No more patronizing Touche for me.

In the Gay bar scene, there are 3 ways bars can attract patrons. One is their drink specials. Be it some slushy fruity mix or discounted prices, gay people can go to those establishment for it. Second is via their entertainment. Some bars have music videos, some have lives kareoke, some have live drag shows, some have porn videos, some have go go dancers and some have good dancing music. But whatever their entertainment, they can attract crowds looking for those specific entertainment. And lastly, a busy bar tends to attract more patrons. After all, most gay people tend to go out to meet other gay men. So a crowded gay bar can attract more gay people in.

And the more crowd the bar is, the more percentage of those people will be buying drinks. And the more drinks bought translate to more income for the bar. Bars are there to make money so more patrons are welcomed.

Last night I went out after staying in for several weeks. I went to Jackhammer and then to Touche. I have patronized Touche many many times in the past and have bought many many drinks from that bar before. In fact I use to have a favorite bar tender there. But last night when I went there, I was in between drinks. Meaning I was resting before I have another drink since I just had one from Jackhammer. I was just hanging out in the back looking at some of the things going on when an old bearded leather man asked me if I have visited their bar recently. And I said not yet since I had a drink at the Jackhammer. He promptly and rudely told me to go to Jackhammer if I am not going to buy any drinks from their bar. He did not bother to just request me to buy a drink from their bar as well. So I left and went back to Jackhammer where I end up buying 2 more drinks.

I can see where they are coming from. They can not make money if their patrons just hang out and not buy drinks. But on the other hand, the more patrons inside the bar will automatically translate to more percentage of those patrons buying drinks. And the more crowded their bar is, even more patron will want to go inside. So it is to their best interest to welcome all patrons even if some of them are not buying drinks. If Touche is so hell bent in insisting that all their patrons buy a drink, they should have a cover charge that can be used to buy drinks. That is what Jackhammer does on a busy weekend. That seems like a better business strategy to make money than have a odious man going around rudely telling patrons to buy drinks or get out. Touche does not want to scare away potential patrons by a cover charge and they know that if they did charge cover, their patrons will decrease in number. On the other hand, having a rude man going around telling patrons off is a sure way to decrease their number of patrons. I certainly will have to think very hard before I patronize that bar again. I can easily, without regrets, bring my business somewhere else where they treat their patrons better. Way to go Touche.