In demand, bar spies eye bartenders' serving sizes
Sandra Pedicini Orlando Sentinel
Originally published 08:50 a.m., April 4, 2009
Updated 08:50 a.m., April 4, 2009
MAITLAND, Fla. — Dee Lindholm's work begins the minute she steps inside a Maitland restaurant's bar.
She orders a rum and ginger ale and notes that the bartender doesn't suggest a higher-priced brand of alcohol. He does, however, carefully measure the rum, and he rings up the drink right away, earning two positive marks.
Lindholm is a bar spotter, a spy sent in to uncover theft and other problems at bars. She works for Inside Hospitality, a St. Louis-based company hired by bars, restaurants and hotels.
Business has been strong for companies that do bar spotting. In these tough economic times, bar and restaurant owners are especially anxious to contain costs, and some are casting a suspicious eye toward cash-strapped bartenders struggling with fewer tips.
Gwen Lennox's company, Maitland-based Keeping Tabs Inc., has seen rising demand for bar spotting during the past year. A year ago, about a half-dozen requests per week were coming in for investigations. Now, there are nine or 10 per week.
"What bartenders and other service people are seeing is that people are tending to tip less," Lennox said. "They are going out less in general, and so ... we believe their personal economic pressure is leading [bartenders] to do things they might not do at some other times."
Ray Foley, who worked behind a bar before founding New Jersey-based Bartender magazine, doesn't think theft is on the rise.
Bartenders are "in no position to get caught stealing and be without a job," said Foley, who criticizes companies "selling fear." Managers should focus more on hiring quality employees, instead of spying on bartenders, he said.
A valuable service
But Barry Gutin, who recently opened a Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar in Orlando, said he finds spotters valuable. He has used them at restaurants and nightclubs to thwart not only theft but a wide variety of service problems. Occasionally, bartenders were caught drinking behind the bar or giving away drinks and were fired as a result.
"They typically give away a drink to earn a better tip," Gutin said.
Bartenders also may try to curry favor with drinkers by being overly generous with the booze. One technique bar spotters use is to count how many seconds bartenders take to pour a drink. They also watch to see whether bartenders ring up drink orders immediately, thus making sure money goes into the cash register and not the bartender's pocket.
Keeping Tabs and Inside Hospitality would not reveal names of the establishments they survey, and a reporter was allowed to watch Lindholm work on the condition that the bar she visited would not be named.
Lindholm saw no signs of theft on her assignment one recent Friday night, though she noted one potential problem: A partly open cash drawer that might have been broken.
During the weekend, she filled out a checklist with more than 100 questions. Overall, the establishment earned a 92.2 percent rating. Bar security got a 94.1 percent, with the open cash-register drawer noted. Lindholm also noted the failure to "up-sell" to a high-end alcohol brand.
The bar got the lowest score — 66.7percent — under management because a manager didn't visit with patrons and ask them whether everything was all right.
Not all visits turn out so well. Inside Hospitality President Gary Tripp estimated about 10 percent of them turn up suspicious behavior.
Reactions to bad behavior
In cases where the spotters report problems, bar owners react in a variety of ways. Some may keep a closer eye on employees and tighten up controls. Sometimes, employers may take things further by firing the bartenders or even prosecuting them. Occasionally, bar spotters have testified in court.
Most times, Lennox said, "the person goes away quietly."
Lennox uses a nationwide pool of licensed private investigators for Keeping Tabs, saying that depending upon a report by an amateur to fire or prosecute an employee poses legal risks. Because she uses licensed private investigators, she charges in "the hundreds" of dollars for an assignment.
Inside Hospitality prefers to use mystery shoppers recruited through referrals or who find the company online. Because they work more cheaply than private eyes, Inside Hospitality's services cost less: about $140 for an Orlando bar.
For her work, Lindholm will get $25 plus the cost of two rum and ginger ales.
Tripp noted he hires people with experience in hospitality. Lindholm, for example, has worked as a bartender.
"It is enjoyable," said Lindholm, 58, of bar spotting.
"The reports can be very tedious sometimes," she said. "You do spend a lot of time making sure everything is accurate. I've found, for the most part, that people are doing their jobs."
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