Does a Bartender have the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason???

United States
January 21, 2008 9:42am CST
I have been a bartender for 14 years and have never really had an issue with this until now. For the past 8 months or so I have been having trouble with a patron. She is a loud mouth with foul language and was running my customers out. Writing her up for her actions is completely pointless because we tried that. The whole bar wrote her up and signed it and the trustees just threw the write up sheet away. I decided to refuse serving her a couple months ago. Now the Trustees told me that if I didn't serve her I would be fired. Well I didn't serve her and they backed out of firing me but they are still pushing me to serve her. What are MY rights??
2 people like this
11 responses
@babykeka80 (2084)
• United States
21 Jan 08
Is she loud because she has been drinking? If so then you are legally right for not serving her. You do have a choice in the matter. When I was still bartending I told management I refused to serve someone and they were more than welcome if they wanted them served to come back and make their drinks. I do not see why they would allow someone like that to continue to come in I think I would ask other people to start complaining and threatening to take their business elsewhere. Usually if they think they are going to lose money they will send them packing. My boss is really cool about that though so I have never really had a problem.
2 people like this
• United States
22 Jan 08
No, she comes in that way. She doesn't have to be drunk to act this way. It is normal behavior for her. They are tired of hearing her complain and don't want to hear it anymore. They are friends with her husband......
@shymurl (2765)
• United States
21 Jan 08
As a bartender I have had to refuse to serve someone. He was out of control. Wouldn't sit still, kept annoying the customers by not leaving them alone. You do have that right. If you feel they don't need anymore to drink, then don't serve. Because if something bad was to happen to that person when the leave, they can hold you responsible for serving that person to much.
2 people like this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
21 Jan 08
As far as I know, if the person has had too much to drink, you reserve all rights to not serve them. Not sure how this works where you are but down here is you serve someone who is being unruly because they are drunk/drinking too much and they get into a fight or leave the bar and get into an accident you and the business you work for can be sued. That in and of itself should be enough to not get you in trouble at work.
2 people like this
@whywiki (6066)
• Canada
21 Jan 08
Her in my neck of the woods in Canada bartenders are encouraged not to serve people that are out of control. People that have had to much are turned away too. Well that is what they say anyways as I have been totally out of it and still been served but then again I am a fun drunk or at least I think I am. It is too bad that your bosses don't stand behind you and support you. I can totally relate to that though as the powers that be around here don't listen to the staff either. I guess in a perfect world...
@bfarrier1 (2082)
• United States
22 Jan 08
I don't know about writing her up this is the first I have ever heard that,but you should have the right to not serve anyone that you feel should not be served. Who are the Trustees? If this is your boss then they should back you in your decision. Good luck and have a nice day!
• United States
22 Jan 08
First the question has to be answered on whether or not she is drunk? Then you need to contact the prosecuting attorney in your city and ask them what the state laws are regarding serving someone who is inebriated. When I tended bar in Missouri 10+ years ago it was illegal to serve someone whom you clearly knew was drunk (my owner stood behind the decisions of the bartender and the waitress.If we kicked them out they were gone.)That being said if there are no laws and or she is not drunk then the decision rests with the owner or owners. They may decide that they would rather cater to a friend than run a succesful buisness, in which case I would seek other employment. A side note you could encurage a boycott by the patrons the next time she shows her hiney. That should get someones attention, beware they could fire you for that though. Hope it gets better!
@venigalla (191)
• India
22 Jan 08
I want to say some thing that "as long as u r frietened they always try to frieten u",once u turned against them they will come into u r control as long as u act like a puppette they always play Make others puppettes in u r hands but not to become a puppette in other hands
@lightningd (1039)
• United States
22 Jan 08
I'm not sure what the law says regarding this, but it's always been my understanding that in restaurants and bars, they generally have a sign up that says "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." With that said, I guess you would have to talk to the owners. Perhaps if it was put to the owners that this single patron is costing the bar money, maybe they'll do something about it. That's what it all comes down to. Money talks. If she's running off good customers, then I would think that the owners would rather keep the other customers happy, and take her out of the equation.
1 person likes this
• United States
22 Jan 08
yes beacuse if they don't want to bring them a drink they should not have to
• United States
5 Mar 08
i am a member of a privite club and the bartender will not serve me because of a past right up thast i was found innocent of ..i have ask the board members to correct this problem mant times...now some false statements have been made about me by this bartender to the board..they have had a metting..i was not invited to attend to defend myself.the board has termnated my membership..what are my rights
@Grrrrf (1)
• Atlanta, Georgia
24 Oct 14
I have been having the same problem. I live in San Francisco and about a year ago a twenty something transvestite decided to call our bar her home. She controls about 3or4 others And they come in the bar and start agruments,fights,spits on people and the customers are afraid of her. I've stayed far away from her because I didn't want to be in her line of fire. The bar next to us has 86d her because she is so out of control and the group of them stand outside this bar protesting. One day I was walking to work and they were outside this bar protesting it as I went to pas them she aggressively put the flier in my face. I took it, crumbled it up and tossed it over my shoulder because I like the bartenders at that bar and she's trying to mess with thier livelihood. Ever since that she and her posse has given me nothing but grief and heartache. I have asked to get her 86d but management is afraid that she will cause the bar future grief by contacting the ABC on us or sue us for discrimination....also one of our bartenders has befriended her saying that she is in the forefront of the transexual movement. I've kept my mouth shut up for a year til the other day. She posted a picture that someone linked me to on Facebook of her carving the words Tranny Shack in her leg. The picture was disgusting and I wasn't clearly sure of why she had done that...she had been preaching how the word tranny is like saying the N word so I thought Hey,maybe she's now excepting the word so I wrote You Go Tranny under it. I know it was stupid ...everyone else were writing much worse things. Now she has contacted my boss saying that she wants me to be suspended and that she contacted a lawyer for online bullying. Can they punish the bar for something I did while I was off work? Can they punish me for something I wrote while I was at home? I've been at that bar for twenty years and never had anything like this ever happen to me. Tonight is my first night back after this happened the other day and I'm afraid that she is going to start something while my management stands back and watches.