It’s about time I write another post about bartending, this one will simply be about the misconception that we need a reason to stop serving someone. Saying that, 99% of all times someone is refused service in a pub is due to whether someone is too drunk, or they’ve been abusive to staff etc. But there is a thought that we can’t stop serving someone purely because we don’t like them or don’t want to, we can.
The choice of whether or not it was something to be done or not falls down to the manager/owner of the pub or bar that its happening in. And most of the time they will side with the bartender, within reason. However, there is no law or rule that says we need a reason to stop serving someone and if anything bartenders are less likely to give a reason for stopping serving, to avoid arguments. For anyone who has ever tried to tell someone who was drunk that they’ve “had enough” or that they’re “on their last one of the night” then you probably know the conversation bartenders try to avoid at 11 o’clock on a Saturday night.
The other side of it is that the last thing bartenders want to do is not serve drinks, its pretty much their only job… literally their only job. So, if you have been told that they won’t serve you then you’ve either drunk too much, annoyed them in some way or just happened to stumble across a terrible bartender. The last is the least likely. But people don’t like to be given 100% of the blame for things so sure, bad bartenders are one of the reasons too.
One of the things that people say a lot when I tell them I’m not serving them and when I still made the mistake of telling them when they’ve had enough is the response of “but I’m fine, I’m not drunk.” This sentence is a lot more convincing when being said by someone who isn’t hanging off the bar with one eye more closed than the other. We don’t do this to ruin people’s nights or just because we’ve decided now to stop pouring the same pint for someone that’s been in all day. It’s because our license is at risk, surprisingly there is a law where we loose our license if people are drunk in our pub. It doesn’t really make sense.
But the point is that once people start drinking in a pub or bar then the responsibility of anything done (when purely due to alcohol) falls onto both the customer but also the owner of the pub. So, basically, we don’t need a reason to stop serving you but most of the time we will have one. But if a bartender tells you they’re going to stop serving you then please just say “okay” and either leave or sit quietly with who you came with. The bartender would have already made their decision and arguing it will do nothing but confirm why they stopped serving you in the first place.
The Nerdy Bartender 