Refusing to serve patrons water: Illegal?

[polak]

I go out at least once almost every weekend and I have never, in my life, seen or heard of anyone being refused water at a place that has a wet bar.

Your friend could have said she was a DD. I garuntee there is more to this story.

As for legality, shows at Big 4 or BMO only sell you bottled water without a lid so you can't refill it. Tap isn't an option so it can't be illegal. I think this is because the bars aren't permanent and probably don't have a tap.

The exact opposite is true at Flames Central when a big name dj is playing. They have cups of water poured and waiting so you don't waste the bartenders time. They just hand you one right away. Thats mostly cause a good chunk of people are high on M but still. It's convinient.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

It's fairly common in Europe to charge for bottled water, and they won't serve tap water. In one city we were told it's illegal to serve tap water, but I don't know if that's true.

Some parts of Europe it's unsafe to drink the the water, so bottled water would be the right choice for a restaurant from a liability perspective. (If they serve you bad water and you get sick, you'd be upset with them)

[Jimmy Stang]

I wasn't much of a club person to begin with, and it was a long time ago now (think late 1990s), but whenever I was the driver I had no trouble getting free water and pop from the bartenders. Usually all that I had to do was be polite, tell them that I'm driving tonight (usually with a "somebody's got to do it" shrug of the shoulders and a smile), and they almost always hooked me up. Throw a few bucks in the tip, especially the first time, and that same bartender would keep me watered for the whole night. So it wasn't free per se, but ten bucks would have me sorted for the entire night.

I don't believe that they're under any obligation to do it, however, but being pleasant goes a long way.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

All I can add to the story is they did have bottled water for $4.

In other words, your friend is complaining that they wouldn't give them free stuff.

Did they ask for a free meal too?

Although, $4 for a bottle of water is silly. The Flames don't even charge that much at the Dome.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Your friend was probably acting like a ###### to the bartender and that's why he refused. Never in my life or anyone else's have I ever been refused a drink of any kind...unless you act like a ###### to the bartender. I think you should ask your friend to tell you the other half of the story he/she is leaving out. Then report back here so we can judge properly.

I think it's more the case of 'Fame' being the kind of bar that it is

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by polak

I go out at least once almost every weekend and I have never, in my life, seen or heard of anyone being refused water at a place that has a wet bar.

Your friend could have said she was a DD. I garuntee there is more to this story.

As for legality, shows at Big 4 or BMO only sell you bottled water without a lid so you can't refill it. Tap isn't an option so it can't be illegal. I think this is because the bars aren't permanent and probably don't have a tap.

The exact opposite is true at Flames Central when a big name dj is playing. They have cups of water poured and waiting so you don't waste the bartenders time. They just hand you one right away. Thats mostly cause a good chunk of people are high on M but still. It's convinient.

That has a lot more to do with safety than anything else. A bottle with a lid is a fantastic projectile, without the lid, not so much.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by calumniate

I think it's more the case of 'Fame' being the kind of bar that it is

Please expand on this comment.