Publicans that take away glasses before they are empty

allthedoyles

Was in a pub last weekend and the owner came around and took away a glass with about one inch of Coke in it , along with a glass with a mouthful of Vodka left in it.

We had 3 plastic cups on the table and barmaid comes over and asks are they finished with , and I reply '' no - the kids are working their way through them .

So 15 minutes later , the same barmaid comes around and takes away the 3 cups of orange without asking .
Now these cups of orange would not have cost money , as the event in pub was party .

Is that normal behaviour from publicans around the country. ?

cerastes

it used to be anyway, doesnt suprise me they still do it now. Although I dont go to the pub anymore, think the last time was last year, match on and first time Id seen a busy pub in ages, older barmen being the usual ignorant surly selves ignoring my requests, couldn't even manage to be polite and look happy they were busy. Had to tell lounge staff to hold off, we were'nt finished too.

aujopimur

I thought this was going to be about Le Chateau in Cork.

rubadub

allthedoyles wrote: »

Now these cups of orange would not have cost money , as the event in pub was party .

I don't understand, the pub supplied the drink free? or was someone paying.

I used to go to company presentations with "free drink", the barmen used to snatch bottles away from us. After this happening several times we asked them and the barmen said they usually got a tip of a % of the overall bar tab. So it was in their interest to dump all our drinks to make us drink more and get a bigger tip, most people did not care much as it was "free".

dudara

Imagine you finish a drink, but there are ice cubes left. Fast forward a while, the ice cubes have melted making it look like there's drink left, but you're not obviously going to drink it.

I think publicans probably have some slight element here of making you want to buy another drink, but I don't think it's anything sinister or a master conspiracy. It's probably more to do with keeping tables cleared and keeping glasses washed and in rotation.

aujopimur

They should get bar staff like that in my local, after a few pints the table looks like we've been on the piss for 2 days.

foggy_lad

If out in a pub I usually tell staff that we will put our empties on the table beside us and they are not to take glasses or bottles off the table, in one pub a good few years ago the barman kept trying to take half empty glasses and bottles from the table we were at and I got so pissed off I stood up the last time he came over and said "You must be hard up for a drink to be stealing drinks off our table you miserable auld cnut." The pub erupted in laughter and applause and the 6 of us got up to leave then and only stayed when another barman came out and apologised and asked us to stay. In the same pub a few weeks after that and the other barman was gone.

Valetta

foggy_lad wrote: »

If out in a pub I usually tell staff that we will put our empties on the table beside us and they are not to take glasses or bottles off the table, in one pub a good few years ago the barman kept trying to take half empty glasses and bottles from the table we were at and I got so pissed off I stood up the last time he came over and said "You must be hard up for a drink to be stealing drinks off our table you miserable auld cnut." The pub erupted in laughter and applause and the 6 of us got up to leave then and only stayed when another barman came out and apologised and asked us to stay. In the same pub a few weeks after that and the other barman was gone.

I would have barred you immediately.

riffmongous

Valetta wrote: »

I would have barred you immediately.

It doesn't sound at all believable to be honest.

In my working experience it was just about keeping the place clean, if you are still drinking just say so, its easier than having the staff ask if they can take the glass and interrupting the conversation. I'd guess from my exp that 90% of the time people dont want the little bit left.

rubadub

Valetta wrote: »

I would have barred you immediately.

I would hope you would not have got the chance, i.e. hope you would not have been taking glasses like that which lead to his response.

riffmongous wrote: »

I'd guess from my exp that 90% of the time people dont want the little bit left.

If glasses are touching or nearly touching off each other its usually a sign that they are finished, I tend to leave them in the middle of the table in an obvious bunch, and if one is questionable I take it and stick it in front of me, between me and the pint I am drinking, if it was say a friends one who is away from the table.

I have definitely had cases where something was up, i.e. nobody could have have thought it was so definitely finished, so definitely should have at least queried it.

allthedoyles

rubadub wrote: »

I don't understand, the pub supplied the drink free? or was someone paying.

It was a charity event in an off-room , and the organisers brought in drinks / sandwiches / paper cups .
So these were not bought in said pub- but mainly donated by other local businesses .

Was at a Sunday afternoon pattern in a different pub / different parish , in September , and publican also took away glasses with liquid in them .

Wasn't at all happy , but stayed silent .

Now thinking of hopping off the next publican that does this .

foggy_lad

Valetta wrote: »

I would have barred you immediately.

THe guy was sacked because he was taking half full/empty pints and bottles and drinking them himself.

riffmongous wrote: »

It doesn't sound at all believable to be honest.

In my working experience it was just about keeping the place clean, if you are still drinking just say so, its easier than having the staff ask if they can take the glass and interrupting the conversation. I'd guess from my exp that 90% of the time people dont want the little bit left.

If people have glasses sitting almost empty in the middle of the table they are fair game but when the glass is whipped away from under your nose it is theft!

dpofloinn

Seems to occur a lot in pubs that arent very busy, bored staff with nothing to do.The last time it happend to me I had maybe mouthfull left in the glass when the bar lad came and took it.I told him I was'nt finished with it and fairplay to him he apologised and replaced it with a 1/2pint

cerastes

dpofloinn wrote: »

Seems to occur a lot in pubs that arent very busy, bored staff with nothing to do.The last time it happend to me I had maybe mouthfull left in the glass when the bar lad came and took it.I told him I was'nt finished with it and fairplay to him he apologised and replaced it with a 1/2pint

a half pint? wonder where they got that? :eek:
nothing floating in it?
Id definitely be civil about it myself, or just not order another pint if they got in a strop about it or order bottles, if I went to the pub.

feargale

Yes, this practice of removing unfinished drinks is widespread and is designed purely to sell more drink. If you are eating in a restaurant nobody will remove anything from your table before asking if you're finished with it. Why should it be different in a bar? I suggest that next time it happens to you complain that your drink has been removed unfinished. If you get no satisfaction, take a claim to the Small Claims Court and take your custom and that of your friends to a bar that treats its customers with respect.
And don't start me on loud music in bars, designed to eliminate conversation and thus encourage more drinking. We Irish are martyrs for abuse and exploitation.

emeldc

rubadub wrote: »

If glasses are touching or nearly touching off each other its usually a sign that they are finished, I tend to leave them in the middle of the table in an obvious bunch, and if one is questionable I take it and stick it in front of me, between me and the pint I am drinking, if it was say a friends one who is away from the table.

PMSL here. Do you really put that much thought into it.
I dont know what kind of pubs ye all drink in but no one has ever tried to take an unfinished drink on me. If he did he would get a polite kick on the shin and be told to fug off, I'm not finished :rolleyes:

L1011

cerastes wrote: »

a half pint?

Pretty much every pub in the country has half pint glasses. Generally used for tourists to buy the Guinness they then proceed to take one sip from and leave on the bar :pac:

RoboRat

Last time I this happened to me I ended up on a train to Moscow. Bloody barman.

rubadub

emeldc wrote: »

PMSL here. Do you really put that much thought into it.

it doesn't take much thought at all, most people do a similar thing to me, same with signs you are finished your courses in a restaurant. its basic common sense which unfortunately many bar staff seem to lack.

allthedoyles

I knew it was pretty widespread , as I've seen this happen many times .

At a time when Publicans need custom and good customer relations , they are not doing themselves any favours .

In the pub that I was in , the glasses were taken away when both ladies were having a fag break .

They had absolutely no permission to do this , and if they had to be another of same drink on table , there may be some justification , but in both cases , there were no other drinks on the table .

The publican just took away the glasses without permission .