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Believe it or not, I go a lot more places than the two establishments I work in, and I've been to a lot of bars all of this country, from Boston to Los Angeles. Every full bar I've been in has multiple people with vary levels of intoxication. Maybe your definition of drunk is different from mine, but drunk does not equal rowdy (if that's what you're thinking). People can be rowdy and obnoxious sober. People can be drunk and extremely well behaved and mannerable.
Bartenders/servers' responsibilities involve making sure that a person isn't so intoxicated that they are creating a nuisance or endangering themselves. Most normal people get drunk without doing either of these things.
Does this sound strange or familiar to you? There's nothing extraordinary about the dozens of places that I've worked at.
And I was drunk at 4 bars last night. Being that I wasn't a nuisance or seemed liable to endanger myself, I wasn't cut off.
I don't mean rowdy, I mean drunk; slurred speach, messed up eyes, can't walk straight, etc. I hope you weren't driving.
Yea, I think location matters here and not having to drive in NYC is important. We used to cut people off in my bar. But, to understand better the liquor commissioner would come to the place every Thursday night (our busiest night) and I would have to walk the premises with him. He would point at someone and I would either have to get their ID so he could ascertain whether it was fake or not or he'd pick a drunk out of the crowd. The fines were from $500-$1000 a pop and it happened too often. We also paid for a police detail at the door (pressure from the town). Anyhow, as far as the laws being unenforceable go, bars get nabbed all the time all over the country and bartenders can get it as well. Quite a few news stories come up when doing a google, although they tend to be in small towns and not big cities.
Was your bar in a small, upscale suburban neighborhood?
Was your bar in a small, upscale suburban neighborhood?
Upscale no way (more like a looney bin) but it was not in a city, although it was in a tourist coastal area. Perhaps that made the difference. It wasn't small either. It was quite big actually and as mentioned it housed a club on one side and a bar on the other. We even had a kitchen on the bar side (for the purpose of the license).
I don't mean rowdy, I mean drunk; slurred speach, messed up eyes, can't walk straight, etc. I hope you weren't driving.
Most people get drunk way before they have problems walking straight or start slurring their speech (by my definition). I know I don't serve someone who cannot walk straight or have a hard time keeping their eyes open, but that's because I've know they've gone from tipsy to drunk to extremely intoxicated and that falls into my liable to endanger themselves category.
I don't know how to drive and don't own a vehicle.
He was looking for what I noted above. If he found it he would have the police come and we would get slapped with a fine and threatened.
I was arrested once for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and misdemeanor assault by the police based on 'slurred speech, red eyes' and the inability to stand on one leg, and failing that eye-test. I was never breathalyzed and when taken to court I won on all counts representing myself. The judge found that the tests were subjective and did not measure up to the burden of proof needed for the law to convict. This was back in California. However, the judge defended the policeman's right to book me for the night as apparently the burden of proof is not as high to be taken downtown.
No. My idea of fun is not calling my drunk patrons' friends, believe it or not.
I do it because I have to entertain my patrons, and don't want them to think I'm unfriendly or a bad sport since they're asking me to do something fairly innocuous.
99% of the time the dialed party just seems really relieved to be talking to a real life female. Of course, it is only men who do this. To other men.
Can't believe you've never heard of this and/or find it shocking since you've worked so long on the bar business.
Your assumptions run rampant. Obviously your idea of "entertaining patrons" is rather different than mine and rolling eyes hardly makes your point. And where did I say or even intimate I was "shocked" or have "never heard of this before"? Your whole posture seems to indicate that you seem to think you're the only one who's ever taken part in this rodeo. I've surely frequented more bars on both sides of the pond and in more major cities (including NYC) than you could ever imagine apart from my 16 years owning and operating a restaurant/bar. The more you persist in trying to teach your grandmother how to suck eggs the more silly you sound.
Ha ok, relax with the antiquated colloquialisms I'm going to choke, it's not that serious. Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning? I hope it's sunny outside where you are so you can take a walk. Wait, do older people still do that?
I was arrested once for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and misdemeanor assault by the police based on 'slurred speech, red eyes' and the inability to stand on one leg, and failing that eye-test. I was never breathalyzed and when taken to court I won on all counts representing myself. The judge found that the tests were subjective and did not measure up to the burden of proof needed for the law to convict. This was back in California. However, the judge defended the policeman's right to book me for the night as apparently the burden of proof is not as high to be taken downtown.
Hmmm this is very interesting to me. I have a connective tissue disorder that throws off my ability to balance and it's very difficult for me to stand on one leg so I'd fail that test.
I really don't know how you can go into a full establishment, pick out someone who simply seems drunk to you and issue a fine based on that. Guaranteed there's someone in the bar drunker than the person you selected.
This has really caught on and now we have visions of the Soprano family arming themselves to the teeth and setting up hits. The gal seems to know just how to get the old drama rolling. Hilarious!
In reality, the guys wife probably works for WallyWorld (Walmart)...
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. Being that I wasn't a nuisance or seemed liable to endanger myself, I wasn't cut off. 
