I had a guy come into the bar once who repeatedly accused me of taking his drinks. Sure, there are times when I have thrown out someone's drink on accident. It's pretty common: you see a near empty drink on the bar, there's no one around drinking the drink and there isn't a napkin over the drink (the universal sign for "Hey Bartender, I'm coming back so don't dump my drink out.") So in an effort to keep a tidy bar, I throw the abandoned drinks out.
In this particular case, the customer would come sit down at the bar, order a drink, drink the entire drink and then leave the bar area. Naturally, I toss empty glasses by default. When the customer would return back to the bar, he would ask where his drink went and then accuse me of throwing out his drink that he hadn't yet finished. The first time this happened, I comped his drink. Even though I knew that his glass was empty, I'm still in the business of customer service. I just wanted to shut this guy up and make him happy.
The second time this same scenario happened, I had actually watched the customer leave the bar entirely. The glass was empty and I figured he was leaving the bar for the night. Of course the customer came back and demanded to know where his drink went. I became suspicious. Instead of just comping him another drink, I explained to the customer that I took the glass away because it was EMPTY. The guy had the nerve to tell me that his drink was half full. I told him that I was more than happy to make him another drink, but he would have to pay for it. He didn't like that answer. Then he told me that he was a server. Well, if he was indeed a server, he should know better to appreciate the first drink that I comped him (which he did not tip on) and if he didn't want me to touch his glass then leave a napkin over it whenever he walked away from it. I firmly stood my ground and he bought another drink.
Throughout the course of the night, he would "leave" his drink in magical places around the bar and complain that someone was taking his drinks. Each time he complained that someone took his drink and wanted another one (which he did for the next three rounds), he would be upset that I would charge him.
Sorry buddy, but if you drink the drink then you have to pay for it. Be sure to ALWAYS tip your bartenders and waitstaff. :)
5 comments:
that crap happened all the time at my last cocktail job. Customers would disappear for a good half hour, leaving their glass with three melting ice cubes in it behind. As soon as you tossed it and wiped the condensation pool up they'd reappear, complaining that you threw their drink away and owed them another one. Yeah right...
you should have asked where he worked and if the place is decent enough to eat at I'd ask for him as a server then complain... welcome to Karma
My favorite is when there is nothing but backwash left in a beer bottle and a customer will still bitch and moan about how you threw out their "whole" beer. It's so gross. Who wants to drink beer backwash?
Cheap bastards I tell ya!!
Evan, I strongly believe in karma. Especially in this industry.
I see this happening more often now that patrons have to go outside to smoke. I try to leave sunglasses or something next to my drink to show that I'm "still there."
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