The Capitol Lounge
Dublin's Best Pub and Bar Guide, ProperPint.com
Pub & Bar Guide, Dublin, Ireland - Best Bars & Pubs in Dublin
Address:
18-19 Lower Stephen Street, Dublin, Ireland
Phones:
(01) 4757166
The Capitol Lounge
The Capitol Lounge, 1.0 out of 5 based on 1 ratingProperPint.com · Copyright © 2012 · About · Contact · Privacy · XML Sitemap
I would give that bar a wide berth – the attitude of that manager is duplicated by the attitude of the door staff who by making random exclusions even within groups are trying to create an illusion of exclusivity for a bar which isn’t worth bothering with!
My bartender’s boss is a punk
I went to The Capitol Lounge (Aungier St.) last Friday night (16/2/2007) with my girlfriend to meet some of her work colleagues. It was not my choice of pub; I do not like the place that much; the music is too loud and the crowd slightly too young for me. But they do have a decent cocktail menu. We had both drank one and were about to get a second when my girlfriend told me, “Hurry up, the offer of €4.95 per cocktail ends at 12 o’clockâ€. I went to the bar to order at a quarter to 12. I had to wait 10 minutes for a barman to serve me, due to younger people fighting for room in front of the beer taps (due to the end of the cocktails offer I expect). I ordered 2 cocktails at five minutes to 12 exactly, and I was served at slightly past 12. I handled a 20 euro note (my mistake) and got a couple of coins back as change (twice as much as I expected to pay).
I called the barman back, and explained that I had ordered well before midnight; having had to wait a good while too – and that it was not fair that I was charged twice the price, for the sake of a couple of minutes. He was friendly (a nice guy – friendly bar staff as they advertise on their website: http://www.capitol.ie/gpage29.html); he told me the till sets the prices automatically, he told me he was sorry but I was free to discuss it with the bar manager if I wanted (they are probably trained to say that anyway). I said, “Thanks, yes, I would like to talk to the manager.â€
He spoke to her and she came over. I explained the situation to her, along with the exact timings (as I was fully conscious that the reduced price period was coming to an end).
Her answer was: None of my staff takes 5 minutes to prepare 2 cocktails.
That really shocked me. I was expecting her to say something like, “Sorry but when we say 12 o’clock we mean 12 o’clock in the till, so there is nothing I can do…†That would also have been still unfair to me, but c’est la vie, tough luck… that’s the way it is, shut up and get back to your table… but no…
I told her: “Listen, this is not about the money; I don’t care about that any more. But this is not fair; you are telling me it’s impossible that the bar man got distracted with something?
Her: Yes.
Me: So… you are basically calling me a liar? Well, call the barman and ask him.
Her: I don’t need to call him. I know.
The bar staff are not so friendly after all! I should have returned the drinks (even though I doubt she would have refunded my money), but my girlfriend had already waited almost half an hour by then, so I stupidly said something like, “Grand, so you are calling me a liar. Thanks a lot†and left.
But she won. By being a punk.
“In her case, what is being a punk?†– Brainstorming:
1. She was in a bad mood for whatever the reason and I paid for it (and I am not talking about money, she passed me her negativity).
2. She was really busy and made a mistake (with an attitude though) and I paid for it.
3. She is in some sort of personal anti-foreigners league, (me being Spanish) I paid for it.
4. She was having her period (sorry, I am brainstorming and all ideas have to be considered), and I paid for it.
5. She is a young woman in a management role and she felt she had to demonstrate her authority. She misunderstands what power/responsibility is, at least versus fairness. I paid for it.
6. She “gets the job doneâ€, and is a very efficient worker, but a natural born bit**, everyone -staff and customers- hate her but the company is happy to keep her unleashed to make money for them. I am just another victim… and I paid for it.
7. Pick any from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary: Prostitute, nonsense/foolishness, a young inexperienced person (beginner/novice), punk rock musician (not the case).
Conclusion/best choice of the brainstorming: I really don’t know and it doesn’t really matter to me. You chose.
I didn’t enjoy the rest of the night. I just kept wondering why she treated me that way. I thought, ‘Hold on, don’t take it personally. They probably do that “almost 12†shit on cocktails to everybody’. But hold on; a perfectly sober 37-year-old customer asks to speak to the bar manager, complaining he feels he’s been treated unfairly and she calls him a liar? That’s new…
It occurred to me to order 10 cocktails and refuse to pay for them for being, let’s say, “too bitter†(like the bar manager); as a way of getting my own back. That could have been a good revenge. I would then have been ejected by their security staff (not friendly either I am sure) but I would have had a laugh. But guess what: that would have made me a punk too.
There is this Indian restaurant in Dublin where you can read in the menu: “We don’t intend to sell food, we aspire to serve hospitality… … the guest is truly your Godâ€. Well, whatever your religion is there is no need to exaggerate that much to -at least- show a minimum of respect to the client (to everybody in life, really).
Last Friday night in the Capitol Lounge, I experienced a new religion – with a limited following, thank god: PUNKism.
(Disclaimer: All my respect for real punk rockers. The word has been used here for comical effect only, in a kind of “Dirty Harry†punk style, and no offence is meant.)