Kick out of Campus

[maverick]

I went to Campus and Stock last night. Stock was slowing down around 11:30 so I went to Campus. I sat in an open tall chair in the back to get the lay of the land. A waiter came right up and asked me if I wanted a drink, I replied, I'm okay right now. He responded that if I didn't order something I would have to leave. He went on further to say his manager requests that he informs customers of this.

 

I left. I am sure I have spent more per hour on drinks at Campus than 99% of the people in there over the years.

 

Anyone else have a similar experience there?

[+ poolboy48220]

Not there, but I remember being in bars that had a sign saying "Cover lets you in. A drink lets you stay". I don't remember ever being hassled personally about this, even on the relatively rare nights when I'm just drinking water. I've made do with a glass of club soda and a lime on a few occasions.

[Irtwo]

Yes, it once happened to me at Stellas in NY. I didn't like it. I understand management wanting to make a profit, but there are better ways to get patrons to order a drink without being rude and threatening to kick them out.

[Lewis H]

I think a nicer way to put it is the phrase I sometimes see, "Cover plus X drink(s) minimum".

[bigvalboy]

I have not had that problem at any of the bars in Montreal, but then again I always order a drink the moment I sit down. It might have been better if you assured him that you would order one in a few minutes, but just needed a moment or two to get yourself settled in, or perhaps you could have politely asked to see the manager. Explaining to the manager your past spending history most likely would have ended the conversation....IMHO

 

I don't agree with, but understand why management adopts those kinds of policies, and I have been in bars in other cities were bartenders have mentioned that to me. I usually laugh and will order a coke just so that there isn't a confrontation. For me at least, spending a few dollars for a coke is worth it to sit and enjoy the show. You have to choose your battles.

[Jake]

I'm in the city now. Often I'll just stand behind a drink that someone left behind if I'm not planning to stay long. lol

 

But yes, it's happened to me once or twice. But usually I booze it up when I'm here so it's not an issue.

 

Makes sense though - with no cover, obviously that's their bread n' butter.

[+ newatthis]

I'm in the city now. Often I'll just stand behind a drink that someone left behind if I'm not planning to stay long. lol

 

But yes, it's happened to me once or twice. But usually I booze it up when I'm here so it's not an issue.

 

Makes sense though - with no cover, obviously that's their bread n' butter.

If the place (Stock or Campus or Taboo) looks empty when I first arrive, I'll stop inside, short of the bar, and hang out for a minute or two to see if it's worth staying. Or I might take a slow walk around. At Campus, where I know most of the bar and wait staff, I might even ask how many dancers are working. But if I stay more than a minute or two, I always order a drink. You can nurse that one drink for as long as you want without any hassle; that seems more than fair for hours of fun watching and interacting with the boys.

[mcbg22]

This happened to me last summer. I went in the afternoon, got a couple drinks, left for dinner and came back. When the waiter asked me if I wanted to order something, I told him not right now and he made a weird face and went right to the manager. The manager came up to me and told me I had been there all day and that I needed to order something if I wanted to stay. I told him I had left for dinner and had a few drinks in the afternoon and that I was planning on ordering more drinks in the evening and he said OK then and left me alone. I didn't like his attitude. Now I only order water and I nurse that water bottle as long as I can. I'm not gonna spend too much money on drinks just because of that incident lol.

[+ newatthis]

This happened to me last summer. I went in the afternoon, got a couple drinks, left for dinner and came back. When the waiter asked me if I wanted to order something, I told him not right now and he made a weird face and went right to the manager. The manager came up to me and told me I had been there all day and that I needed to order something if I wanted to stay. I told him I had left for dinner and had a few drinks in the afternoon and that I was planning on ordering more drinks in the evening and he said OK then and left me alone. I didn't like his attitude. Now I only order water and I nurse that water bottle as long as I can. I'm not gonna spend too much money on drinks just because of that incident lol.

This was post-9 pm, I assume. I'm rarely there for the evening shift. Do you know which manager that was?

[JulianLondon]

I'm entirely on the side of the owners of Campus. As someone who owns restaurants I can see their side of this. They need to cover costs and hopefully make some money too. Overheads anywhere are horrendous. I don't see the issue in ordering a drink or two. I am sure if they closed down because of a lack of revenue you'd have wished you'd been a little more supportive. I only wish we had somewhere similar in London. Consider yourself lucky Maverick.

[BSR]

I'm also entirely on the side of the owners of Campus, even though I've never owned, or even worked in, a bar or restaurant. A bar/restaurant is a business, not your personal living/dining room, regardless of how many drinks you've ordered in the past. As a regular at Starbucks, I'm disgusted by people who plop down, plug in all their devices, hook up to the Wi-Fi, conduct their meeting, or just shoot the sh*t with their friends, all without ordering a thing. Even though I've spent far too much money at Starbucks for well over a decade, I would never sit there without ordering something. That's just selfish.

[bigvalboy]

I'm also entirely on the side of the owners of Campus, even though I've never owned, or even worked in, a bar or restaurant. A bar/restaurant is a business, not your personal living/dining room, regardless of how many drinks you've ordered in the past. As a regular at Starbucks, I'm disgusted by people who plop down, plug in all their devices, hook up to the Wi-Fi, conduct their meeting, or just shoot the sh*t with their friends, all without ordering a thing. Even though I've spent far too much money at Starbucks for well over a decade, I would never sit there without ordering something. That's just selfish.

 

I agree, I don't think that I have ever sat down and not ordered a drink when the waiter came around. I understand that the bulk of their profits come from the bar. So I have a vested interest in supporting that business as well. Far too many of my favorite bars didn't make it because patrons would just come in and order a water or a soda....If you come for the show, then I feel there is an obligation to support the establishment....Oh right. IMHO

[MrBigTL]

Exactly, if you don't drink something, the bar is not making anything. It only makes sense to order something or to say give me a minute if you aren't sure. But to decline to order is poor manners. A friend of mine refers to it as paying rent and I agree, that's what we are doing. And whether you are aware of it or not but one of the main reasons so many bars do go out of business is people nursing that one drink all night long. I don't generally drink alcohol but always order a soft drink or bottle of water and I have never had a problem.

[Samai139]

Haven't been to Campus is a couple of years, but when I was a fairly regular visitor/customer I never had a bar waiter ask me to leave; BUT whenever I entered the bar and sat down and was approached by a waiter, I ordered a soft drink and tipped the waiter generously. Soft drinks weren't that expensive, the waiter was grateful for the tip and I established an expectation that I would be a customer who was respectful and should be treated respectfully. Campus has no cover charge and money is made from the drink sales. For someone to come in, take up space, be entertained by the strippers and not buy even one drink is pushing the limits of bad manners. I understand that you want to scope out the dancers and see whether it's worth staying, but certainly one drink won't break your budget, will it?? I hope you will go back to Campus and enjoy the show and get to know the bar waiters and managers----and the same applies to Stock. I've known a waiter named Dennis who now works at Stock but waited at Campus for years, and he is a fine man who does his job well and will treat you like a gentleman, as will the other workers. And as another poster pointed out---Campus is a business not a "free-entertainment zone."

[+ newatthis]

...They need to cover costs and hopefully make some money too...

...whenever I entered the bar and sat down and was approached by a waiter, I ordered a soft drink and tipped the waiter generously...

This reminds me of another issue: the waiters make the bulk of their money from tips. That may also be true of the barmen -- at Campus, often the barman is the shift manager, who is presumably paid better than the waitstaff.

 

And while I'm on my soapbox: the dancers make all of their money from private dances. I don't run a charity for dancers, but I do understand that more than a few minutes' conversation with a dancer who could be spending his time cultivating other customers puts me under some obligation to take him to the back. When I hit it off with a dancer and we spend a fair amount of time together out front, but I'm not in the mood to do private dances, I say something like "I'm not in the mood right now; if you've got other potential clients, I understand." If I really like him, I might add "why don't you come back and see me in half an hour or so."

[rguer]

I understand that you want to scope out the dancers and see whether it's worth staying, but certainly one drink won't break your budget, will it??

 

And if he doesn't buy a drink, that won't break their budget, either.

 

They knew he's already bought a drink that day. They wanted him to buy multiple drinks. If they expect customers to but a certain number of drinks per hour, they should make that clear. It's not like tipping, where there are generally accepted standards (even if not everyone follows them).

[corndog]

They knew he's already bought a drink that day.

 

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and posit that they didn't know that. It is unfortunate, but the waiter probably didn't recognize the original poster, or, even worse, perhaps confused him for another customer who perhaps causes regular problems.

 

When working in a bar, the employees often need to make quick judgements of each person that walks through the door. It isn't always obvious, but bar employees often have a pretty good idea of everyone that walks in and out, and develop a sense of radar that alerts them to customers that are likely to cause problems. When this works, it keeps everyone -- the employees and the customers -- safe and ensures that the bar runs smoothly. Unfortunately, mistakes happen. I don't really intend to defend rude behavior, but I suspect that this incident was more of a lapse of judgement than a deliberately rude policy.

[Samai139]

And if he doesn't buy a drink, that won't break their budget, either.

 

They knew he's already bought a drink that day. They wanted him to buy multiple drinks. If they expect customers to but a certain number of drinks per hour, they should make that clear. It's not like tipping, where there are generally accepted standards (even if not everyone follows them).

 

The original poster(Maverick) did not indicate that he had been in Campus or Stock earlier that day. He did say that he thought he had spent more over the years on drinks per hour than 99% of the customers in the bar. But let's assume he was in Campus earlier--say 4 PM--and then left and came back, let's say 2:30 AM. It's possible that the wait staff and even the manager were not the same. I don't know the exact circumstances so I still feel that the bar and the staff have a legitimate stand when they ask customers to purchase a drink if they come in and sit down, even if they have been in the bar earlier.

From a personal point of view, I've always been treated with respect at Campus, even though I never buy alcoholic drinks---except for rare occasions when I would buy one or two for a favourite dancer. Perhaps the give and take between the customer and the waiter included more than was revealed to us??

[rguer]

The original poster(Maverick) did not indicate that he had been in Campus or Stock earlier that day.

 

You're right, I was confusing Maverick and mgb22.

 

I still think, though, that "immediately" is too soon to tell someone they must buy a drink or leave, unless there is a posted cover charge.

[twinkboylover28]

I agree with other reviewers. They should just charge a cover and not hassle you once you're inside. Gold Coast in Detroit does this, although it was a total Ghost Town this Memorial Day weekend and the dancers looked like ex-cons...

 

The bartender at Campus charged me 4.50 (plus tip) for a bottled water.

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

"and the dancers looked like ex-cons..."

 

sounds like Thug Nite Fridays at Johnny's in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151049982545975&set=a.10151049981790975.426925.168422280974&type=3&theater

 

 

Bozo

[bigvalboy]

 

sounds like Thug Nite Fridays at Johnny's in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151049982545975&set=a.10151049981790975.426925.168422280974&type=3&theater

 

Oh dear God....moving on.

[twinkboylover28]

"and the dancers looked like ex-cons..."

 

sounds like thug nite fridays at johnny's in ft. Lauderdale.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151049982545975&set=a.10151049981790975.426925.168422280974&type=3&theater

 

 

bozo

 

lol

[Guy Fawkes]

Moving on up....

 

http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-new/ehow/images/a08/8u/6j/store-chill-champagne-800x800.jpg

[niceshyone]

Exactly, if you don't drink something, the bar is not making anything.

 

I was under the impression that the establishment was making money off the dancers, whether an amount (ex. $100.00 a night) or a percentage per dance or room rental.

Am I missing something?