Am I wrong?
 

My wife and myself like to eat @ the bar in every restaurant we go to. Matter of fact, if we can't sit @ the bar we leave the establishment and go someplace els.
I have observed, especially during "Happy Hour", patrons sitting at the bar in various establishments for the 2 hours , consume nothing but 2 cheap beers & split @ 5 o'clock.

They are really hurting the owners by hogging space and not spending any real $$ and they are hurting the wait staff by depriving them of higher tips.

No place can stay open on $2.00/drinks and no one can live on fifty cent tips.

Looking at the title of the thread "Am I Wrong?" Yep.

I agree with Bonny. That's just the norm. All resturants deal with it. They all have "sitters" and " regulars". Some eat and spend a lot and some are just cheap, and .......that's OK too.

We too like sitting at the bar but I don't think what you have questioned is something to be worried about. I do get irritated with cheap tippers/no tippers but I bite my tongue every time. Tip wise, things usually work out for most bartenders. Hopefully anyway.

At Glenview CC, they ring a bell when the bar staff gets stiffed !!

offtrack
About 30 years ago I went to MacSorleys in NYC. It was the last bar that was men only. A real dive with their own brand of Ale. They had a big bell, like the Santa's have. Whenever a woman walked in the bar the bartender would yell "Woman in the bar, woman in the bar." Their appetizers were pickled eggs or saltines, onions and mustard.

The bathroom alone would keep most women out of the place.

sorry the ADD kicked in

So you are saying if a person stops in a restaurant to be sociable following a group event like golf, a movie, etc and they prefer to drink water or just one glass of beer for any given number of reasons or for that matter no reason they are cheap?

You are saying if a person doesn't leave a tip you feel is enough they are cheap?

You think it is cool for Glenview to ring a bell if someone stiffs a waitress or something to that effect?

Hmmmmmm

Yes, Rubicon--people in Florida ,in general are working for far less than most of our retirement income--also, if you are drinking a Villages cocktail---STAND

That is so wrong ! I will let them know that if that's their policy, I will not go there.
We are very good tippers. Some people aren't, but it would be wrong for a restaurant / bar to call a customer out on it. :ohdear:

Lots of TOTV posters sound like they do just that.

Proof please. I seldom tip less than 20%. And what is TV retirement income? $50k, 60k, or more? I don't believe you can support your supposition. Remember, keep the income to TV that's where we live.

Every time someone asks about working in the area the comments are the pay is low. Do you think restaurant workers earned 50-60k?

What do they get $5 an hour? 10k a year? plus tips
To make 40k in tips at 20% a waiter would have to sell 200k in food a year. Do you think they do?

Tom - I just don't care for folks making random comments/accusations without some basis in fact.

My son is a bartender in CT and he along with the wait staff know who the good customers are and those that don't tip, just take up space. The good customers get served very quickly while the cheapskates get served when everyone else is taken care of. These people hustle to make your restaurant experience a pleasant one by providing the best service possible.

And I appreciate them, and show it with my tip, if they have earned it.

Why would you say that?

I think or at least hope most people are fair with their tips and generous too with their gratitude. It is hard work and requires great patience when some patrons drink too much. I think that the best servers I have ever run into are right here in The Villages, and most of them have worked here for several years.

No the retirement income...
 

is not 50/60k...and I don't believe you can support this statement...and spend where ever you wish...rather absurd to do otherwise..

Your not wrong. We come in to eat at the bar and often find people sitting at the bar stools with their buzzers waiting for a table. Their not eating or drinking just sitting there. We enjoy eating at the bar and feel that these people should be made to wait in the waiting area instead of taking up bar stools for cash paying customers.

We always eat at the bar or a table in the bar area. I never see anyone waiting for a table and just sitting the bar taking up a stool & not ordering a drink. Definitely see lots of them at the bar drinking while they wait.

Am I wrong?
 

Here you go. Cost for a refurbished system.

OLYMPUS CV-180 VIDEO ENDOSCOPY SYSTEM
$69,950

Is he saying that people should not go to a bar to have a drink? Isn't that why bars were invented. If he wants to eat at the bar, which we do often, then he needs to wait for one of the bar patrons to leave!!

It is up to the Establishment to set the "minimum" just like Katie Belle's does when there is Entertainment at night and no cover...They ONLY have a $5 table min per person and that is very low. I think it is common courtesy (or should I say proper manners) to offer your seat at the Bar to a paying Customer if your just waiting for a dinner table and not spending any $ while waiting.

Yes, you are wrong. There is nothing wrong, in general, with eating at a bar, but it is ridiculous to complain about patrons taking part in a happy hour at a bar, which is promoted by the bar.

Do you really believe that the owners of these establishments are being hurt by the deals that they offer?

My guess would be that the bartenders would prefer that you eat at a table, so that they can make their real money serving drinks, and the waiters/waitresses would prefer serving you at a table as well.

In any case, I can't remember a time (here or anywhere else I've ever lived) when I've noticed how long another patron has sat at a bar/table or how many drinks they've consumed...much less the tip they have left.

Me thinks that thou are concentrating on how much libation is consumed and believeth that there isn't enough drinkin' goin' on. The letters AA come to mind. Conceivably 12 steps could be in thy future! Tongueth in cheek, my friend.

Xavier

I believe you are. Bars are primarily for drinking, while tables are primarily for eating. I'm sure if I asked for a table just to have a couple of drinks, I'd be denied that.

Bar stools aren't comfortable to begin with. If you are there long enough and your hind quarters get numb you now have to eat at the bar.

Agree! Bars are for drinking at, primarily. Sometimes if the restaurant doesn't have a table open, they will ask you if you want to eat at the bar. Sometimes people sitting at the bar drinking will decide to get something to eat. But diners don't have first dibs at the bar. Drinkers do!

Also, the resto will frequently direct you to wait for your table at the bar. That doesn't obligate you to buy a drink.