Bartenders Stealing From the Till
Like it's not bad enough that customers are being taken for an extra 20%, but are bartenders charging customers full sail for a drink and then pocketing the money themselves? One Little Birdy saw it happen over the weekend at a new hotspot in the Lower East Side, telling DBTH,
After reading how Goldbar charges tips without the customers knowing, I saw something - the bartenders stealing money from drinks and putting it towards tips at [redacted by DBTH].
I was at [redacted by DBTH] last night, I ordered 2 drinks, the bartender said $25. I gave him $40, he only punched $10 into the register, gave me back $15 change. He still "charged" me the $25, but only rang in $10. Basically, he kept $15 for himself, put it in the register, and at the end of the night, the leftover money in the register is a tip. Anything above the total Z out, would have overcount aka his tip. This is super shady. If I was the owner of this place, I would be pissed. The bartenders are stealing money!!
I was going to mention something to him, but I didn't want to put him on the spot then and there.
Having an old-school register, called a "banger" , is great to avoid paying taxes, but it doesn't eliminate employees stealing money!
Every good bartender will throw their favorite customers a buyback now and then. It keeps them coming in and helps pad their tips. But we can't support a bartender fleecing both the consumer and owner for a full drink and pocketing the money. Times are tough, but not tough enough to promote stealing.
DBTH
Reader Comments (29)
The best way for an owner to dissuade that type of behavior is to have random multiple blind pull's and drop's during the night. Where there is a will there is a way, and human nature is to take,take,take.
That's a disgrace!!!
He should be ashamed of himself giving every bartender in the industry a bad rap!!
You should have called him out on the spot right then and there! or at least told the owner or mgr later so they could look into it them self.
There are many bartenders out there that are always looking for work and lots of them are hard working and Honest!
he may be doing that at the owner's request. its non-taxable and cash profit.
Uber- that is just.... trust me, the owner is not asking the bartender to figure out the sales tax percentage withheld on every transaction and "pad the till" and when changing in his singles or fives taking the said amount out with it.
Whew-
Why are you retracting the name?
You posted the item about Goldbar?
This happen at White Slab, you shouldn't be bias.
You should keep all the facts upfront. You write negative things about everyone, why defend
somewhere where the employees are stealing?
For all those readers, the place is White Slab.
And you know this... how? Did you at least tip out your barback?
Yes, I saw it, I am the one that gave the bartender $40 for a $25 tab, he rung it in as $10, and then gave me back $15. He kept the $15 as the tip.
Beware, that is a life of a bartender. If you are thier friend, they will hook you up 50% of the time. If they don't know you, they will rip you off 50% of the time. To all owners, keep the product fresh, including bartenders.
your a bartender, right? (lie,lie,lie)
Sounds like DBTH has it out for Goldbar this week!
@the plance is white slab -
have you ever thought that perhaps the bartender screwed up an earlier transaction, and rang it this way to balance the system?
you shouldn't be so quick to scream theft. and you should be even more careful to so quickly put peoples names out there like that. you have little or no proof here, and your words could be potentially very damaging to someone earning a living.
@ to-uber..
I believe the word you are looking for is , you're not your. (grammar, grammar, grammar)
When did this offense occur? I had suspicion that the bar at White Slab was underreporting bar totals at a recent event I did there.
LOL - this happens at EVERY bar without cameras......TRUST ME.....this has been going on since bars existed. How the hell do you expect a bartender to make a decent living? on your cheap $2 tip????? I was doing this years ago to get through college.
NoSale was my favortie key on the POS!
bartender thats right its ok to steal ?????? not
sorry, we don't believe you
only a crazy bartender would sell from a "hotspot" as we all know, any respectable "hotspot" in NYC has a MILLION cams cause they make so much money
it's ok to say you were at a dive bar in new jersey
I mean't STEAL ..
this is the same thing as a bartender making a drink for free without any monetary transaction.
a way to avoid this as a business would be to have a sign that says...
"if you don't receive a receipt your drink is free."
How does anybody think all these former bartenders got the money to open up these half ass bars, clubs, and lounges. Post 9/11 killed the good times in NYC. Giuliani started it with his crackdown and Bloomberg with his greed for money has taken all the life and creativity out of NYC. Is it really a crime if you never get caught? Everybody has a hustle, ask Bernie. Now you have to watch out for snitches and haters trying to kill everybody's buzz. Go out, have fun, and only worry about what you are doing. Everybody is ruled by the dollar and will do anything to protect that dollar. You all are like lttle kids running to the teacher, tattling. "teacher, teacher, so and so did this". If they are getting away with it, then somebody is not doing their job, let them handle it, and you just enjoy your night out. This ain't neighborhood watch. Finally, regardless, you still would have had to pay the full amount, it's not like you would get your money back. This incident is between the bartender and the establishment, either way they are still getting you for a $15 vodka/soda, you idiot.
^^^--- tool
This happens everywhere with the old school metal cash registers. When are owners going to learn and get a POS system like most people??
@ bartender - how is a $2 tip on a $10 to $15 drink cheap. not only percentage-wise, but especially considering quantity of drinks served on a busy night
Why the hell would the bartender do it so that the customer could see the amount entered? If he was trying to steal then at least be sneaky about it. That's why I find this story to be suspect.
Q. WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS A GORILLA AND A BARTENDER?
A. A GORILLA THAT STEALS AND DOES COKE
I cocktail at a bar that has those old school registers. There are always going to be bartenders that steal in the way described. Even with cameras it's tough to catch a bartender in the act unless someone is watching them. It is true that bartenders at times will ring different amounts in order to even out an over ring or some other early mistake, but I doubt that is what happened. I'm sure the owner's of the lounge I work at are aware that bartenders are going to steal from them on occasions, but they deal with it because they'd rather save the money that they aren't paying in taxes. I'm not justifying the stealing, but I don't feel bad for the owners. They know very well that it is easy to steal from those registers, and they don't care because essentially they are stealing as well.
i'm not surprised. White Slab also puts cheap Vodka in Stoli bottles.
Goldbar does not hide the fact that it charges gratuity on their checks. It states right on the receipt
TOTAL AMOUNT $xxx
+ ADDED GRATUITY $xxx
= ___________________
You as the customer still have the right to refuse gratuity by not adding the two amounts together.
PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE!!
Bunch of anonymous snitches. Snitches get stitches.