Source
r/bartenders•
jmg83

Goddamnit, I'm a bartender, not a phone-charge-tender.

Do these people think we have nothing better to do, especially on an extremely busy night? I always tell them "sorry, no". I've warned my co-workers to do the same, because it's a waste of our time, especially when they want it back for 5 minutes to send a text or whatever. Not all of them listen, though. Same goes for coats. It's a pub, not a nightclub, we don't want to be responsible for other people's shit. People act like I'm the one being a prick about it, though.

Posted Mar 22, 2018, 6:23 PM UTC · edited

12667
cocktailvirgin•

The "no check it and ask it to be plugged back in" rule is a solid one.

45
jmg83OP•

In theory, however, give some people an inch, and they'll take a mile. If I refuse then, they'll only ask one of my colleagues, plus we don't have the time to be dealing with all the individual phones, most of which look alike.

10
cocktailvirgin•

I mostly work at restaurant bars so most of my guests are sitting. Also, a phone charge is needed to get them home by Uber or Lyft. My last bar had USB ports and it was DiY which saved the hassle on our end.

15
jmg83OP•

This is London. We have minicab offices everywhere, plus, these days portable chargers are a thing. Even if my bar had usb ports, we'd have to provide the cables, surely? They'd only get nicked.

7
jinxsays•

Also Londoner, I usually tell em to get fucked. Not a requirement of us. If you know your phone battery is shit, bring a charger and use a plug anywhere in the pub - but I’m not being responsible for your device costing £500 & up.

7
SwoleFlex_MuscleNeck•

Ask your boss to tell you guys that you can't take phones because of all the other shit you can do, but to tell the customers that you can't be liable for the phones also. Even if they "super swear they won't blame you if it gets damaged."

4
im_mrmanager•

We have outlets and USB plug ins under the bar for that very reason. Customers absolutely love it and I never have to touch a phone.

30
jmg83OP•

We can't have nice things like that in my bar, some fool would almost certainly wreck it.

23
asciimov•

"LOL... im gonna pour my drink in this"

5
jmg83OP•

You joke, but we had some guy shit on the floor a couple of months ago. We never saw him because his pals were standing in a ring around him.

4
squirrelmaster1290•

Had someone propose at my bar on a Friday at midnight (college Irish bar). Someone shit on the floor a half an hour later. What a great night

2
SwoleFlex_MuscleNeck•

That's why they go on the bottom, or a recess perpendicular to the floor

2
MadKingRyan•

lemme stick my gum under the bar...ooh a usb socket!

2
jewunit•

I don't really mind charging people's phones. I get it, maybe you were out all day and used your phone a bunch. I've been there before. I don't have chargers though, and I'm plugging it in behind the bar and I'll give it back when you ask for it once. No checking it or texting and plugging it back in or whatever.

What I can't stand though is when I tell people no and they can't accept it. No, I do not have a charger. No, I cannot unplug our device that plays music so you can charge your phone. NO FOR THE THIRD TIME I DON'T HAVE A FUCKING IPHONE CHARGER I DON'T EVEN HAVE AN IPHONE.

I once worked at a place that just used liability as a reason. No, I can't charge your phone because if something happens to it then we will be at fault. When in doubt, blame management.

23
MyMomPickedThisName•

Can confirm: I'm a manager and I'm the lone source of all my employees angst.

23
JustARandomBloke•

I mean, I even blame my manager for stuff that isn't their fault. Sorry, but you're an easy fall guy & don't have to deal with the customer. If my manager is in the room I blame it on corporate policy.

14
SlappaDaBayssMon•

My old manager used to encourage it.

6
jewunit•

"Hey sorry I can't change the playlist, it's corporate policy."

"This is a dive bar."

"Yeah sorry, it's a rare chain dive bar though. Can't change the song."

4
Montauket•

We're the first link in a chain. Now go back to listening to Sweet Caroline.

2
RedRoseSpeedway1•

I do this as well haha

1
jmg83OP•

My bar is out of the way. People go there on weekends because it's one of the few places that shuts at 3. It holds 300 people. If I said yes to everyone who asked, that would be at least 10 chargers. I don't need the aggro.

Yeah, people who act like you've got a charger, but you're not letting them use it, even though you'd be within your rights to refuse, are entitled dickheads.

6
SwoleFlex_MuscleNeck•

No, I can't charge your phone because if something happens to it then we will be at fault. When in doubt, blame management.

I tell my staff to blame me and use the same excuse.

3
Observante•

I hate that shit.

"Can you charge my phone?"

Not if it's an iPhone, I have an Android.

"So you don't have the charger?"

No. I don't have an iPhone.

"So you can't charge my phone?"

1
cfinboston•

Liability is a great reason. We had a customer insist his phone be charged at the host stand so he could regularly check on it. We had three hosts at the time all of whom kept drinks on the shelf where the phone was. If one had gotten spilled the phone would be ruinec.

1
bhoops13•

The amount of ding dongs that have attempted to walk behind my bar to check on their phones has made us a no charging bar as well.

16
EndgameArchitecture•

This is exactly why I tell customers and my employees to just say no and blame me. All it takes is one broken iPhone to ruin it for everyone.

8
DataPhreak•

"Hey! Ding dong! Yeah, you. What do you think you're doing?"

3
Conchobair•

When customer ask for phone charger I say, "No beer for you. Come back one year."

12
jmg83OP•

Heheh, if only. I get people complaining to the fucking manager if I don't smile. Some bitch complained about my "rudeness" because I got annoyed at her accusing me of keeping her £25 that she forgot she put in her pocket. Three times. I didn't cuss at her, I just said 'I. Don't. Have. Your. Money'.

7
BonoAnnie•

Done for regulars who tip well, ONLY.

10
ronimal•

I like to tell people I’m not responsible for what happens to their phone behind the bar, and then list off all the ways in which their phone is likely to be damaged. But usually I just say no.

6
jmg83OP•

Regarding the risk, if something happened, they'd blame you regardless of whether they had accepted responsibility beforehand. I don't need the hassle.

6
ronimal•

By the time I’m don’t talking, no one wants to hand me their phone anymore. It’s not about liability, it’s about making them think I’m going to break their phone.

9
jmg83OP•

This assumes that they're smart enough to take the hint. Or are dumb enough to fall for your ruse. Whichever way you see it.

3
ronimal•

Which is why I said my usual response is just no.

4
xenxray•

We have charging stations which eliminates all that mess

4
jmg83OP•

It wouldn't work at my bar, we'd get people stealing other people's phones.

3
IONTOP•

Worked at a baseball stadium and you would swipe your CC, it would pop open a door. Then when you want to get your phone back, you use the same CC and it pops that door back open.

Looks something like this

6
jmg83OP•

My last job had these charging lockers in the cloakroom. It cost £2, but people would always try and haggle.

4
JD-4-Me•

Thing about that is people will haggle with an attendant, but know better than to try arguing with an inanimate object. Usually.

3
ScumbagYardSale•

They make napkin caddies that have USB ports now. But I’m with you. I always say no. I carry a backup portable charger with me in case I have an emergency. To hell with anyone that doesn’t think ahead for themselves.

3
Furthur•

“sure, but if something gets spilled on it... its on you not me”

that works every time.

3
aldorn•

I wish every place had phone chargers. They don't need to be behind the bar though. Just usb on walls would do, its 2018 after all.

Australia still doesn't have wifi in majority of venues, bloody annoying.

3
Jprophetreddit•

I usually carry one of these disposable chargers if I know it's going to be a long night of bar hopping (asking a bartender to charge my phone in the deadly chaos behind a bar just seems like running my puppy across a six lane highway), but I always wondered why bars don't just sell these things and just run a profit off of people's lack of planning? Must be some reason....

CreatePros Emergency One-Time Mobile Charger Disposable Power Bank 1000mAh for iPhone and Android - White, 5-Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072C15VSX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_DOoTAbBEVRZXS

3
jmg83OP•

Selling chargers....brilliant.

2
Island1113•

I was going to suggest the same thing. Charging banks, disposable or not, are super cheap. People are desperate for phone power. Charge them nicely for the battery bank.

1
vonarchimboldi•

last 2 places i've worked have discreet little USB charging ports underneath the bar. it's nice because they can use their phone and it doesn't bother whoevers working behind the bar. one of the places even had a bunch of cheapo android and iphone chargers in a basket. handing someone those is way easier than plugging their phone in for them.

2
[deleted]•

I just say it's a liability issue.

2
slowfadeoflove•

I had a weird one the other day. A guy came in off the street and was like “I need to use an iPhone charger.” He didn’t even sit down or take his coat off. He just stood there while our sweet new host wandered around asking staff if he could borrow one. I told him no, obviously. He didn’t even thank her for looking.

2
scottvs•

Assuming it's not crazy busy, my response tends to be along the lines of: "I'm happy to charge your phone, but you're only giving it to me once and I'm only giving it back to you once." Crazy busy? No, I'm not going to be responsible for your phone.

I also work in a quiet neighborhood joint, where I feel safe loaning out an external battery that I've had for a couple of years and wouldn't actually miss if it went missing. It lives behind the bar, hasn't been nicked, and my coworkers have been good about keeping it charged.

2
jmg83OP•

Ah. My bar is shaped like a big 'U', there's no way we could keep track of the batteries were we to give any out.

1
KinderSpirit•

I bought a 5 charger bank. And a 10 foot cable for every phone.
I will plug you in. You have to stay in this area and keep an eye on your shit.
I am the new hero. And get a bit more of a tip.

2
Twisted_alien•

Weeelll I'm taking this idea.

2
DataPhreak•

Make sure something is plugged in to every outlet behind the bar. If they insist, offer them an emergency gas powered generator in the alley. You could also install paid charging stations.

2
jmg83OP•

That's what I've taken to doing now. Two phones and a tablet in at all times.

2
DataPhreak•

Oh wow. Thanks for the follow up. Glad that worked for you.

2
jmg83OP•

No problem.

1
jeanettesey•

Me and my coworkers never let them charge their phones behind the bar. We have outlets throughout my bar and we let them know.

2
LoveBarkeep•

Sounds like cheap people.

Buy a few from Alibaba or bulk online, bring em with you and sell em at a heavy markup.

1
MisterFifths•

We just say no. We can't be responsible for their phone, and we don't have the time or space to handle charging everyone's phone.

1