• Home
  • About PubClub.com Nightlife Pubs And Clubs
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

PubClub

Where The World Goes To Party! A Nightlife & Travel Blog

Good Bars and Bad Bars, Smart Bars and Dumb Bars

July 11, 2012 by kevinwilkerson 1 Comment

Dry Tour Wine Bar in Venice, CA, Loses Customers By Charging Full Price For Drinks on a Pub Crawl

With a bar full of fun and partying people, Dry Tour made a dumb move.


Just as there are good bars and bad bars, there are smart bars and dumb bars.

Sharkeez in Hermosa, Manhattan and other Southern California beach cities is a smart bar. It welcomes new customers, takes care of loyal customers and if presented with a large number of patrons on a group outing, treats them as if they’ve just arrived at a carnival.

Dry Tour wine bar in Venice, CA, is a dumb bar.

At least from what I experienced.

When Dry Tour was presented with an opportunity to toast new business, it instead spilled drinks on its customers. Messed up the order. Put the wrong tab on the credit card. In other words, it made a mistake.

The occasion was a slow Saturday afternoon in early July. Dry Tour had just a couple of customers who were sitting quietly at a table having lunch. Suddenly, some 30-40 people stampeded into the place, all dressed in white with red bandanas. They – we, actually – were part of the inaugural Venice Beach Running of the Bulls, a silly but wildly fun  event that basically consisted of people running from one bar to another along Ocean Front Walk. Dry Tour was the finishing bar.

Upon our arrival, someone I assumed to be the manager announced that for a short amount of time, the sangria (a perfect drink for this event) would be $4. After that, it would return to its regular price of $8. Those who had drink tickets – the organizers were selling a small stack of them for $30 – would still get the $4 price.

Dry Tour, on Windward Ave., was dry with customers until the party group arrived.

 

Except few people were actually buying the tickets ($30, on top of $4 a drink, meant a $50 bar tab was looming). And after a couple of rounds, the price of those sangrias did indeed increase to $8. Eight dollars!? Come on! We’ve just put nearly 40 people in your bar, all willing and wanting to drink, and you’re slamming us with the FULL PRICE of your drinks?

Well you can imagine what happened next. The party atmosphere changed from people taking pictures and laughing to the silence of a Sunday church service. Conversations shifted from the kind that occurs when mostly single people are consuming cocktails on a pub crawl type of event to the price of the drinks.

Talk about a buzzkill.

People started looking around to see if anyone was going elsewhere. Since this was a first-year event, there were no other scheduled stops, so the once-raging bull of a party ended with a fizzle. While it still had plenty of potential sizzle.

This is when Dry Tour became a dumb bar. By sticking to its full price, in the middle of the day, no less, it chased away customers. We gladly would have stayed and bought more drinks, and made more money for the bar and the bartenders, had management simply lowered the prices. Instead, the bar lost dozens of customers as quickly as an ocean breeze blows away a cocktail napkin.

It’s not like there were other people were streaming into the place, either. In fact, other than our group, not another single customer entered the bar.  And think many – or any – of us will ever go back to Dry Tour? It’s doubtful.

Dumb.

Now I know some people love the place. For what it is most of the time, a wine bar, I’m sure it’s fine. It has a bartender who wears funky glasses and a bow tie and possesses the exact kind of outgoing personality that makes a place distinctive. Even on this day, he was as lively as his customers.

What Dry Tour should have done – what any bar should do when a group of people as part of a pub crawl or organized event comes into its business – is to offer Happy Hour specials or discounted drinks. The aforementioned Sharkeez does it and even throws in huge platters of appetizers for free. Had Dry Tour charged $5 for the sangria instead of $8, it would have kept people in the bar, while also keeping some value in those coupons.

Turned off by the price of the sangria, I decided to get a couple of beers for myself and my friend. I asked what I assumed to be the manager (he was helping out behind the bar, and that’s a credit to him, I’ll give him that, but it was obvious he was not one of the bartenders), about the cost of a beer. He said I could have a draft for $7, but bottles of Stella Artois were $6. I went for the Stella, which is one of my favorite beers anyway.

I was then presented a bill for $13.05.

“I thought the beers were $6,” I said.

“They are,” the guy replied. “But this is the price with the tax.”

The only other bar I’ve ever encountered that hits customers with tax on top of the stated or published price is the high-end Strand House in Manhattan Beach. Other bars include it; if they say a beer is $6, they charge you $6. Plus, tax on two beers is $1.03!?

Dumb. Again.

 

Filed Under: Bars & Nightlife Tagged With: bars and nightlife, Los Angeles, Venice bars, wine bars

Comments

  1. Rickey Sanabria says

    April 16, 2013 at 4:53 pm

    A wine bar (also known as a bodega) is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine, rather than liquor or beer. A typical feature of many wine bars is a wide selection of wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, such as Italian wine or Champagne. While many wine bars are private “stand alone” establishments, in some cases, wine bars are associated with a specific wine retailer or other outlet of wine, to provide additional marketing for that retailer’s wine portfolio.,

    My personal blog
    http://www.caramoan.ph/caramoan-cotivas-island/

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Unfinished Man

Search

Today On PubClub.com

EVENTS CALENDAR:
• Sept. 16-Oct. 3 – Oktoberfest, Munich

LET’S BE SOCIAL!
 
PubClub.com is a member of the Travel & Tourism Marketing Association, Inc.​, and the Travel Massive chapters in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County (CA).

Instagram

Follow on Instagram

PubClub (@pubclub) • Instagram photos and videos

Destinations

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Destinations (2,264)
    • Africa (1)
    • Asia (18)
      • Japan (5)
        • Tokyo (3)
      • Taiwan (1)
      • Thailand (7)
    • Australia (19)
      • Surfer's Paradise (3)
      • Sydney (5)
    • Brazil (7)
      • Rio (2)
    • Camping (1)
    • Canada (21)
      • Montreal (2)
      • Niagara Falls (5)
      • Toronto (2)
    • Caribbean (63)
      • Cuba (1)
      • San Juan (7)
      • Virgin Islands (24)
    • Central America (1)
      • Costa Rica (1)
    • Europe (106)
      • Amsterdam (14)
      • Britain (1)
      • France (3)
      • Germany (6)
      • Ibiza (2)
      • Kiev (1)
      • London (6)
      • Malta (1)
      • Monaco (1)
      • Moscow (1)
      • Munich (5)
      • Paris (5)
      • Poland (3)
        • Krakow (2)
      • Prague (6)
      • Sweden (1)
      • Switzerland (33)
        • Basel (5)
        • Bern (3)
        • Swiss Alps (1)
        • Zermatt (3)
        • Zurich (4)
    • Greek Islands (29)
      • Corfu (3)
      • Ios (2)
      • Mykonos (7)
      • Santorini (5)
    • Mexico (13)
      • Baja (1)
      • Cabo San Lucas (1)
      • Puerto Vallarta (1)
      • Tijuana (2)
    • Ski Resorts (73)
      • Aspen (1)
      • Austria (5)
      • Big Bear (15)
      • Big Sky (6)
      • Mammoth (18)
      • Squaw Valley (4)
      • Whistler (3)
    • Tokyo (1)
    • USA (1,903)
      • Alabama (3)
      • Alaska (1)
      • Arizona (8)
        • Lake Havasu (1)
        • Scottsdale (3)
        • Sedona (1)
      • Boston (5)
      • California (1,426)
        • Carmel (24)
        • Central Coast (9)
        • Lancaster (16)
        • Los Angeles (830)
          • Catalina Island (12)
          • Culver City (1)
          • El Segundo (4)
          • Hermosa Beach (177)
            • Fourth Of July (12)
            • Smackfest Events (23)
          • Hollywood (17)
          • Huntington Beach (3)
          • Lake Arrowhead (2)
          • Long Beach (43)
            • Grand Prix (12)
          • Manhattan Beach (78)
          • Marina del Rey (6)
          • Newport Beach (44)
          • Orange County (29)
          • Party Report (16)
          • Redondo Beach (82)
          • Santa Monica (4)
          • South Bay (93)
          • Sunset Strip (5)
          • Temecula (13)
          • Venice Beach (5)
        • Mendocino (13)
        • Monterey (30)
          • Restaurant Reviews (10)
        • Napa (5)
        • Oakland (7)
        • Palm Springs (9)
        • Paso Robles (9)
        • San Clemente (1)
        • San Diego (346)
          • Balboa Park (1)
          • Del Mar (14)
          • Events (83)
          • Gaslamp (56)
          • Imperial Beach (6)
          • La Jolla (1)
          • Lifestyle (4)
          • Music (1)
          • Ocean Beach (6)
          • Oceanside (1)
          • Pacific Beach (5)
        • San Francisco (75)
          • Events (15)
        • Santa Barbara (1)
      • Chicago (10)
      • College Towns (1)
      • Colorado (4)
        • Denver (4)
      • Florida (87)
        • Daytona Beach (1)
        • Ft. Lauderdale (4)
        • Jacksonville (1)
        • Key West (24)
        • Keys (8)
        • Miami (10)
        • Panama City Beach (3)
      • Hawaii (25)
        • Waikiki Beach (15)
      • Indiana (1)
      • Indianapolis (3)
      • Las Vegas (173)
      • Michigan (2)
        • Traverse City (2)
      • Nevada (2)
      • New Jersey (1)
      • New Orleans (43)
      • New York City (16)
      • Newport, R.I. (1)
      • North Carolina (1)
      • Oregon (9)
        • Portland (8)
      • Seattle (2)
      • South Carolina (4)
        • Charleston (4)
      • St. Louis (1)
      • Tennessee (51)
        • Franklin (4)
        • Gatlinburg (6)
        • Knoxville (13)
        • Nashville (5)
        • Smoky Mountains (3)
      • Texas (7)
        • Austin (6)
        • San Antonio (1)
      • Utah (2)
      • Virginia (1)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Hong Kong (1)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Events

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Events (521)
    • BVI Interline Regatta (5)
    • Carnival (5)
    • Cinco de Mayo (2)
    • Exercise and Socalize (2)
    • Fourth of July (8)
    • Halloween (9)
    • Holidays (19)
      • Thanksgiving (7)
    • Indy 500 (10)
    • Kentucky Derby (12)
    • Memorial Day Weekend (5)
    • New Year's Eve (43)
    • Oktoberfest (11)
    • Party Report (46)
    • Running Of The Bulls (5)
    • Spring Break (7)
    • St. Patricks Day (8)
    • Sundance Film Festival (8)
    • Super Bowl (16)
    • Valentine's Day (10)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Sports

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Sports (525)
    • Baseball (9)
    • Beach Volleyball (3)
    • College Football (296)
    • Golf (13)
    • NFL (45)
    • Olympics (13)
    • Racing (27)
    • Soccer (8)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Lifestyle

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Lifestyle (1,658)
    • Beach Reads (1)
    • Cannabis (4)
    • Celebrity Sightings (6)
    • Entertainment (22)
    • Mr. Sorehead (3)
    • Music (295)
      • Bands (3)
      • Festivals (59)
      • Jimmy Buffett (47)
      • Trop Rock (13)
    • Party Stories (2)
    • People Profiles (10)
    • Singles Life (7)
      • Men Vs Women (2)
      • Relationships (2)
    • Social Media (2)
    • Spirits (27)
    • Travel (664)
      • Airlines (32)
      • Airports (1)
      • Blogger (369)
      • Cruise Ships (28)
      • Hotels (15)
      • Product Reviews (3)
      • RV (1)
      • Singles Travelers (1)
      • Solo Travel (2)
      • Touring Blog (12)
      • Weather (17)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

From the Bar Stool

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • From The Bar Stool (321)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Bars

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Bars (279)
    • Bars & Food (27)
    • Bars & Nightlife (205)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

News

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Business News (4,791)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • News (7)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Colleges

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Colleges (30)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Food and Drinks

  • 72 Hours (5)
  • Food and Drinks (426)
    • Beer (99)
    • Bourbon (2)
    • Cocktails (59)
    • Foddie Blog (27)
    • Restaurants (2)
    • Rum (10)
    • Singles Cooking (1)
    • spirits (9)
    • Spirits & Beer Industry (79)
    • Tequila (22)
    • Vodka (3)
    • Wine (82)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (7)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (4)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Party Report (3)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Subscribe To The Party Report

About PubClub.com

PubClub.com is a content-oriented nightlife tourist guide dedicated to social-minded travelers with articles on worldwide destinations such as Amsterdam, the Greek Islands, Prague, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Canada, and more. Top keywords for search are pubclub, pub club, party pubs, club pub, travel pub, pub club night, pubs and clubs and the pub club.
Read More...
Our Terms | Privacy

Legal

Ads

Powered by imFORZA