Another Email...

From: XXX
Sent: Wed 11/18/09 6:36 PM
To: athensdoorguy@hotmail.com

im not sure what it is about the bars here but it seems like the owners are more willing to hire these small guys for door jobs then a bigger guy like me. im just wondering if you had any advice for getting a bouncer job. im just not understanding why these college kids are getting jobs over townie locals

As its always gone with bouncer jobs, being "big" doesn't make you a better worker. It certainly helps in the times when shit is hitting the fan, but the percent that happens is extremely small. Fights happen and a half dozen average sized guys can break it up as effectively as two big guys, generally.

My general opinion is that I'd rather have a guy with a good head on his shoulders than a big guy whos only advantage is that he can bust some heads should the opportunity arise. A smart door guy is better than a big door guy. But I'll be honest, having a few giants on your staff always makes me breath a little easier when we find ourselves squaring off against a few members of the O line on the sidewalk.

Another aspect is that college kids bring their college friends into bars. It's always been like that, and always will be. Owners like that because a lot of college kids are going to school on mom and dads dime, and more often than that they'll have some extra money from mom and dad to blow on the bars downtown. College kids = $$$. See if you can make the connection here.

Unfortunately, locals are generally viewed as negative, and to hire a few locals for your bar usually means more locals inside the bar, which means less college kids, which equals less money.

You get the picture.

Don't blame the messanger, this has simply been my experience over the years. Sorry man.

An Email I Received...

Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:26:40 -0800
From: XXX
Subject: Bar help for out of towner please?
To: athensdoorguy@hotmail.com
Hey so im 20, auburn student, and in town for the game this weekend and we cant find a single bar that will let me in and everyone else with us is 21, i feel awful for ruining their wkend. All the bars in auburn are 18+ enter 21 to drink, did not expect this. Looked online and found a few places whose websites says they allow 18+ entry but went to those places and could not get in. Is there ANY place downtown we can go after the game tomorrow night?im not trying to get in to drink, just want my friends to be able to go where they want and all of us to experience athens! This sucksssss :( > > Sent from my iPhone

Unfortunately, the Athens government has scared the hell out of bar owners so much with their underaged stings and stiff fines that while it's legal for a person 18-21 to be in a bar, most bars have now decided to only let in people who are 21+. There's simply too much liability and penalities from the government to risk letting under-21 people in and then hoping they won't get their hands on any alcohol.

I feel bad that this girl came all the way out to Athens and can't get in anywhere, even though she claims she's not interested in drinking, but theres simply no way to effectively guarantee that she won't drink. On the other hand, I can't feel too bad for her, seeing as she should know that wanting to get into a bar while being underaged could pose a problem.

Again, the government has spent an inordinate amount of time and money making things incredibly difficult for the bar industry in Athens. I don't know the solution, but the fact that their stringent enforcement of questionable rules and laws, some of which have been found to be unconstitutional (such as making a minimum age requirement for bar employees), that put a sizable dent in our wallets and sanity. It's difficult for those of who are simply trying to make a living.

It's fucking ridiculous, to be blunt.

The government has set up quite a complex maze of hoops and obstacles that the bar industry has to navigate in order to comply with their numerous demands, and then when there's a mistep or failure on our part to stay current with what they require, we're fined exorbitant fees and even forced to close the business down temporarily or permanently.

But I guess at this point we shouldn't expect anything less than ridiculousness from the Athens-Clarke County government.

From failblog.org...