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Taboo or Not - Giving Your Free Beverage to Someone Else!

Taboo or Not - Giving Your Free Beverage to Someone Else!

  • Yes. It is OK in most situations

    Votes: 155 53.8%

  • No. It is not OK in most situations

    Votes: 61 21.2%

  • Only if it is for your spouse or significant other

    Votes: 66 22.9%

  • Cheesecake because I am tired of carrots

    Votes: 17 5.9%
  • Total voters
    288
CoffeeLove

CoffeeLove

Supporting Member
Aug 4, 2013
1,507
1,712
California, Central Coast
#1
Do you, or would you, give the free/comped beverages/food provided for band members (by the venue) to someone else? That is the question in a nutshell.

As a general rule, I do not give other people my band member "tickets/food/beverages" provided free by the venue (except my spouse). The venue is trying to get paying customers in the door, so I tend to avoid it. Obviously, some venues don't/wouldn't care, especially if they have a "cap/max or ticket" system in place to keep free band items limited.

Anyone had a bad/weird experience with this? Just curious.

Be well
 
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#3
CoffeeLove said:
Do you, or would you, give the free beverages/food provided for band members (by the venue) to someone else? That is the question in a nutshell.

As a general rule, I do not give other people my band member "tickets/food/beverages" provided free by the venue. The venue is trying to get paying customers in the door, not free-loading friends (or my spouse, haha). Obviously, some venues don't/wouldn't care, especially if they have a "cap/max or ticket" system in place to keep free band items limited.

Anyone had a bad/weird experience with this? Just curious.

Be well
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Always. I don't drink and it's part of my pay and very inexpensive for the venue. If I have drink coupons etc...I'll use it to buy the sound man a drink or a friend etc. Meals? Hard to say, I usually skip those but it would be mine to share if I chose.
 
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#5
Bonafide said:
Always. I don't drink and it's part of my pay and very inexpensive for the venue. If I have drink coupons etc...I'll use it to buy the sound man a drink or a friend etc. Meals? Hard to say, I usually skip those but it would be mine to share if I chose.
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Nice, another non-drinker here. I will give a comped beverage to my wife but that's about it.
 
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#8
I generally don't drink either, so if we have someone with us who runs our merch table or runs our light show or is a key part of our "pit crew" in some way, then I'll share my beer ticket.

As for food tickets, any band I was in usually used those to get platters of appetizers we could share all around with each other and our pit crew.
 
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#9
I do not play for free food or beverage, period. If I'm getting paid a fair wage and they want to give meal/drinks to the band, then that's different.

I don't drink, so if it's a drink ticket(s), I'll give that away no problem. I'll usually eat the meal, though. If it's just "free drinks for the band", then I don't take them and I don't give them away.
 
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#10
StereoPlayer said:
One place I play pays a percentage of the drinks sold, so…
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lowfreqgeek said:
I do not play for free food or beverage, period. If I'm getting paid a fair wage and they want to give meal/drinks to the band, then that's different.

I don't drink, so if it's a drink ticket(s), I'll give that away no problem. I'll usually eat the meal, though. If it's just "free drinks for the band", then I don't take them and I don't give them away.
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I am referring to comped food/beverages on top of pay. Who plays for free, haha
 
#11
CoffeeLove said:
I am referring to comped food/beverages on top of pay. Who plays for free, haha
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Well, I didn’t say I was playing for free…
The percentage is on top of the pay.

but excuse me.
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#12
For many years we played a gig at a premier G&C Club. Unlike many others this club did not treat us liek "hoired help", they treated us like preferred members. On every gig I did there members would be bring us drinks (usually beer) all night long. Every time I would take the drink, thank the patron and stash the beer behind my amp. By the end of the evening I had 12 to 16 untouched beer there. What to do with it...

I spoke to the management at the club and expressed my concern about it all being wasted and wondered if I should give it to someone else or tell the patrons not to bring us any more beer. I wondered if they had any advice, and they did. They said to recognize that the band was highly appreciated and that was one way the members could show it. It wasn't a matter of drinking it, but accepting it as an expression of their appreciation. It was given to us to drink or not to drink as we saw fit. It was not for someone else.

I thought about it. And I came to grips with my own feeling of waste by realizing that it all was going into the toilet eventually anyway. :)
 
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#14
If they gave you a $20 and you lost a bet to your stupid friend because you thought the Falcons would beat the Saints… anyway, if the club paid you and you owed money to your friend is that any different?
If the drink in OP is part of your compensation it’s yours to do as you please.
 
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#16
I also don't really drink anymore - I'll do it occasionally but most of the time it isn't worth it. Also, if I do drink, which is rarely - it's after the gig, not before.

If the place has non-alcoholic beer, I might use a drink ticket, but if not I usuañly just give my ticket to the person running sound. (Unless they also don't drink.) I feel like they deserve it and I always appreciate the work they do.

However, if food is provided, you can bet I'm gonna eat it. I'm a fatty.
 
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