Bad pints and ignorant barmen.

tricky D

Basically, went into my local work pub, Larry Murphy's on Baggot St, around the corner after work with a mate. Got a pint which was defintely flat and asked for a replacement as you do. The barman (normal Irish barman type) refused saying the pints were fine all day. I ask him to look at the lack of bubbles or to taste it himself, he refuses because he doesn't drink that lager stuff so wouldn't know. I tell him that we're pretty regular customers, no good, so I eventually ask for my money back. At first he refuses, then takes both our pints without even asking my friend. Me and the friend were polite at all times despite being gobsmacked at the level of ignorance.

We move along to the Henry Grattan, where we have a chat to the barman there about it. He's gobsmacked too, but gets one the drinks wrong. Despite not being sure about whose mistake it is, he fixes with no quibble.

scojones

Happend to me in my local. The girl who did it was having a bad day. I told her the pint was arse and I wanted another one. I said the reason for the bad pint was because the glass was warm when she was pouring it. She pours the pint from the hot glass into another glass, and hands it to me. I laugh at her, and say give me a decent pint or I'm talking to the manager. She leaves that manky pint under the bar, pours me another pint and nearly throws it at me. I then she her handing the pint that was under the bar to some Polish lad. I was sickend. I had a word with the manager and she no longer works there anymore. Never mess with your locals.

Patricide

Yup never **** with the locals, tis a sure fire way to get fired.

AOR

god, i worked behind a bar for 4 years (in many pubs) and i dont think i ever saw anything as ignorant as what happened to you. Drinks were changed without quibble in all bars.
These baggot st pubs just have it too good sometimes, they have a guarenteed professional no hassle crowd, they charge premium prices and yet the level of service is much lower that your average rowdy local in the suburbs/in the country.
I hope people notice bad service and take their custom elsewhere.

The Bollox

if I was asked to replace someones pint, I would taste it first, just to make sure, and if it is flat I will replace it without any further hassle. However if it was a busy night (I mean where the bar is 5 ft deep in people) I will put them on the long finger and get back to them when it dies down a bit

scojones

AOR wrote:

I hope people notice bad service and take their custom elsewhere.

The same goes for bad pints.

Huggles

sjones wrote:

The same goes for bad pints.

back in my college days i was in the bar in DCU, there was a gig on so the bar was three deep and you had to shout to get a pint. Anyways, a youngfella behind me asked for a pint of bulmers and as god is my witness, the barman went over to the slop tray and emptied it into a pint glass and went to hand it over, thankfully i wasn't the only that noticed and there was war!!! Imagine getting a pint from the slop tray....vomit!

Terry

i'm not one to complain, despite how i come across here, but i have sent back a bad pint on a couple of occasions and there were never any questions asked. i was simply poured a fresh pint from another tap.
that barman sounds like a right wanker.

scojones

TheGooner wrote:

back in my college days i was in the bar in DCU, there was a gig on so the bar was three deep and you had to shout to get a pint. Anyways, a youngfella behind me asked for a pint of bulmers and as god is my witness, the barman went over to the slop tray and emptied it into a pint glass and went to hand it over, thankfully i wasn't the only that noticed and there was war!!! Imagine getting a pint from the slop tray....vomit!

My god that's awful!

Mossy Monk

TheGooner wrote:

back in my college days i was in the bar in DCU, there was a gig on so the bar was three deep and you had to shout to get a pint. Anyways, a youngfella behind me asked for a pint of bulmers and as god is my witness, the barman went over to the slop tray and emptied it into a pint glass and went to hand it over, thankfully i wasn't the only that noticed and there was war!!! Imagine getting a pint from the slop tray....vomit!

jesus christ. hope the **** got a beating

Huggles

Mossy Monk wrote:

jesus christ. hope the **** got a beating

Ya there was absolute war and I haven't drank draught Bulmers since :mad:

easy_as_easy

sjones wrote:

Happend to me in my local. The girl who did it was having a bad day. I told her the pint was arse and I wanted another one. I said the reason for the bad pint was because the glass was warm when she was pouring it. She pours the pint from the hot glass into another glass, and hands it to me. I laugh at her, and say give me a decent pint or I'm talking to the manager. She leaves that manky pint under the bar, pours me another pint and nearly throws it at me. I then she her handing the pint that was under the bar to some Polish lad. I was sickend. I had a word with the manager and she no longer works there anymore. Never mess with your locals.

you sound like a ass.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Marts wrote:

if I was asked to replace someones pint, I would taste it first, just to make sure, and if it is flat I will replace it without any further hassle. However if it was a busy night (I mean where the bar is 5 ft deep in people) I will put them on the long finger and get back to them when it dies down a bit

Marts,
If I pay for pint, and its bad, I'd expect to be served another smartish. Why should I wait till it dies down a bit?

ambrose :cool:

RE*AC*TOR

Closest I came was one evening in Bobs (Temple Bar). Place was empty, some match was on (midweek). I somewhat foolishly ordered a pint of Erdinger (tap). There was no chance it was going to be good.

Anyway, it was fairly bad, brought it back. The barman reluctantly gave me a pint of something else, with a big grumpy head on him like I had just ruined his life.

nesf

easy_as_easy wrote:

you sound like a ass.

Banned.

6ix

TheGooner wrote:

back in my college days i was in the bar in DCU, there was a gig on so the bar was three deep and you had to shout to get a pint. Anyways, a youngfella behind me asked for a pint of bulmers and as god is my witness, the barman went over to the slop tray and emptied it into a pint glass and went to hand it over, thankfully i wasn't the only that noticed and there was war!!! Imagine getting a pint from the slop tray....vomit!

God, was in DCU for four years, and had often heard that 'urban myth' about bar staff serving from the slop tray. Took it with a pinch of salt, till now.

That's fcukin awful.

Huggles

6ix wrote:

God, was in DCU for four years, and had often heard that 'urban myth' about bar staff serving from the slop tray. Took it with a pinch of salt, till now.

That's fcukin awful.

saw it with my own eyes! Horrible!

padi89

TheGooner wrote:

saw it with my own eyes! Horrible!

People go around saying "oh i dont condone violence" for that id lamp the barman,no probs.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Me and a mate were in a bar a few months ago, was a saturday night but was deserted as usual only a few locals around. Got two bad pints and the bar woman wouldnt change them, she said it was the managers orders not to change pints from taps people had already been drinking from.

So we did the only logical thing and spilt the pints all over the couch and floor down the back of the pub and went elsewhere

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

CreepingDeath

Serving a pint from the slops tray is nothing.... I got that beat.
15 years ago ( God I feel old saying that now )..... I worked in a well known South Dublin pub, over the course of 5 years. (refuse to say where exactly)

At the end of each night, when the pub was cleared, the slops were poured into a bucket. It was brought out to the yard, and a funnel placed in a keg.
The slops were poured into the keg.... pure 100% slops in that keg.
That keg was tapped on it's own line.... ie. there was a special tap for slops in the lounge.

Whenever non-locals asked for a Guinness, we'd pour the first 3/4 with guinness. Let it settle..... then top up the rest with the slops tap.
Everything went into the slops tray, lager, smithwicks, bulmers, guinness.
Don't blame the barmen... its the managers who are to blame.
They gave grief to the barmen if they produced too much waste, or didn't shift the slops.

I'd say this was an extremely uncommon practice, as I kept my eye out for other bars where they used one tap to pour guinness, and another to top it up. Think it was just down to one God awful manager.

padi89

CreepingDeath wrote:

Serving a pint from the slops tray is nothing.... I got that beat.
15 years ago ( God I feel old saying that now )..... I worked in a well known South Dublin pub, over the course of 5 years. (refuse to say where exactly)

At the end of each night, when the pub was cleared, the slops were poured into a bucket. It was brought out to the yard, and a funnel placed in a keg.
The slops were poured into the keg.... pure 100% slops in that keg.
That keg was tapped on it's own line.... ie. there was a special tap for slops in the lounge.

Whenever non-locals asked for a Guinness, we'd pour the first 3/4 with guinness. Let it settle..... then top up the rest with the slops tap.
Everything went into the slops tray, lager, smithwicks, bulmers, guinness.
Don't blame the barmen... its the managers who are to blame.
They gave grief to the barmen if they produced too much waste, or didn't shift the slops.

I'd say this was an extremely uncommon practice, as I kept my eye out for other bars where they used one tap to pour guinness, and another to top it up. Think it was just down to one God awful manager.

Jezz thats bad,feckin heeeeeeeellll.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Aslo just after thinking, got a bottle of bud on sat night. It was opened in front of me but was as flat as a pancake with lots of drit floating in it. It was full of small particals floating around, anyone ever seen this before?

CreepingDeath

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote:

Aslo just after thinking, got a bottle of bud on sat night. It was opened in front of me but was as flat as a pancake with lots of drit floating in it. It was full of small particals floating around, anyone ever seen this before?

Probably because someone handed it back, or the barmen made a mistake.
They probably fished the cap out of the bin and banged it back on the bottle.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Thats what i was thinking but all that black stuff floating around in it?


Prob best not to think of it

padi89

Theres a guy i go on the piss with,hes a barman.Always when we are out he orders bottles of beer and proceeds to clean the top of the bottle with his t-shirt before drinking.He says its because he has seen rats piss etc at different places he works.Sounds sick but i cant imagine wiping a bottle top with a tshirt will save you from killer rat piss?

TerrorFirmer

TheGooner wrote:

back in my college days i was in the bar in DCU, there was a gig on so the bar was three deep and you had to shout to get a pint. Anyways, a youngfella behind me asked for a pint of bulmers and as god is my witness, the barman went over to the slop tray and emptied it into a pint glass and went to hand it over, thankfully i wasn't the only that noticed and there was war!!! Imagine getting a pint from the slop tray....vomit!

Now thats disgusting...

Narcissus

CreepingDeath wrote:

Serving a pint from the slops tray is nothing.... I got that beat.
15 years ago ( God I feel old saying that now )..... I worked in a well known South Dublin pub, over the course of 5 years. (refuse to say where exactly)

At the end of each night, when the pub was cleared, the slops were poured into a bucket. It was brought out to the yard, and a funnel placed in a keg.
The slops were poured into the keg.... pure 100% slops in that keg.
That keg was tapped on it's own line.... ie. there was a special tap for slops in the lounge.

Whenever non-locals asked for a Guinness, we'd pour the first 3/4 with guinness. Let it settle..... then top up the rest with the slops tap.
Everything went into the slops tray, lager, smithwicks, bulmers, guinness.
Don't blame the barmen... its the managers who are to blame.
They gave grief to the barmen if they produced too much waste, or didn't shift the slops.

I'd say this was an extremely uncommon practice, as I kept my eye out for other bars where they used one tap to pour guinness, and another to top it up. Think it was just down to one God awful manager.

Holy sh1t! :eek:

kc66

I never has much hassle getting a pint changed.

I worked behind the bar at Slane a few years ago. Heineken was all that was being served. The slop tray was half full and the manager came over and told me to fill it into a cup. I did this- bits of grass, dirt and all. I thought he was doing it to measure waste or something but he told me to serve it out. The bottom of the tray had a layer of green scum. I threw the pint away as soon as he was gone.

Iv seen places put drink back in the keg but that was to return it to Guinness for a refund!

The Bollox

kingambrose wrote:

Marts,
If I pay for pint, and its bad, I'd expect to be served another smartish. Why should I wait till it dies down a bit?

ambrose :cool:

half of the clientele are a load of w*nkers who are so are so tight they put Cavan people to shame. they come up to you with a half drank pint, tell you it is rotten and want another, I just look at them like they have 2 heads and ask why, if is so rotten, did you drink half of it?

Hail 2 Da Chimp

kc66 wrote:

I never has much hassle getting a pint changed.

I worked behind the bar at Slane a few years ago. Heineken was all that was being served. The slop tray was half full and the manager came over and told me to fill it into a cup. I did this- bits of grass, dirt and all. I thought he was doing it to measure waste or something but he told me to serve it out. The bottom of the tray had a layer of green scum. I threw the pint away as soon as he was gone.

Iv seen places put drink back in the keg but that was to return it to Guinness for a refund!

I cant understand why a manager would tell you to serve out half a pint of sh|t from the slop tray, how would that possible save any money other than the cost of half a pint, which out of a keg must be only a few cent?!

Karl Hungus

Can't really say I've been served a bad pint, so never sent one back under those circumstances, but I was once served a pint of Bulmers instead of whatever it was I ordered, yet the barman insisted that I asked for Bulmers, I told him that I do not drink cider, so there's no way that I'd order one.

I'm afraid that's all I have to offer on that. Even working as a barman in one of the biggest dives in Galway, I've not had any really maliscious stories.

HelterSkelter

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote:

Aslo just after thinking, got a bottle of bud on sat night. It was opened in front of me but was as flat as a pancake with lots of drit floating in it. It was full of small particals floating around, anyone ever seen this before?

People think they are safe drinking bottles but it is very easy to put the cap back on. I used to work in a bar and lots of times if someone ordered the wrong bottle of beer and exchanged it, the original bottle would get a cap straight from the bin hammered on and put back in the fridge!!

Patricide

CreepingDeath wrote:

Serving a pint from the slops tray is nothing.... I got that beat.
15 years ago ( God I feel old saying that now )..... I worked in a well known South Dublin pub, over the course of 5 years. (refuse to say where exactly)

At the end of each night, when the pub was cleared, the slops were poured into a bucket. It was brought out to the yard, and a funnel placed in a keg.
The slops were poured into the keg.... pure 100% slops in that keg.
That keg was tapped on it's own line.... ie. there was a special tap for slops in the lounge.

Whenever non-locals asked for a Guinness, we'd pour the first 3/4 with guinness. Let it settle..... then top up the rest with the slops tap.
Everything went into the slops tray, lager, smithwicks, bulmers, guinness.
Don't blame the barmen... its the managers who are to blame.
They gave grief to the barmen if they produced too much waste, or didn't shift the slops.

I'd say this was an extremely uncommon practice, as I kept my eye out for other bars where they used one tap to pour guinness, and another to top it up. Think it was just down to one God awful manager.

JESUS H CHRIST, if i knew how to do a shocked smiley id do it right here.That is honestly the most wrong thing i have heard in quite some while.

The Bollox

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote:

Aslo just after thinking, got a bottle of bud on sat night. It was opened in front of me but was as flat as a pancake with lots of drit floating in it. It was full of small particals floating around, anyone ever seen this before?

yeah that happens, if you mistakenly open a bottle of booze when the customer wanted a pint, or vice versa, you are told to get rid of it by the end of the night, so a cap is taken from the bin and put back on the bottle, or the pint is put to the side, and the next person to ask you for that beer gets the opened one

the_syco

padi89 wrote:

Theres a guy i go on the piss with,hes a barman.Always when we are out he orders bottles of beer and proceeds to clean the top of the bottle with his t-shirt before drinking.He says its because he has seen rats piss etc at different places he works.Sounds sick but i cant imagine wiping a bottle top with a tshirt will save you from killer rat piss?

He speaks the truth. And, well, put it this way: its better than thinking "oh, its wet, must be cos its cold...".

=-=

Having been a lounge boy, if someone asks for a change of a pint there and then, the pin is changed. The minute they walk away, we will no longer change it, unless we know them. Why? Because we've often had people try to change a full pint of guiness that has been on the table so long, the head is yellow, ffs! Also, people sometimes order a few pints, and an hour or two later, come back and say their pint is flat, and they want it changed. Yeah. F**k off, tbh.

The Bollox

the_syco wrote:

He speaks the truth. And, well, put it this way: its better than thinking "oh, its wet, must be cos its cold...".

=-=

Having been a lounge boy, if someone asks for a change of a pint there and then, the pin is changed. The minute they walk away, we will no longer change it, unless we know them. Why? Because we've often had people try to change a full pint of guiness that has been on the table so long, the head is yellow, ffs! Also, people sometimes order a few pints, and an hour or two later, come back and say their pint is flat, and they want it changed. Yeah. F**k off, tbh.

thank you, that's what I am talking about, bowsies who chance their arm! of course there are genuine people who do get a bad pint, and if I feel they are genuine I will give them a fresh one

nesf

Eh, taste your pint before you leave the bar tbh. Easiest way to get rid of a bad one tbh. Generally they'll change it if you've had the pint less than 10 seconds before handing it back.

R0ot

Im a bartender and most of the time people complaining about bad pints are talking through their arse! Seriously so people just take it in their head that a pint is bad and won't be convinced otherwise, ive given many a replacement out of courtessy (spelling?) but if someone ever give me **** about it id evict them from the place within a second, because your blaming the bar tender for something he/she has no control over. So next time you think you got a bad pint, walk up to the bar say in a calm and polite voice that your pint is off accept the replacement and then stfu and drink it.

Red Kooga

CreepingDeath wrote:

I'd say this was an extremely uncommon practice, as I kept my eye out for other bars where they used one tap to pour guinness, and another to top it up. Think it was just down to one God awful manager.

Speaking as an ex-barman I can tell you that thats an all to common practice.

projectmayhem

hence why i ask for strange german beer in bottles

theCzar

bad pint... you mean non-alcoholic?

Depends on the bar, a local should replace the pint and certainly almost always will. I have seen cases of refusal though.

The problem is I drank a lot of Fosters in my student days and now my tastebuds are so banjaxed I can no longer tell the difference between undrinkable swill and non-fosters.

super_furry

kc66 wrote:

Iv seen places put drink back in the keg but that was to return it to Guinness for a refund!

A place I worked in as a lounge boy used to do that alright.

r3nu4l

Never been refused but had to argue with a barman to get the pint replaced. I was very polite saying that my guinness tasted a bit strange and he attempted to just top up the head.

I said that it wasn't the case of it having no head (which it didn't!) but the overall taste. He just looked at me as if I was personally insulting him or something. So I asked him again for a replacement from the other tap but he just looks at me again and says "No-one else has complained". Then his mate comes along asking him what the problem is, takes one look at the pint and then pours one from the other tap. Perfect

I think the first barman would have refused me if the other guy hadn't been there.

sham69

As far as I know you can't put beer back into the kegs anymore but it was common practice about 12 , 13 years ago when I was working in a pub.
Bottles are always being re-capped. Years ago if you saw individual drip trays for each beer you knew there was trouble. A lot of places run off the beer (first pull) into a glass and then top it up when someone asks for a pint.
Happened me in Quinns of Drumcondra and the barman had the cheek to moan when I asked for a fresh pint. With regard to changing a pint for a customer I never had a problem doing it, at the end of the day it is not coming out of my pocket and if its **** I will change it.
I have to say things have improved over the past 10 years but I am sure there are still sneaky things being done at the end of the night......

Slunk

Anytime I get a pint bottle of bulmers I scratch the gold foil around the neck or peel some of the label off so as they cannot fill it back up from the tap and re-cap it at the end of the night as had been done a few times before. A few friends got bottles are were dead flat, bring them back up and they change them no bother because they know to well your right, they'll just give it to someone else.
As for a bad pint, seen a few people going up in the local and was changed everytime without question, even the barmen agree that the pint in the lounge is horrible and sometimes go into the bar for you to get it without you even asking.

Earthhorse

padi89 wrote:

Theres a guy i go on the piss with,hes a barman.Always when we are out he orders bottles of beer and proceeds to clean the top of the bottle with his t-shirt before drinking.He says its because he has seen rats piss etc at different places he works.Sounds sick but i cant imagine wiping a bottle top with a tshirt will save you from killer rat piss?

So basically, when he's on a night out, your mate covers his t-shirt in rat piss. Smooth.

Degsy

When i used to live in drumcondra i used to drink in kennedy's a lot,i mean three or four times a week and i allways thought it was good enough place untill two incidents marred it for me.First time,i saw the owner fishing lemons out of an empty glass,rinsing the under teh tap and putting them back on the chopping board with the others.Second time really pissed me off,i got a pint of smithwicks as i drank in those days only to discover what looked like a good sized lump of black snot going up and down inthe pint.I brought it back and you know whatthe barman said to me?Its a hop.A ****IN HOP!!!I was so angry i nearly threw the pint over him on the spot,and never went back.Not a million miles away in Fagan's i think they put the staff through college to teach them bad manners and how to be surly,its quite unbelievable.
http://dublinpubscene.com/thepubs/fagans.html

gimmick

I used work in a number of bars in Cork, some great, others awful. One in particular, across the road from me, this fella, a complete twit was always trying to screwa free drink out of ya. This one time, he had his stout finished, and there was just foam left at the bottom of the glass. He saw a dead midge in there, and then asked for a new pint. I asked him why he drank all of the pint if it was there all along, and he said it only landed in there just before he finished it!

Needless to say, I didnt replace it, but generally I would if the person hadnt drank most of it already, or if it was from a tap which had history.

But I have some horror stories from a bar I used work in on the western rd in Cork. Any Cork, or UCC people will know it.

Oh, andRe wiping the top of a bottle, well look at that logically. How long has that bottle been in transit since the factory, to the bars fridge? There is a good chance the top of it will be at least dusty, possibly dirty, and yes, even a chance of rodent urine. Wiping it is just a small precaution.

dl

CreepingDeath wrote:

Serving a pint from the slops tray is nothing.... I got that beat.
15 years ago ( God I feel old saying that now )..... I worked in a well known South Dublin pub, over the course of 5 years. (refuse to say where exactly)

At the end of each night, when the pub was cleared, the slops were poured into a bucket. It was brought out to the yard, and a funnel placed in a keg.
The slops were poured into the keg.... pure 100% slops in that keg.
That keg was tapped on it's own line.... ie. there was a special tap for slops in the lounge.

Whenever non-locals asked for a Guinness, we'd pour the first 3/4 with guinness. Let it settle..... then top up the rest with the slops tap.
Everything went into the slops tray, lager, smithwicks, bulmers, guinness.
Don't blame the barmen... its the managers who are to blame.
They gave grief to the barmen if they produced too much waste, or didn't shift the slops.

I'd say this was an extremely uncommon practice, as I kept my eye out for other bars where they used one tap to pour guinness, and another to top it up. Think it was just down to one God awful manager.

This practice still goes on so be aware if the pint seems a little off... keep an eye on the bartender and ensure your pint is topped off with the same tap!

First pint of the day from a tap can be dodgy... I find that this goes for any beer as it has been sitting in the line since the night before! Also as mentioned earlier... warm/hot glasses are not helpful either.

Mossin

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath
At the end of each night, when the pub was cleared, the slops were poured into a bucket. It was brought out to the yard, and a funnel placed in a keg.
The slops were poured into the keg.... pure 100% slops in that keg.
That keg was tapped on it's own line.... ie. there was a special tap for slops in the lounge.

Whenever non-locals asked for a Guinness, we'd pour the first 3/4 with guinness. Let it settle..... then top up the rest with the slops tap.

This was not uncommon practice in pubs throughout the country. I have been working in bars since I was 11. [what a long 10 years]

But it is not the only way I have seen publicans re-use slops.
Again refilling the keg, but use a splitter on the fob, and connect the slops along with a good keg together, thus when you pull a pint you are getting a 50-50 split of good and slop.

Also with Pint bottles of Bulmers, I know of a pub where they re-use the empty bottles by refilling them from the tap at the end of the night, this only serves to create flat tastless drink.

In regard to the refusal of bad pints, I never have a problem as people are paying enough money for the drink in the first place, and the least they expect is that they get what the ask for.

In certain places, and at certain times, it is possible to have gotten a bad batch of a drink from the brewery, very rare let me assure you but it does occur.

In my local, a certain group of customers wouldn't drink the Budweiser. They kept saying it smelt bad, we got 5 different Guinness "experts" out to test the lines, the coldroom, the glasses etc... and found nothing out of place, but still the customers complained.
This comes down to the placebo effect, when you are told by someone that something is bad, even if you dont necessarily think so, the more they tell you its bad the more likely you are to believe it.