroit) to do the same.
I don’t know how she can claim to have a full understanding of what the (deceased) founder of the restaurant would have wanted.
You’ve ruined my beautiful anniversary dinner & because of Joel I did not take a tour of the home, which I was desperately wanting to do.
I am sure her husband feels utterly wonderful that a piano incident of her own making has “ruined” the entire anniversary dinner. Instead of behaving like every other diner, enjoying the meal and the ambience, she decided to take her self-entitlement to new heights and act with rudeness, aggression and disregard for others.
I curse you. And I mean what I said to you, Joel, before I left The Whitney restaurant.
One can only presume what she said would be unprintable in a polite publication such as ours. Pure speculation of course. Is Piano Demon a witch as well? Throwing curses around. Or perhaps just a big baby.
Restaurant Reply
Patrick Liebler, Whitney’s executive director, responded thus:
Like this reviewer, so many guests come to The Whitney to celebrate special occasions, and our pianist, Joel, is a big part of the experience. He is the consummate professional, an extremely talented musician, a valued member of our team, and a warm, friendly person who is welcoming to all.
It’s a shame this woman was too spineless to leave her real name, as it would perhaps be befitting for any other venues with non-publicly accessible pianos to consider barring her while she continues to hold this attitude.
Perhaps she should stick to her own piano, or if she wants the attention, go play on a street piano instead.
Oh, and happy anniversary Mr Demon! Good luck!
