Rude to not take drinks?

[GK Growl]

Like I said above, you are entertainment which is special. You’re expected to be able to handle the situation without getting offended or offending others.

How many of those drinks are you accepting? What is your response when you are given drinks but can't drink them? Aren't you being offensive to them by not taking them even though you have reasons not to?

 

[tshapiro]

Quite possibly one of the silliest things I've read anywhere. Did you possibly even think about this before posting it? Anyone thinking it's rude of someone turning down a drink is well...(I don't want to get banned).

I've been sober for six years and anyone taking offense to me turning down a drink can kiss my...

Again, you are at a bar where the business is to sell drinks - where people are there because they like to drink. If someone buys you a drink as a compliment and you refuse it, they will be offended. Don’t get mad at me, I’m just telling you the way the world works.

 

[GK Growl]

Again, you are at a bar where the business is to sell drinks - where people are there because they like to drink. If someone buys you a drink as a compliment and you refuse it, they will be offended. Don’t get mad at me, I’m just telling you the way the world works.

Ok so how do you handle such situations when you are offending these people by refusing their drinks?

 

[tshapiro]

How many of those drinks are you accepting? What is your response when you are given drinks but can't drink them? Aren't you being offensive to them by not taking them even though you have reasons not to?

No, when someone buys me a drink I say thank you and say I’m not ready for it now, but I’ll toast with them and say I’m going to save it for later - everyone feels good. No big deal.

 

[Nashrakh]

I think someone on TB had to deal with a similar situation, and told the bar employees to only get them glasses of water (or apple juice, or whatever) whenever some patron wants to offer a drink to the band. That way, you get something non-alcoholic to drink, and your patrons can show their appreciation if they're not inclined to tip. I thought it was a really clever idea, but your singer may not like it.

 

[tshapiro]

Ok so how do you handle such situations when you are offending these people by refusing their drinks?

I don’t refuse them, I accept them, thank them, and say I need to save it for later.

 

[GK Growl]

No, when someone buys me a drink I say thank you and say I’m not ready for it now, but I’ll toast with them and say I’m going to save it for later - everyone feels good. No big deal.

Oh so you take the drink, say you can't drink it now, and then give it away later? Yeah tried that several times but the majority of people almost always want you to drink it right there and when you don't even that is offensive. Can't win.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Quite possibly one of the silliest things I've read anywhere. Did you possibly even think about this before posting it? Anyone thinking it's rude of someone turning down a drink is well...(I don't want to get banned).

I've been sober for six years and anyone taking offense to me turning down a drink can kiss my...

You're right but the offence taking then becomes mutual.

 

[tshapiro]

Oh so you take the drink, say you can't drink it now, and then give it away later? Yeah tried that several times but the majority of people almost always want you to drink it right there and when you don't even that is offensive. Can't win.

Never been a problem for me.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Just tell them "thank you, but I have to drive."

 

[tshapiro]

Just tell them "thank you, but I have to drive."

That’s a good one, actually

 

[2F/2F]

DEAR OP: This is not much of a dilemma. Regardless of how they are doing it specifically, people are trying being nice to you. So, no matter what it is, you just take what they offer and say thank you. Take the drinks, and say, "Thank you very much" with a smile. The drinks belong to you then, and you can do what you will with them, within the bounds of manners. I'd either let the drinks sit there, or give them away to anyone I wanted (though I would not offer them through the P.A., or in any other "public" manner).

Your singer drinking to excess is a separate issue.

Abby

 

[jsbachonbass]

Ok, here we go.

I would turn down drinks when I first started playing in bands. Not for any reason other reason than I just didn't like the taste of beer or whiskey. Then the band leader explained to me "You are not a musician. You are a liquor salesman. Never turn down a drink. You don't have to drink it." So I learned to do this, and sometimes by the end of the night, I would have a lot of mostly full beers or shots behind me. Nobody ever caught on.

So my advice is Never turn down a drink. You don't have to drink it. Hold it up, make a show of taking a sip, then set it down behind your amp. Patron is happy, bar owner is even happier.

 

[GK Growl]

That’s a good one, actually

You guys must have some really passive people at your gigs. Tried this too and always get "c'mon that's hours from now, one shot will be out of your system by then".

 

[GK Growl]

Ok, here we go.

I would turn down drinks when I first started playing in bands. Not for any reason other reason than I just didn't like the taste of beer or whiskey. Then the band leader explained to me "You are not a musician. You are a liquor salesman. Never turn down a drink. You don't have to drink it." So I learned to do this, and sometimes by the end of the night, I would have a lot of mostly full beers or shots behind me. Nobody ever caught on.

So my advice is Never turn down a drink. You don't have to drink it. Hold it up, make a show of taking a sip, then set it down behind your amp. Patron is happy, bar owner is even happier.

Again, tried all this. I'm telling you most people want you to drink it right there with them. Guitarists got called out one night for taking the drinks and leaving them sitting. The people I'm talking about are really obnoxious about drinking and toasting right here right now.

 

[SactoBass]

I don't drink alcohol. No exceptions, no matter what. Same with other drugs. Same with smoking. Same with chewing tobacco. Same with coffee. Same with soft drinks. Same with lima beans. It's my body......my choices. If someone gets offended because I choose to not ingest a certain something into my body even though they choose to ingest it into theirs, then let them be offended, shocked, appalled, speechless, butthurt, and dumbfounded!!! I don't care. Period.

Oh the humanity of it all! What are we gonna do with Sactobass! He's a nonconformist!!! We can understand no drugs. But no lima beans??? Really????? (yes, really!)

 

[tshapiro]

Again, tried all this. I'm telling you most people want you to drink it right there with them. Guitarists got called out one night for taking the drinks and leaving them sitting. The people I'm talking about are really obnoxious about drinking and toasting right here right now.

I learned years ago to discreetly pour them out and leave the empty’s near your setup.

 

[bassstrangler]

Again, you are at a bar where the business is to sell drinks - where people are there because they like to drink. If someone buys you a drink as a compliment and you refuse it, they will be offended. Don’t get mad at me, I’m just telling you the way the world works.

I'm glad I'm an adult that doesn't care about offending a drunk buying me a drink. I'm not mad at you, but this is just heinous.

 

[tshapiro]

I'm glad I'm an adult that doesn't care about offending a drunk buying me a drink. I'm not mad at you, but this is just heinous.[/QUOTED]
Dilly Dilly

 

[james condino]

Yes, bar staff, waitresses, etc are usually not drinking or drunk on the job.....

Clearly you have never worked in the food and beverage industry. 95% of the people I know and that I worked with in the past are drunk and stoned and coked out of their head every single shift to get through the craziness and the humiliation of working that industry.

I hired a guitar player as a sub a couple of years ago when our main guy was out of town. Good chops, nice guy, funny. By the second set, he had drank so may high dollar well drinks that he used up the entire band's bar tab AND dinner tab. We never hired him again....