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 Message 7912 of 22774 in Behind the Bar
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Subject: Re: Could I have handled this better?
From: Unaballer
Posted: Fri Jul 29. 2005, 20:39 UTC
Followup to: "Could I have handled this better?"  by Mister2  (Fri Jul 29. 2005, 14:27 UTC)
Aside from insisting to remove the item from the glass yourself..............

In my club, you break it - you bought it, or you are arrested with a PI and 
destruction of property.  That includes speakers, broken table legs, lighting, 
etc.  

Managers and servers are to never get into it with customers. The reputation 
of your business or even yourself as a professional should not be risked at 
any point and contingency plans must be in place when it comes to security.

So to answer the question:
1. If it looks like he's really going to f&ck up your speakers, you should be 
seeking enough security to efficiently contain the customer away from the 
crowd (outside is good), and your soundman to assess any damages to equipment.
2. Have other security and bussers double time the rest of the drinks and 
customers (Don't miss the 2:15 because you got a man or two tied up in your 
situation) 
3. After he is contained, warmly and calmly notify the customer of his 
transgression and tell him his options.  Something like, "Sir, as much as we 
appreciate you coming in tonight. You may have ruined some of our 
equipment........"
4. Wait for damage report and give him the choice to pay for it on the spot 
and avoid a criminal case.  If he is really hammered and belligerent, hand him 
over to the police and press charges.

The reason you lost your cool was you had the goal in your head to smoothly 
close the bar and he was keeping you from achieving it.  You ran out of tools, 
could not control the drunkard and so it got emotional.  It may seem like 
overkill since your speakers were probably just fine anyway but this incident 
should point out holes in your security plans.  This is more complicated of a 
situation than say, some idiot punching a hole in your drywall - that's pretty 
straight forward but both should be approached in the same manner.  This way 
you won't lose control of the situation and your bar and your ass is covered.

P.S. If you don't 86 the guy, have the staff keep him on a short leash with 
the sauce.


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