Non-drinkers unwelcome in Bars/Clubs??

unreggd

I never really drank much, i'd usually have 2 or 3 on a night out

then i had a few house parties so drank a lot at them

but THEN i had my appendix taken out and they said not do drink for a week or 2

so i had another party and drank a bottle of Mickey Finn and it did NOTHIN!

So i decided im not bothered drinkin anymore


But some places I go the staff kinda look down/ laugh at ye if ye order non alcoholic drinks

I usually go with pints of Blackcurrant cos it keeps ye cool in them roastin clubs, and its only abt €2, or free

Once i was in my local pub ive been goin for years and they refused to sell me a pitcher of blackcurrant, but sold it in separate pints

I know they dont make much money on it but surely business is business regardless

So yeah, do u think non drinkers are treated badly/differently????

mikemac

Nah, pub owners love non-drinkers.
Trust me, the products with the highest markup are Ready to Drinks (Smiroff Ice, WKD,etc), soft drinks and bottles of water.

The good people in this forum are likely to drink the last two.
Sure there is more profit in a bottle of coke than a pint of larger, or at least there used to be.
Bar owners love to sell soft drinks and as for the profit on bottles of still/sparkling water :eek:. It's shameful!
A bar I worked in used to buy them at 69c and sell them for €2.80

WexCan

Well yes, they'd be making a lot more money if you were on the alcohol. So some might begrudge you something less profitable, but in fairness I've very rarely had it. Reactions from the bar staff are usually just surprise that you;re not getting boozed up, not a "looking down" affair.

unreggd

I must just attract the pricks

Its just an extension of this "you dont drink, oh my god you FREAK" point of view a lot of Irish people have

WexCan

Definitely. A sober Irishman?!

Stoner

if the biggest margins the pub owners make is on soft drinks etc, you'd think they'd have the decency to cool them. I use to go to places in town where they were decent enough to put the coke in a fridge, rather than hot coke with ice.

All the beer is cold as the punters would walk if it was warm, but the non drinkers can walk from most places IMO. Obviously there are loads of pubs that do chill the soft drinks, but they are in the minority. Normally you just get a hot coke, with ice and a slice of lemon that you may or may not have wanted, if you are lucky it will will be fizzy. Imagine if they just started popping lemon into the Bud.

I've found Chinese restaurants the worst for this, they use 2L bottles where flat warm coke is served. I just send it back now, I don't care if they spit in my curry, i just scrape it off. I'd rather have a nice glass of coke with a spitty curry, than a nice curry (that may already have spits in it) with a warm dead flat coke that i would throw out if i had it at home. It's like paying for rubbish

NonDrinkersClub

I know what ya mean alright.

I usually get the same sorta thing...a warm flat Coke. It's happened to me a few times that I had to send the coke back cos it tasted like garlic?! In one place, I asked the waiter for a new one, so he walked off with the glass, and came back with the same one which still tasted like garlic! I know it was the same one cos there was a big lipstick smear on it. Yuk.

Ever notice how the waiter gets annoyed when you don't order wine/beer with your food? And then they take away the extra glasses on your table with a disgruntled look on their face. They can be quite slow bringin the tapwater too.

WexCan

This is why I love draught coke in most places (not all). Bits & Pizzas in Dun Laoghaire has the best tasting coke ever

Dagon

I don't know.. I don't really notice people being rude or making me feel unwelcome. Sometimes there is a little bit of surprise, almost to the tone of "did I hear you correctly....?", but it's just surprise, cos I look like the the kind of fella who would have a few drinks I suppose.

Niteclubs are so nuts that they're so busy and are glad you're asking for something thats easy to prepare/serve. Cocktails or stuff on tap is more hassle for them.

I've stopped going for the MiWadi cos it rots the teeth pretty badly (they never have sugar free) so pints of complimentary water are usually the best in a niteclub. Drinking tons of coke etc. ain't good, but sometimes I have it in small doses.

The biggest slagging will usually come from mates, as my pint of water looks a little lame amongst 3 or 4 pints of guinness... but I don't mind :cool:

DubLegs

I'm considering giving up the drink after christmas - well it's been suggested to me by the doc cos me and alcohol are not starting to get on phyiscally, basically causing me to have a nasty pain.

I've been reading through the posts here and found it to be so helpful.

But my main issue is as the title suggests unwelcome in bars and clubs! My OH doesn't drink and i know that he can get some funny looks when ordering.
is this common occurance?

af_thefragile

I just ask the barman for a coke, he hands me the coke... No fuss...
Actually i never had a problem...
Its just ocasionally the barman says something like "just water?!" or something like that and I just laugh it off saying i'm really thursty (which is true in most cases) n all...

Dagon

"My OH doesn't drink and i know that he can get some funny looks when ordering.is this common occurance?"

To be honest, I don't even notice funny looks. Maybe they are giving them but I just go about my business..I get what I want, and if thats uncool, then so be it. But I haven't noticed and don't care.

Non-drinking just ain't for everyone, especially if you care about funny looks

dubtom

In a club years ago and ordered a rock shandy and a guy next to me says,how can you drink that?I took a sup and showed him, I'm sure he was surprised to see it went in the same hole as his beer:D I'd say these days most would assume that I was the designated driver and I'd assume that bar staff would think the same. I pay as much or more for a rock shandy than most pay for a pint and tbh if a bar man copped an attitude I'd bring my buisness else where.

Dagon

dubtom wrote: »

In a club years ago and ordered a rock shandy and a guy next to me says,how can you drink that?I took a sup and showed him, I'm sure he was surprised to see it went in the same hole as his beer:D I'd say these days most would assume that I was the designated driver and I'd assume that bar staff would think the same. I pay as much or more for a rock shandy than most pay for a pint and tbh if a bar man copped an attitude I'd bring my buisness else where.

I love a big rock shandy as well... much tastier than a pint of poison

DubLegs

I don't care about the funny looks - i'm just amazed by some ppls reactions in clubs/pubs to non drinkers.

johnnyskeleton

DubLegs wrote: »

I don't care about the funny looks - i'm just amazed by some ppls reactions in clubs/pubs to non drinkers.