HOSPITALITY CHECKPOINT SPOTTER SERVICE
BARTENDER THEFT:
Bartender Summary
There were three bartenders that will be denoted as bartenders A, B, and C. Bartender A was a female Caucasian with long blonde hair wearing a low cut Xxxxxxxxx tank. Bartender B was a Caucasian male with a tall Mohawk haircut with blonde tips. He was unshaven, but did not wear a beard. Bartender C was a bulky Caucasian male with spiky blonde hair in somewhat of a faux-hawk style.
When this agent arrived in the bar, the rail was relatively full with a group of what appeared to be regular female patrons. The first impression that this agent had of this bar was Bartender C taking Bacardi 151 directly from the service pour spout into his mouth and spewing fire behind the bar as he lit the 151 he was expelling from his mouth. The violations, health infractions, and liabilities are numerous on this one initial impression. This agent will leave it to the managers and owners of Xxxxxxxxx if they want to continue with this type of activity. This agent would strongly recommend that this be discontinued immediately.
Bartender A was the first bartender to approach this agent on the bar top. She mentioned the specials for the night and mentioned that Miller Light bottles were on sale for $2. The agent opted to start the night with this. This female bartender immediately rang the drink through the POS and the screen notated the $2 charge. Change was returned immediately and there were no issues with this transaction.
At 1015pm the bar really began to fill up. Multiple groups came in through the front doors and began to gather and order from the bar. From 1015 until after 1115, this agent sat near where Bartender C was working. This was the middle well.
This agent counted 5 NO SALE deposits from drinks that were paid for in cash over this well. The bartender would approach the terminal with the money, simply hit the NO SALE key, which would flash across the POS and deposit the money directly into his drawer. This was so brazen that there wasn’t even an attempt to shadow the terminal or hide it.
Literally, the only drinks that were actually run through the POS system were those drinks where a credit card transaction was needed. Unfortunately on this night, this terminal was heavy on cash transactions and light on credit. The bottom line is that if a report were run during the middle of this shift, Bartender C’s drawer would be found way over.
In addition to this, Bartender C was also seen giving an unrung long neck over the bar with a thumbs up to a male patron, which is a violation of liquor ordinance concerning free alcohol as well as a bartender theft loss to the club.
TITLE 4, CHAPTER 3
4-242. Sale of liquor on credit prohibited; exceptions
It is unlawful for a licensee, or an employee or agent of a licensee, to sell or offer to sell, directly or indirectly, or to sanction the sale on credit of spirituous liquor, or to give, lend or advance money or anything of value for the purpose of purchasing or bartering for spirituous liquor, except that sales of spirituous liquor consumed on the licensed premises may be included on bills rendered to registered guests in hotels and motels, and spirituous liquor sales for on or off premises consumption may be made with credit cards approved by the director, and sales of spirituous liquor consumed on the premises of private clubs may be included on bills rendered to bona fide members.
Half way through this evaluation, the agent had to actually wave Bartender B down for another Miller Light Bottle. This agent had been told that the special of the night was $2 Miller Bottles by Bartender A. This agent paid with a $5 and was given $1 in change. Consequently, Bartender A was waived down and asked if the special was off at that time or had expired. She replied that it was all night. The agent noted the deficit and she immediately opened the drawer and gave the agent money from the drawer. This might sound like great customer service. However, upon closer inspection it really lends itself to the unmistakable conclusion that she knew there was plenty of extra money in that drawer and in fact things like this happen continually and it was in no way out of the norm.
To further exemplify bartender theft and integrity issues, this agent heard the price on this same bottle of beer quoted to other patrons at $2.50 and $3.00 respectively within a ten minute period. This is strong evidence of buck boosting as well.
In terms of Bartender B, NO SALE deposits were also noted happening on his terminal, which was the far end nearest the kitchen. This agent counted two of them on his drawer that were flagrant. Bartender A was the only bartender on shift for the night that was not seen making NO SALE cash deposits into her drawer. However, many of her drinks were seen coming in from cocktail servers, as she was working the terminal closest to the front door.
Showmanship appears to be something that the bartenders or the managers or both consider very important on this bar. However, they as a group are not very good at it. This agent witness long draw pours from free pour spouts where a good 1-2 count of liquor actually hit the floor. Additionally, one group of three mixed vodka drinks actually drained half a bottle with this showmanship. Bartender C was seen guzzling energy drinks one after another behind the bar in the well, and Bartender B was seen with a huge gallon of water that he was drinking from and storing near the ice well.
Midshift bar drawer audits are an absolute necessity, along with the immediate replacement of all but Bartender A, and this agent believes that she is also complicit, knowing what is going on. Thousands of dollars in combined sales and cost are being lost here.
Michael Zenner – CEO
Hospitality Checkpoint LLC
bartheft.com (blog)
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-1919
Toll Free: 800-880-0811
© Hospitality Checkpoint LLC 2014