BARTENDER THEFT: Bar Theft, Free Drinks, Employye Alcohol Consumption, ADLLC Violations
Bartender Summary
· Bartender 1: Caucasian male, approximately 6’, athletic build, wearing a black uniform t-shirt, jeans, and a black hat.
· Bartender 2: Caucasian male, approximately 5’10, thin build, brown hair worn in a xxxxxx, wearing a black uniform t-shirt, and jeans.
· Bartender 3: Caucasian female, approximately 5’3, petite build, with long blonde hair, wearing a female style uniform t-shirt.
Throughout the evaluation Bartender 1, Bartender 2, and Bartender 3 were extremely distracted and barely interacted with those patrons seated at the bar. Throughout the evaluation Bartender 1, Bartender 2, and Bartender 3 appeared to be more interested in each other, the serving staff, or their cell phones than they were the customers at the bar. Only on few occasions did Bartender 3 appear to engage in conversation and flirtatious banter with some of the bar patrons. Otherwise, Bartender 1, Bartender 2, and Bartender 3 were observed walking around the bar, fidgeting with glassware, bottles, or their cell phones.
The more extreme examples of this behavior include:
At 10:26pm Bartender 1 was texting or playing on his cell phone. He was observed with his head down using his cell phone for over 3 minutes straight. He glanced up a few times during this period but did not stop texting.
At 10:56pm Bartender 3 was observed using/texting on her cell phone for almost five minutes. Bartender 3 was also looking down at her cell phone most of the time, glancing around a few times but not moving from the spot in which she stood.
Additionally observations include:
At 11:09pm Bartender 1 was observed aggressively smacking his mouth while chewing gum behind the bar.
At 11:31pm Bartender 1 used his mixing tin to scoop ice from the ice bin for beverages. While pouring the ice into the glasses Bartender 1 placed his hand over the tin, preventing the ice from falling out and not landing in the glass, guiding the ice with his hand. As a patron, the agent would have been bothered by this behavior, not wanting Bartender 1’s hands, which had notably not been washed or cleaned for most of the evaluation, all over the ice within the agent’s beverage. This is also an AZ Health Code Violation.
At 10:32pm the agent noted that Bartender 1 was drinking out of a plastic cup behind the bar. The cup was closed with a lid and Bartender 1 used a straw as per liquor law and health code requirements. However, the substance within the drink was a light color with a lemon inside the cup. It is possible that the drink was just Iced Tea, however, the way Bartender 1 sipped the beverage over the course of the evaluation leads the agent to speculate that the beverage may not have been a non-alcoholic beverage and may have been alcohol. This is obviously speculation, but from his mannerisms, I’m fairly certain of it. If so this is an ADLLC Violation.
At 11:54pm Bartender 3 was observed drinking a redbull directly out of the can, leaving the can by her register when she was not drinking it. ths iis an AZ Health Code Violation.
In addition several beverages were observed being served without being charged for as well as not being accounted for within the POS:
At around 10:20pm a local delivery man from a Mexican restaurant entered the establishment delivering food for Bartender 2. The delivery was handed to Bartender 1 and then Bartender 2 came by to greet the delivery man. While Bartender 1 was standing there talking to the delivery man Bartender 2 poured the delivery man two shots of jager in two separate shot glasses. The delivery man drank one immediately, chatted with Bartender 1 and Bartender 2 for several minutes, took the second shot and left. Neither of the shots were charged for nor recorded in the POS.
At 11:33pm Bartender 1 was observed serving two Vodka Redbulls to patrons standing at the bar. These patrons appeared to know the MOD and the staff. Neither drink was charged for nor accounted for in the POS.
Wait Staff Summary
Server 1: Named Xxxxx; Caucasian female, approximately 5’4, medium build, with dirty blonde/brown curly hair, wearing a black female uniform t-shirt, a black wool hat, and jeans.
Server 2: Named Xxxxx; Caucasian female, approximately 5’3, petite build, with long blonde hair, wearing a uniform female t-shirt, and jeans. Xxxxx was training that evening.
The agent and associate sat at a table and were approached by Xxxxx and Xxxxx after waiting several minutes. Xxxxx placed beverage napkins onto the table and asked the agent and associate what they wanted to drink. The agent and associate placed drink orders (Please see Food and Beverage for details).
Over the course of the evaluation only the associate was IDed however both the associate and the agent received alcoholic beverages (Please see Food and Beverage for details).
After viewing the menu the agent and associate placed a food order with Xxxxx and Xxxxx (Please see Food and Beverage for details). The agent asked a question which neither Xxxxx nor Xxxxx knew the answer to (Please see Food and Beverage for details).
While the agent and associate ate the first course Xxxxx and Xxxxx checked in a few times. During one of these check-ins the associate ordered an additional beverage. The agent is not sure how long it took for this beverage to be delivered, although it was at least five minutes. Considering the low volume of business, the agent and associate felt that this wait time was not appropriate.
Regarding the second course the agent asked Xxxxx for something which was immediately provided, which the agent greatly appreciated (please see Food and Beverage for details).
Considering the low level of business again, the agent and associate felt that the wait time for the second course was also longer than appropriate (Please see Food and Beverage for details).
When the food was delivered the agent ordered an additional beverage through Xxxxx. There was an issue with the beverage that was not Xxxxx’s fault, however, Xxxxx handled this issue very well (Please see Food and Beverage for details).
When the agent and associate were finished with their meal the agent requested the check. The check was promptly provided and paid for. There was no customer receipt included with the bill, however, and another item on the bill was very odd (Please see Food and Beverage for details).
As a training server it is expected that Xxxxx would be on her best behavior, which she was. The agent and associate were surprised, however, at Xxxxx’s performance in comparison to Xxxxx’s, Xxxxx seeming to slack and be less helpful as well as be a bad role model and trainer for Xxxxx considering her lack of knowledge and lack of attention.
Xxxxx was a very friendly and attentive server, on the other hand. However, throughout the meal the table was not maintained, leaving a clutter of dirty plates and glassware for almost the entire meal.
Security Summary
· Security 1- Caucasian male, approximately 5’10, with an athletic build and dark short hair, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.
When the agent and associate approached there was no Security stationed at the door nor did there appear to be security staff within the establishment. Consequently, no patrons were being IDed upon entering, which, based on the assumption of staff assuming the patrons had been IDed, caused some patrons to not be IDed at all.
About half way through the evaluation there was a single security guard that was noted to have arrived and started working.
Security 1 was observed walking into the establishment only several times during the evaluation, spending most of his time at or near the front entrance.
On the agent and associate’s way out Security 1 wished the agent and associate a good evening.
Although it appeared that only staff and a few friends of staff walked through the back door of the establishment that went into the back parking lot, the agent warns that there was no staff member watching that entrance/exit throughout the evaluation. The agent notes that this is an easy area for underage individuals to enter the establishment and be assumed as having been IDed by the servers and bartenders.
Overall, the agent is not sure whether or not the security staff was short just for that evening or if only one staff member was scheduled. The agent also does not assume that Security 1 was necessarily late. Nonetheless, the agent does warn that the establishment was not being watched over in the way security staff would and should, IDing all patrons at the door and watching all entrances. Such responsibilities should be handled, therefore, by the rest of the staff watching for incoming patrons through the back entrance and IDing all patrons as they are served, however, this did not appear to be the case either, causing the establishment to have face the risk of serving underage and/or intoxicated patrons.
Food and Beverage Summary
When the agent and associate entered the establishment there was no security working at the door. The agent and associate were, therefore, not IDed upon initial entry into the facility.
The agent and associate sat at a table and were greeted by Xxxxx and Xxxxx. Xxxxx placed down beverage napkins and asked the agent and associate what they would like to drink. The agent ordered a water and the associate ordered a corona. At this point the associate was IDed, however, the agent was not due to the fact that the agent only ordered water.
In addition the agent asked Xxxxx if the agent and associate could have another menu since there was only one on the table. Xxxxx did not appear to understand why the agent wanted another menu, and then assumed based on the disheveled appearance of the first menu, that the agent wanted a cleaner menu. Nonetheless, the agent wanted an additional menu for the associate to look at as well.
When Xxxxx returned with the corona the agent and associate ordered nachos as an appetizer and stated that they would continue to browse the menu to look for larger items.
Ten minutes later the nachos arrived, served in a large plastic basket on top of a wax sheet. There was cheese sauce drizzled over the chips, a handful of sliced jalapenos, a handful of diced tomatoes, and a large dollop of sour cream. The agent and associate were extremely disappointed with the nachos, however. The nachos came out barely room temperature and it was obvious that the jalapenos and tomatoes had just been sprinkled onto the chips, instead of having some salsa or pico de gallo on the chips, giving the nachos a more complex flavor. Instead the nachos were very basic and cold, both the agent and associate feeling they could make better nachos in their homes with basic ingredients.
When the agent was finished with his first beverage Xxxxx returned and asked if the agent and associate were interested in additional beverages. The associate ordered another Corona. The associate and agent were also ready to order their food at this point.
The agent asked Xxxxx what the “healthy heart special” was, which she did not know. Xxxxx asked Xxxxx and Xxxxx was not aware either. Xxxxx directed Xxxxx to ask the MOD who informed her that it was a pesto chicken meal.
When Xxxxx returned with the information the associate placed an order for the Social Burger with fries and the agent placed an order for the loaded grilled cheese with fries.
Nine minutes later the agent realized that the agent had forgotten to ask for the Grilled cheese without the pesto sauce. The agent flagged down Xxxxx and apologized, informing her of the modification. Xxxxx ran upstairs to inform that chef and quickly returned stating that the agent need not worry and that Xxxxx had caught the chef just in time.
16 minutes after the second course was ordered it was delivered by Xxxxx. Xxxxx asked if the agent or associate needed anything else. The agent asked for a coke. Xxxxx left to retrieve the coke but shortly returned stating that the syrup was low and needed to be changed. Xxxxx stated that the agent would receive her beverage as soon as the coke was changed. Several minutes later the drink was delivered.
The agent’s food was very good. The grilled cheese served on soft, thick bread, with hot, thick, gooey cheese in the center. The fries were hot and crisp with a soft center. Overall, the agent’s meal was very satisfying.
The associate’s meal was okay but not impressive. Again the associate felt that the burger was comparable to a burger the associate would make for himself at home. The meat was good, and cooked as per the associate’s request. The bun was soft and warm. There was nothing in particular that was wrong with the meal, however, there was nothing particularly noteworthy either.
When the agent and associate were finished with their meals the agent requested the check. The bill was presented in a clean check presenter with seemingly accurate charges. Upon closer examination the agent noted an odd discount on the bill that did not pertain to any problem the agent and associate had.
The agent provided a credit card for the bill, which Xxxxx promptly ran and returned. At this point the bill was returned with a receipt to sign, however, without a customer copy.
Overall the agent thought that Xxxxx was working very hard to provide the best service with her level of training. The food, however, was mostly disappointing and the kitchen appeared to be taking an inappropriate amount of time considering the low level of business.
Promotional Addendum:
During the evaluation there were three promotional models working to promote Bacardi. The MOD made two separate mixtures with Bacardi; one with coke, and one with juices. At this point the coke syrup was already low and, unaware of the issue, the MOD poured the shots with what tasted like watered down coke. This was evident in the flavor of the shots provided by the models.
Due to the fact that the agent had not ordered an alcoholic beverage and, therefore, had not been IDed, when the agent did receive Bacardi shots from the promotional models the facility ended up serving a patron that had not been verified. Although the agent is of legal age to drink, the agent warns that such slip-ups run the risk of serious penalties. The agent feels that all staff should always ID patrons, especially when security is not checking IDs at the door, and, additionally, especially when promotional models are handing out free shots.
MOD Addendum:
MOD- Caucasian male, approximately 5’7, wearing a black suit, black shirt, and ablack large, wool hat/beanie.
At 10:28pm the MOD poured and served to pink, mixed shots to the Bacardi Promo Girls. Neither shot was accounted for in the POS.
At 11:15pm the MOD served the promo girls three large shots that appeared to be small glasses of an ADIOS mixture, possibly the equivalent of 2-3 ounces.
At 11:55pm the MOD poured and served 4 more mixed shots, one for himself, and three for the promo girls.
Although in accordance with the expectations of the MOD provided by the business owners, the MOD may have the ability to provide free shots and not have to account for them, the agent still warns that Promotional Contracted Models are still considered patrons regarding alcohol consumption. After having consumed over 6 ounces of mixed drinks in the form of 3 shots, within an hour and a half, the girls appeared to be comfortably intoxicated, however, if either of them drove from the establishment at midnight when they left, all three of them would have had a high BAC level and thus a dram shop liquor liability issue.
The agent also noted that throughout the evaluation the MOD appeared to be solely concerned with the promo girls and not concerned with the management of the business, in the Agent’s opinion.
Michael Zenner – CEO
Hospitality Checkpoint LLC
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
bartheft.com (blog)
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-1919
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