After Sha Nay Nay’s infamous confessions, I couldn’t forget this topic that had been bugging me for a while. Certainly, we’ve all had our experience with stingy pours and bad service, but at the end of the day bartenders choose to serve you and choose to make your drinks.
So, obviously there are some methods to cheating customers as seen in the video below:
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/bfNXcVLjaDc” height=”350″ width=”425″ /]
As a customer of C-Ville bars and restaurants, what have you experienced in terms of service that is borderline cheating?
As a bartender or server have you or your current/former employer ever been involved in non-standard pours, cheating or anything else that customers would consider unethical (food too)?
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Tagged as: Bars, Charlottesville, Cocktails, Questions, Restaurants, Restaurants/Bars
Yeah of course, it’s part of the job. When i get stiffed, i remember your face with a sour taste in my mouth…then your drink is more sour and less stiff to make up for it. Then that extra liquor you just didn’t get goes to someone who deserves it. One thing i never do and would never do is add drinks onto someones tab that I haven’t served them. That’s just not right.
As a customer, all I can say is be patient and polite (no shouting, use eye contact), have your money ready, know what you want, and tip well (esp on the first round).
Following these simple ideas, I have had no problem with any bartenders in this town. If you feel they are pouring weak, or are otherwise dissatified, go somewhere else, which takes about three minutes in this town.
Still, sometimes I do have trouble getting bud light in some of the classier joints.
What is an acceptable tip for a single mixed drink at the bar? Is it the same for a bottle of beer? More tip the better, but what keeps bartenders happy, 20%?
give a tip and then
ask for change they like that es-
peci’ly strippers
I can see short-pouring someone who has treated you poorly (as you would heavy-poor a good customer) but wholesale short-pouring is not just wrong (theft-like) it is down right immoral. Cheat me at the deli-counter, I eat less; cheat me at the bar, I suffer dearly. Let’s not forget that booze is not just any commodity, it is medicinal.
How does M—-er’s manage to pour such weak drinks?
I’m just glad the conversation has shifted from housing policy back to drinking. Let’s not forget out roots, here.
batesville: as a bartender that pours more mixed drinks than anything else, i’m okay with getting a dollar per drink if you’re just getting one at a time (although more than $1 would be better, and might get you a stronger pour next time). if you’re getting an $8 drink, for example i don’t expect you to leave me $1.60 exactly. but the dollar-a-drink rule doesn’t really work if you’re getting several drinks, and your tab is $20 or $30 or more. in that case, a 20% tip is best. anything less runs the risk of annoying your bartenders.
the worst thing that i was ever asked to do (when i was working at a bar in nova, not in charlottesville) was to pour aristocrat vodka into an empty bottle of skyy in order to lower liquor costs. needless to say, i didn’t stay at that bar for long.
I can safely say that I have never been asked to short pour to keep costs down and I don’t do it to increase my tips by giving away free drinks. The short pour is a weapon used against people who anger me by not tipping or by being a drunken ass.
On the tip amount, yes, a dollar per drink is perfectly acceptable and 20% on tabs. If you know you got hooked up, send the love back.
If you are looking for step by step instructions on how to be the perfect customer, yo’s got it right in post 2.
Do you prefer cash or credit card? Let’s say it’s two drinks over a period of 30 minutes.
Well i can’t stand it when someone runs their card more than once. Cash would be prefered in a two seperate drink situation, but i would not be offended by you opening a tab for only two drinks. If you got two drinks and ran your card two times…not that big a deal as long as there’s a tip on it both times. Cash is my prefered method for anyone not running up a tab in excess of 50 dollars.
Also another thing that bothers me is when a group of friends orders a round of shots, and asks for each shot to be on a different tab. Then they proceed to get another round and another round, and they could have each just bought a round.
If you keep it simple, you keep us happy, but at the end of the night, it comes down to who is and who isn’t tipping you. Big tippers can be as obnoxious as they want and i’ll serve them with a smile.
i always prefer cash just for efficiency’s sake, especially if you know you’re just getting a few drinks. if you’re going to pay with a credit card, and there’s even the slightest possibility that you’re going to get that second drink, please start a tab. running the same card more than once in one night is incredibly frustrating, and sometimes can really screw up a computer system.
usually, a big tip overrides anything, but even with big tippers, there’s a level of obnoxiousness that i can’t handle. remember that we are slammed, and that we really do want to get your order and make you a great drink.
How do you bartenders feel about the pre-tip.? Say I walk up to the bar, order a beer, and leave you a 10 or a 20, and tell you that I’m gonna be there for a while.
Flooze, we all know you love the pre-tip, spare us.
Pre-tips are welcome and obviously no complaints, but as the customer you’ve now left yourself vulnerable to neglect. If it gets really busy, we already have your money. You’re better off with a solid tip first round and then continually decent tips. You always wanna tip based on service. If the bartender knows the faster they get to you, the more money they stand to make, they will get to you faster.
Good point. Can you tell me who invented the “Ninja Turtle” shot?
The only time a bartender tried to cheat me here in Cville (although it was really the establishment) was at the late Jewish Mother on the DM. Hanging out at the bar during happy hour, it was evident to even me that this had to be one of the most mis-managed places ever. Cooks coming out during service at the bar filling up on top shelf liquor, many “managers” who appeared to be hired on their ability to look good, this place hemmorhaged money.
They had a bartender in their employ (who later appeared behind the bar at South Street to my consternation) who ran dummy check scams. He presented us a check that was actually lower than our assumed total but upon review was from a different customer who had already paid. The assumption was that he had not started an official tab with us and was going through the motions to put the money directly in his pocket. He was appropriately “confused” when we said we wanted our very own check. Not too surprisingly, the place tanked not long thereafter.
Gobbler, I’m pretty sure that a guy over at McGrady’s invented that shot, cause i never have been able to order it elsewhere. I’m sure someone over there could tell you.
pre-tips actually make me more willing to check on the customer…i know that a pre-tipper knows how to tip, and if he stays around for a while, then he might leave even more when he leaves (which happens pretty regularly).
Of course, from the bartender/server side, we did all sorts of awful things when I worked at an Irish pub that catered to the tourist crowd up in Washington DC. To be fair, it was just in reaction to abuse/non-existent tipping from the foreign tourists, German variety especially I’m sorry to say. Splitting a party of 20 into 10 tables of two so they could get separate checks and avoid the automatic gratuity for large groups, it was really the work of one obnoxious tour leader who kept bringing his buses to our little pub. After a while, we stopped giving him regular draft beer and poured him non-alcoholic beer so he would keep ordering and wonder where his buzz was. We also made white zinfandel on the spot with chardonnay and grenadine for a nasty older couple who insisted that the white zin was the only palatable wine we had. This was very unfair because we felt they all sucked equally. Of course now I feel much shame but back then, not so much.
There have been a couple of times that really bitchy super skinny women have received non-diet soda from me. That’s the worst I could muster. (This is as a server.)
Oh yeah. I would up-sell cocktails and shots (Cuervo to Patron was a difference of $4 per), but I think that’s to be expected.
I make drinks for friends and regulars, so why would I wanna screw them over? If I don’t like you, I just won’t serve you.
And most servers/bartenders prefer cash. Even if I pay my tab with a credit card, I leave the tip in cash.
And remember, if you think that servers and bartenders do not remember you because it was busy etc…forget it. You will be remembered. So listen when they give out the special and do not make them repeat it. Do not run your mouth when everyone else is ordering and then make the person wait while you try to makeup your mind. Do not order food or drink you do not understand.
When the server comes to the table, stop briefly to respond and then let them do their job. Do not be the customer that kept talking when others asked for another round and then ask for your next drink when they return with a full drink tray. Because you will be the one that slows service down and likely the one that complains.
sometimes I order two drinks at a time just to save the server an extra trip.
I also don’t hit on the servers or bartenders b/c I think it rude: they can’t just stop serving me in the middle of dinner and they have to be nice so it puts them in an awkward situation
How do you servers and tenders feel about flirting, being hit on, etc. And don’t say “it depends on whether s/he is good looking” b/c that doesn’t really answer the question
sometimes i order 2 drinks at one time because i am a lush
I love it when broads hit on me while i’m bartending because flirting back can make you good money. This really nice middle aged woman was in there the other day and kept hitting on me, so i just amused her and the tip she left was worth it. It really depends on your personality, if you like to flirt, you’ll flirt with a customer and realize it’s harmless. I make it a point to go out of my way to flirt with waitresses and bartenders when they are working, because it humors me.
When you are serving drunk people, you almost have to expect to be hit on at some point. But if you do flirt or hit on your server and they put up with you, you better tip them better than 20% or they’ll hate you.
That’s a great point. I didn’t realize until I was a server that the credit card companies actually take a (tiny but annoying) cut of tips charged to cards. Cash, people! It’s your friend.
Bukbukbegak makes an excellent point about flirting when a staffer is unopposed. My pet peeve, however, is with women (usually the kind that anyone over 20 would refer to as “girls”, no matter their chronological progress in life) that think they’re entitled to better service from a bartender because they flirt with you — or point a scantily clad body part your way. I like a nice view as much as anyone; it’s just that this kind of behavior puts me in mind of people who think driving a flashy new BMW comes with the right to park in illegal spots where mere mortals are forbidden.
Jokes defining “better service” may commence now.
just because your boobs are hanging out of your shirt and i want to bury my face in them, doesn’t mean you get to jump ahead of all the people that have been waiting (especially the patient quiet ones who have been tipping). but you can stick around for late night.
Oh another thing that bothers me is when people put cigarettes or napkins in their glasses. Please don’t do that. I don’t spit or ash in your drink, so why would you try to make that glass so dirty that it might have to be washed three times before it can be used again.
i have no problem with customers flirting with me while i’m working, but some customers don’t seem to realize that the only reason i talk or flirt back is for the tip. it’s especially a problem with older men that come into the bar. yeah, we might have a nice conversation, we might flirt, and the guy might even be a regular. but a note to these guys: i’m only humoring you. i’m not going to give you my number, or let you buy me a drink after work, or go home with you. it doesn’t matter how cute you are or how big of tip you leave. now, if you really are cute, or if you do leave a big tip, then i might remember you next time. and you’ll definitely get better service. but that’s it. so just enjoy the flirtation and recognize the basis of our relationship for what it is — just business.
that said, i have been known to shamelessly flirt with servers and bartenders when i go out. but it’s just for fun, i tell myself…
thanks for the tip info
if you flirt you should leave more than 20%?
good grief
im broke
Unlike jools here, if you are attractive and flirt and leave a big tip, i will go home with you…and leave you a tip for your service.
Chick bartenders use their good looks just to get tips.
Dude bartenders use whatever they have to get whatever they can.
Hey jools, wanna shamelessly flirt sometime?
cunts!
just kidding. no one here is a cunt.
i think you guys got it covered pretty well– respect your bartender and they will respect you back. i never really understood the concept of pissing off the person in charge of your alcohol consumption, but, apparently, not everyone thinks in such a linear manner. such is life.
i get really annoyed when we’re busy and someone gets to the bar, someone who has been waiting, presumably, a couple minutes, and when it’s their time to order, they turn away and ask their friends what they need. how hard is it to have your order ready when you get to the bar? that guarantees you an ignore the next time you shove your way to the bar.
HH: That is the lamest. When people do that I turn away and move on to the person who’s ready. And the worst? When people can see you’re realllllly fucking swamped and you ask them what they want and they start rattling off 13 different mixed drinks.
I lovvvve getting hit on. But don’t give me your phone number. I’m not gonna call you. Actually, give me your number. I will take it and put it in a drawer with all the others and pull it out at the end of the night and laugh. Ohh shit, that sounded cunty, didn’t it?
you? cunty? i cant imagine such a thing….
i do agree with you about pain in the ass drinks when your slammed. i mean, i understand sometimes all you REALLY want is muddled frozen pomegranate mojito with a twist and three cherries, but when you are tree deep at the bar, sacrifice for the sake of your fellow drinkers. the less time i can spend making you twelve sluts, a mai tai, an old fashioned or whatever, the more i can devote to spreading the love (and drinks) around.
#31 is for you silm!
C - Ha I know. I was wondering if that was her
but Bukbuk is a boy i think.
hey bukbuk: absolutely i do.
maybe it’s time to pass the makeout torch..
I’ll take that torch, thank you
/could use it right about now… can’t get this damn woodstove lit
ohh jools, that’s the best news i’ve read all morning. And 31 wasn’t about silm…unless you’ve put cigs in pints at mcg’s and then it is about you. But i hope for the sake of our would-be internet friendship that you haven’t.
no no caroline…you’re much better at IMO than i am, i bet.
IMO = internet make out. think that’ll catch on?
do ducks have lips?!?
well do ya wanna with me jools?
duh. but not before 10 am.
When on the town and shy
Sometimes a working tender
She will talk to me
That is quite the hiku dude
I can’t write a better one
So I hope this counts
Sorry to interupt the middle school chat room….
To the bartenders….don’t you think that one person ordering 12 drinks is more efficient than 12 people ordering 1 drink?
yeah of course it is. duh
yes…as long as that person knows the entire order when he gets to the bar.
Alright….late to the party on this one. I only frequent places that have bartenders I like. I’ve been to enough places in this town to have weeded them down to just a few. I’m of the opinion that everyone be required to serve 6 months time as a waitress/waiter, like the Israel military obligation….make it a mandatory course for seniors in High School. You’ll never drink in this town again, otherwise. I wasn’t a bad tipper or customer prior to my relatively later in life time in the weeds by any means, but I’ve become a great one since. For the record, I could win a Gold in the Worst Waitress Olympics.
I don’t go to places where you can’t carry on a conversation, so this may be just my bias, but I do like knowing that the bartender knows my name, seems happy to see me, has my drink ready almost before I sit down (as long as they aren’t busy), and we can banter back and forth because they’ve taken the time over the course of our bar relationship to get to know me and I the same with them. “How’s Aunt Bertha’s gout?” and the like.
I’ll edit this slightly. There is one place I go to in town DESPITE the bartenders who have the personalities of potatoes which is ironic and it’s just because the prices are so freaking (can we say that) cheap…McGrady’s. Although the waitresses are great which generally in my experience is the exact opposite, particularly in a college town. The same holds true for Miller’s but I only go there in the summer when I can sit outside and watch the world go by.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
i agree 100% as well, despite the fact that i only held it down for one month. turns out you’re not supposed to call the head waitress a cokehead slut. i was unaware.
not fulfilling her material and spiritual needs, eh? been there.
i knew we’d make a good team parlie
i completely agree. and afterwards, everyone should have to work for the other 6 months of the year in retail.
working retail is for chumps…no offense