• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go home’

SDET

SDET

Banned
DP Veteran
Joined
May 1, 2015
Messages
7,802
Reaction score
1,610
Location
Texas
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Libertarian - Right
I'm not sure what to make of this story. The two mistakes the waitress made was not placating the guy with mental issues which could be a safety issue for other customers and secondly swatting away his phone which opens her up to misdemeanor assault charges and likely dismissal. She could have given him the water THEN demanded he leave.

Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go home’ | Fox News


Police are investigating after a man claims he was told by bar staff to leave a UK pub - because he refused to pay £1($1.27) for tap water.

A video shows Jonathan White, 25, asking a female bartender for a glass of tap water in the Clock Hotel pub to swallow his medication.
Click to expand...


"I was made to feel stupid and insecure around her. Shaun thought she was nasty. I even told her that I'd bought two pints, and then she hit me.
Click to expand...

I presume that the cops in the UK are feminized given that "feelings" are treated as relevant. There's also no information whether he stiffed or tipped the waitress for the two pints that he bought.
 
Last edited:
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Yeah, it's bull**** to charge people for tap water, but if a restaurant demands payment for tap water then them's the breaks.

The guy, in my opinion, was harassing her.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

What, they charge for tap water? Booo.

But the swipe looked unjustified on my end.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

TheGoverness said:
What, they charge for tap water? Booo.

But the swipe looked unjustified on my end.
Click to expand...

Looked pretty justified to me. I don't think you're going to find many people arguing that charging for the water was a good thing, but that still doesn't give the guy the right to start filming her in the restaurant she works in. What she did was dickish, not criminal or even abusive.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

TheGoverness said:
What, they charge for tap water? Booo.

But the swipe looked unjustified on my end.
Click to expand...

Sonic tries to pull that crap and charges 50 cents. They usually won't charge you though if you order your food first, then ask for the water AFTER payment has been processed. They are often too lazy to conduct a second transaction just for the 50 cents.
 
Last edited:
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Cardinal said:
Looked pretty justified to me. I don't think you're going to find many people arguing that charging for the water was a good thing, but that still doesn't give the guy the right to start filming her in the restaurant she works in. What she did was dickish, not criminal or even abusive.
Click to expand...

Assault - Wikipedia

An assault is the act of inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action.[1] It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal and/or civil liability. Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and tort law.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Cardinal said:
Looked pretty justified to me. I don't think you're going to find many people arguing that charging for the water was a good thing, but that still doesn't give the guy the right to start filming her in the restaurant she works in. What she did was dickish, not criminal or even abusive.
Click to expand...

I will agree that he was being extremely annoying. Thar pub has a bathroom, yes? He can easily get some water from the sink, right?
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

SDET said:
I'm not sure what to make of this story. The two mistakes the waitress made was not placating the guy with mental issues which could be a safety issue for other customers and secondly swatting away his phone which opens her up to misdemeanor assault charges and likely dismissal. She could have given him the water THEN demanded he leave.

Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go home’ | Fox News







I presume that the cops in the UK are feminized given that "feelings" are treated as relevant. There's also no information whether he stiffed or tipped the waitress for the two pints that he bought.
Click to expand...

I've never heard of any pub or restaurant in the UK charging for tap water ever. I would be shocked and pissed off if I was charged for tap water.

And we don't tip bar staff in the UK.

Also, nowhere in the article does it say or implied that the police think feelings are relevant, so not sure why you brought it up.
 
Last edited:
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

TheGoverness said:
I will agree that he was being extremely annoying. Thar pub has a bathroom, yes? He can easily get some water from the sink, right?
Click to expand...

Is the bathroom free of charge?
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

SDET said:
Is the bathroom free of charge?
Click to expand...

I would assume so. Unless they charge for that, too.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Wait a minute, why is he drinking and taking antidepressant medication? Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

SDET said:
Sonic tries to pull that crap and charges 50 cents. They usually won't charge you though if you order your food first, then ask for the water AFTER payment has been processed. They are often too lazy to conduct a second transaction just for the 50 cents.
Click to expand...

They're charging you for the cup, not the water.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

TheGoverness said:
I would assume so. Unless they charge for that, too.
Click to expand...

Can't comment on Houston, but we definitely have that here. You'll tend to find fast food places with pay bathrooms in areas with more homelessness. Annoying? Totally. I still couldn't imagine taking out my phone and filming one of the clerks behind the counter and protesting at them over it. But if I did, I could totally imagine doing it for so long that the clerk finally loses his or her temper and swats at the phone.

And would swatting at the phone be advisable? No. But I get it. And that's in the restaurant, mind you; not a public space. On a separate note of curiosity, I do wonder what the law says about swatting at somebody's camera in a public space if that person is recording you.
 
Last edited:
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

TheGoverness said:
I would assume so. Unless they charge for that, too.
Click to expand...

There are many places in Europe that charge for the bathroom, usually in an attempt to keep homeless out, but not usually within an establishment but if it’s a small place and they rely on the mall bathroom then yes, that can be a thing.

As far as water goes, I’m assuming US is like Canada, glasses of water are normal and free to ask for and some places give them without being asked before orders are taken... in Europe, not so much, typically when you ask for water they don’t even give you tap, they bring a bottle of water, usually a 1 litre or something for the table.

This is one difference I don’t like.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

From the article.

He said, "I was anxious and scared. She wasn't supposed to be charging us anyway for tap water. When I raised this with her, she made me feel really vulnerable.

"I was made to feel stupid and insecure around her. Shaun thought she was nasty. I even told her that I'd bought two pints, and then she hit me.

"I couldn't see why she wouldn't just pour me a glass of water for my medication."

Jonathan said he was surprised he was being charged £1($1.27) for tap water, and claims that he brought only two pints' worth of cash with him.
Click to expand...

The bartender should have called a whaaaambulance for him.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Cardinal said:
Can't comment on Houston, but we definitely have that here. You'll tend to find fast food places with pay bathrooms in areas with more homelessness. Annoying? Totally. I still couldn't imagine taking out my phone and filming one of the clerks behind the counter and protesting at them over it. But if I did, I could totally imagine doing it for so long that the clerk finally loses his or her temper and swats at the phone.

And would swatting at the phone be advisable? No. But I get it. And that's in the restaurant, mind you; not public space. On a separate note of curiosity, I do wonder what the law says about swatting at somebody's camera in a public space if that person is recording you.
Click to expand...

They do have that here, but not everywhere. I agree it's annoying, but most times when inside places that only allow paying customers to use bathrooms, I'm intending to buy something there in the first place. But if he ordered two pints of alcohol already, he could've used it no problem (I highly doubt they'd be charging per usage). I don't imagine pulling out ny phone for this kind of incident either, but some people love to start stuff and make people mad.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Jetboogieman said:
There are many places in Europe that charge for the bathroom, usually in an attempt to keep homeless out, but not usually within an establishment but if it’s a small place and they rely on the mall bathroom then yes, that can be a thing.

As far as water goes, I’m assuming US is like Canada, glasses of water are normal and free to ask for and some places give them without being asked before orders are taken... in Europe, not so much, typically when you ask for water they don’t even give you tap, they bring a bottle of water, usually a 1 litre or something for the table.

This is one difference I don’t like.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Water is free of charge in (most) establishments in the US.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

TheGoverness said:
They do have that here, but not everywhere. I agree it's annoying, but most times when inside places that only allow paying customers to use bathrooms, I'm intending to buy something there in the first place. But if he ordered two pints of alcohol already, he could've used it no problem (I highly doubt they'd be charging per usage). I don't imagine pulling out ny phone for this kind of incident either, but some people love to start stuff and make people mad.
Click to expand...

I think a reasonable compromise would be to say that the bartender did a dick move, and the patron overreacted to said dick move.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Cardinal said:
I think a reasonable compromise would be to say that the bartender did a dick move, and the patron overreacted to said dick move.
Click to expand...

In this day and age the way the Bartender did what he did would be unthinkable to me, especially if it’s to do with a patron asking for water to take medication, I doubt you could find an establishment in the entire of Canada, even one, that would have done what that guy did.

On the other side of the coin, when I was working someone pulled this crap on me, there were 4 people in a room disturbing others and they came out of the room with a camcorder and started berating me, so on both sides of the coin yeah, not great.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Cardinal said:
Yeah, it's bull**** to charge people for tap water, but if a restaurant demands payment for tap water then them's the breaks.

The guy, in my opinion, was harassing her.
Click to expand...

TheGoverness said:
What, they charge for tap water? Booo.

But the swipe looked unjustified on my end.
Click to expand...

It is a European thing, you learn very quickly that it is the norm along with paying for public bathrooms. In North America is often illegal to charge for it.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

SDET said:
Sonic tries to pull that crap and charges 50 cents. They usually won't charge you though if you order your food first, then ask for the water AFTER payment has been processed. They are often too lazy to conduct a second transaction just for the 50 cents.
Click to expand...

Or...they dont want to waste their time and labor on someone who is just coming in for water? Maybe they want to reduce the foot traffic of non-paying customers holding up the line/wait staff asking for water while paying customers wait?

Wow, the paranoia you emit sometimes!
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Carjosse said:
It is a European thing, you learn very quickly that it is the norm along with paying for public bathrooms. In North America is often illegal to charge for it.
Click to expand...

There's about 50 countries in Europe. I've never been charged for tap water in the UK.
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Cardinal said:
Yeah, it's bull**** to charge people for tap water, but if a restaurant demands payment for tap water then them's the breaks.

The guy, in my opinion, was harassing her.
Click to expand...
this^^^^^
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Jetboogieman said:
There are many places in Europe that charge for the bathroom, usually in an attempt to keep homeless out, but not usually within an establishment but if it’s a small place and they rely on the mall bathroom then yes, that can be a thing.

As far as water goes, I’m assuming US is like Canada, glasses of water are normal and free to ask for and some places give them without being asked before orders are taken... in Europe, not so much, typically when you ask for water they don’t even give you tap, they bring a bottle of water, usually a 1 litre or something for the table.

This is one difference I don’t like.
Click to expand...

In much of Latin America they would give you the free tap water for sport and ask "Are you sure amigo?".
 
Re: Bartender hassles patron, swats at phone after he refuses to pay for water: ‘You’ve gotta go

Lursa said:
Or...they dont want to waste their time and labor on someone who is just coming in for water? Maybe they want to reduce the foot traffic of non-paying customers holding up the line/wait staff asking for water while paying customers wait?

Wow, the paranoia you emit sometimes!
Click to expand...

Re-read my post. I suggested asking for water AFTER ordering food. If you order it WITH your food, they charge 50 cents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom