thunder road

there was a thread on here about thunder road a few months back. i have veen stoping by there occasionally, it is almost always very dead, i am usually teh only one there. i always wondered why, as it seemed a great little getaway, nice grounds and pool ok food, cold beer. i stooped in there late saturday night, there was a good live band going and lots of people. everyone was habing a good time, it seemed. i was sitting about two stoolds down from the aussie owners wife, who was very drunk. a guy came down and asked about a pack of cigaretts he had left on the bar, she imediatly blew up, and started screeching about him accusing her of stealing his pack of cigaretts. He did no such thing, he just asked politely if anyone had seen them. the aussie owner came down, i thought to see what the ruckes was about, as she was screeching at the top of her lungs. instead of askng any questions of what was going on, he just told the guy to F**CK OFF, get out of there. she was still screeching when i left about 15 minutes later.

i gues i understand now why there is seldom anybody going there. i wont be going back.

 

I think the "owner" was having a birthday party (not sure if it was Saturday or Sunday) which probably explains why he was so drunk.

They ran another bar before this one, so they are well known among the expat community and they have some experience in doing this. In this case, there's probably more to the story. There are a number of people who are regularly a pain in the *** to deal with and non-friends don't have much patience with them. I'm guessing this was one of those situations. Generally these two are very cool people.

The bar is a nice place in a bad location. That location has a long history and nobody has done well there. It's too far out for people who live close to town and there are too many places to compete with for people coming in from the Bacong area or beyond.

A lot of these expat bars are setup to be their "home away from home" rather than an investment for generating a profit. They have their own bar, they can invite friends and it gives them something to do during their down time.

 

In business you have to show the correct face to your customers ( as someone said: "Try doing business without customers") or you can go bust. People are much more likely to write a negative review than a positive one because, I believe, negative emotions are much more powerful. But if people are in 'business' as a hobby then I suppose it does not matter to them as much. However, even if it is not business then perhaps it is about human dignity - not showing yourself out of control and not allowing your drunken state to treat others badly. Perhaps such 'businesses' need a warning sign at the entrance "This is NOT a business, so please expect you may be treated badly at times".

 

Another rule of business is that you can't be everything for everybody.

It's a bar. There are drunk people there. Maybe all bars should have a sign "warning, there may be drunk people here".

There are bars here where assholes were just part of the personality of the bar. You either dig he atmosphere or you don't go there. I prefer these sorts of places. I want my beer delivered by a bartender who has no problem telling me to **** off.

You also wouldn't go into a stripper bar if naked women offends you.

The customer is always right. You should always be a professional. These statements and other idyllic phrases are BS. In the real world, there are lots of assholes. Business is the real world. Therefore, there are lots of assholes in business.

If you're an *sshole and your food sucks. The problem isn't that you're an *sshole, it's that your food is terrible. If your food is the best of a certain type in Dumaguete, then I'm not going to hold myself back. Just don't spit in it please.

Wallstreet is run by assholes. The American government is run by assholes. Steve Jobs was an *sshole. Uber is going to change the world and that company is run by assholes. Clearly there's more to business than not hurting anyone's feelings.

I would rather people just be legit. That person working for McDonald's serving you a coffee with a smile? That smile means **** you. That same person smiling while telling you they can't do anything for you? That smile means **** off and die. Why not just come out and say it instead of hiding behind that smile?

 

I agree that there are many *ssholes around but I think it is not correct to label workers who smile as trying to tell you to **** off. Many workers are doing they best they can and know if they do not treat their customers well they will lose their job. And possibly they have to put up with an *sshole boss. I have every sympathy with the workers.

 

I definitely agree. Holding back tears for almost two years on a new job while doing my work well even when most of the time it's not appreciated.

 

Would you prefer that Mcdo worker to smile and replace your coffee if it was served stone cold, or would you prefer them to start screechin at you and call you names, then have a manger come out and curse you too, telling you to never come back?

i went there to have a good time, this wasnt what i had in mind..

 

There's no better indicator that your job sucks than when customers sympathize with you... then they still order that hamburger. "I'll take a cheeseburger and fries... and I'm so sorry you had to do that. Oh, and can I get extra ketchup?"

You guys are killing me here. Life is too short to work a job you hate. If you hate your job, then quit.

I get why this happens though.

Stanford prison experiment - Wikipedia

You are comparing a bar to McDonald's. And, you weren't the person getting yelled at. I have been in this town perhaps for too long. I would be willing to bet my pinky finger that the person who got yelled at gets abuse from a lot of people here. And yet he does still come back. I could probably name the guy within a few guesses.

This isn't the bar for you and you aren't the target customer base. A bar environment is more art than science and not all art appeals to everyone. As I said, I like a bar with personality. I have been to places where the bartender was rude to me and I was hooked after that. I knew I found my home. When I see someone get his / her @ss chewed at a bar, that just makes me more eager to tune in for more action next time. We're all different.