Got thrown out of a pub for not drinking!

eirebhoy

JeanClaude's sig is so big it was actually overlapping the post below it in my browser.

Pigletlover

Even if I'm only collecting my boyfriend from the pub on a sunday I'd get a water or coke while I'm waiting for him to finish his drink. I'd be a bit embarrassed to just sit there, I think it makes other people feel a bit uneasy too. In the OPs case though at least one of his 9 friends should have bought him a drink, in fairness he was staying sober to ensure they got home safely.

Op, did your girlfriend have a drink in front of her?

JeanClaude

Overheal wrote: »

Peanuts? Fcuking Peanuts?!

You could have bought PEANUTS FFS.

Maybe he didn't want peanuts FFS he could be allergic to peanuts FFS, he drove other people to that bar who were drinking that should be enough for Scrooge McBarowner..FFS

JeanClaude

eirebhoy wrote: »

JeanClaude's sig is so big it was actually overlapping the post below it in my browser.

I've never been thrown out of a pub
I do buy cokes though :rolleyes:

ian_m

He gave you a couple of opportunities to buy a drink. Perhaps you should have considered at least buying a coke or ballygowan. Imagine if the place was full of people who didn't buy anything. The man wouldn't make a penny.

The business has overheads it needs to keep on top of. Bottom line is if you go to a bar, enjoy the atmosphere, heat etc, you should buy a drink.

deepack

i used to think the designated driver free soft drink thingy was in every pub untill recently when i was in one place and the barman said we dont do that here... one place at home isn't on the list yet still does it though

joe_chicken

I'm with the OP.

I've never seen this happen, but then I've never been a designated driver.
I can't really see where the barman is coming from:

Either
A) His bar is full of people drinking -> Success, what does it matter if a few people aren't?

His bar is empty -> a couple of used seats aren't going to make a difference

For the people who are saying "ah sure the barman has to make some money" or "you should of at least bought a soft drink"...

The 2 euro the guy spends on a Lucozade is nothing compared to the future profits he's gonna lose from the OP and group of friends (and me if I knew the bar! )

blindman

Anyway, after about 20 minutes in the place a barman comes out to me and asks would I like a drink

This is an offer of a free drink.

blindman

blindman wrote: »

This is an offer of a free drink.

"would you like to buy a drink?"

Edit: on second thoughts, there's absolutely no chance its an offer of a free drink. Think, he kicked me out for not putting money into the till. He hardly would've let me stay instead for taking free merchandise?

2 stroke

I'd say he put you out for sitting there like a miserable git. Almost certainly he'd prefer you to be drinking a free drink than sitting there with nothing in front of you. He may also have thought you had taken something.
Did your mates not even stand up to leave with you? some mates?

SheroN

I'd blame your mates for not buying anything for you if you were driving them home.

Also, what was your tone like when you told him you didn't want a drink?

DonJose

Deleted User wrote: »

One year ago, I would've even gotten 3 free cokes for being a designated driver, this year, not only can you not be a designated driver on the cheap, you have to actually pay to do so.

I was just going to mention that, didn't some drinks company have a campaign where designated drivers got free soft drinks.

DonJose

DonJose wrote: »

I was just going to mention that, didn't some drinks company have a campaign where designated drivers got free soft drinks.

Coca-cola, but I dont know if they do it anymore. And it was only in participating pubs anyway.

Aha, so here's where you can find out information about their service, and a list of participating pubs county by county

Gran Hermano

Advert in this morning's Herald AM stating that the designated driver
campaign is in operation this Christmas - in conjunction with
Coca-cola. Offer is 3 soft-drinks for DD if accompanied by 2 drinkers.

http://designateddriver.ie/ is the link provided in the advert.

OP, check whether the pub you were in is listed as a participant.

skywalker

Overheal wrote: »

Peanuts? Fcuking Peanuts?!

You could have bought PEANUTS FFS.

Ahhh, but would he have paid peanuts?

thebiggestjim

Deleted User wrote: »

I was distinctly under the impression that people who asked for water were not permitted to stay...

and not like the coyote ugly way either...

No No No, I have often been the designated driver, and only drink water when not drinking. This has never happened me and would not be happy if I was asked to leave considering im ferrying drinkers into the pub.

Im with the OP, considering 9 drinkers are in the pub and because he is driving them I think its unreasonable for the barman to ask him to leave.

snickerpuss

I went to a gig last week and didn't buy a drink all night. (I was taking photos though, cameras and drinks don't mix) I couldn't care less cos I paid in.
If I hadn't paid in I might have bought a coke or something.

squibs

So if you are designated driver for 5 friends who go to the flicks and load up on snacks, you should be let in free? The price of the drink goes on wages, utility bills (electric,heat,water,sky,IMRO), etc.

Utilising the services in the pub makes up part of the cost of the drink, whether it's explicitly admitted to or not. If the pub only provided drinks and added no extra value, we'd all go to the offie and drink at home.

Buy a coke or persuade your mates to have house parties instead.

Trojan911

JeanClaude wrote: »

I'm with the OP on this one, absolute disgrace:mad:, the man was a designated driver FFS, greedy money grabbing publicians, all this BS about combating drink driving you hear from the VFI, is just that BS. Next week you'll hear some "poor" publican going on about how everyone is drinking at home blah blah blah,blaming the smoking ban and the drink driving laws getting tougher etc etc... era cry me a fooken river.....:rolleyes:

Hear, hear,

The bartender/landlord was quick enough to spot you & your girlfriend was not spending any money. But when something happens out on the street after and a pub is implicated for serving drunks then they [the publicans] are fast enough to return a "sure we can't be watching everyone" cop out response and then run for cover.

Greedy beggars is what I say. They'll serve a fella till he drops from drink alright and are quite happy to contravene the licencing act, but when a fella doesn't spend a few bob they are on him like a ton of bricks.

They should have given the OP a soft drink on the house for bringing in some trade. The OP should have bought a drink for his lady.

seanabc

When I saw the title I automatically thought it was for 'not drinking alchohol' which would have been a genuine complaint. Getting thrown out for going into the pub and not being a paying customer was fair enough. If the barman was willing to lose the custom of your friends who were drinking it just shows he was a man of principle.

source

squibs wrote: »

So if you are designated driver for 5 friends who go to the flicks and load up on snacks, you should be let in free?

That's just stupid, your friends loading up on snacks and driving isn't illegal, or likely to cause a death on the road, however, the Gov't the VFI and almost anybody worth calling human is against drink driving these days, so the very idea of Designated Driver is a life saving tool, which eases the burden on taxi companies.....if there is a designated driver in a group that group is less likely to hang around outside a licensed premises and get into an argument at closing time so it makes things easier for the bouncers and the gardai.

Pubs make a huge amount of profit on soft drinks, especially the bigger pubs who get them for half nothing, and then charge €2.50 to €3.00 to get a glass of coke!!!!!! A BLOODY GLASS!!!!! i could get twice the amount for less money in an offie or shop, It's not fair to ask someone who is out in order to make everybody else's night, including the publican's, easier, to pay that kinda price for a soft drink, of course it should be free for a DD.

I completely agree with the op on this, as i tend to be the DD on a lot of occasions, as i don't drink that much. and if i'm gonna be making everybody else's life easier, i shouldn't have to do it at my own expense.

Oswald Osbourne

I would have just thrown a bundle of €20's at him and said "Here! Take your blood money. I don't wish to pollute myself with your vile poison. Good day to you sir."

johnp

foinse wrote: »

That's just stupid, your friends loading up on snacks and driving isn't illegal, or likely to cause a death on the road, however, the Gov't the VFI and almost anybody worth calling human is against drink driving these days, so the very idea of Designated Driver is a life saving tool, which eases the burden on taxi companies.....if there is a designated driver in a group that group is less likely to hang around outside a licensed premises and get into an argument at closing time so it makes things easier for the bouncers and the gardai.

Pubs make a huge amount of profit on soft drinks, especially the bigger pubs who get them for half nothing, and then charge €2.50 to €3.00 to get a glass of coke!!!!!! A BLOODY GLASS!!!!! i could get twice the amount for less money in an offie or shop, It's not fair to ask someone who is out in order to make everybody else's night, including the publican's, easier, to pay that kinda price for a soft drink, of course it should be free for a DD.

I completely agree with the op on this, as i tend to be the DD on a lot of occasions, as i don't drink that much. and if i'm gonna be making everybody else's life easier, i shouldn't have to do it at my own expense.

Get your mates to buy you a coke or whatever your non-alcoholic tipple is! Why should the barman do it?

source

johnp wrote: »

Get your mates to buy you a coke or whatever your non-alcoholic tipple is! Why should the barman do it?

because it's the barmans product that's causing the problem in the first place, it's about social responsibility

bluedolphin

I agree with the OP to a certain extent, but at the same time it is a drinking establishment with the aim of making profits. You were using the facility and not paying for it. I regularly (read most of the time) go as the non-drinker in my group: I've no problem with it - I enjoy drinking occasionally but most of the time I'd rather not.

In a pub situation I'd always get an orange juice/mineral for two reasons: 1. as some people have pointed out, to be sociable. 2. I'm in a pub using their facilities. Of course if the place is packed to the brim and getting to the bar is a problem I won't go out of my way to get a drink; I don't feel sorry for them in that situation. But if we've got seats and/or the place is relatively quiet then I'll defo have an OJ!

If I continue on to a club I rarely get anything to drink unless I'm actually thirsty. I've paid enough on the door: feck off now please!

Usually I find that when I'm out with a group and I'm not drinking most of my friends would automatically get me OJ/mineral while they're up at the bar anyway, and would still leave me out of the 'rounds' although I have no problem in buying one/two rounds in a night. I go out to have a good time and am willing to pay the price of such.

A friend of mine is a non-drinker all the time and generally only drinks water (her preference, due to the fact that she doesn't like minerals etc). She was in a local pub one week night (that is to say it was extremely quiet) in a group of 5/6 drinkers drinking pints of (free) water. She partook in the rounds and while at the bar buying her round she also asked for the pint for herself: the barman questioned if she was going to have a 'real' drink. She kinda laughed it off but was wary that he was being serious. A while later someone else went up for their round and asked for the water for my friend and was told that either she gets a 'real' drink or they leave. So they left.

That was purely antagonistic. There was no need for it at all and he lost the custom of 5/6 people drinking 'real' drinks when the place was practically empty anyway! Lunacy!

Someone mentioned that there is no proper designated driver scheme: so true. It's a disgrace for a country that is trying (supposedly, anyway) to reduce its drink culture overall.

builttospill

Yeah,
Was in a certain pub on the malahide road one evening watching the football. About 7 or 8 of us landed in. All the lads ordered pints and we sat down at a table. Next thing the barman comes up to me and asks me if I'm drinking. I say no. (I don't drink) He informs me that I'll have to get out if I don't order a drink. I tell him I'll have a pint of water and he tells me to clear to f**k. I thought that was pretty bad tack seeing as all my mates were spending money in the pub.

2 stroke

If this happens the whole group should stand up, demand their money back, then move on to a more friendly pub. It would be interesting if you objected to their license being renewed. (Discrimination against non drinkers/designated drivers)

mad m

Barman = Muppet....end

120_Minutes

foinse wrote: »

Pubs make a huge amount of profit on soft drinks, especially the bigger pubs who get them for half nothing, and then charge €2.50 to €3.00 to get a glass of coke!!!!!! A BLOODY GLASS!!!!! i could get twice the amount for less money in an offie or shop, It's not fair to ask someone who is out in order to make everybody else's night, including the publican's, easier, to pay that kinda price for a soft drink, of course it should be free for a DD.

I completely agree with the op on this, as i tend to be the DD on a lot of occasions, as i don't drink that much. and if i'm gonna be making everybody else's life easier, i shouldn't have to do it at my own expense.

hear hear. it annoys the **** out of me to pay for overpriced soft drinks when i'm driving. I'm quite happy to do it in my local cos the owner is sound and turns a blind eye to us smoking the odd doob out the back. that publican sounds like a tight a$$ed cnut. probably acted out of fear of his business going down the swannee....well pal keep acting like that and thats where you're headed. i would never darken his door again, and tell my friends to do the same.