BARTENDER THEFT:
Bartender Summary
- Bar 1: Caucasian female approximately 5’6 with a slender frame and shoulder length brown hair wearing a black tank top and jeans.
The agent and associate took a seat at the bar top and were greeted by Bar 1. She provided water glasses and a carafe of water and stood in front of us waiting for a drink order to be placed. She did not provide a friendlier greeting including welcoming us or verbally asking what we would like to drink. We requested a minute to look at the wine list.
She returned a short time later and asked “What do ya think.” which is much too casual of a statement for the nature of the establishment in the agent’s opinion.
A drink order was placed and made quickly (see food and beverage summary for details). She did not use beverage napkins for the drinks even though there were beverage napkins neatly placed on the bar top nearby.
She did not report to the POS to start us a tab or place an itemized chit in front of us. In fact, no guests at the bar had chits in front of them on the bar top.
Approximately 35 minutes after the drinks were ordered Bar 1 rang in our drinks, printed the check and placed it in front of us on the bar in a check presenter. The agent understands the house policy of providing guests a receipt after items are ordered but felt Bar 1’s method was more similar to auto dropping the check as it was presented in a presenter. Agent points out that this methodology is sieve of opportunity for bartender theft and suggests that management address it. Moreover, it’s very cumbersome to “spot” for bartender theft if the bartender simply isn’t ringing in drinks.
She did not ask us of another round was wanted and the agent’s beverage was nearly empty.
The agent provided payment and it sat on the presenter for approximately 5 minutes before it was processed which surprised the agent since Bar 1 was so quick to drop the check she had no rush to process the payment for the agent. She thanked us in-genuinely in the agent’s opinion and quickly picked up the presenter to collect her tip.
She did not acknowledge us as we left which made for a poor last impression in the agent’s opinion.
Overall the agent felt Bar 1 was not very friendly towards the agent and associate. She only seemed interested in conversing with guests she already knew.
She was observed eating food off of guests’ plates behind the bar while on duty and in view of guests.
She also consumed wine regularly while on duty behind the bar which is a violation of the Liquor Law. She was not discreet in any way. She kept a glass of red wine by the open bottle she was pouring from on the back bar.
TITLE 4, CHAPTER 3
4-244. Unlawful acts
12. For a licensee, when engaged in waiting on or serving customers, to consume spirituous liquor or for a licensee or on-duty employee to be on or about the licensed premises while in an intoxicated or disorderly condition.
The agent noted Bar 1 doing side work preparing to end her shift. She was cleaning glassware and refilling mixers in pour containers. She was marrying the mixers in pour containers that were already in use which is ill advised in the agent’s opinion. The agent recommends new pour containers be used when prepping mixers so that the oldest product get used first.
To protect spotter anonymity further details from the bar evaluation can be found in the food and beverage summary.
Neither the agent nor the associate were asked for ID. One of which is very near 21; therefore, this is a dram shop liquor liability issue that should be addressed by management.
The agent and associate were the only guests aside from regulars and employees at the bar top. To protect anonymity further details from the evaluation are as follows:
There was an instance of poor guest service observed with Bar 1. At approximately 10:36 two guests entered the establishment. She immediately told the guests the establishment closed at 10 and they left the establishment rather disappointed. She did not attempt to invite them to the bar top to enjoy a cocktail or state they should definitely come back before 10 to sample the cuisine.
The agent made a call prior to visiting the establishment that was not used for scoring purposes. The agent inquired about the hours the kitchen and establishment were open until to insure ample time to perform both a dining room and bar evaluations. The employee that answered the call stated the kitchen closed at 10PM but the establishment closed at 11PM. The instance of Bar 1 turning guests away decreases revenue from the establishment and also could possibly deter the guests from returning which is bad for the establishment as a whole in the agent’s opinion. The agent feels all guests entering the establishment should be provided good customer service and be invited into the establishment during hours of operation even if it is close to closing time and staff is ready to end their shifts.
Michael Zenner – CEO
Hospitality Checkpoint..
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