sucky mom, kids, and manager at restaurant

[Jester]

As the evening went on and they became more obniouxious they were obviously intoxicated.

I agree with everything in your post except this. From my experience, teenagers do not need to be intoxicated in order to be obnoxious!

[ladodger34]

Just a couple of quick notes...

No one was drinking when we got there. The girls arrived at about the same time as the mom. The guys arrived later on. They all ordered drinks at the same time. We had a very clear view of the table and no IDs were ever produced. I'm pretty sure that fake IDs weren't the problem.

As a server, I would have carded the kids when they asked if they had Corona on tap. Our local distributor doesn't sell Corona kegs. A 21 year old with a bit of bar experience under their belt knows that you get Corona in bottles. The question just sort of smacked of a warning flag type of question to me, but then again, I already knew they were underage.

As for the cops, my fiance is going to talk to the on campus police officer (he's a real cop that works for the county sheriff) to get an idea about what to do the next time she is confronted with the situation or even what she can still do about it. He's a cool guy that cares about the kids on campus and he will be glad to give out her the info. He'll also be glad to get any info about stuff the kids shouldn't be doing, even if it isn't on campus.

I should reiterate that when I said it was a cool place to eat, it didn't mean that I didn't want them to get into trouble. Once again, I should have said that I really like eating there and I don't want to see the place close down because they were negligent about carding minors. I don't have a problem with them taking a fine to get their asses in gear. If I had my druthers, the manager would have kicked them out and taken care of the situation properly. Since she didn't, we are going to take it to the next level. If the owner doesn't respond, we'll file a complaint with the state board.

As for them being obnoxious, they would have been obnoxious without the beer. The problem with them being obnoxious was two-fold. It showed that the mom didn't give a shit about the behavior and she was trying to be the friend mom rather than doing her job. It also showed that the kids were immature and acted like typical high school seniors. There is a time and place for that kind of talk. A family restaraunt isn't one them.

[Jester]

Our local distributor doesn't sell Corona kegs. A 21 year old with a bit of bar experience under their belt knows that you get Corona in bottles.

It is rare, but it does happen occasionally. Yes, I have seen Corona on tap, and have even worked in places that had Heineken on tap (another rarity). Since they were kids, they might not have known that your local distributor did not have Corona on tap, and I have met many people older than 21 who did not seem to have a clue.

Heck, I can't count the number of times that people have asked for "rum and Diet Sprite" or some other drink with Diet Sprite....and I personally have NEVER been in a bar or restaurant that actually HAD Diet Sprite! (Nor has anyone I have ever asked about this.) I am sure places exist that do serve it, but I have never seen or heard about it, and when people who are clearly of age (30s, 40s, 50s) get peeved at me because we don't have something that is clearly not common, it makes me wonder. Just goes to show that even people with experience can be as utterly clueless as teenagers.

Not trying to nitpick here. I actually enjoyed your original post AND the last post immensely, and agreed with 95% of it. Just playing Devil's Advocate a bit.

[ladodger34]

It is rare, but it does happen occasionally. Yes, I have seen Corona on tap, and have even worked in places that had Heineken on tap (another rarity). Since they were kids, they might not have known that your local distributor did not have Corona on tap, and I have met many people older than 21 who did not seem to have a clue.

[snip]

Not trying to nitpick here. I actually enjoyed your original post AND the last post immensely, and agreed with 95% of it. Just playing Devil's Advocate a bit.

I agree with you on this. I've been to places that have Corona on tap (probably like 2 in the many, many bars I've been to). The boys just looked really young. To me, if you look underage and ask a naive type of question, I'm going to card you. I remember being carded at places for doing the same thing when I was 21.

As for Heineken, alot of places around here have it on tap. I'll have to ask my brother how many of his bars have it on tap (he is a salesman for the distributor).

[Carolinagirl]

By all means you should have reported it...... what happens when they leave the place in a vehicle, and end up in a wreck, because they had been served liquor there. Could you be held responsible because you saw what was happening and chose to do nothing about it, because you did not want to cause trouble, because you LIKE to eat there. At no time should a minor EVER be served any type of liquor.... period.... they should ALL be carded... if you are not 21 or over you are out of luck....

[Jester]

By all means you should have reported it...... what happens when they leave the place in a vehicle, and end up in a wreck, because they had been served liquor there. Could you be held responsible because you saw what was happening and chose to do nothing about it, because you did not want to cause trouble, because you LIKE to eat there. At no time should a minor EVER be served any type of liquor.... period.... they should ALL be carded... if you are not 21 or over you are out of luck....

The people who could be held legally liable in this are the restaurant, the manager, the server, and in a really screwy situation, potentially the bartender who gave the server the beer, but NOT someone who doesn't work there who had no active part in it. I speak from 20 years of experience in the food service industry and countless mandatory "safe alcohol service" seminars.

[ladodger34]

By all means you should have reported it...... what happens when they leave the place in a vehicle, and end up in a wreck, because they had been served liquor there. Could you be held responsible because you saw what was happening and chose to do nothing about it, because you did not want to cause trouble, because you LIKE to eat there. At no time should a minor EVER be served any type of liquor.... period.... they should ALL be carded... if you are not 21 or over you are out of luck....

As for not reporting it, we did. We told the manager. She chose not the act on it.

Just in case anyone missed it the last couple of posts, this is what I should have said when I wrote "I'd just rather not see the restaurant get into trouble with the authorities because it is a good place to eat."

I should reiterate that when I said it was a cool place to eat, it didn't mean that I didn't want them to get into trouble. Once again, I should have said that I really like eating there and I don't want to see the place close down because they were negligent about carding minors.

Update on the story:

Fiance talked to the on campus officer today and he said that he was going to report to the ABC. I think we are still going to write a letter to the owner, but it isn't our problem anymore.

[alphaboi]

Well, the bartenders have the final say in any situation whether to serve someone or not...if the manager tries to make the bartender serve, they can still refuse, leaving the manager the one doing the serving of the said minors...

In this case the bartender wasn't serving them directly. A waitress took their order, gave it to the bartender (or got it herself), and brought it to them. I imagine HQ would be very interested to know how little the manager seems to care about the massive liability she's exposing the company too; fines, loss of liquor licence, bad press, or if one of those kids decided to drive and get's into an accident a huge lawsuit.