Pubs treat customers like dirt

Degsy

Do barmen think they're gods or something because they sell drink?I was in a pub recently which i've frequented on and off for about 15 years,you could say its a music bar in that it hasa juke box.Anyway,this particular evening i went in after work with a friend to find two plasma screens BLARING football at full volume and the barman was the only other person in the place.After about ten minutes of being unable to hear myself think i asked him(politlely) to turn the sound down a bit,whereupon he started ranting about using the juke box and putting on music if i wanted the sound turned down.I put some money in the duke box and the ****er turned it down so low i could hardly hear it,then started saying how the speakers were broken or some such rubbish.I stayed about an hour longer after he insisted on plonking my change down in spilt drink rather than put it in my hand and i was pretty pissed off to put it mildly.I dont know what it is about barmen that make them think theycan treat customers like dirt.Anyone else got a bad exper
ience to relate?

Dave

If you don't like the place don't drink there. Easy.

sioda

Bugger that if you are a regular at this place and that happened ask for the manager and get that idiot complained.

Degsy

Dave wrote:

If you don't like the place don't drink there. Easy.

Love the place,dont like the barman's attitude.Big difference.

TomTom

Thats not all barmen. But some can be right ****. The ones who think they are gods gift annoythe hell out of me.

Dave

You could make a complaint.

Or maybe he was just having a bad day, if it was a once off I'd leave it be.

Dave!

is it your local/regular? is the bloke new? is he normally like that?

SoupyNorman

Worked in a bar for a few years, met some amount of barmen assho!es along the way. I noticed that they were making up for their own shortcomings in life by grasping onto the shred of power that comes with working in a bar and abusing it for all its worth.

One fella....the biggest little bastard ive ever known in my life was a curse to work with. Always shouting, proclaiming his power even though he had none and was getting paid the same as me and the rest of the staff. Had zero people skills, was always upsetting customers, throwing out time was a disaster as it CAN be done with a little tact but this man takes the drinks off the counter rising everyone! Before you ask why he was there he was a lighting quick barman which was great when it was busy and he hadnt the chance to upset anyone.

Its so sad to see bar-people on power trips.

Zebra3

Degsy wrote:

Do barmen think they're gods or something because they sell drink?I was in a pub recently which i've frequented on and off for about 15 years,you could say its a music bar in that it hasa juke box.Anyway,this particular evening i went in after work with a friend to find two plasma screens BLARING football at full volume and the barman was the only other person in the place.After about ten minutes of being unable to hear myself think i asked him(politlely) to turn the sound down a bit,whereupon he started ranting about using the juke box and putting on music if i wanted the sound turned down.I put some money in the duke box and the ****er turned it down so low i could hardly hear it,then started saying how the speakers were broken or some such rubbish.I stayed about an hour longer after he insisted on plonking my change down in spilt drink rather than put it in my hand and i was pretty pissed off to put it mildly.I dont know what it is about barmen that make them think theycan treat customers like dirt.Anyone else got a bad exper
ience to relate?

I suggest you write a letter of complaint to the manager. Getting letters like that really annoys them.

stovelid

If you have been going there for that amount of time, a complaint would surely carry some weight. Write a letter if you don't want to do it in person. A newish barman was recently a wee bit ignorant to me in a city centre pub that i have been going to since 1988. I didnt complain cos it was not OTT and nowhere near the level you got..

Zebra3 wrote:

I suggest you write a letter of complaint to the manager. Getting letters like that really annoys them.

mikedragon32

As a former barman, I can vouch for the fact that some a$$hole bartenders exist. I wouldn't say they're in the majority, however I'm sure any barman has his bad days.

If this was a one-off with this particular dude, let it slide, but ask him is he still grumpy. If he's sound, he'll laugh it off. If he's a genuine a$$hole, he'll probably act the same again. Either way you'll know where you stand.

I've seen plenty of bartenders too, who see the pub as their domain and their little power trip. Let them on. It could well be the best job they ever have!

Fact is you can't can't like all the people all the time. I found once that when I worked in a pub where the owner was a particularly nasty person, I, along with my colleagues, were constantly grumpy. Needless to say the pub didn't last very long. My point, I guess, is that there may be factors at play that make the bartender grumpy.

If you don't like it, vote with your feet.

Degsy

mikedragon32 wrote:

As a former barman, I can vouch for the fact that some a$$hole bartenders exist. I wouldn't say they're in the majority, however I'm sure any barman has his bad days.

If this was a one-off with this particular dude, let it slide, but ask him is he still grumpy. If he's sound, he'll laugh it off. If he's a genuine a$$hole, he'll probably act the same again. Either way you'll know where you stand.

I've seen plenty of bartenders too, who see the pub as their domain and their little power trip. Let them on. It could well be the best job they ever have!

Fact is you can't can't like all the people all the time. I found once that when I worked in a pub where the owner was a particularly nasty person, I, along with my colleagues, were constantly grumpy. Needless to say the pub didn't last very long. My point, I guess, is that there may be factors at play that make the bartender grumpy.

If you don't like it, vote with your feet.

Thing is,i think he's the manager.I told a colleague of his in the other part of the bar that i'm blanking the place and about ten friends of mine arent using the place either and as its not what you'd call big i reckon its losing a fair bit of money.Asa footnote,another friend of mine has had problems with a new bargirl that works there,being sullen and constantly bitching about dublin and dublin people.

mikedragon32

Degsy wrote:

Thing is,i think he's the manager.I told a colleague of his in the other part of the bar that i'm blanking the place and about ten friends of mine arent using the place either and as its not what you'd call big i reckon its losing a fair bit of money.Asa footnote,another friend of mine has had problems with a new bargirl that works there,being sullen and constantly bitching about dublin and dublin people.

If she doesn't like Dublin,why not phuq off back to whatever marvellous place she came from. I can't understand why people come here to work and then spend all their time moaning about it!

Back to the topic... If he is the manager and that many people are staying away, perhaps you could contact the owner? Shouldn't be too hard to gind out who he is...

Want to name and shame the pub here?

Degsy

mikedragon32 wrote:

If she doesn't like Dublin,why not phuq off back to whatever marvellous place she came from. I can't understand why people come here to work and then spend all their time moaning about it!

Back to the topic... If he is the manager and that many people are staying away, perhaps you could contact the owner? Shouldn't be too hard to gind out who he is...

Want to name and shame the pub here?

Yeah but i'd probably get a ban

mikedragon32

Degsy wrote:

Yeah but i'd probably get a ban

Doesn't sound like such a problem!

If you're not known by your username then it's not a problem. Care to tell us where it is instead?

Stephen

i think he means he might get a ban from boards. Legal types suck the fun out of everything.

mikedragon32

OH! I'm such a noob!

PM me the name of the pub and I can probably find out who owns it!

Degsy

well..the pub is on abbey street..

biko

Degsy wrote:

well..the pub is on abbey street..

Where in Galway is Abbey street?

FillSpectre

I was in a pub and I asked for 2 JDs and a coke as a normal order of mine and hers. Paid no attention to the barman. Poured the coke in between the two andbrought them over. Took a drink and realised it was not JD but Southern Comfort. Brought the drinks back and told him the they were Southern Comfort and he said he knew, I said well I orderd JD this is when he told me I ordered SC. I said he must have madea a mistake as I don't drink that and why would I order a drink and then return it the response I got was "I don't know why you weirdos do anything!". I had long hair, beard but nothing outlandish but not obviously "local" (both my parents are from the area and I bought a house there a year earlier). The barman claimed to be the owner and refused to give me any money or different drink. I then took the drinks and walked down the bar to the sink and went to pour them down the sink. The barman ran down (he could see what I was doing) and grabbed me by my arms and tried to pull me over the bar. THe locals were of no help to either of us.
Never returned or bought from the place. Never meet friends there. In case people think it was some dodgy pub with only locals a very normal bar in normal area.

fly_agaric

biko wrote:

Where in Galway is Abbey street?

Ah would you ever give it up with the old "Moaning Wehst" routine.
If you'd bothered to read the thread you'd know that the pub was in Dublin.

stovelid

would naming the pub really get a boards ban?

stovelid

Didnt see the mod posts. Just avoid pubs on Abbey street so (not much of a problem)

shoegirl

Just stop drinking there and spread the word. My rule of thumb is that if I get crap service anywhere, I don't put my cash on their counter again (so to speak).

funk-you

biko wrote:

Where in Galway is Abbey street?

It'd be nice if you were actually funny. You're from galway - we get it.

OT: A lot of people are working dealing with the public that feel that once they have a bit of power that you'll do nothing and just let it slide or give out about it and actually get nothing done. Write a letter, you'd be surprised how often this works depending on how well you write it. If a barman/bouncer/shop assistant/your granny is actually rude(not just you getting on a high horse but really rude) to you or treats you in an unfair manner let the owner know. The way they see it is that if you took the time to write the letter and are looking for nothing except to bring the matter to their attention then they will usually act on it. If they dont then dont ever give them your custom again.

-Funk

Dev 17

I have worked in a bar for about 3 and half months last summer. And from my expierence some barmen are quite ignorant(especially nightclub barmen in particular) but you seem like a nice guy so I don't why he was a on a power trip.Being a barman isn't a vert tough job and I find it quite enjoyable so he had no excuse really. But I would definately write a letter, he will get a warning from the manager. Mangers hate complaints especially when the barman had an attitude problem. But also I have noticed that some customers are very rude. I told a customer he had to wait just a sec while I changed keg and he called me a C***. I don't why I got such a response (he wasn't even drunk and it was a wedding) but the girl I was working with tolled my boss and he asked him to leave.