It was obviously going to be a long evening when we noted the seating arrangements for our section were very screwed up, so that our unit was dispersed among four tables instead of being all put together, and that we were in a completely different area than the last two years. The schedule was not held to, beginning almost 15 minutes late. By the time dinner was served, we were almost 45 minutes off the mark!
The sound management of the presentation was amateurish as best - the baritone singer, while being very good, was also broadcast so loud during the National Anthem, my ears rang the rest of the night!
Once dinner was served, the wait staff was very rude, literally throwing the plates down in front of the diners. They could also use some training in pouring skills; at least two people at our table had their coffee poured onto them as the staff hurried to get through the meal plan!
All in all, this was the worst ball I have attended in the past few years, suffering it seems more from a lack of planning than from content.