When a bartender buys you a drink....

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Platypus
Wow, some of you guys never get free drinks from bartenders?

Happens all the time here, I paid $10 bucks on New Years last year and probably got half a bottle of jameson for free along with some patron shots, everytime I would order a Jameson on the rocks the bartender would pour a shot for himself and for me and do it with me

i like those kinda bartenders and it sounds like... he liked you.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: Platypus
the owner is paying for it out of the stock but there's really no way of tracking that sort of thing.

some places use those limiters and can compare how many drinks they should be getting out of each bottle but unles there's some gross error they're not going to notice nor care.

Well not necessarily.

At the strip club they used the AZ bar system. Every time a pour is made out of the bottle it registers the appropriate charge to the register it was poured from. So if you give out free drinks your register will be short and the shortage must be covered out of the tips you make. Any issues with the bottles mis pouring or the seals break must be reported to management as soon as it happens for sign off. As far as bottles go it really again depends on how tight they monitor inventory levels vs. sales in the register. At the club it would be much easier to comp a bottled beer than a poured drink. Then again this was probably the most closely watched bar operation I have every witnessed.

Your average bar will not notice buy backs.

 

[Mr Pickles]

You all go to the wrong bars. Yeah I've seen the crazy contraptions they throw on top of the bottles and the wierd ways they charge people.

Bar tenders are good for 2 things. Free drinks and "forgetting" to put a drink or three on your tab. Don't care where you are, on your first drink if you get the name and shake the hand of your bartender and if you don't get a free drink by your second visit there's no point in coming back a third time. Maybe its just around here, but there are way too many bars with way too many nice bartenders to compete with.

:music:

Where everybody knows your name...

:music:

 

[waggy]

IF you are not getting at least the 4th beer free its a crappy bar or you are not tipping good.

 

[PepePeru]

When a bartender buys you a drink....

you thank him/her & you might get more.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: Scouzer
I don't think the bartender was paying when he came by with a plate (whatever those server things are called) with 10 shots for us to drink...free.

They're called trays.

And SampSon is correct, barfolk can occasionally hand out thank-you freebies. Good way to keep customers returning.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim

Originally posted by: Platypus
the owner is paying for it out of the stock but there's really no way of tracking that sort of thing.

some places use those limiters and can compare how many drinks they should be getting out of each bottle but unles there's some gross error they're not going to notice nor care.

Well not necessarily.

At the strip club they used the AZ bar system. Every time a pour is made out of the bottle it registers the appropriate charge to the register it was poured from. So if you give out free drinks your register will be short and the shortage must be covered out of the tips you make. Any issues with the bottles mis pouring or the seals break must be reported to management as soon as it happens for sign off. As far as bottles go it really again depends on how tight they monitor inventory levels vs. sales in the register. At the club it would be much easier to comp a bottled beer than a poured drink. Then again this was probably the most closely watched bar operation I have every witnessed.

Your average bar will not notice buy backs.

That seems to be a very particular case.. I wasn't even aware such ridiculous things were in play...

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Zolty

Originally posted by: platinumike
Immmmaaa Buyyy Youuu a DRANNKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK oooooooo

I hate you for making me think of that song again.

Yea, but that song is totally outdated... It's totally about:

I like the BAAAAAARRRRRRRRR-TENDER

Originally posted by: Platypus

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim

Originally posted by: Platypus
the owner is paying for it out of the stock but there's really no way of tracking that sort of thing.

some places use those limiters and can compare how many drinks they should be getting out of each bottle but unles there's some gross error they're not going to notice nor care.

Well not necessarily.

At the strip club they used the AZ bar system. Every time a pour is made out of the bottle it registers the appropriate charge to the register it was poured from. So if you give out free drinks your register will be short and the shortage must be covered out of the tips you make. Any issues with the bottles mis pouring or the seals break must be reported to management as soon as it happens for sign off. As far as bottles go it really again depends on how tight they monitor inventory levels vs. sales in the register. At the club it would be much easier to comp a bottled beer than a poured drink. Then again this was probably the most closely watched bar operation I have every witnessed.

Your average bar will not notice buy backs.

That seems to be a very particular case.. I wasn't even aware such ridiculous things were in play...

I think then you have a very slow moving bar. When I go clubbing, the bars are packed, especially at certain bars. You're gonna wait a little bit before being able to get your drink, and they're working as fast as they can. Spills happen all the time, and they don't have time to deal with things like you mentioned.

 

[MrMaster]

If I am a regular at a bar I expect to be hooked up from time to time with free/discounted drinks. Any bar with any common sense already knows this. Ofcourse you make sure to tip generously but it all works out in the end.

 

[rezinn]

They do it for the inflated "he gave me a free drink" tip.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Before I moved, I would frequent a higher-class restaurant/lounge near my apartment. My roommate and I became great friends with the bartenders and wait staff there (as we did basically any place we went). Eventually it became a regular occurrence for the bartender to greet us with complimentary drinks immediately upon saying hello. First drinks were simply on the house -- even on a busy Friday or Saturday night.

Needless to say, we rarely only stayed for two drinks (more like 7-10ish on some nights lol) and we always tipped generously.

The same applied at our local Sushi place, for that matter. Sushi freebies and free bottles of sake all the time.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: rezinn
They do it for the inflated "he gave me a free drink" tip.

If you tip 20 bucks on the first drink, you're likely to drink free all night long. Better than a 100 buck bar tab.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Depends on the place, the drink, and the quantity. If a bartender gives you a free soda, that means that they just didn't want to bother ringing it up.

<-- worked in a kitchen at a place where his sister was a bartender.

And as far as free food, if the bartender and the cooks are "on the same page" and the management isn't anal. You'd be surprized at how small a tab can be and how large portions are. Ever see a "small cut" of prime rib that could stand up on it's end?

 

[MisterJackson]

The few female bartenders I "know" will hook me and maybe one of my friends up. In a large group I usually am the only one she'll take care of. I flirt like crazy though, and try to hit the same spots.

Usually I go to more low key laid back places where the bartender can actually hear you and have a little time to chill and talk with you.ey

There's also what I call the cleavage tab comp. This new girl I've been seeing has some spectacular D's (yes, I'm bragging....insert motorboat joke here) and it's amazing what those things get us when we're out. I love it.

One really cool bar that was downtown used to comp EVERYTHING. No matter how many people were in our party or what we drank. We tried not to abuse that because we wanted it to last, but alas, they went out of business (I wonder why????). Even the first night we went he waived our bill. I argued with him, but he insisted many times. I figured it was a matter of new bar, first nights free, please come back and pay next time. But he would never take our money.

God I miss that place!

 

[zerocool1]

I had a waitress do that for me on a round granted that was just 2 beers. but we're regulars, and it was the owner's daughter that was a waitress.

 

[Compton]

Originally posted by: LookingGlass

Originally posted by: Compton
I wouldn't trust a drink that was given to me.

Hah, you've never been to a bar, have ya.

I'm 28. I've been to plenty of bars. If anyone other than a close friend was going to give me a "free" drink, I would have to question their motives.

 

[sygyzy]

I would disagree with those that say bars don't care. In fact, there were a few articles maybe last year, about how bar owners are sick and tired of employees basically stealing that they starting using all sorts of monitoring devices to stop this.

 

[Zedtom]

I don't believe anyone really thinks that any sort of shenanigans are going on in a bar when someone comps you a drink. It happens all the time in casinos, and any attractive woman, (or lucky man), has surely had someone send a free drink to their table.

Anyway...what I was going to mention. I was in a little bar just outside of Boulder Colorado and the owner had to run some errands, so he left his wife in charge. She was a drunk, and soon started giving away free drinks to the patrons. There was about a dozen of us in there, and we had a hell of a good party. When we left the owner still wasn't back.

 

[JRich]

I usually get a 3 for 1 beer "special" at a bar I frequent.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

All places will have a policy on buybacks. Bartenders will be given a certain percentage of drinks they can give away for free. They don't pay for it, the club okays it. It might run anywhere from 1 for every 4 purchased up to maybe 1 in 10 or 1 in 12. They don't work on a buy 4, get one free deal though. Some people might buy 100 drinks and never get a freebie, others might get one out of every three on the house. Bartenders will take care of their good customers and will give all of their buyback allotment to a small percentage of people. The rest get nothing. Tip well, be polite and you'll get buybacks. Treat bartenders like trained monkeys and tip crappy and you won't.

Given that bars are shooting for a markup of maybe 8 times raw cost, say, $2.00 for 25 cents of draft beer, they can afford to do a lot of buybacks.

 

[miniMUNCH]

A guy I know who owns a bar tells his bartenders to comp. drinks occasionally to the good regulars, new customers who spend well, and even people the bartenders/waitresses like.

It really help build repeat business and the bar still makes a load of money, even on customers who get the comp.'ed drinks.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Zedtom
I don't believe anyone really thinks that any sort of shenanigans are going on in a bar when someone comps you a drink. It happens all the time in casinos, and any attractive woman, (or lucky man), has surely had someone send a free drink to their table.

Anyway...what I was going to mention. I was in a little bar just outside of Boulder Colorado and the owner had to run some errands, so he left his wife in charge. She was a drunk, and soon started giving away free drinks to the patrons. There was about a dozen of us in there, and we had a hell of a good party. When we left the owner still wasn't back.

A bartender that doesn't take care of me *wink* when I tip huge *wink* means I won't come back or work with somebody else.

It's a two way street.

 

[FallenHero]

I've had bartenders buy me one or more when I tip well or flirt with them (if they are female.) Usually I open it up by buying them one for a tip at some point...they usually repay the favor 3-4 times over. I've gone back and I am taken care of before others. Really...just treat them like humans, plus a little extra, and you get serviced well.

 

[SpanishFry]

Originally posted by: MrLee

Don't care where you are, on your first drink if you get the name and shake the hand of your bartender and if you don't get a free drink by your second visit there's no point in coming back a third time.
:music:

pffft

no way in hell I would've given you your 2nd drink free if I just met you. introduce yourself all you want, it won't get you a comp.