BajaNomad

So, just how rude were we?

Santiago - 3-11-2012 at 08:09 AM

NB on last trip, we stopped for the night at La Fondas to reacquaint ourselves with the chickens and shower-grout-mold. $83 for the night, sheesh.
Anyway, having had poor internet for the week, we asked for wi-fi and the desk clerk said in the patio or the bar was the best. We sit down at the bar, open our laptop and order a few drinks. When the drinks arrived, the bar tender said reception was better at a table in the corner of the bar. So we moved.
Later, we wondered if that was a polite way of telling us to get the damn 'puter off his bar. What do you think?
By the way, on retrospect, we agree; laptop users should go to a table.

mcfez - 3-11-2012 at 08:28 AM

I think you were sent to your corner :-)

But..........as a owner of prior bars and clubs....there is nothing wrong with having a LP at the bar.....much less having your dinner served there there. We've had folks read the newspaper to novels....even on Friday nights when the joints were packed.

Quote:
Originally posted by Santiago
NB on last trip, we stopped for the night at La Fondas to reacquaint ourselves with the chickens and shower-grout-mold. $83 for the night, sheesh.
Anyway, having had poor internet for the week, we asked for wi-fi and the desk clerk said in the patio or the bar was the best. We sit down at the bar, open our laptop and order a few drinks. When the drinks arrived, the bar tender said reception was better at a table in the corner of the bar. So we moved.
Later, we wondered if that was a polite way of telling us to get the damn 'puter off his bar. What do you think?
By the way, on retrospect, we agree; laptop users should go to a table.

EnsenadaDr - 3-11-2012 at 11:20 AM

Well, why didn't you count the bars of reception at the bar and at the table and do your own comparison, silly? He might have been telling the truth!!

Dave - 3-11-2012 at 12:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez
But..........as a owner of prior bars and clubs....there is nothing wrong with having a LP at the bar.....much less having your dinner served there there. We've had folks read the newspaper to novels....even on Friday nights when the joints were packed.


Couldn't disagree more. A bar is all about social interaction and nothing that puts a damper on a bar vibe more than a bookworm or computer maven. Whether they complain or not the other patrons resent it. It's like talking to someone and being ignored. I could see allowing it in the early afternoon when the seating is sparse but not as a regular occurrence.

Dave - 3-11-2012 at 12:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by soulpatch
And, if a bartender is that sensitive, well, said bartender is in the wrong business.


Probably following company policy and doing so diplomatically.

I should add that along with a psychological angle there's an economic one as well. Bar stools are prime real estate and patrons with books or computers are typically less interested in drinking. ;D

[Edited on 3-11-2012 by Dave]

Book maven...

EnsenadaDr - 3-11-2012 at 12:24 PM

I was at a bar in Kailua, Hawaii a few months ago and this guy was reading a book...we got into a very interesting conversation about the book...actually the bartender didn't mind at all...
Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez
But..........as a owner of prior bars and clubs....there is nothing wrong with having a LP at the bar.....much less having your dinner served there there. We've had folks read the newspaper to novels....even on Friday nights when the joints were packed.


Couldn't disagree more. A bar is all about social interaction and nothing that puts a damper on a bar vibe more than a bookworm or computer maven. Whether they complain or not the other patrons resent it. It's like talking to someone and being ignored. I could see allowing it in the early afternoon when the seating is sparse but not as a regular occurrence.

willardguy - 3-11-2012 at 12:26 PM

could you feel the presence of old macphersons ghost peering over your shoulder wondering what that strange contraption is?

DENNIS - 3-11-2012 at 12:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Couldn't disagree more. A bar is all about social interaction and nothing that puts a damper on a bar vibe more than a bookworm or computer maven. Whether they complain or not the other patrons resent it. It's like talking to someone and being ignored. I could see allowing it in the early afternoon when the seating is sparse but not as a regular occurrence.


Yeah......yeah. You got it. If you allow a pesky laptop with it's agravating tap tap tap going on all day, you'll have to allow the guy with his electric piano the same liberty.
Bars are for drinks. All other hobbys have their place. :lol:

EnsenadaDr - 3-11-2012 at 12:26 PM

Angry birds is being played at every bar in town...on laptops no less!!!

DENNIS - 3-11-2012 at 12:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
Angry birds is being played at every bar in town...on laptops no less!!!



I can get that on my Kindle for 99 cents. I'll have to try it.

99 cents???

EnsenadaDr - 3-11-2012 at 12:32 PM

IYou can get it for free on Facebook...go to your computer (no fun on a small screen)...search for Angry Birds Game and it will load automatically...its a great stress reliever!!
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
Angry birds is being played at every bar in town...on laptops no less!!!



I can get that on my Kindle for 99 cents. I'll have to try it.

Duh...

Dave - 3-11-2012 at 12:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
I was at a bar in Kailua, Hawaii a few months ago and this guy was reading a book...we got into a very interesting conversation about the book...actually the bartender didn't mind at all...


Didn't do much reading, did he? ;D

Beware, some guys use dogs.

Dave - 3-11-2012 at 12:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
you'll have to allow the guy with his electric piano the same liberty.


No, drums. :rolleyes:

Or did you trade up?

Santiago - 3-11-2012 at 12:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Beware, some guys use dogs.

Dude, just after college I was got my first miniature dachshund; a real cutie. I took that puppy into every dive in Fresno for a couple of years - good babe magnet. (I'm using the term 'babe' loosely here - Fresno and all).

Actually..

EnsenadaDr - 3-11-2012 at 01:07 PM

Actually, he was the only guy at the bar and I was waiting for my son and my nephew to show up for about an hour..he really didn't want to talk much...so I don't think he was using the book for that reason!!
Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
I was at a bar in Kailua, Hawaii a few months ago and this guy was reading a book...we got into a very interesting conversation about the book...actually the bartender didn't mind at all...


Didn't do much reading, did he? ;D

Beware, some guys use dogs.

vgabndo - 3-11-2012 at 01:36 PM

I've only owned one bar, but I can say that when we shot the juke box and started programming our own music, and when we put all the damnable dice cups in the trash the over-all roar calmed to a point of possible relaxation. We raised our prices above what the timber fallers and truck drivers were paying in other bars, and immediately added a female clientele during the day which more than compensated for the loss of the draft beer boys.

I have proven that by simply providing enough seating and tables, those who are interested in more than shouting bullsh*t at the bar will gravitate to quieter tables in the rear, and there is plenty of room to turn tables in the front.

That address recently was a wifi cafe, bistro, cabaret. It was laptop city, and they may have failed in part because they didn't encourage the long term lap toppers to move to tables in the rear. This would have been a turn-over issue, not one of ambiance. I think the owner had more to do with the failure than lap tops or newspaper readers!

I really value the stimulating conversations with people I don't know that are often generated by reading a book in a public place. Traveling 15 years for my work, I found local bars often very cliquish and unfriendly. It was usually a bookie who accepted me, or my book stood-in for a friend, while the guys at the bar enjoyed themselves in the usual way.

My bar failed because one of the partners was literally a thief! He Darwined-out a decade ago.:lol:

chuckie - 3-11-2012 at 03:50 PM

Is social interaction like talking?

Bajahowodd - 3-11-2012 at 04:30 PM

Funny thing is that when I first saw the title of this thread, my initial thought was about what I read about a week ago that involved a world-wide survey of over 5,000 people that concluded that Americans were the rudest tourists.

DENNIS - 3-11-2012 at 04:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
No, drums. :rolleyes:

Or did you trade up?



I multi-task. badda-boom...plink plink plink.