Don’t be the guy that takes over the music at a bar. 1 or 2 songs sure but $36 worth of songs is insane. That being said, once you pay the songs shouldn’t be skipped.
I'd personally walk the check *and* leave no tip, but for others I'd recommend just not tipping. That's exactly what tipping was originally supposed to be: to reward good service.
For the future, I'd either try to match your jukebox picks with the vibe of the bar, ask the bartender directly not to skip your songs or just spend the $36 on more booze. The latter will help the bar's music choices sound better.
I’m a regular at a bar that has a machine like this and yes the bartender is nice enough to skip annoying songs if the patrons don’t like them. You bought the songs on your phone not directly from the machine. She literally has zero way of knowing you chose those songs over what the randomizer would have chosen. You were too scared to say, “Hey I actually paid for that song do you mind not skipping them?” End of conversation. 100% your fault. She’s not psychic.
Seems like a failure on the app’s side that it doesn’t differentiate between system generated songs and user generated songs. Obviously the bartender is using an admin account to skip songs, so a well designed app would tell them that someone paid for that song.
They aren’t using an app to do anything. They have a physical remote similar to a tv remote. They don’t see any information on it. People are also A-holes and will play an annoying song 10x in a row as they leave. Example Hello Pussycat by Tom Jones.
It’s a running joke at my go to dive bar between two guys I know. John’s a great comic, slightly more funny when he was coked up though. lol hope you watched his latest special. He talked about stealing money from himself so his accountant wouldn’t know he was buying coke. Ha
The songs purchased are in a “next up” playlist and it is definitely possible to see that song was paid for rather than randomly played by the machine.
You’re over thinking it. She’s busy bartending the machine is on the other side of the room. She has a small remote to hit next or change volume. She’s not looking at an app or anything.
Not really plenty of shitty bartenders that think it’s a free for all for them to do whatever they want. That’s how you create a bar funded by a cult of regulars that often make other people not want to return.
And again how is she supposed to know it was his song? She isn’t psychic. If someone asks to change the channel, how are they supposed to know you were watching it if you don’t say anything?
A huge part of the job is being very observant… you should be able to see that someone is actively watching a tv.
And the music system allows you to select genre mixes and shows on the screen when people purchase songs.
She doesn’t need to know it’s HIS song but if she wants to change it the right move is too speak up and ask “hey did youse guys play this song?” If it’s really that bothersome for other patrons you can talk to the group and say “hey that’s not really matching with the style of the bar, could you pick something more neutral?”
This. Former bartender here. I would never change a channel without first making sure that nobody was watching it. If there was a group nearby I'd ask, "Hey, none of you are watching this right? I'm gonna change the channel if y'all don't care."
Not sure how to handle the jukebox situation, but there needs to be some kind of forethought involved.
Exactly! I mean there are definitely “cult like” bars that are strict/tough but the bars I’ve seen like that at least have the decency to mention it/ask.
Like if you’re at a country bar and play Rotting Christ on the jukebox I would not be surprised if it was immediately skipped.
Hell we used to drive by bars we didn’t like and bomb the jukebox with music we knew they wouldn’t like 😂
Sounds like the place had a vibe going that the other patrons were enjoying, you wanted to hijack it, and the bartender was taking care of the group, not the individual. Just pick a place with the same vibe as you.
That's a crazy take, my friend. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'.
Well… the real world result was that the OP spent $36 for nothing and is now whining about it on the internet. Meanwhile, the people that were enjoying the vibe don’t even remember the OP exists, and if they do, they’re laughing at them.
Again. Failure To Read the Room tax.
My taste is pretty esoteric, yet I’ve never had OP’s complaint because I have enough walking around sense to know that this would be the result for me if I were to do what the OP did. It’s the exact result one would expect.
Usually, when people claim their taste is something out of the norm, it is something like KISS, and not actually abnormal. If the bands you like aren't on a jukebox, then you would have a much better claim to unusual tastes.
The thing is this bar was practically empty and the other people were picking some pretty random stuff too. They were just chattier with the bartender.
Yea, he should have spoke up if he saw her changing songs, that’s just logical.
You are wrong about him needing to find a new place. Fuck that. If you asked me to find a new place in person I’d laugh at you. No response, just pointing and laughing.
“What one would expect”
So, I pay to listen to a song and I should expect someone else to have access via Bluetooth and can nullify my purchase?
Fuck off.
Asking has nothing to do with it. It’s a suggestion for a fun night out. If you don’t like where you are, go find a place you do like. That’s just common sense.
Or…. You can spend $36 trying to force change onto other people and failing.
Oh yeah, if I go somewhere and don’t like it I will be spending 36 dollars.
You are making up scenarios in your head.
Everywhere you go people have different tastes in music even in the same country bar.
Only thing he did wrong was accepting the loss.
I’m responding to the scenario that was described. OP went somewhere that had a vibe going that other people were enjoying, decided to flip the script on everybody, got put in their place, and now wants to whine about it.
They paid the Failure To Read the Room tax.
Have you ever been to a place that has one of these things? This happens all the time. My buddy was complaining about it happening to him last month. If you try and program the machine in a way that runs against the current, it’s an inevitability that your selection is going to get skipped.
No need to make up a scenario, this is literally what happened to OP.
Bro, this is like if you go to a restaurant that has hot dogs on the menu and everyone is eating burgers. You order a hot dog, and then the waitress pushes your food onto the floor right after serving it because the people nearby didn't like the smell. You're just wrong about this. Fuck off with your "failure to read the room." You're failing to read the room.
Yeah well the bartender was obviously getting tipped from the other people so they still got their tip, that bartender made their money don’t feel bad. Esp if you’re paying for that much music only for it to be skipped, I’d be pissed. I have played music before and got skipped (touch tunes) so much that by time they closed my music still wasn’t going to play before they closed so I asked for a refund and they gave me some credit vouchers from touch tunes that they send to the bar. But here it sounds like they were skipping your music you paid for so I would be more pissed and not leaving a tip is the nicest way I would have dealt with that.
How about getting the word out about this bar?
Locally name and shame. There might be other patrons that had this happen to them and didn't realize what was happening. If the bartender does it to enough patrons, that's some easy money.
Your edit says you paid $6 on three separate attempts = $18. How did you manage to spend $36? Just asking to clarify. I still think the bar was at fault for having that system in the first place, when the bartender has the ability to override it anyway, but if I were you I would’ve asked for a refund, or if the jukebox had an issue, before proceeding to donate more money to a seemingly-defective jukebox.
i love classic rock, but to play that in the middle of what was already being played seems like a bad idea. Shouldve learned your lesson after the first $6. shouldnt take $36 dollars to realize you were getting finessed
The app shouldn't be offering songs that the bar does not approve of. Sounds like a simple fix to restrict the song selection if that was going to be an issue.
I mean, yes you paid for it, but hijacking a juke box so you can play music you want to hear all night seems a little selfish, like, buy a few songs and then let other people play what they want to hear. Just because you like your choice in music doesn't mean others do, and yes, if you took over and there was no way to not hear your music, people are going to ask the bartender to skip it.
It seems you missed the part where you have to buy the songs in groups of three. And "using a Jukebox for its intended purpose" is very much not "hijacking".
If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'.
It’s a thing, touch tunes does it and it’s actually very fun I recommend if you go to bars that have it. Anybody can play what they want and it can get competitive but it’s fun. However the bartenders should not be manually skipping the song unless your like playing “whats new pussy cat” 10xs or like the Barney song lol or something ridiculous. To skip songs for customers is wrong and they should turn the juke box off if they don’t want people to use it.
I mean the guy only played 3 songs they immediately skipped him? Ehh that’s bullshit and a good way to keep your bar a regulars only kind of place that ends up on BarRescue because they shoo away any new customers.
There is a zero percent chance the vending company and owner are paying this kind of attention to the jukebox.
Source: Am Bar owner, who would never know about something like this unless it hit social media.
Going to a place with one personality, & trying to inject your own personality over it, is considered rude & selfish. Play your songs, but don't come up with a plot, if the place suddenly doesn't comply. Find a place where you're more at home. Source: Bartender for ten years.
"Trying to inject your own personality" over the "personality" of a place may be considered "rude & selfish", but taking payment for a service and not delivering said service is considered criminal. If a place wants to have a certain "personality", the available jukebox selections need to be curated to that personality. Allowing the jukebox system to take a customer's money and then not allowing it to play out the customer's selections is theft, full stop, and should be treated as such. So, Mr./Ms. "Bartender for ten years", what would you expect a bar owner to do to a bartender who got caught stealing from customers?
Social anxiety…..smh. Yes I know people that suffer from it, but the term is getting so overused to excuse people from just about everything. If you pay for a song and the bartender is skipping it you should be able to ask them to let it play. People really need to learn to advocate for themselves. It’s pathetic to basically have the social skills of a toddler
What a take - OP gets robbed and reasonably doesn't want to make a stir, choses to simply pay their tab and leave without a tip, and you're out here calling them pathetic and accusing them of having the social skills of a toddler. Way to victim blame.
Robbed. lol. Just stop. Most of those machines auto play music when nobody is selecting. Bartender probably thought it was just a random song and skipped it.
And just so you can’t say I didn’t answer your question, robbery is the taking of someone’s property by force or threat. So no, it isn’t a robbery. It’s not anything since if you look at the terms of service of those types of jukebox’s they explicitly say that you get no refunds if a song is skipped or doesn’t play. I’m assuming she used touchtunes since it is so popular, but they all have a disclaimer. So basically she just got the grown up version of the situation we had as kids and an arcade ate our quarters. Except even as small children most of us learned to walk up to the counter and explain the situation to get our money back or get our game
Yes, I'm familiar with the terms of service.
You seem to be asserting that, because OP was robbed in a way that didn't involve violence, it's A OK. It's not. If you pay for a service, you should get that service.
You seem like the sort who likes definitions, so here's Merriam-Webster's entry for rob:
Rob - Verb
Transitive Verb
1 a (1) : to take something away from by force : steal from
(2) : to take personal property from by violence or threat
b (1) : to remove valuables without right from (a place)
(2) : to take the contents of (a receptacle)
c : to take away as loot : steal
2 a : to deprive of something due, expected, or desired
b : to withhold unjustly or injuriously
You've made a very common mistake in forgetting that English is a flexible language with words that can be used in different ways. So yes, it is a robbery - OP was deprived of something they were due. They paid to use the Jukebox. The expected music was skipped.
By the way, the example you give of children having their quarters eaten at the arcade? That's a great example of someone being robbed. I completely agree that it's the same - thank you for making my point for me.
Now - I just want to clarify. Are you actually arguing that it's ok to rob people - it's ok to take their money and withhold the service they are due - as long as you don't do so by threat of violence?
If you go out to breakfast and they forget to bring your toast, were you robbed? Of course not, you doughnut! Some people are so desperate to be a victim
And another thing - I know it's a typo, but you're right. You are mean. It's mean to accuse someone you've never met of having the social skills of a toddler. It's mean to call someone you've never met pathetic, just because they chose to handle a situation in a way that may be different from how you would have done things.
You don't know the full story - maybe OP DOES have crippling social anxiety. Maybe the bartender or the crowd were otherwise especially intimidating. Maybe OP is slight of build, or has experienced violence in the past, or any other number of perfectly valid reasons they might prefer to avoid confrontation.
You have no idea, but you're ready to pass judgement. That's something you ought to reflect on.
Finally, calling someone names is still mean even when the names you're calling are cute. You doughnut.
Rob - Verb
Transitive Verb
1 a (1) : to take something away from by force : steal from
(2) : to take personal property from by violence or threat
b (1) : to remove valuables without right from (a place)
(2) : to take the contents of (a receptacle)
c : to take away as loot : steal
2 a : to deprive of something due, expected, or desired
b : to withhold unjustly or injuriously
In what way am I "wrong completely"? Are you going to cite the terms of service again?
If you pay for something and you don't get it, you were robbed. If you are deprived of something you expected to receive, you were robbed. It's right there in definition 2 a.
Now who's the doughnut?
I used to hang out at this one bar, one night i paid for a song and people kept paying more to skip the line, so about two hours later my song finally comes on and not even 30 seconds later some dude turns off the jukebox and i turned around and yelled at him, he told me he was the owner of the bar and i could shut the fuck up
Left without tipping and never went back. Fuck em
You certainly can pass judgement - If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'. You don't need to know what songs were selected to understand that, right?
You could've asked for a manager and explained that you wasted money because the bartender kept skipping your songs. They would've hopefully tried to refund your money.
They shouldn’t give patrons the option to pay for select music if they don’t want to listen to something others may not prefer. If it was free like making a request I could understand changing it if management chooses
Okay do I think you should have tipped her hell no and I worked in bars. Do I think she should have that kind of power imo. I'm also pretty sure that they are not allowed to refund for the app you have to contact the app company for that. But yeah I would have told her to kick stones.
No single person should have control of the jukebox for this reason.
Knowing a bartender it was probably some regulars or their friends sitting at the bar with the bartender and playing dictator with the music.
Sometimes bartenders get the god complex and need to understand they pour drinks and that’s their job. Don’t play power trip because they made bad choices in life and are stuck doing a shit job.
I say you did exactly what they deserve if they were screwing you out of your experience you paid for.
My favorite bartender is Swedish. She finished her degree in chemical engineering and came to the US for a year to practice English. Started serving and bartending because you can get a job immediately anywhere and make damn good money. Traveled the country and fell in love with the country, the people and the job. She now owns the bar, and owns a great property in San Diego, where she keeps horses and helps support her husband with his music business and recording studio. Quite judging strangers based on their job choices.
Can we simp any harder here?
It doesn’t not make it a crappy job. That’s what they are always available.
Also, good money? Do you know what good money actually is? With a degree in chemical engineering she could make 6X what a bartender makes and have benefits. I think you’ve been fed a story my man.
When I was in college in the Midwest, I worked as a waiter at a local chain restaurant. The servers that worked full time there made $100k+, I think that’s definitely considered good money by most.
It is good money but considering no benefits, retirement matches, if they have kids with no benefits even worse, crappy hours/days, no paid time off (with the exception of of some cities) is it really that good? I’d take 70K with all the benefits in a heartbeat. Makes for a better way of life.
It’s a crappy job. So when we get one like OP described that’s just a disgruntled worker trying to shed any power they feel they may have left.
A couple hundred bucks an hour isn't bad anywhere, the hours and benefits are where it sucks. No, it's not great money, but it's not horrible either. And some people enjoy the work. I waited tables in my late teens/ early 20s and truely enjoyed it. I'm definitely a bit adhd and the energy and pace were good, and so was most of the customer interaction. Definitely not for everyone. And when min wage was 3.25 an hour in the 80s 100 bucks cash for 4-6 hours work was decent money, and good places made way more. I don't know what current take home is, but a friend was taking home 500 on a weekend lunch shift 10 years ago, and she was getting benefits. Lunch is shit money.
I agree with a lot of this since I was a server in my younger years. But once I put myself through school and started a career, bartending or serving would be a huge step backwards.
Getting back on track though with the OP story, it’s not a job where you want to be a dick. They call it the service industry for a reason, you serve your patrons, and that’s exactly how an owner would like it too. It is not a position to act like a dick because they can and yeah, some people will suck, but finding ways to handle them is a great life skill since they will always be around.
Ir was perfect for me for a long time, spouse worked 6-2 and i worked nights, we raised our kids without childcare and he got to see as many milestones as i did. And my money went to buying a house. Agreed with being a dick... but in one bar i used to go to the music machine often played music on its own and the bartender would frequently skip songs. Occasionally a regular would yell hey i put money in don't change it and the bartender would say opps, or sometimes they'd ask if someone put money in before skipping. The bartender may very well have not known.
Are you easily offended? Because there are always bartending jobs available, wanna know why, because they kinda suck 🤷🏼♂️. But to then act like a dick while bartending is another level of crap person.
I treat all servers and bartenders with respect unless they are the ones like the mentioned bartender in the story, Then I break them down.
Watch old episodes of Bar Rescue with John Taffer. That dude destroys toxic bartenders and shows the owners how bad they are for their business.
No. I just believe in actually treating people with respect regardless of their job. And I don't think less of people based on what their job is. I can't stand people like you who do. It sucks for some people but I've known plenty of bartenders who loved their jobs. I never thought of them as people who made bad choices.
Dude. I WAS one of those bartenders. Yes, I think it’s an entry level job and it’s not hard. Even bartenders today admit they made bad choices in the past and feel stuck today.
Point is, getting back to OP, it’s called the service industry for a reason and acting like a dick isn’t what they are there to do. It’s the ones that feel entitled to treat patrons as they see fit are the problem. They, are definitely trash people
And that’s why those digital jukeboxes suck. People are gonna pay their favorite shitty music that doesn’t fit the vibe of the bar.
And if you then skip the music, you’re basically stealing from your guests.
Why would he tip her? He paid for a service and they didn't uphold their end of the deal. If she wants a tip, she can go through the process of refunding the money she wasted and keep that
Doesn’t really matter how bad their taste in music is, though. They could be playing JoJo Siwa, and it still shouldn’t be skipped if they paid for it. If it’s available on the jukebox, and someone pays to hear it, they should get to. If not, then it should be refunded.
If you were playing classic rock, that’s not any reason to skip the song. They should only skip the incredibly annoying songs that people play as a joke.
I’d say you were as petty as the bartender. Well played.
Obviously he was playing something on the playlist which should have been acceptable just because some people don't like it at the bar doesn't mean they should be able to change it. It'd be one thing if like a DJ came on and they turned off the jukebox but as long as the jukebox is active and there's not a legitimate complaint it shouldn't be changed. We're talking a legitimate complaint that would be able to have that song taking off the playlist.
You and I can't drink at the same place if you don't want In-a-gadda-da-vida played... the long version.
We will listen to it, and one of us will like it. 😎
The bartender can disable the ability to control the music from the app. If someone is playing songs the patrons don't like, you disable it and put on what you want.
Skipping more than one song is the asshole play.
tbh the jukebox (the digital ones where you pay with card) should have the ability to auto-refund songs that get skipped before like 50% through… or at least credit you another song, but that would benefit nobody except the customer so that isn’t a thing :/
100% this. I'd say upwards of 75% playout should be the threshold, if not to completion. The correct way to implement this would be for the jukebox system to place a debit hold for the purchase amount, then deduct any songs that don't play out all the way before completing the transaction.
- Customer buys 3 songs for $6 (outrageous price, but that's another issue)
- System places $6 debit hold on customer's card
- Two songs play to completion and one gets skipped 20 seconds in
- Transaction completes for $4.
This would allow the bartenders to retain control over the system, still have the ability to cancel the order of the jackass who queues up 6 straight hours of Copacabana, etc., but not allow the bartenders to commit outright theft like OP's bartender did.
really depends on the bartender. Some can't hold their own and 5 guys causing a ruckus to change the song can be hard for some.
I would pay that to someone who had a sense of gruffness (even if it's not showing.)
She deserves, at a minimum, revocation of jukebox control pending a retraining that emphasizes the criminal nature of taking payments and not delivering what the payments were for. And OP deserves a refund for his skipped tracks.
Question. When you figured out what had happened , why not ask her “hey , why are you stopping MY songs ?” Or stop playing TouchTunes and just chill. I’ve had nights where I put in a few songs and then someone just pays the extra to jump me for like 20 minutes. I usually stick to just a couple songs at a time so I won’t be playing songs after I leave.
Basically. Next time call her out and figure out WHY she did it once , then twice …
If I’m out to eat and order a soda. I want that thing refilled. I’ve worked in the restaurant business and can tell if you’re too busy to do refills or if you’re just gliding by the table. Now I’m not saying I wouldn’t tip if it’s not refilled. But it also sounds like I should have to stop the waiter and explain to them I want a refill. Nah not worth the time. Bad service is bad service. The tip will have them adjust their behavior. Every server made more than the kitchen staff on their 3 hour shift. If they are shitty it should show. I hate people that tip, even when service is horrible.
how many people DONT KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE? Did you ever say something to her or what happened? Once or twice maybe, but $36 later you never said anything. That's weak man, stand up for yourself!
Can't agree. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'. You shouldn't need to argue with the bartender to get what you paid for.
You really think him communicating would’ve done anything? she either would’ve denied it or told him there’s nothing she can do. Why do you think people give a damn about your feelings and will just fall over and give what you want just because you asked?
Or she would have apologized and refunded his money. Don't know unless you go talk to her. It's amazing how many issues can be solved just by discussing it like adults. Sounds like you would rather assume the worst though
Do you have much luck having civil conversation with entitled fucks? Idk about you, but if someone is already acting that way I will assume they’re going to be a drag to deal with and react accordingly; definitely not going to go have a nice conversation with someone being a cunt
Honestly, yes I do. It's all about how you approach them. If you come off aggressive, they're going to close off and you won't get anything out of them. If you go into it respectfully and ask them genuinely what's going on, then you'll more than likely get positive results. Good social skills can get you far
I don’t think you did anything inappropriate by not tipping. The bartender might’ve gotten your drinks, yet inappropriately used their position to essentially be an asshole. Good thing when on the few occasions I did drink, there wasn’t this technology; because I probably should’ve started running my mouth.
Just had an epiphany, I’ve never been in a bar fight😂
How was the bartender being an AH? The joint had an obvious vibe going that the crowd was happy with, one customer wants to dominate the situation, and the bartender dealt with it. The AH in this scenario is the customer looking to dominate the vibe.
It's a Jukebox. Using it is not "dominating the situation". It's there to be used.
f you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'.
Be serious. There’s a little thing called reading the room. If patrons already have a certain vibe going, it’s an ass move to row against the current.
Who says it’s the bar trying to promote the given vibe, they may be neutral but the customers there that night were into rap and metal. Go with the flow. If you don’t like rap and metal, find another spot.
Or… no to all of that. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that’s not an option, then it shouldn’t be present as an option. This is not hard to understand.
My point is that OP got the lay of the land, dedicated they didn’t like it, decided to do something about it, and got put in their place. If they had picked songs the other patrons were at least willing to tolerate, we never would have heard this story to begin with. OP paid the Failure To Read The Room tax.
Ok, cool - Here's the thing though. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that’s not an option, then it shouldn’t be present as an option. The 'Failure To Read The Room tax' you're mentioning here is just straight up theft. It's not ok, no matter what you dress it up as.
I’ll add my 2 cents( certainly wouldn’t add my $6)
Keeping your tip was right if you felt wronged but you also could’ve confronted her before the night was over (we’ll excuse your confusion because of age) 😉
Do a charge back with your bank and give the bar a bad review. You didn't get what you paid for you can dispute it.
Tips are always optional and should be based on service. Not getting what you paid for isn't good service. The bartender is going to have to hope the people who asked her to skip songs tipped enough to make up for it.
Smart, because the services paid for were not rendered. A few chargebacks and I bet that bartender gets in line quick. The business is not going to want to deal with chargebacks.
Bartenders have been controlling the jukebox for years. I've never willingly spent time in a country bar but I bet if I went and put on $100 worth of Michael Jackson, it would not get past song 2 before the plug would be pulled
Either way, that's ridiculously offensive and I don't even know how it's legal or ethical. The jukebox company shouldn't be doing that and the business and bartender should not be involved in any of it. I don't think they should use a company that allows it either. That's like letting someone come into your bar and pickpocket your patrons by letting them not give someone what they paid for.
I probably would think twice about even patronizing that bar. I sure as hell wouldn't tip, and I would probably seek reimbursement from the bar and the jukebox company. I wonder if a credit card dispute would work. You didn't get what you paid for.
Although, I guess maybe if you were drinking your judgment was impaired. I don't know that I would pay two bucks to hear any song, although that might be the equivalent of what we paid back in the '90s to listen to the CDs on jukebox. I think it was like three songs for a dollar so maybe not as much but still, a few bucks to hear a few songs I guess is not that big a deal. But I can't imagine when it doesn't work the first time spending more. Not to beat you up over it. I would have talked to the bartender and gotten an answer as to why the system's not working. I mean, maybe bartender would have lied and said it must just be a glitch in the system. But at that point I wouldn't have paid anything else and would have thought reimbursement the next day from the company. But that's just me.
Usually with those “smart” jukeboxes, someone else can pay (extra) to skip a song and substitute their own. Many times at my local bars not everyone wants to download the app, so they pay the bartender cash to play what they want and the bartender will do it themselves with their own phone.
If she was just doing it on her own tho, that’s messed up, the easiest thing to do would have been to ask and see what’s going on lol
Either way, that's ridiculously offensive and I don't even know how it's legal or ethical. The jukebox company shouldn't be doing that and the business and bartender should not be involved in any of it. I don't think they should use a company that allows it either. That's like letting someone come into your bar and pickpocket your patrons by letting them not give someone what they paid for.
I probably would think twice about even patronizing that bar. I sure as hell wouldn't tip, and I would probably seek reimbursement from the bar and the jukebox company. I wonder if a credit card dispute would work. You didn't get what you paid for.
It’s literally the point of the thing, trust me, it’s beneficial to be able to skip songs because there’s always a drunk idiot who buys 10 plays of babyshark in a row to piss everyone off
This is how I've seen it used since back in olden times when jukeboxes played vinyl. You get some asshole who puts in $10 and punches up Dombrowski's "Astronaut Polka" six times in a row and the bartender is in their rights to hit the skip.
It was never meant to be a means of playing DJ and skipping paying customer's choices because you want classic rock instead of country or whatever.
Then the juke box needs a mechanism built into it that automatically gives a refund if the song you paid for is skipped for any reason. The reason should not matter, regardless if it is the drunk 8th play of baby shark, or that you just have a crappy bartender. A business should not accept money from customers if they are not going to fulfill what is being paid for inside their establishment.
Yeah, I can understand that. I don't think they should let other patrons pay to cancel a song even though that's profitable to them. It just is bad policy. But, giving the bar or bartender the right to override a song in an emergency is fair enough. Many many years ago I was down in New Orleans and the bartender was telling us how they have an override on the jukebox, and I think this was an old record one or maybe CD, but they could how they have an override on the jukebox, and I think this was an old record one or maybe CD, but they could override a song. That probably goes back quite a ways for the reasons you mentioned. In this case, he would override whenever someone would play Iko Iko, which is perfectly understandable to me. This was New Orleans, after all.
I miss a good old days when bars had their own curated jukebox. It reflected the clientele and made every bar somewhat distinct.
Totally, but another thing I always thought sucked about the new ones is once you’ve connected to the box, you can order songs to it from anywhere via the app, so people at one bar would play annoying music at the bar the next city over.
But those things aren’t the bars fault really, it’s the jukebox company, and I’m sure a large portion of their income comes from drunk people having music skipping competitions or putting things on as a joke
Oh yeah, I didn't know all that. That sounds like a terrible system only designed to make the company money. I don't know how much choice they have, but if I were a bar owner, I would never allow something like that. Why would anyone want that. I miss the good old days when cheers had to prank Gary's with a long con. Not just play bad music on their jukebox.
I won't necessarily blame the bar owners. While jukeboxes were a great benefit to a bar in the past, as an income generator and a way to play good music for your patrons, but I think around about the '90s, the licensing companies started hitting really hard and shaking down small bars and restaurants, making them sign up for paying royalties on the music they play. And fair enough. The musicians should make some money off their music. Even though most of it probably goes to that record companies and other non-artists. But the jukebox was probably an easy way to solve that problem for the bar owner, plus, in theory, the benefit of people being able to listen to whatever music they want which seems like a great idea. And going online seems all the better and probably works well most of the time.
But they may not have had much choice as to how the systems work or maybe they don't care. But man, if I was a bar owner, I would never give patrons the power to actually bump other patrons that paid for the music. I wouldn't want s***** music and I wouldn't want my regulars to be unhappy. But still, I would feel like that was cheating customers and creating bad will
I’ve had that happen, we were literally watching the bartender skip every song we bought. We asked, she denied it but we watched her do it and she literally smirked in our direction every time. So we asked the other bartender, and he was like yeah it’s her, she doesn’t like that kind of music.
Idgas if you paid $1 for one song, if bartender skips your music you paid for, they forgo their tip.
I have a buddy who will skip a handful of particular songs, seen him skip them, called him a dick (with a laugh), he said fuck them I hate that song. So, my guess it's roughly the same reason across the board, so they get to have that little bit of power but not your tip.
Usually with those “smart” jukeboxes, someone else can pay (extra) to skip a song and substitute their own. Many times at my local bars not everyone want to download the app, so they pay the bartender cash to play what they want and the bartender will do it themselves with their own phone.
If she was just doing it on her own tho, that’s messed up, the easiest thing to do would have been to ask and see what’s going on lol
You can’t skip a song part way through though. You are paying to basically cut in line so your song is next instead of it going to the end of the line.
Depending on the crowd most people don’t want to listen to classic rock these days by the sounds of the initial play list it was probably a younger crowd with no interest in listening to classic rock. If I’m at a bar I like to hear county, pop, or current stuff not the music of my parents.
It might but when I’m drinking that’s typically what I want to listen to not shitty ass metal, rap, or some other music that’s gonna sound like a headache.
They shouldn't put it on the jukebox if they don't want to allow people to play it. You pay, it should play. If they're not willing to let you play the music, they should take it off of the inbox.
That's the problem with modern jukebox technology though. I think they allow you to play anything you want. Young people might not understand, but bars used to have jukeboxes that were particular to that bar and reflected the clientele. They would often be a bit of a mix, but many of them really did have a particular character to the mix and that gave the bar some character that would also influence what the crowd was like. It was a pretty good system. These online connected ruined all of that.
Stay away with your so called friends that are not on your side. There’s no right or wrong in this thing, it can be justified in both ways. But friends not on your side is the annoying part.
Personally I’d say it’s a miscommunication that the bartender might not know you paid for the music. Unless you asked her to not do that and she refuses, then of course you should skip tipping and report to her manager. But I suspect she didn’t know what’s going on.
But whether my assumption was true or false, if I have someone that calls me petty over something like this, I’d ask them why and see if there’s any way for me to improve, not some stupid suggestions like credit card dispute. Yea it works but it takes time and it’s on your file, it could damage you in a way that it marks you as a troublemaker. I never dispute anything below $200, like I never take someone to the court for something below $500. Simply not worth the time.
Don’t be the guy that takes over the music at a bar. 1 or 2 songs sure but $36 worth of songs is insane. That being said, once you pay the songs shouldn’t be skipped.
I mean on one hand, yeah play what you want, on the other hand kinda vibe it out what you’re gonna play. I don’t really think your asshole.
I'd personally walk the check *and* leave no tip, but for others I'd recommend just not tipping. That's exactly what tipping was originally supposed to be: to reward good service. For the future, I'd either try to match your jukebox picks with the vibe of the bar, ask the bartender directly not to skip your songs or just spend the $36 on more booze. The latter will help the bar's music choices sound better.
$2 per song? JFC. I figured it'd be like a quarter per song?!?
The bar I like is $1 per. Thought that was bad.
It's $3 if you want priority
I’m a regular at a bar that has a machine like this and yes the bartender is nice enough to skip annoying songs if the patrons don’t like them. You bought the songs on your phone not directly from the machine. She literally has zero way of knowing you chose those songs over what the randomizer would have chosen. You were too scared to say, “Hey I actually paid for that song do you mind not skipping them?” End of conversation. 100% your fault. She’s not psychic.
Your argument is only OK if he gets a refund if his song is skipped.
Seems like a failure on the app’s side that it doesn’t differentiate between system generated songs and user generated songs. Obviously the bartender is using an admin account to skip songs, so a well designed app would tell them that someone paid for that song.
They aren’t using an app to do anything. They have a physical remote similar to a tv remote. They don’t see any information on it. People are also A-holes and will play an annoying song 10x in a row as they leave. Example Hello Pussycat by Tom Jones.
What’s New Pussycat! Great joke from John Mulaney. It’s Not Unusual!! lol
The Salt and Pepper Diner :)
It’s a running joke at my go to dive bar between two guys I know. John’s a great comic, slightly more funny when he was coked up though. lol hope you watched his latest special. He talked about stealing money from himself so his accountant wouldn’t know he was buying coke. Ha
OP says the bartender was using an app on her phone to skip songs.
Either way, he just needs to improve his communication skills.
The songs purchased are in a “next up” playlist and it is definitely possible to see that song was paid for rather than randomly played by the machine.
You’re over thinking it. She’s busy bartending the machine is on the other side of the room. She has a small remote to hit next or change volume. She’s not looking at an app or anything.
Not really plenty of shitty bartenders that think it’s a free for all for them to do whatever they want. That’s how you create a bar funded by a cult of regulars that often make other people not want to return.
And again how is she supposed to know it was his song? She isn’t psychic. If someone asks to change the channel, how are they supposed to know you were watching it if you don’t say anything?
A huge part of the job is being very observant… you should be able to see that someone is actively watching a tv. And the music system allows you to select genre mixes and shows on the screen when people purchase songs. She doesn’t need to know it’s HIS song but if she wants to change it the right move is too speak up and ask “hey did youse guys play this song?” If it’s really that bothersome for other patrons you can talk to the group and say “hey that’s not really matching with the style of the bar, could you pick something more neutral?”
This. Former bartender here. I would never change a channel without first making sure that nobody was watching it. If there was a group nearby I'd ask, "Hey, none of you are watching this right? I'm gonna change the channel if y'all don't care." Not sure how to handle the jukebox situation, but there needs to be some kind of forethought involved.
Exactly! I mean there are definitely “cult like” bars that are strict/tough but the bars I’ve seen like that at least have the decency to mention it/ask. Like if you’re at a country bar and play Rotting Christ on the jukebox I would not be surprised if it was immediately skipped. Hell we used to drive by bars we didn’t like and bomb the jukebox with music we knew they wouldn’t like 😂
Tell me you’ve never tended bar without telling me you’ve never tended bar.
Sounds like the place had a vibe going that the other patrons were enjoying, you wanted to hijack it, and the bartender was taking care of the group, not the individual. Just pick a place with the same vibe as you.
That's a crazy take, my friend. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'.
Let’s call it a “failure to read the room” tax. Sometimes trying to be the ass that wants to spoil everybody else’s good time carries a cost.
Na, if they wanted specific songs they can pay for it and get in line. Sorry, not sorry. At fucking all.
Well… the real world result was that the OP spent $36 for nothing and is now whining about it on the internet. Meanwhile, the people that were enjoying the vibe don’t even remember the OP exists, and if they do, they’re laughing at them. Again. Failure To Read the Room tax. My taste is pretty esoteric, yet I’ve never had OP’s complaint because I have enough walking around sense to know that this would be the result for me if I were to do what the OP did. It’s the exact result one would expect.
Usually, when people claim their taste is something out of the norm, it is something like KISS, and not actually abnormal. If the bands you like aren't on a jukebox, then you would have a much better claim to unusual tastes.
The thing is this bar was practically empty and the other people were picking some pretty random stuff too. They were just chattier with the bartender.
Yea, he should have spoke up if he saw her changing songs, that’s just logical. You are wrong about him needing to find a new place. Fuck that. If you asked me to find a new place in person I’d laugh at you. No response, just pointing and laughing. “What one would expect” So, I pay to listen to a song and I should expect someone else to have access via Bluetooth and can nullify my purchase? Fuck off.
Asking has nothing to do with it. It’s a suggestion for a fun night out. If you don’t like where you are, go find a place you do like. That’s just common sense. Or…. You can spend $36 trying to force change onto other people and failing.
Oh yeah, if I go somewhere and don’t like it I will be spending 36 dollars. You are making up scenarios in your head. Everywhere you go people have different tastes in music even in the same country bar. Only thing he did wrong was accepting the loss.
I’m responding to the scenario that was described. OP went somewhere that had a vibe going that other people were enjoying, decided to flip the script on everybody, got put in their place, and now wants to whine about it. They paid the Failure To Read the Room tax. Have you ever been to a place that has one of these things? This happens all the time. My buddy was complaining about it happening to him last month. If you try and program the machine in a way that runs against the current, it’s an inevitability that your selection is going to get skipped. No need to make up a scenario, this is literally what happened to OP.
Bro, this is like if you go to a restaurant that has hot dogs on the menu and everyone is eating burgers. You order a hot dog, and then the waitress pushes your food onto the floor right after serving it because the people nearby didn't like the smell. You're just wrong about this. Fuck off with your "failure to read the room." You're failing to read the room.
Skipping is only OK if the purchaser is automatically refunded.
[удалено]
If I was there I would be more annoyed about none of the songs being played all the way through.
Yeah well the bartender was obviously getting tipped from the other people so they still got their tip, that bartender made their money don’t feel bad. Esp if you’re paying for that much music only for it to be skipped, I’d be pissed. I have played music before and got skipped (touch tunes) so much that by time they closed my music still wasn’t going to play before they closed so I asked for a refund and they gave me some credit vouchers from touch tunes that they send to the bar. But here it sounds like they were skipping your music you paid for so I would be more pissed and not leaving a tip is the nicest way I would have dealt with that.
How about getting the word out about this bar? Locally name and shame. There might be other patrons that had this happen to them and didn't realize what was happening. If the bartender does it to enough patrons, that's some easy money.
Your edit says you paid $6 on three separate attempts = $18. How did you manage to spend $36? Just asking to clarify. I still think the bar was at fault for having that system in the first place, when the bartender has the ability to override it anyway, but if I were you I would’ve asked for a refund, or if the jukebox had an issue, before proceeding to donate more money to a seemingly-defective jukebox.
i love classic rock, but to play that in the middle of what was already being played seems like a bad idea. Shouldve learned your lesson after the first $6. shouldnt take $36 dollars to realize you were getting finessed
The app shouldn't be offering songs that the bar does not approve of. Sounds like a simple fix to restrict the song selection if that was going to be an issue.
I mean, yes you paid for it, but hijacking a juke box so you can play music you want to hear all night seems a little selfish, like, buy a few songs and then let other people play what they want to hear. Just because you like your choice in music doesn't mean others do, and yes, if you took over and there was no way to not hear your music, people are going to ask the bartender to skip it.
It seems you missed the part where you have to buy the songs in groups of three. And "using a Jukebox for its intended purpose" is very much not "hijacking". If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'.
It’s a thing, touch tunes does it and it’s actually very fun I recommend if you go to bars that have it. Anybody can play what they want and it can get competitive but it’s fun. However the bartenders should not be manually skipping the song unless your like playing “whats new pussy cat” 10xs or like the Barney song lol or something ridiculous. To skip songs for customers is wrong and they should turn the juke box off if they don’t want people to use it. I mean the guy only played 3 songs they immediately skipped him? Ehh that’s bullshit and a good way to keep your bar a regulars only kind of place that ends up on BarRescue because they shoo away any new customers.
If they charge you to play it then it should refund you if skipped that's bs
100%
You were right. Also email the app and they will refund you. Happened to me before. They will be able to see that she skipped the songs.
You shouldn't have to email for a refund if you get skipped, it should be automatic.
I did not know this Thanks
Yep the bar will also receive a charge back for it because they make a lot of money on it and she will have to explain that to the owner.
There is a zero percent chance the vending company and owner are paying this kind of attention to the jukebox. Source: Am Bar owner, who would never know about something like this unless it hit social media.
OP was playing Mariachi music and it was making the cowboys rowdy. I've seen a bartender unplug the damn machine in this scenario.
Going to a place with one personality, & trying to inject your own personality over it, is considered rude & selfish. Play your songs, but don't come up with a plot, if the place suddenly doesn't comply. Find a place where you're more at home. Source: Bartender for ten years.
Dude's tilted that not tipping a bartender was actually justified in this case.
this attitude right here is why I can't stand dive bars.
"Trying to inject your own personality" over the "personality" of a place may be considered "rude & selfish", but taking payment for a service and not delivering said service is considered criminal. If a place wants to have a certain "personality", the available jukebox selections need to be curated to that personality. Allowing the jukebox system to take a customer's money and then not allowing it to play out the customer's selections is theft, full stop, and should be treated as such. So, Mr./Ms. "Bartender for ten years", what would you expect a bar owner to do to a bartender who got caught stealing from customers?
You did nothing wrong. It’s not the juke box companies fault. It was the bartender. I wouldn’t have tipped either
$36 likely covers everything you drank (at cost). At that point I’d say just skip the tab entirely & walk out
That's a crime.
Not automatically refunding for having a song skipped is worse though.
it's also sarcasm
The system should refund you if a song is skipped. That is super shady that it doesnt.
I guess I’m just wondering why you didn’t say something to the bartender while you were there. Could have ended the issue right then
They went to reddit the next day for advice and you're imagining they don't have social anxiety?
Social anxiety…..smh. Yes I know people that suffer from it, but the term is getting so overused to excuse people from just about everything. If you pay for a song and the bartender is skipping it you should be able to ask them to let it play. People really need to learn to advocate for themselves. It’s pathetic to basically have the social skills of a toddler
What a take - OP gets robbed and reasonably doesn't want to make a stir, choses to simply pay their tab and leave without a tip, and you're out here calling them pathetic and accusing them of having the social skills of a toddler. Way to victim blame.
Robbed. lol. Just stop. Most of those machines auto play music when nobody is selecting. Bartender probably thought it was just a random song and skipped it.
How would you define failure to receive a service that you paid for as anything other than theft?
And just so you can’t say I didn’t answer your question, robbery is the taking of someone’s property by force or threat. So no, it isn’t a robbery. It’s not anything since if you look at the terms of service of those types of jukebox’s they explicitly say that you get no refunds if a song is skipped or doesn’t play. I’m assuming she used touchtunes since it is so popular, but they all have a disclaimer. So basically she just got the grown up version of the situation we had as kids and an arcade ate our quarters. Except even as small children most of us learned to walk up to the counter and explain the situation to get our money back or get our game
Yes, I'm familiar with the terms of service. You seem to be asserting that, because OP was robbed in a way that didn't involve violence, it's A OK. It's not. If you pay for a service, you should get that service. You seem like the sort who likes definitions, so here's Merriam-Webster's entry for rob: Rob - Verb Transitive Verb 1 a (1) : to take something away from by force : steal from (2) : to take personal property from by violence or threat b (1) : to remove valuables without right from (a place) (2) : to take the contents of (a receptacle) c : to take away as loot : steal 2 a : to deprive of something due, expected, or desired b : to withhold unjustly or injuriously You've made a very common mistake in forgetting that English is a flexible language with words that can be used in different ways. So yes, it is a robbery - OP was deprived of something they were due. They paid to use the Jukebox. The expected music was skipped. By the way, the example you give of children having their quarters eaten at the arcade? That's a great example of someone being robbed. I completely agree that it's the same - thank you for making my point for me. Now - I just want to clarify. Are you actually arguing that it's ok to rob people - it's ok to take their money and withhold the service they are due - as long as you don't do so by threat of violence?
If you go out to breakfast and they forget to bring your toast, were you robbed? Of course not, you doughnut! Some people are so desperate to be a victim
Yes, actually, if you pay for something and don’t get it I’d say you were robbed. Not a hard concept.
I’m mean, you’re wrong completely. But I take it you didn’t my other reply yet
And another thing - I know it's a typo, but you're right. You are mean. It's mean to accuse someone you've never met of having the social skills of a toddler. It's mean to call someone you've never met pathetic, just because they chose to handle a situation in a way that may be different from how you would have done things. You don't know the full story - maybe OP DOES have crippling social anxiety. Maybe the bartender or the crowd were otherwise especially intimidating. Maybe OP is slight of build, or has experienced violence in the past, or any other number of perfectly valid reasons they might prefer to avoid confrontation. You have no idea, but you're ready to pass judgement. That's something you ought to reflect on. Finally, calling someone names is still mean even when the names you're calling are cute. You doughnut.
Rob - Verb Transitive Verb 1 a (1) : to take something away from by force : steal from (2) : to take personal property from by violence or threat b (1) : to remove valuables without right from (a place) (2) : to take the contents of (a receptacle) c : to take away as loot : steal 2 a : to deprive of something due, expected, or desired b : to withhold unjustly or injuriously In what way am I "wrong completely"? Are you going to cite the terms of service again? If you pay for something and you don't get it, you were robbed. If you are deprived of something you expected to receive, you were robbed. It's right there in definition 2 a. Now who's the doughnut?
I used to hang out at this one bar, one night i paid for a song and people kept paying more to skip the line, so about two hours later my song finally comes on and not even 30 seconds later some dude turns off the jukebox and i turned around and yelled at him, he told me he was the owner of the bar and i could shut the fuck up Left without tipping and never went back. Fuck em
Man, if I found a bar owner being that much of an asshole I'd probably pay a homeless person to go in and shit on his floor.
I wish i had had your ingenuity at the time.
🤣
I’m going to need to know what songs you played.
2 hours of Nickleback
Agreed. Cannot pass judgement without this info. Could go either way if the songs were truly terrible. Like intergalactic planetary level
You certainly can pass judgement - If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'. You don't need to know what songs were selected to understand that, right?
"around the world, around the world, around the world, around the world!"
Skip
Wait there was 139 more lines left in the song!?!?
You could've asked for a manager and explained that you wasted money because the bartender kept skipping your songs. They would've hopefully tried to refund your money.
Isn't there a lawsuit about stuff like this?
Don’t have a jukebox if you’re gonna be a bitch about it. Seems the bartender traded their tip for skips.
Nah I wouldn’t tip. Sounds like the ones who control the music must be tipping her well enough
They shouldn’t give patrons the option to pay for select music if they don’t want to listen to something others may not prefer. If it was free like making a request I could understand changing it if management chooses
Okay do I think you should have tipped her hell no and I worked in bars. Do I think she should have that kind of power imo. I'm also pretty sure that they are not allowed to refund for the app you have to contact the app company for that. But yeah I would have told her to kick stones.
Until the refund for a skip becomes automatic, that Jukebox has got to go.
Thats a scam, so no tip
No bro you paid for the experience and to control the music. I wouldn't have given her a dime and I always tip good. That's not petty at all...
NTA. I would have complained and demanded my money back.
This!!!!
No single person should have control of the jukebox for this reason. Knowing a bartender it was probably some regulars or their friends sitting at the bar with the bartender and playing dictator with the music. Sometimes bartenders get the god complex and need to understand they pour drinks and that’s their job. Don’t play power trip because they made bad choices in life and are stuck doing a shit job. I say you did exactly what they deserve if they were screwing you out of your experience you paid for.
My favorite bartender is Swedish. She finished her degree in chemical engineering and came to the US for a year to practice English. Started serving and bartending because you can get a job immediately anywhere and make damn good money. Traveled the country and fell in love with the country, the people and the job. She now owns the bar, and owns a great property in San Diego, where she keeps horses and helps support her husband with his music business and recording studio. Quite judging strangers based on their job choices.
Can we simp any harder here? It doesn’t not make it a crappy job. That’s what they are always available. Also, good money? Do you know what good money actually is? With a degree in chemical engineering she could make 6X what a bartender makes and have benefits. I think you’ve been fed a story my man.
When I was in college in the Midwest, I worked as a waiter at a local chain restaurant. The servers that worked full time there made $100k+, I think that’s definitely considered good money by most.
It is good money but considering no benefits, retirement matches, if they have kids with no benefits even worse, crappy hours/days, no paid time off (with the exception of of some cities) is it really that good? I’d take 70K with all the benefits in a heartbeat. Makes for a better way of life. It’s a crappy job. So when we get one like OP described that’s just a disgruntled worker trying to shed any power they feel they may have left.
A couple hundred bucks an hour isn't bad anywhere, the hours and benefits are where it sucks. No, it's not great money, but it's not horrible either. And some people enjoy the work. I waited tables in my late teens/ early 20s and truely enjoyed it. I'm definitely a bit adhd and the energy and pace were good, and so was most of the customer interaction. Definitely not for everyone. And when min wage was 3.25 an hour in the 80s 100 bucks cash for 4-6 hours work was decent money, and good places made way more. I don't know what current take home is, but a friend was taking home 500 on a weekend lunch shift 10 years ago, and she was getting benefits. Lunch is shit money.
I agree with a lot of this since I was a server in my younger years. But once I put myself through school and started a career, bartending or serving would be a huge step backwards. Getting back on track though with the OP story, it’s not a job where you want to be a dick. They call it the service industry for a reason, you serve your patrons, and that’s exactly how an owner would like it too. It is not a position to act like a dick because they can and yeah, some people will suck, but finding ways to handle them is a great life skill since they will always be around.
Ir was perfect for me for a long time, spouse worked 6-2 and i worked nights, we raised our kids without childcare and he got to see as many milestones as i did. And my money went to buying a house. Agreed with being a dick... but in one bar i used to go to the music machine often played music on its own and the bartender would frequently skip songs. Occasionally a regular would yell hey i put money in don't change it and the bartender would say opps, or sometimes they'd ask if someone put money in before skipping. The bartender may very well have not known.
What the bartender did was wrong but so is insulting people for what they're doing to pay their bills.. gross.
Are you easily offended? Because there are always bartending jobs available, wanna know why, because they kinda suck 🤷🏼♂️. But to then act like a dick while bartending is another level of crap person. I treat all servers and bartenders with respect unless they are the ones like the mentioned bartender in the story, Then I break them down. Watch old episodes of Bar Rescue with John Taffer. That dude destroys toxic bartenders and shows the owners how bad they are for their business.
No. I just believe in actually treating people with respect regardless of their job. And I don't think less of people based on what their job is. I can't stand people like you who do. It sucks for some people but I've known plenty of bartenders who loved their jobs. I never thought of them as people who made bad choices.
Dude. I WAS one of those bartenders. Yes, I think it’s an entry level job and it’s not hard. Even bartenders today admit they made bad choices in the past and feel stuck today. Point is, getting back to OP, it’s called the service industry for a reason and acting like a dick isn’t what they are there to do. It’s the ones that feel entitled to treat patrons as they see fit are the problem. They, are definitely trash people
And that’s why those digital jukeboxes suck. People are gonna pay their favorite shitty music that doesn’t fit the vibe of the bar. And if you then skip the music, you’re basically stealing from your guests.
Yep. Lots of truth in that statement!
So, you admit you're a bad tipper and have bad taste in music.
Why would he tip her? He paid for a service and they didn't uphold their end of the deal. If she wants a tip, she can go through the process of refunding the money she wasted and keep that
If you have THAT many songs skipped then maybe reflect and see if you just have horrible taste in music.
Doesn’t really matter how bad their taste in music is, though. They could be playing JoJo Siwa, and it still shouldn’t be skipped if they paid for it. If it’s available on the jukebox, and someone pays to hear it, they should get to. If not, then it should be refunded.
If you were playing classic rock, that’s not any reason to skip the song. They should only skip the incredibly annoying songs that people play as a joke. I’d say you were as petty as the bartender. Well played.
If you paid to play a song nothing should be skipped.
Seven What’s New Pussy Cats followed by one It’s Not Unusual
John?
Should have requested a refund. If it was denied then no tip for obvious reasons.
Need context. What were you playing?
Obviously he was playing something on the playlist which should have been acceptable just because some people don't like it at the bar doesn't mean they should be able to change it. It'd be one thing if like a DJ came on and they turned off the jukebox but as long as the jukebox is active and there's not a legitimate complaint it shouldn't be changed. We're talking a legitimate complaint that would be able to have that song taking off the playlist.
No context needed, if I pay for a public service I want that service.
And with that I bid you good day.
He PAID. If it’s on the playlist it’s acceptable. Skipping = refund.
I wouldve looked at em after I paid and said your tip was put in the jukebox.
Does it bother you to know people think you have awful taste in music?
Thank God the bartender has that capability when In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is played.
I still have the Iron Butterfly cassette I stole from my brother. Good memories.
You and I can't drink at the same place if you don't want In-a-gadda-da-vida played... the long version. We will listen to it, and one of us will like it. 😎
After the 9 minute mark I’m ready to move on to another tune. 😉
The bartender can disable the ability to control the music from the app. If someone is playing songs the patrons don't like, you disable it and put on what you want. Skipping more than one song is the asshole play.
tbh the jukebox (the digital ones where you pay with card) should have the ability to auto-refund songs that get skipped before like 50% through… or at least credit you another song, but that would benefit nobody except the customer so that isn’t a thing :/
100% this. I'd say upwards of 75% playout should be the threshold, if not to completion. The correct way to implement this would be for the jukebox system to place a debit hold for the purchase amount, then deduct any songs that don't play out all the way before completing the transaction. - Customer buys 3 songs for $6 (outrageous price, but that's another issue) - System places $6 debit hold on customer's card - Two songs play to completion and one gets skipped 20 seconds in - Transaction completes for $4. This would allow the bartenders to retain control over the system, still have the ability to cancel the order of the jackass who queues up 6 straight hours of Copacabana, etc., but not allow the bartenders to commit outright theft like OP's bartender did.
really depends on the bartender. Some can't hold their own and 5 guys causing a ruckus to change the song can be hard for some. I would pay that to someone who had a sense of gruffness (even if it's not showing.)
You tip people for service to you. Bartender was not serving your interest in skipping your songs. She deserves zilch.
She deserves, at a minimum, revocation of jukebox control pending a retraining that emphasizes the criminal nature of taking payments and not delivering what the payments were for. And OP deserves a refund for his skipped tracks.
💯
That’s what she gets for trying to be a jukebox hero.
GOT STARS IN HIS EYES
you 100% shouldn't have tipped her if that's what actually happened...not just what you think happened
Man people are really out of control these days huh, "stop complaining, empty your wallet and don't go to the bar"! Wtf is going on out there?
What did this have to do with paying for something that he didn’t get because the bartender wanted to play favorites?
I was obviously commenting on other posts
Entitlement at it’s worst.
Question. When you figured out what had happened , why not ask her “hey , why are you stopping MY songs ?” Or stop playing TouchTunes and just chill. I’ve had nights where I put in a few songs and then someone just pays the extra to jump me for like 20 minutes. I usually stick to just a couple songs at a time so I won’t be playing songs after I leave. Basically. Next time call her out and figure out WHY she did it once , then twice …
[удалено]
If I’m out to eat and order a soda. I want that thing refilled. I’ve worked in the restaurant business and can tell if you’re too busy to do refills or if you’re just gliding by the table. Now I’m not saying I wouldn’t tip if it’s not refilled. But it also sounds like I should have to stop the waiter and explain to them I want a refill. Nah not worth the time. Bad service is bad service. The tip will have them adjust their behavior. Every server made more than the kitchen staff on their 3 hour shift. If they are shitty it should show. I hate people that tip, even when service is horrible.
how many people DONT KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE? Did you ever say something to her or what happened? Once or twice maybe, but $36 later you never said anything. That's weak man, stand up for yourself!
Can't agree. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'. You shouldn't need to argue with the bartender to get what you paid for.
You really think him communicating would’ve done anything? she either would’ve denied it or told him there’s nothing she can do. Why do you think people give a damn about your feelings and will just fall over and give what you want just because you asked?
Or she would have apologized and refunded his money. Don't know unless you go talk to her. It's amazing how many issues can be solved just by discussing it like adults. Sounds like you would rather assume the worst though
Do you have much luck having civil conversation with entitled fucks? Idk about you, but if someone is already acting that way I will assume they’re going to be a drag to deal with and react accordingly; definitely not going to go have a nice conversation with someone being a cunt
Honestly, yes I do. It's all about how you approach them. If you come off aggressive, they're going to close off and you won't get anything out of them. If you go into it respectfully and ask them genuinely what's going on, then you'll more than likely get positive results. Good social skills can get you far
I was raised with manners and common or should I say uncommon courtesy, Guess being a good human isn't cool anymore
Drama queen.
And she should just skip songs being PAID for?!?! Gtfo.
Maybe ask her for your jukebox money back.
I don’t think you did anything inappropriate by not tipping. The bartender might’ve gotten your drinks, yet inappropriately used their position to essentially be an asshole. Good thing when on the few occasions I did drink, there wasn’t this technology; because I probably should’ve started running my mouth. Just had an epiphany, I’ve never been in a bar fight😂
How was the bartender being an AH? The joint had an obvious vibe going that the crowd was happy with, one customer wants to dominate the situation, and the bartender dealt with it. The AH in this scenario is the customer looking to dominate the vibe.
It's a Jukebox. Using it is not "dominating the situation". It's there to be used. f you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that's not an option, then it shouldn't be presented as an option. OP's not at fault for trying to use the Jukebox. If the business wants to cultivate a certain vibe, they need to curate the selections available on the Jukebox, not rob customers that pick the 'wrong vibe'.
Be serious. There’s a little thing called reading the room. If patrons already have a certain vibe going, it’s an ass move to row against the current. Who says it’s the bar trying to promote the given vibe, they may be neutral but the customers there that night were into rap and metal. Go with the flow. If you don’t like rap and metal, find another spot.
Or… no to all of that. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that’s not an option, then it shouldn’t be present as an option. This is not hard to understand.
Yet that’s not the way it went.
That’s true. What’s your point?
My point is that OP got the lay of the land, dedicated they didn’t like it, decided to do something about it, and got put in their place. If they had picked songs the other patrons were at least willing to tolerate, we never would have heard this story to begin with. OP paid the Failure To Read The Room tax.
Ok, cool - Here's the thing though. If you pay to select the music, you should get to select the music. If that’s not an option, then it shouldn’t be present as an option. The 'Failure To Read The Room tax' you're mentioning here is just straight up theft. It's not ok, no matter what you dress it up as.
The bar doesn’t sound like your scene. Go somewhere else.
I’ll add my 2 cents( certainly wouldn’t add my $6) Keeping your tip was right if you felt wronged but you also could’ve confronted her before the night was over (we’ll excuse your confusion because of age) 😉
Do a charge back with your bank and give the bar a bad review. You didn't get what you paid for you can dispute it. Tips are always optional and should be based on service. Not getting what you paid for isn't good service. The bartender is going to have to hope the people who asked her to skip songs tipped enough to make up for it.
Smart, because the services paid for were not rendered. A few chargebacks and I bet that bartender gets in line quick. The business is not going to want to deal with chargebacks.
Bartenders have been controlling the jukebox for years. I've never willingly spent time in a country bar but I bet if I went and put on $100 worth of Michael Jackson, it would not get past song 2 before the plug would be pulled
If they don't want certain music played at their bar, they should limit the available choices or create a custom library.
This. ANYTHING they have on the playlist is fair game and should be LOCKED in if paid for.
Either way, that's ridiculously offensive and I don't even know how it's legal or ethical. The jukebox company shouldn't be doing that and the business and bartender should not be involved in any of it. I don't think they should use a company that allows it either. That's like letting someone come into your bar and pickpocket your patrons by letting them not give someone what they paid for. I probably would think twice about even patronizing that bar. I sure as hell wouldn't tip, and I would probably seek reimbursement from the bar and the jukebox company. I wonder if a credit card dispute would work. You didn't get what you paid for. Although, I guess maybe if you were drinking your judgment was impaired. I don't know that I would pay two bucks to hear any song, although that might be the equivalent of what we paid back in the '90s to listen to the CDs on jukebox. I think it was like three songs for a dollar so maybe not as much but still, a few bucks to hear a few songs I guess is not that big a deal. But I can't imagine when it doesn't work the first time spending more. Not to beat you up over it. I would have talked to the bartender and gotten an answer as to why the system's not working. I mean, maybe bartender would have lied and said it must just be a glitch in the system. But at that point I wouldn't have paid anything else and would have thought reimbursement the next day from the company. But that's just me.
Usually with those “smart” jukeboxes, someone else can pay (extra) to skip a song and substitute their own. Many times at my local bars not everyone wants to download the app, so they pay the bartender cash to play what they want and the bartender will do it themselves with their own phone. If she was just doing it on her own tho, that’s messed up, the easiest thing to do would have been to ask and see what’s going on lol
Either way, that's ridiculously offensive and I don't even know how it's legal or ethical. The jukebox company shouldn't be doing that and the business and bartender should not be involved in any of it. I don't think they should use a company that allows it either. That's like letting someone come into your bar and pickpocket your patrons by letting them not give someone what they paid for. I probably would think twice about even patronizing that bar. I sure as hell wouldn't tip, and I would probably seek reimbursement from the bar and the jukebox company. I wonder if a credit card dispute would work. You didn't get what you paid for.
It’s literally the point of the thing, trust me, it’s beneficial to be able to skip songs because there’s always a drunk idiot who buys 10 plays of babyshark in a row to piss everyone off
This is how I've seen it used since back in olden times when jukeboxes played vinyl. You get some asshole who puts in $10 and punches up Dombrowski's "Astronaut Polka" six times in a row and the bartender is in their rights to hit the skip. It was never meant to be a means of playing DJ and skipping paying customer's choices because you want classic rock instead of country or whatever.
Rush 2112 and A Twisted Christmas in the month of September get me skipped a lot.
Then the juke box needs a mechanism built into it that automatically gives a refund if the song you paid for is skipped for any reason. The reason should not matter, regardless if it is the drunk 8th play of baby shark, or that you just have a crappy bartender. A business should not accept money from customers if they are not going to fulfill what is being paid for inside their establishment.
Yeah, I can understand that. I don't think they should let other patrons pay to cancel a song even though that's profitable to them. It just is bad policy. But, giving the bar or bartender the right to override a song in an emergency is fair enough. Many many years ago I was down in New Orleans and the bartender was telling us how they have an override on the jukebox, and I think this was an old record one or maybe CD, but they could how they have an override on the jukebox, and I think this was an old record one or maybe CD, but they could override a song. That probably goes back quite a ways for the reasons you mentioned. In this case, he would override whenever someone would play Iko Iko, which is perfectly understandable to me. This was New Orleans, after all. I miss a good old days when bars had their own curated jukebox. It reflected the clientele and made every bar somewhat distinct.
Totally, but another thing I always thought sucked about the new ones is once you’ve connected to the box, you can order songs to it from anywhere via the app, so people at one bar would play annoying music at the bar the next city over. But those things aren’t the bars fault really, it’s the jukebox company, and I’m sure a large portion of their income comes from drunk people having music skipping competitions or putting things on as a joke
Oh yeah, I didn't know all that. That sounds like a terrible system only designed to make the company money. I don't know how much choice they have, but if I were a bar owner, I would never allow something like that. Why would anyone want that. I miss the good old days when cheers had to prank Gary's with a long con. Not just play bad music on their jukebox. I won't necessarily blame the bar owners. While jukeboxes were a great benefit to a bar in the past, as an income generator and a way to play good music for your patrons, but I think around about the '90s, the licensing companies started hitting really hard and shaking down small bars and restaurants, making them sign up for paying royalties on the music they play. And fair enough. The musicians should make some money off their music. Even though most of it probably goes to that record companies and other non-artists. But the jukebox was probably an easy way to solve that problem for the bar owner, plus, in theory, the benefit of people being able to listen to whatever music they want which seems like a great idea. And going online seems all the better and probably works well most of the time. But they may not have had much choice as to how the systems work or maybe they don't care. But man, if I was a bar owner, I would never give patrons the power to actually bump other patrons that paid for the music. I wouldn't want s***** music and I wouldn't want my regulars to be unhappy. But still, I would feel like that was cheating customers and creating bad will
I’ve had that happen, we were literally watching the bartender skip every song we bought. We asked, she denied it but we watched her do it and she literally smirked in our direction every time. So we asked the other bartender, and he was like yeah it’s her, she doesn’t like that kind of music.
Yep, entitled bartender.. what a shocker lol. Op just needs to not go back if it’s something like that, no tip necessary
Should be FIRED.
Idgas if you paid $1 for one song, if bartender skips your music you paid for, they forgo their tip. I have a buddy who will skip a handful of particular songs, seen him skip them, called him a dick (with a laugh), he said fuck them I hate that song. So, my guess it's roughly the same reason across the board, so they get to have that little bit of power but not your tip.
Usually with those “smart” jukeboxes, someone else can pay (extra) to skip a song and substitute their own. Many times at my local bars not everyone want to download the app, so they pay the bartender cash to play what they want and the bartender will do it themselves with their own phone. If she was just doing it on her own tho, that’s messed up, the easiest thing to do would have been to ask and see what’s going on lol
You can’t skip a song part way through though. You are paying to basically cut in line so your song is next instead of it going to the end of the line.
its total bullshit for her to skip your songs. plain and simple
Depending on the crowd most people don’t want to listen to classic rock these days by the sounds of the initial play list it was probably a younger crowd with no interest in listening to classic rock. If I’m at a bar I like to hear county, pop, or current stuff not the music of my parents.
country and pop suck ass. garbage music
It might but when I’m drinking that’s typically what I want to listen to not shitty ass metal, rap, or some other music that’s gonna sound like a headache.
They shouldn't put it on the jukebox if they don't want to allow people to play it. You pay, it should play. If they're not willing to let you play the music, they should take it off of the inbox.
That's the problem with modern jukebox technology though. I think they allow you to play anything you want. Young people might not understand, but bars used to have jukeboxes that were particular to that bar and reflected the clientele. They would often be a bit of a mix, but many of them really did have a particular character to the mix and that gave the bar some character that would also influence what the crowd was like. It was a pretty good system. These online connected ruined all of that.
Stay away with your so called friends that are not on your side. There’s no right or wrong in this thing, it can be justified in both ways. But friends not on your side is the annoying part. Personally I’d say it’s a miscommunication that the bartender might not know you paid for the music. Unless you asked her to not do that and she refuses, then of course you should skip tipping and report to her manager. But I suspect she didn’t know what’s going on. But whether my assumption was true or false, if I have someone that calls me petty over something like this, I’d ask them why and see if there’s any way for me to improve, not some stupid suggestions like credit card dispute. Yea it works but it takes time and it’s on your file, it could damage you in a way that it marks you as a troublemaker. I never dispute anything below $200, like I never take someone to the court for something below $500. Simply not worth the time.
They should never put music on the jukebox that they're not willing to allow you to play. It's as simple as that.