Bar owner sparks online debate after complaining about customers ‘just ordering water’

Drinking tap water with a meal is poor form, according to one UK bar owner who says customers who don’t order drinks aren’t valuing her business.

A bar owner in the UK has sparked a heated debate after complaining about customers ordering tap water instead of drinks with their meals.

Bristol Spirit owner Sam Espensen posted the rant on Twitter after 14 people asked for water in one week at the bar’s food pop-ups.

“If you just ask for tap water, it feels like you are telling us you don’t value our business enough to buy a drink, which is the reason we exist,” she wrote.

“If you come to Bristol Spirit and you only drink free tap water — we will not make enough money from your table to break even, let alone turn a profit.”

Listen: the team @Bristol_Spirit want to talk about people ordering free tap water at bars and restaurants. Click below to hear Sam Espensen from @EspensenSpirit explain why #HeartNews pic.twitter.com/vFhESwS92u

— Heart West News (@HeartWestNews) May 24, 2019

Ms Espensen said the business had 26 covers in one sitting, and for 14 people to just drink water was a “significant amount of income” over a month.

“We understand that you may not have a lot of money, but we cannot survive as a business on money from you just eating,” she said. “This is because we have food pop-ups, so the majority of the money from the food goes to them — and rightly so.”

She stressed “we are a bar not a restaurant”. “If you don’t want to drink alcohol, we have an excellent range of low-sugar mocktails and non-alcoholic alternatives,” she said.

The owner deleted the post after a backlash.

Some on Twitter were not happy with the post, pointing out bars are required by law to provide free tap water. “Discouraging people from doing so can lose you your licence,” wrote Nikos Christo.

“You have opted to go for a niche business, it hasn’t worked and you are only able to get customers by serving food. Rethink your business model.”

Shannon McCrary agreed, saying the customer shouldn’t be blamed “for the management not thinking enough about food cost that they will turn a profit on the food alone”.

“If you are losing money on your food alone then you need to cut food costs or set higher food prices, not blame the customer,” he wrote.

Many supported her, however. “I feel there’s an unspoken contract — when you walk into a bar and take up space, you buy a drink,” said Richard Fry.

“That’s the nature of their business. That’s why they are there. Indie bars can only survive if you buy drinks. This isn’t an unreasonable argument, it’s essential!”

Peter Conlan added, “The woman is merely suggesting that without bar sales her business will cease to exist, a perfectly reasonable explanation of her predicament. She is providing a service with overheads mitigated by the profit on booze, no booze no service, simple.”

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