Bartender Summary
- Bartender 1 – Caucasian female, athletic physique, petite, approximately 5’4 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, tiny diamond xxxxx xxxxx, wearing black XXXXX polo shirt, black pants and black belt. Called Xxxxx by bar guests and will be referred to as such for the evaluation.
Agent and associate took a seat in the bar area and were approached right away by bartender 1 who put beverage napkins in front of us, smiled and asked if she could get us something to drink. The bartender neglected to introduce herself.
Agent immediately enjoyed Xxxxx’s personality as she began making funny comments to other guests seated in the bar area and was very open, energetic and personable. The age range and genre in the bar area was diverse during the evaluation and Xxxxx’s personality appealed to everyone according to their reactions to her.
Xxxxx served agent and associates beverages in short order placing them on the beverage napkins at which time she pointed out a table tent with the daily food specials on one side and desserts on the other and moved to retrieve food menus which she handed to us.
Xxxxx neglected to obtain a credit card to secure agent and associates tab. Agent did not observe tab chits in front of any guests at the bar. To help prevent mistakes and to avoid question regarding items being accounted for and to prevent tabs being walked out on creating profit loss; agent strongly suggests the following.
Immediately establish the form of payment from a guest and if they would like to run a tab vs. paying cash as they go, secure a credit card from the guest. The establishment can either hold the card in a secure place near the POS for the duration of the guests visit, or pre-authorize the card and store the information in the POS until the guest wishes to close their tab.
Follow the practice of Make a drink, Ring a drink; meaning no delaying between serving items and accounting for them in the POS which also includes not bulk serving multiple guests on separate tabs because that allows room for error in accounting for items served which leads to profit loss. Even the most seasoned bartender with the highest level of integrity is prone to mistakes.
Any guest that has a tab, place a copy on the bar rail in a glass. This allows for the guests to see what they are being charged for to prevent issue and also allows any onlooker including management or spotters to clearly see updated tab chits being placed in front of guests after each transaction avoiding question as to bartender’s behavior.
Xxxxx approached agent and associate approximately 9 minutes later at which time we ordered an appetizer. Xxxxx moved to the POS to enter the food order. This is the first move to the POS that agent observed her make since the beginning of the evaluation.
Within 3 minutes Xxxxx placed small side plates and silverware rolls in front of agent and associate and approximately 5 minutes later left the bar area and returned with the food. The appetizer was exactly what agent and associate expected, was wonderfully prepared and delicious. (Please see food and beverage summary for details.)
From the beginning of the evaluation there was a Caucasian female, agent surmised was an employee, with a light brown short pony tail, who was approximately 5’9 wearing a white tank top and jeans, behind the bar on the phone. The call appeared to be personal and continued until approximately 1:45. When the woman got off the call she moved around to the bar top and took a seat next to a female patron that she appeared to know personally and ordered a glass of Chardonnay from Xxxxx. Agent did not observe Xxxxx account for the wine in the POS.
At 1:47 the woman received another phone call behind the bar and continued talking until 1:54.
Agent felt the woman being behind the bar quite distracting and unprofessional as for some time she had her hands resting on the counter on the back bar and was bent at the waist with her body blocking Xxxxx’s path and impeding movement behind the bar. In agent’s opinion, the employee would have been better served to take the call at the hostess area or in the office.
Xxxxx was observed bringing a tab in a check presenter to a male guest at the bar and while setting it in front of him she stated something to the effect of, I bought your last beer for you since it took so long to fix the problem with your lunch. Agent felt that the gesture of purchasing the man’s beer was appropriate if there was an issue with his food order, but can not confirm if the beer was accounted for on a comp tab.
There was a point during the evaluation that agent’s beverage was 75% empty for approximately 4 minutes and then finished at once. Xxxxx took notice of the empty beverage right away at that point. Agent would like to note that she was quite busy during the 4 minute time period with new guests and other duties.
There were 2 new guests that took a seat at the bar that Xxxxx served a beer and a glass of wine and was not observed making a move to the POS for 5 or more minutes. Agent could not see what was accounted for in the POS due to the seating angle.
The female employee who had been behind the bar on the phone was overheard saying that she did not like the initial glass of chardonnay that Xxxxx had poured her. Xxxxx took the glass, dumped it and put it on top of the dishwasher located at the south end of the bar.
The female employee ordered another glass of chardonnay, finished it and ordered another glass and was still in the process of drinking it at the end of the evaluation. Agent did not observe any cash change hands or Xxxxx make a move to the POS either time she served the woman the wine.
On 2 different occasions agent observed Xxxxx writing on something, near the wine cooler on the back counter of the bar. Agent can not confirm if she was writing on a comp sheet or, if like 3 other guests at the bar top, she was filling out a football pool that appeared to be run through the establishment. Agent would like to state that there was no money observed changing hands for the pool and though conversation about winning was overheard, there was no conversation as to what the ‘prize’ was to be.
There were 2 occasions that agent observed servers actively behind the bar. One occasion a female server was behind the bar washing her hands in the sink at the opening to the bar area. The second occasion was a male server bringing a dark red colored drink, possibly fruit juice of some sort, to a bar guest. Agent does not believe the beverage contained alcohol because the server was observed entering the bar area with it as if they got it from a soda station in a service well.
Agent and associate ordered entrees during the evaluation which were delivered in a timely manner, freshly prepared, up to expectation per menu description and were delicious. (Please see food and beverage summary for details.)
During the meal, Xxxxx checked back on us 2 times to ensure satisfaction, the first of which was within 2 minutes of the food delivery. She was also observed checking on other guests in the bar area and was very proactive about ensuring every guest’s satisfaction.
Xxxxx’s level of service was close to exemplary throughout the evaluation; however she performed the aforementioned questionable behaviors of not moving to the POS immediately after service and appearing to give alcoholic beverages away for free without accounting for them.
Agent and associate requested their tabs near the end of the evaluation which Xxxxx retrieved and processed in a timely manner. The tabs were presented in clean check presenters.
BARTENDER THEFT:
Michael Zenner – CEO
hospitality checkpoints Inc.
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
bartheft.com (blog)
Hospitality Checkpoint PLLC
PI Lic. 1597616
hospitalitycheckpoint.com
liquorassessment.com
PO BOX 995 Gilbert AZ 85299
Office: 480-777-7056
Toll Free: 800-880-0811
© hospitality checkpoints Inc. 2010
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