US bar culture of ‘buy backs’ labelled irresponsible

The American bar culture of “buy backs” has been slammed as “bad practice” and irresponsible by industry experts.

Bartenders have a responsibility to keep their guests safe, so are “buy backs” really helping?

The widespread practice of rewarding patrons a free drink after they’ve purchased three or more drinks has been labelled anti-productive and bad business sense by a panel of leading bartenders and consultants.

During a seminar discussion on general social responsibility in bars at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans last week, William Grant & Sons’ US portfolio ambassador Charlotte Voisey, head bartender at Crown in New York James Menite, and founder of Creative Cocktail Consultants Brian van Flandern, agreed buy backs were potentially damaging to businesses.

“It’s a generally bad practice”, said Van Flandern. “People will come and pay for their drinks anyway if you consistently make the cocktails well. We don’t want to cultivate these clients anyhow because they want to get drunk for cheap.”

While some of the audience voiced misgivings over patrons’ loyalty if they ceased bestowing buy backs, Menite argued that giving away free drinks was “throwing away money”.

“If you really want to reward a high worth client with a free drink, give them something house-made like a house limoncello that they can’t get somewhere else, not with a premium cocktail.”

Aside from making bad business sense, buy backs have been labelled by many as irresponsible for encouraging guests to consume more in the hope of receiving a free drink.

Over-serving

The seminar also approached the contentious subject of over-serving, and the responsibility bartenders have to care for the welfare of their guests.

“Bartending is a responsible profession; we are basically personal carers,” said Menite. “We are the showmen of the industry, but we also have so much responsibility to ensure the safety of our guests”.

While overly drunk guests are a problem for any bar, the panel argued that it is more important for US bartenders to recognise when a guest has been over-served, as the practice of drink driving is more prevalent in American culture than in other markets.

“Shake over your shoulder, lift up your chin and look around the room for possible risks,” suggested Voisey. “Look for trouble; don’t wait until it comes up and bats you in the face.”

Menite meanwhile suggested giving patrons a glass of water at first contact to help avoid the risk of over-serving.

The issue of bars’ social responsibility was also highlighted this week when CCTV footage emerged of a Lithuanian bartender setting a guest’s face on fire with a theatrical serve.

At the Tales of the Cocktail seminar, Voisey suggested that all bars should ensure a member of staff with first aid training is rostered onto every shift.