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Apr. 7th, 2008 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
growler_southOn Saturday I had the distinct displeasure of banning one of our customers at Urge. This particular gentleman enjoys being massively drunk, well beyond the point at which we stop serving him, and has developed a number of tricks to get us to overserve him. Like slugging a hip flask of vodka just before he walks in the door, so that when we first see him and have a chat he really is sober, and he gets a good 3 or 4 beers in before we notice that he really is remarkably smashed for someone who's only had a few beers.
He's also figured out that when we cut him off, he can just go out the back and ask someone to buy him a drink. This never really worked, because he usually drinks one brand of beer, and when one of my customers comes in asking for this brand, rather than their usual, I get suspicious. But still he tries.
The problem with overserving is that if he walks out on the street and gets run over, or falls, or is even randomly stopped by a policeman, our bar ends up getting a fine for overserving, I personally get a fine for being the manager at the time of the overserving, and I may even get another fine if it was me who actually served him his last beer! Not to mention possibly losing my managers license and/or the bar's liquor license.
Anyway, this guy knows all this. He even complains that it's not like that in Sydney. And still he thinks that I'll understand that fuelling his addiction is more important than keeping my job. We've banned him before, and stopped him any number of times, and there's been no improvement. Promises of 'trying harder' mean 'trying harder to not get caught'. Enough.
Saturday. He leaps from the taxi and the doorman and I greet him at the front door. "Hi", I say, determined to have a conversation and determine how drunk he is, "How's it going? What have you been up to tonight?"
He alleges just came from a family function. This is at 2am- long family function! But he's not noticeably drunk, and we're outside so I can't smell alcohol on him. Fair enough. I follow him inside and get him a beer.
10 minutes pass. I notice Mikey having a conversation I recognise even from across the room: it's the apologetic, amused, but firm expression that says "I'm not serving you anything else alcoholic, but here, have a water or soda on the house". Conversation continues. Gentleman storms off outside. Seems Mikey saw him wobbling towards the bar, told him he couldnt have another beer, and endured a slurred entreaty about how he couldn't possibly be drunk since he'd only had one. And then, defeated, he demanded his change for the glass of water Mikey had just served him. The free glass of water. For which he had handed over no money. Being free and all.
Loren, passing, said "Wow. He went down *real* fast tonight- that's impressive!"
And then, right on cue, in comes another of our customers asking for a beer. It's not gentleman's brand, but my bartending superpowers of 'memory' and 'commonsense' tell me that everyone outside has a full beer. "Let me guess. A drunk guy just asked you to come buy this for him?"
Yes indeed. Not only is he trying to get me fired and send me bankrupt, he's gone and asked for a brand of beer that's not his usual so I wont find out.
I'm running a bar, and I love doing it- it's the hilight of my week and I genuinely enjoy being there. Except when he's there, then it's more like being a babysitter, knowing that he's deliberately trying to get me in trouble, always having to watch my back and him.
But not for the next 6 months. He didnt even argue when I handed him the trespass notice, just sighed and said "Oh, ok." Last time we banned him we had a wee meeting and agreed that 6 months would be appropriate should the situation arise again- and that's what I gave him. He wasnt so happy about that. Probably something to do with being currently banned from a number of other bars in town: not many places left to go, mister.
But you're not my problem any more.
He's also figured out that when we cut him off, he can just go out the back and ask someone to buy him a drink. This never really worked, because he usually drinks one brand of beer, and when one of my customers comes in asking for this brand, rather than their usual, I get suspicious. But still he tries.
The problem with overserving is that if he walks out on the street and gets run over, or falls, or is even randomly stopped by a policeman, our bar ends up getting a fine for overserving, I personally get a fine for being the manager at the time of the overserving, and I may even get another fine if it was me who actually served him his last beer! Not to mention possibly losing my managers license and/or the bar's liquor license.
Anyway, this guy knows all this. He even complains that it's not like that in Sydney. And still he thinks that I'll understand that fuelling his addiction is more important than keeping my job. We've banned him before, and stopped him any number of times, and there's been no improvement. Promises of 'trying harder' mean 'trying harder to not get caught'. Enough.
Saturday. He leaps from the taxi and the doorman and I greet him at the front door. "Hi", I say, determined to have a conversation and determine how drunk he is, "How's it going? What have you been up to tonight?"
He alleges just came from a family function. This is at 2am- long family function! But he's not noticeably drunk, and we're outside so I can't smell alcohol on him. Fair enough. I follow him inside and get him a beer.
10 minutes pass. I notice Mikey having a conversation I recognise even from across the room: it's the apologetic, amused, but firm expression that says "I'm not serving you anything else alcoholic, but here, have a water or soda on the house". Conversation continues. Gentleman storms off outside. Seems Mikey saw him wobbling towards the bar, told him he couldnt have another beer, and endured a slurred entreaty about how he couldn't possibly be drunk since he'd only had one. And then, defeated, he demanded his change for the glass of water Mikey had just served him. The free glass of water. For which he had handed over no money. Being free and all.
Loren, passing, said "Wow. He went down *real* fast tonight- that's impressive!"
And then, right on cue, in comes another of our customers asking for a beer. It's not gentleman's brand, but my bartending superpowers of 'memory' and 'commonsense' tell me that everyone outside has a full beer. "Let me guess. A drunk guy just asked you to come buy this for him?"
Yes indeed. Not only is he trying to get me fired and send me bankrupt, he's gone and asked for a brand of beer that's not his usual so I wont find out.
I'm running a bar, and I love doing it- it's the hilight of my week and I genuinely enjoy being there. Except when he's there, then it's more like being a babysitter, knowing that he's deliberately trying to get me in trouble, always having to watch my back and him.
But not for the next 6 months. He didnt even argue when I handed him the trespass notice, just sighed and said "Oh, ok." Last time we banned him we had a wee meeting and agreed that 6 months would be appropriate should the situation arise again- and that's what I gave him. He wasnt so happy about that. Probably something to do with being currently banned from a number of other bars in town: not many places left to go, mister.
But you're not my problem any more.
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no subject
Date: 2008-04-07 10:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-07 11:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-07 06:12 pm (UTC)oh man, I so have played that game... sometimes I will just watch them bounce from bartender to bartender hoping that one of them won't recognize them while I stand behind and make bunny ears.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-07 06:17 pm (UTC)Glad he's out of your hair for a while.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-08 02:03 am (UTC)