What does a bar owe you?

Good job closing this thread with the first response. Shut it down bros.

 

Had a great bartender back in the day make many a recommendation. His standard line was, "if you don't like it, I'll drink it."

 

Also depends on how much the employee cares about said business. There's always that a-hole who will go on Yelp or whatever and give the place a bad review because the 'staff was rude and blah blah blah'. Is it worth the trouble?

 

Personally I have no problem having people sample beers, I wholeheartedly encourage it. If I suggest a beer to you and you don't like it, that's on me. If you don't like a beer that you confidently ordered without any inquisition, well unfortunately that is on you. Unless of course, as others have pointed out, it's misrepresented, off flavored, or they poured the completely wrong beer. However, we service industry members are always more inclined to remedy a problem if you are polite about it. Example, how not to get another beer... "Um excuse me this doesn't taste anything like pumpkin, I ordered the Jolly Pumpkin for a reason!". How to get another beer... "Hey I realized I misread the menu, I thought the name of the beer was Jolly Pumpkin instead of the brewery, is there any other beer you would recommend for me?" All in all, I want everyone to love beer and be happy in the bar I work and I know a bunch of people who feel the same. Just make sure to bring your patience, be polite, and realize you're dealing with other human beings.

 

When I go to a bar, I expect Pinatas, nipple tassels, and Hector The sexual mule..(Bachelor Party, anyone) and fountains of free Cantillon that changes flavor every 15 minutes....."In my dreams, that's where I 'm a Viking"...Ralph Wiggum.

 

Definitely not owed but their is such a thing as great customer service and delighting a customer. If a patron can't even choke down the beer it would probably be a good idea/investment to offer them something else. But it is not owed and that is why it's an opportunity to win a loyal patron.

Samples should be offered for beers that are suspects for dissapointment. "Would you like to taste it first?" A one oz risk vs a 17 oz risk.

 

No - you drink the beer and now you have just cause to not buy it again. Time to move on to another beer that suits your tastes more. Simple.

 

"You didn't like any of these beers?"

"No"

"And you want your money back?"

"That's correct"

"But you finished all ten!"

 

My thoughts exactly!!!!

 

I'm surprised this question has to be asked. Beer is not different than any other consumable.

 

Yeah, I thought more people would bring up a business wanting to have happy customers. Sure, every bar/restaurant has its share of a-hole customers, but most customers are happy to spend their money at your establishment. So if someone doesn't like something they've ordered, you'd think a bar/restaurant would want to do something about it (instead of just having the attitude of "well, you ordered it"). Sure, there's no obligation to do something for that customer, but a good business should want to do something for the customer in that case.

Just one of the many reasons I almost never go out to eat anymore. I can make food almost as good (and many times, better), it's cheaper, and the atmosphere is better. And my beer selection at home is pretty damn good.

Service at many establishments is sloppy and incompetent, and products are mediocre. Honestly, my young children have better customer service skills than the servers I find at many bars/restaurants.

 

I have a hard time agreeing with anyone that says a good beer bar owes them anything if the customer is the one who picked out the beer to purchase. I know I can't buy a sixer at my favorite store, go home and drink a bottle, and then take it back saying I don't like it. So why should a bar be obligated to do that?

Now I do understand that many good beer bars will give samples when requested and I'm all for that (though don't think they have to, just that it's good business). But is anyone obligated to replace a perfectly good beer you simply didn't like? Not a chance in hell.

 

I wasn't going to chime in here, since most of what I was going to say had been said, but... as usual I can't keep my mouth (fingers) shut.
What does a bar owe me? A clean glass, reasonably prompt service (exceptions given for extremely busy days) AC or heat, depending on the time of year, and what I asked for, in good shape.
What do I owe them? A polite customer, prompt payment and preferably tip commessurate with experience.
There have been times that I haven't gotten what I thought I was getting, and confirmed it with the bartender. If it was, I choke it down. There have been times I didn't get what I asked (example, asked for Ruination, got London Pride) Mentioned it, they gave me what I asked for, and usually they don't even take the wrong one (I do tend to be a regular in places I go)
If the beer is off, it gets replaced from my tab, and at least once confirmed b the tender, that keg / line is usually taken off service until the problem is fixed.
I haven't gotten to the point of demanding a replacement / refund on a perfectly fine beer. I've seen it though, in my years bellied up, and it depends on the way it's asked if it happens or not. (not to mention how the bartenders day is going) Brought up politely, with reasons why it's not good, and normally it's taken care of. Be a dick about it, and it's not.
I've seen people ask for the cask beer, and complain that it's "warm and flat" (yeah, I know...) Usually they get the explanation of what cask is and why it's like that. Sometimes they're offered replacement, sometimes not.
FWIW, I love cask beer, but I learned long ago to ask questions before ordering - how long has it been on, can I have a sample first? etc. When a cask is within those first few days, and properly handled, it can by sublime. Badly handled or too old, it can be foul.

 

I would only expect them to replace it if for some reason their tap lines weren't clean or something like that

 

I don't think anyone has said that it isn't good business to OFFER to replace something someone didn't like. I think most of these responses reflect the personal integrity of the people making the posts. If I take a risk on something and it doesn't turn out the way I wanted it to, I don't think anyone OWES it to me to make me whole. If they offer, I'm likely to take them up on it, but I believe too much in taking personal responsibility for the choices you make in life, even for something as inconsequential as a $6 beer, that personally, I would never think of asking for a replacement in the circumstances put forth by the OP.

 

Look, if you're trying to make feel guilty for taking a free beer and then giving them hundreds of dollars of business because I appreciated the gesture, you're barking up the wrong tree. I worked in food service long enough to know that almost every bar tender not working in an airport bar is given a discretionary "slush fund" of free drinks they can hand out to regulars, people who are clearly starting to get pissed about waiting for their table, etc. Anyone who's matching up ounces of beer dispensed vs. sales recorded is insane. And if they don't trust their bartenders, they should hire new bartenders. This woman did her boss a favor, and by the number of people normally at the bar during her shifts, I'd be surprised if he doesn't realize that she's an enormous asset to his business.

 

Exactly. If the beer is bad because the bar did something wrong, then by all means they should replace it. I just hate the attitude some take that because you regret/don't like your purchase someone else should eat the cost. If they WANT to give you a beer, that's on the bar, but by no means is anyone entitled to be repaid for a purchase they simply didn't like.

 

Uh, what? What in my posts suggest I think the customer should feel guilty? I explicitly said it makes no difference to the customer what happens when there is a freebie. I was just trying to point out that it's a poor business practice for a bar owner to let their bartenders give out free drinks that aren't accounted for.

And really, it's insane to track product loss in a bar? WTF?? I hope you never own a business.

 

Strip club or regular bar?

 

When you tell me it's "rationalization" to say that giving a customer a free beer can be good business practice, that's pretty much telling me that you think I'm taking something I don't deserve. But if I misinterpreted your intent, I apologize.

And honestly, with spillage, varying size of heads, etc. can you honestly give me a formula a bar owner can use that would tell them that 16 oz of beer was given away? Bottles, yes. Hundreds of ounces of draught beer? Maybe. But two or three pints in a shift? Good luck with that.

Look, you can believe it's a bad practice to allow bartenders to give away free drinks, but I can say with very little fear of contradiction, that is not a policy the vast majority of bar owners follow. Like I said, if you don't trust your bartenders and you think they're comping their buddies all night every night, fire them and hire someone with integrity.

And with that, I suggest we agree to disagree. Cheers!