November 6, 2023 at 3:30 pm

Boss Said They Couldn’t Drink With Their Friends After Their Shift Ended, So They Took Their Business Elsewhere And It Wrecked The Bar

by Matthew Gilligan

Source: AITA/Reddit/@iamjayjayisme

As far as I’m concerned…the more, the merrier!

But I guess not everyone feels that way…

And the boss you’re about to meet in this story from Reddit didn’t feel that way AT ALL.

The person explained that they used to work at a restaurant waiting tables.

If I can’t drink here, neither will my friends.

“Back in my mid-twenties I used to wait tables at this restaurant in my hometown. The money was good and I got along well with everyone there. Usually after our shift, a few of the servers would sit at the bar and have a few drinks to wind down.

Everything seemed to be going just fine until the owner stuck his nose in and changed things.

You figure why go to another bar when there’s a bar right here? We always tipped well and nothing was ever an issue. Until one day when the owner out of nowhere decided that employees weren’t allowed to drink at the bar anymore. Now I completely understand this is a normal rule in other bars and the owner was well within his rights, but I just didn’t see where this came from.

So this employee came up with a plan that would hit the owner where it hurt…

I asked the manager if we did anything wrong to warrant the rule change. He said the owner was just being a jerk. He told me he tried to talk him out of it because there was no reason, but the owner just wanted to make his presence known. Okay, he’s within his right to. However what he didn’t count on was Thursday nights and my friends.

Back then my friends were in a punk band and had practice every Thursday night. I would work every Thursday night and they would meet up with me at my bar and grab a drink with me after my shift. And usually they’d bring their girlfriends, friends, and whoever was hanging around.

My friends pretty much made the bar’s Thursday night as busy as a Friday or a Saturday. And when I tell you we could drink, oooohhhhhhh we could drink! And of course everyone tipped generously. So when I told them I wasn’t allowed to drink at my bar anymore after my shift they were as mad as I was.

So it was time to start frequenting another establishment!

My buddy Bob was like “Wait, so there’s no point to go to your bar and then for all of us to go to another bar after you’re done so you can join us. We might as well just go to another bar and you can meet up with us after.” It was the most logical solution. There was another bar around the corner.

But the manager was surprised at this turn of events.

So come Thursday around 9pm, I’m finishing up my shift as my manager approaches me.

He looks at the empty bar and asks, “Hey man, are your friends on their way? They’re usually three drinks in by now?”

I reply, “Oh actually they’re four drinks in. They’re at the bar around the corner.”

My manager is dumbfounded.

“Wait, what? Why aren’t they drinking here?”

I calmly tell him, “Well they want to drink with me, and I’m not allowed to drink here. Now if you excuse me, there’s a pint of Kane Head High (my favorite beer) waiting for me around the corner.”

So it was around the corner for a night of fun!

I walked out and joined my friends for a fun night.

Now I must admit I feel bad for the bartender who usually worked Thursday nights. She had no part in the decision and her tips suffered because of our move. But that’s on management, not me.

After a few weeks the owner noticed the dip in sales on Thursday nights and said we were allowed to drink at our bar again.

However the damage was done.

And they ended up finding their new spot!

We found out that not only did the bar around the corner have all the beers we usually drink, they were much cheaper.

We also struck up a great friendship with the bartenders.

We found our new hang out spot.

There was no reason to go back.

Oh well.”

Check out how people responded.

This reader said there’s no way they should give this guy and his place a second chance.

Source: AITA/Reddit

Another person said this was just bad behavior.

Source: AITA/Reddit

Another reader talked about the importance of “shift drinks.”

Source: AITA/Reddit

This person agreed that this is the way to end a work shift.

Source: AITA/Reddit

And one Reddit user sounds like they had a pretty good thing going at a Japanese restaurant.

Source: AITA/Reddit

Some people just have to learn everything the hard way…

And this guy was definitely one of them!