DC Fray — Restaurant in Washington

In all, my experience with DC Fray this spring season was negative & the company did not address issues brought to their attention.

First, our kickball season started off on a "field" between the Capitol & 3rd street (marked on maps as union square). This area is unsuited for kickball. During our game, we had to make sure that the ball was not kicked into the water or the street. On multiple occasions, a ball went into the street, causing cars (one time a bus) to come to a screeching halt. Furthermore, this "field" was covered with glass. After realizing the field was covered in glass (someone got cut, I believe), our team picked up glass in advance of games. We picked up three small buckets of glass & the field still had more. After this, I e-mailed DC Fray to inform them of the unfit playing conditions. Their response was generic (& I had to e-mail twice). We were supposed to play between 4th & 7th St on the National Mall, & I understand that the location was closed for planting. However, there are other options besides playing on an unsafe field. Games could have been relocated to another location or games could have been held after other teams by the Monument (another location used by DC Fray). DC Fray did not fix the situation, & instead, waited for the grass to open up, which occurred around the 4th or 5th game. Many of our free-agent players quit after the first few games were on this unsafe "field".

Second, the assigned bar was horrid. Kelly's Irish Times is a dirty, dingy, & disgusting dive bar that is worse than the worse frat basement from your college nightmare. Teams were shoved into the dark basement which was probably a violation of all health codes in America. I am pretty sure that you can contract a STD by using the basement bathrooms & good luck trying to use the upstairs bathrooms without having Kelly's staff tell you that "you people shouldn't be up here". After going to the bar twice, my friends & I refused to go again. I enjoy playing flip cup & drinking games with my team, but no one wanted to go to the bar.

Third, DC Fray officials did not follow the rules. Many of the players believe that the rules of the game are the same as baseball & make incorrect calls due to this. It is important for people to know that the rules are different & even more important for DC Fray officials to allow the rules to be consulted when there is a dispute. DC Fray maintains a rule book and my captains understand the rules as they are veteran players with DC Fray/USS. Indeed, other teams frequently came over to ask one of my team captains about the rules as they recognized his knowledge of them. Several times during a dispute, my team captains would ask to pull up the rules on a matter, & each one of the times, a referee or a DC Fray official told them that “the rules do not matter”/ they made a call and "just deal with it"/ “let’s just play” & “stop questioning me”. During the championships, a DC Fray official refereed the game & it was clear he was unaware of the rules. He was constantly on his cellphone & did not pay attention to the game at key times (he was also biased as he was dating a member of the other team, but that’s another story). He was unprofessional & inconsistent and did not allow my team to consult the rules in the interest of "finishing the game before dark". The fact that he did not allow the rules to be consulted & was not paying attention to the game is something that do not expect from an official of DC Fray during the championships.

In sum, I enjoy playing kickball but found the conditions this season to be distracting from a good time. This is my third season playing & I will likely register for another season, but this time I am considering other companies. I will update this posting if DC Fray addresses the issues I have identified or if they respond with an effective plan to ensure that field conditions are play-able, better bars are chosen, & their own officials...

I'm a DJ in Phoenix Arizona. I was booked by a gentleman named Crishon L. (Chrome) over at DC Fray. I've been booked by hundreds of people and a whole lot of corporations. I've never left reviews for them because I never experienced anyone who went as above and beyond the way Crishon did in working with me. I djayed a pool party in the Phoenix area (Tempe, ASU area) at a hotel called the Moxy. A microburst occurred out of nowhere which caused a lot of my dj equipment to get wet. I had to grab my laptop and hard drive and run it to cover. In my haste, I still had my headphones around my neck while running and it ripped the headphone jack clean off, destroying the headphones! Lighting even stuck super close to me while I was hustling to take the rest of my dj equipment to cover. Members of the PHX FRAY were quick to help without hesitation. I didn't know any of them, but they all dropped what they were doing to help. After the rain died down, I set up again and completed my dj services. After Crishon learned of what happened, he offered to help pay for a good portion to replace my headphones, again, without hesitation. I knew there was something special about this organization from the first time I spoke to Crishon over the phone about booking me. Very professional, upbeat, and polite. As time went on, he stayed in communication with me and offered a run-of-show which included all of the other people involved with organizing and running the event. But over all, from the top down, the FRAY organization clearly has a successful and present model of blending professionalism, compassion, empathy, and fun! All of which are clearly present with Crishon Landers (Chrome), the workers at PHX FRAY, and even the PHX FRAY members. As a professional mobile DJ, I work with a whole lot of different organizations, cultures, and with the public in general. I witness all the "behind the scenes" actions at every place I DJ. So when when I say the FRAY organization is really something special, I say it whole heartedly and in all honesty. Crishon, you make the FRAY shine! And the people over at PHX FRAY brought helped bring sunshine to that cloudy, stormy day at the Moxy.

Much luv!

DJ Serrato Noel...

I signed up for the tennis league, which DC Fray said would have less than 30 players and use 5-6 courts. Unfortunately, that just wasn't true. I went twice and found around 50 players squeezed onto just four courts. I stayed a total of 5-10 minutes because what I found both times was a scene that was overcrowded, chaotic, and unenjoyable.

The drills in particular were a problem. On the two courts that ran drills, there were more than 20 players at a time. With so many people, you most of the time was spent waiting in line. This isn't what I signed up for, and it was incredibly frustrating to realize that the league organizers either oversold the program or didn't plan properly for the number of participants.

Worse than being unfun, though, the setup felt genuinely unsafe. Within the first five minutes of my first visit, I accidentally hit someone with a forehand because the instructor had people retrieving balls on the opposite side of the net while others were still hitting. That was literally the second ball I hit, and I left after that. If safety and court space aren't taken seriously, it's hard to justify calling this a structured or professional league. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this program in its current state.

UPDATE: I saw DC Fray's response, and just want to clarify -- there wasn’t any confusion. I attended twice, and both times there were 40 to 50 players using only four courts.

After the first visit, I actually emailed your team with detailed feedback about the overcrowding and safety concerns. We exchanged several messages before I came back the second time, but the same issues were still present, and you issued a (partial) refund when I showed you this photo.

I understand that your standard cap may be 30 players, but what I saw and experienced on those two dates clearly exceeded that, which is what my review reflects. Also, I appreciate that you’re trying to present your side, but my comments are based on direct, firsthand experience. I hope future sessions align better with...