Following the article of Sunday 19th July referring to Pub Landlord Accused of Ripping Off Customers and the response by the said pub The Golden Lion Responds to Drink Pricing Accusation Dorset Eye has received many posts and communications from local and not so local people with their experiences. Most relevant is the reply from the authors of the above article in which they state that the response from The Golden Lion is simply not true. Jane Read states
“…I have just looked at what the Golden Lion said happened last night , that is not the truth. When I asked the bar man why had my drink gone from £3.60 to £4.80 he told me that is what the till said it was. When I did say to him that I was not happy whith this he just went away. I talked to the bar lady and she said it should have been £2.80. That’s when she asked who it was that served me. Then the bar man come over and gave me £1.50 back . I know I had £1.50 back but if I had not gone and said some thing yet again it would have happened.”
This was later fully backed up by the co author Dee Rushforth.
Most worryingly though is the experience of this being a widespread practice in which some pubs and bar people have reportedly been engaging for many years (and not just locally). Here are just some of the comments:
“A Band as popular as The Dolmen bring in a hefty crowd of locals & supporters from miles away too, who I’m sure spend a hefty amount over the bar.
There’s no excuse for making mistakes when charging punters for their drinks. I do believe that the mentioned pub is not the only one to make such ‘Mistakes’ though. I’ve had it happen to me in a few bars . On many occasions, as have friends of mine. It seems to be a frequent occurrence as the night goes on & the alcohol flows freer. Luckily I’m usually in sober land so have requested a ‘recount’ It’s rarely argued with & usually rectified on the spot. I think probably because I’m sober? Although I like to think it’s because it was a ‘mistake ?’ Still, there’s no room for continuing mistakes & bar staff need reminding of this…”
“Yes, have found this before with wine. Never went back!”
“Standard scam from some bar staff all over the place, they’ve been doing it for years, add a pound to the total, if they complain refund the money, the more drunk people get the more it’s done, then tell the bar manager it was a tip if they get away with it unsure.”
“I don’t know the staff there but it is a popular scam with bar staff & has been for many years, maybe the manager even sanctions it, he/she won’t be the first to do so. Maybe it’s a bit of both going on. The pub has changed hands so many times over the last 10 years & I know people who have tried to make it a success who were good people, but the fact was not enough money comes in to keep it above water (like many venues).”
“I don’t think any amount of complaining will force a pub/brewery to lower their prices in the current market, the best thing is to go somewhere else or establish exactly how much each drink costs & by law the licensed premise must display a price list of common drinks, if they don’t then contact Police Licensing. Personally I think it reeks of bar scamming.”
“I used to work at the X in Weymouth many years ago. Even then it was happening especially in the holiday season. You had your own section to serve, and the first person to serve a group,would overcharge for every drink, The the cost would then be told to all bar staff. So that price would be charged all night. No matter which person from the group came to the bar, price would always be the same. Only problem was if they changed drinks later on. Then you would once again reprocessing the drinks accordingly.
“I see this a lot in London, as the nights progress the drinks get more expensive. and not as the drinking kind i obviously am well aware of these price hikes.”
“There are a few pubs doing this, or is it just the staff on the fiddle?”
There seems little doubt that over many years pub customers have been intentionally scammed by some bar staff and that a customer’s state of inebriation has been taken advantage of. However, with some certainty we can say that many instances have been mistakes by stressed out bar staff. But where does all this leave us?
- Customers being ripped off.
- Customers being over charged.
- Customers having their evenings ruined
Is this practice sometimes sanctioned by the manager or the landlord?
Are these staff operating entirely independently?
Solutions:
- Contact Trading Standards
- Staff police each other and operate to ensure honesty and integrity
- Bars clearly publish prices for all customers to clearly see when being served
- Licensing authorities contacted if issues arise
- Customers communicate via social media… establishments (with details) that are transgressing acceptable protocols
(If there are other solutions please contact us and we will add them).
We at Dorset Eye will be proactive and support anyone who seeks to help solve what for many appears a significant problem. We have begun by setting up
#Weymouthscam for Twitter and Facebook
If you live in another town then merely prefix ‘scam’ with the name of village, town or city…. The aim is not to merely focus on pubs and bars but any actual genuine experience of being scammed or ripped off across the county and beyond.
