Bartender in Chicago gets beaten by an off duty cop??

Ok, this might be a long one.

I will openly say at this time that I'm totally against women opening a bar and working alone. If there's someone there with them that could handle a problem that might happen then by all means go for it. I'm not saying that it's the woman's responsibility to make sure that person is there. If anything, it's the management's.

The biggest excuse that I hear a lot is, "Well, how likely is it that something's gonna happen?" It's about as likely as I'll get shot or knifed in the gut for refusing someone entrance. All it takes is that one time.

Now. Just so I don't look like a sexist pig, let me clarify a few things.

As everyone knows through common sense there are many different types of people. There are those that can handle themselves and those that can not. Out of ten women that I know, maybe two of them could stand up and fight off a 6' tall 250lb man. The other eight wouldn't be able to even put up a fight.

This is not a topic about men being better or women being weak. It's a topic of common sense. I've had this conversation before because certain women want an early shift at a bar because that way they can get off early and still enjoy their night. My argument is that at most bars there isn't a doorman during the early shift hours. So I would prefer a guy working those hours because a guy can usually handle those circumstances better. Plus, let's be honest, a guy getting beat up is totally different than a woman getting beat up.

So here's where the whole topic stems from. In Chicago, a young woman bartender was beaten down by an off duty alcoholic police officer. I'll guarantee the only reason that it's getting a lot of press is because it was a police officer that was involved. I've known a few other people that have been beaten much worse just for their wallet as they walk home and it never hit the news.

Now I don't know what hours the bartender was working but by the video below I would guess that she was working the early shift. What's worse is to watch as the guy in the lower left of the video runs away.

How do you run away when you see a woman getting hit repeatedly by someone?

From an article that I read, the officer had just finished an in-patient substance abuse program on March 5th. Seems like that helped out a lot.

If you want the whole story you can try these links. I'm not sure which one will work for you as most newspapers won't let you see content unless you sign up for them. So here's a few different links you can try.

Chicago Tribune

ABC 7 - Chicago

CBS 2 - Chicago

The officer has been stripped of his police powers and has a huge bail amount set. The department is even looking into firing him now that he did something that got caught on camera.

I'll try to keep current on this issue since I know I haven't been around much.

Meetings....

We normally have meetings. Usually it's about once a month and a whole lot of nothing is ever resolved about any issues we have. People bitch and moan all month long and when they finally have the possibility to say something, they don't say a word. Our meetings are more like funerals.

This one was kind of fun. It was a meeting just to introduce the new manager and the owner was actually there. Some people recognized him from coming in the past couple weeks, others didn't.

So Paulie said his hellos and put his thoughts out on the table. He wants to change a few things and I think that scares some people. Which is always a good thing.

So the next few days he will be sitting in on some shifts and getting the feel for things. Should be pretty interesting to see how people act now that they know he's the incoming manager. Of course, it's the same old shit for me. I have nothing to worry about since I never worry about much.

The pool is still in effect and Stewart is still on the top of the list.

Then over at the club everything is still the same as ever. Nothings really changed there, the politics are still eating away at me though. Sometimes I just can't understand playing favorites when one person is obviously better than another. Then again, I don't have the same kind of addictions as other people.

Paulie the Lurker...

Recently there's been a new Lurker in the bar, he's a little different than the others. He actually buys drinks and sits at the bar. The bad part is how much he watches the bartenders and what they do.

People who sit back and only watch the bar seem to set off my alarm. Maybe I over think but to me it's almost like the person is looking to see where money is going and how things work back there. Then again, that's why I'm here, to over think and keep it all safe.

So after a couple nights of seeing this guy come in and sit at the bar near the door I decided to talk to him. I caught him outside as he was walking up and figured I'd just get it all out of the way and satisfy my curiosity.

"Can I see your ID?"

"Yea, sure man."

I looked at his ID and held on to it. "How's your night goin tonight?"

"It's goin good man. Yours?"

"Mines fairly the same as usual. You new to the neighborhood?"

"You could say that. I used to bartend up north but now I'm doing something new soon."

"That's good. I do have a question for you though." I stood there with his ID in my hand still, "Any reason why you've been coming here for the past few days and staring down my bartenders?"

"Oh yea, you noticed that huh? Well, I have my reasons." He started to reach for his ID back and I pulled my hand away.

"Well, you might wanna tell me your reasons if you want this back or even if you want to come into the bar."

"Listen man, this really isn't necessary..."

"I'll tell you what's necessary. What's your reasons?"

"Well... your gettin a new manager right?" I just stood there looking at him and shrugged. "Well, I'm that guy. I'm the new guy and I've just been checkin the place out. Phil should have let you know that."

"He hasn't, which is normal. What's your name?"

"I'm Paulie... glad to know someone around here is paying attention."

"It's what I get paid for. So no one else knows about this?"

"Well, they're not supposed to. I'd rather keep it that way."

"No problem. Don't know who you are."

We shook hands and Paulie walked in.

I think the game just got more interesting and the odds have all changed in the pool. I think I'm going to have an unfair advantage in the pool.

It's about time I had the advantage over something.

Times, they are a changin...

So talk of a new manager is starting to become more truth than myth. Phil's moving on and heading off in a new direction and so someone has to take his place. The owner has been coming in periodically and checking up on a few things here and there. When he's here it's like a giant kiss ass party.

Yea, I said kiss ass party. When ever he shows up everyone is on their best behaviour and they do exactly what they're supposed to. It really doesn't matter to me, he walks up, I say hello, and he walks in. Then he's out of my hair. Once in a while we'll make small talk and he'll ask me how things are going inside the bar. I usually just tell him that things are good and I wouldn't know if anything was bad.

The good thing about the little talks we have is when something is bothering me. I can tell him straight out and if it's something that needs to be fixed it gets fixed. Certain things have lasted with me from past jobs such as seniority and he feels the same way.

So there's no word just yet as to what's going to happen. It could be a promotion for anyone here or it could be a completely new person all together. I guess I could ask but then I'd know something that everyone else would want to know. I don't really care to have that burden and it's more fun to see people squirm.

Between Ramone and I, we figure there's going to be a few people fired. Most new managers come in and fire a couple people just to make examples out of them.

We got a little pool going to see who's first.

Alumni...

No matter where you work there are always ex-employees. They might not work there anymore for one of a million reasons. Most of them are pretty cool and the others don't really cause any problems or the opposite any time they show up.

Some of them claim to be the reason why the clubs still open due to the many things they've done there. Which isn't too far from the fact considering everyone who works there is a reason why the club is still open. Why do I say that? I've seen what I get paid, and it is a small reason for staying there. So in my opinion we are all helping the club by staying and not making them find new help all the time.

Sometimes the alumni forget how far back they've worked there. For some, it's been at least five years. That was a totally different animal back then. Five years doesn't seem like a long time but when it comes to employee turn over and the status of the club, it is.

One particular alumni, who I'll just call Al, loves to tell the same stories over and over. All about how Al saved this place so much money and he did so many things to set the place right. He wasn't even a manager or a part of the doorstaff but he did so much.

Now, maybe he did and I'm just tired of listening to his same stories over and over. Maybe I'm tired of listening to him put the same people up on pedestals. Maybe I'm tired of him not listening to what I'm saying or interrupting me. What ever it is, he's boring. He's also a little too full of himself.

There is an employee entrance at the club and certain alumni use it to come in. Not all the alumni have this access but certain ones who left on good terms, still work occasionally, or are good friends still use it. This door is also mainly staffed by the new guys. This way they get to know the employees and alumni and all the important people they should be looking out for.

When ever there is a new guy, and he does his job right, alumni will have to walk around to the front door. Then we walk them back to the new guy and introduce them. It might take a couple trips but sooner or later the guy will remember them.

Then you have Al. Al's normally a pretty mellow guy. He talks a lot, is kind of boring, and travels for work. On a normal night he'd introduce himself to the new guy and then walk around to the front and come in. Then walk back and talk to the guy with the same stories he's told everyone a million times. Once in a while you get Drunk Al, the Hyde to his Jekyl.

One night, Al didn't want to walk around to the front door. So when the Pete stopped him Al decided to walk in anyways. Pete tried to stop him by just standing in his way. One thing most people don't think of Al is that, for being a small guy, he can hold his own and some. So Al pulled out one of his moves and tossed Pete to the ground.

I was walking through the club and saw Pete jumping up off the ground and get into a wrestling match with Al. Part of me wanted to stand back and see what would happen but I also knew not to leave anyone with Al in that situation. Even if Al is annoying and never ending.

So I got over there and reached down and grabbed Al and pulled him up off of Pete. I had Al in a full nelson and had his feet about a foot off the ground. "Al, it's ok, it's Mike.. calm down man..."

"Man, tell this douche bag I'm ok!"

"Al, I think tonight might be a good night to just go home."

"What!? If it weren't for me you wouldn't even have a job!"

"Yea, and if it weren't for me you'd be dealing with TD."

"Yea... maybe your right.."

Pete got up and stood there. I could tell he wanted to just fire off a jab into Al's face but he stood his post. I walked Al over to the front door and told him to just go home and come back another day and apologize to Pete. TD was at the door and asked what Al had to apologize for. I told him it was no big deal and Al walked off. After he was a few blocks away I explained to TD what had happened. TD shrugged it off and said he was wondering when Al was going to go off again.

Later that night we had to talk to Pete and got him up to date on Al and explain to him how Al is. Pete didn't take it to well but he did accept Al's apology the next night.

From inside the door...

When you step inside the bar there's not much there. There isn't a pool table, there isn't a dart board and there isn't one of those annoying Golden Tee golf games.

It's just a bar.

But beyond it being just a bar and nothing much more, there's a family of people that work here. As with any family there's all kinds of bitching and moaning. Since I'm usually not in the mix of bartenders and barbacks I tend to hear a lot of the venting and complaints.

There's a small wave of change happening at the bar inside the network of tenders and backs. The bar is going through a little change and the clientele is changing as well. Specials are being brought out and the neighborhood is changing.

One of the biggest complaints that comes up is Stewart. He's a decent guy but just has bad habits and isn't one of the quickest barbacks we have. He cuts corners a lot, gives away a lot of drinks, has too many 'friends', and his habits are slowly starting to consume him.

Now whatever a persons habits are don't concern me. They do start to concern me when they start to effect me.

Each night I have a certain amount of plugs to give out. By plug I basically mean wooden nickels, these are basically free drink tickets. I give them out to certain people at the door to help them feel a little more welcomed at the bar. Or maybe they tipped me to get in and I feel like I should get them a drink. However they get them really isn't a big deal because they're there to give out.

So this only effects me because Stewart sends people up to me to get a couple plugs. Now, if its a really slow night I'll give them a couple. If it's a busy night I tell them to go to hell. Of course, these certain friends of his are only friends due to need. He needs them for his habits and they use him for free drinks. The nights when it is too busy to give them any I get the dirty looks and later Stewart apologizes for them after I tell him about it. To which I tell him that the next time they do it I'll toss them no matter if they're his friends or not.

So beyond that I get to hear the waitresses and others complain how he doesn't get their drinks or he's hanging over the bar making out with a chic, or he disappears for a half hour or more at a time. As if I can do something to change it. I usually ask them if they've said anything to Phil about it and their normal reply is, "Well, I don't want to seem like I'm being a bitch."

My only reply, "Sometimes being a bitch is how you get things done."

With the changing of the bar there's rumors of a new bar manager coming to town. Maybe once he gets here things will change. Whenever there's a change like that everyone tends to straighten up and fly right. Maybe Stewart will get his head out of his ass or maybe he'll get let go. Only time will tell.

Myself, I'm not worried. I know that a new manager isn't one of my problems. If, by chance, he does want to get rid of me then I'll just move on to another place and start a new timeline, no hair off my back. I know that I can jump into another job within days.

Let the changes begin.

Kharma's a bitch...

Sometimes things happen for a reason. Some people believe in Kharma and that's pretty much the way I see it as well even though I'm not much of a religious person. I guess I just haven't found one I fully agree with.

Working in this neighborhood you tend to get to know a lot of the people that work in the neighborhood. It's usually a good idea since people help people. Sometimes it's a good thing and sometimes it's a bad thing.

Mcgee stopped in early one night. He's a doorguy at one of the local bars but usually doesn't show up until late but just early enough to get a drink in and leave. He's shifty and I usually keep an eye on him coming and going. He's been told not to come to the bar before and we've asked him to leave a few times before due to his drunkeness and his mouth.

He came walking up, shook my hand and looked at me with his glazed over eyes. "I got fired tonight.... you hiring? I really need a job.... I can do this shit... easy..."

"What happened man?"

"Eh.... you know.... they said I was drunk.... I told them I wasn't drunk... I was just having a few drinks...."

"Well, we're not looking for anyone but you should try next door. I heard they were cleaning house."

"Nah.... they won hire me.... I need a beer...."

Mcgee walked in and got himself a beer. He stumbled through a couple more times running around the neighborhood stopping at places asking if they needed help.

A brilliant thing to do while he was drunk.

Now even if we were looking for help we wouldn't hire him. He's an asshole. He's one of those guys that abuses his position. He's been barred from the bar for "borrowing" bottles of liquor and for running his mouth way too much. Plus he won't get hired due to his other ways of making money.

The guy dug his own hole by his own actions. You treat people bad, you make your quiet actions known, you do the wrong things and it comes back to you. People can see you falling down and no one wants to hold you up because they don't want the hassle from someone that's never done anything for them.

I'm sure Mcgee will find something away from here. If not there might be a new bum on the town.

'ello der ladies...

No matter where you work there's always that one guy. Any guy reading this can say that he's known one or two like this. I never really got it. Through some psychological babble I'd probably be told that it'd have to do with some kind of abandonment issues. Which wouldn't make sense since I've never been abandoned. (Well, except that one time... When I fell into that well and had to fight my way out with tweezers at the age of three.... Ok, I totally made that up...)

Anyway, there's always that one guy who does whatever he can for the ladies. He does this expecting, and usually getting, something back in return. Of course, not just any certain lady, one who's body, catches his eye. Now, I won't say that I haven't done it. I've tried to impress a few ladies in my time. Mostly a waste of time for me but Casper has it down to an almost science.

This guy can spot his nightly conquest from a block away. Then all he needs is to see if she's coming his way. He'll comp her a few drinks, maybe entry, and then have someone cover his post as he does his thing. Being higher on the seniority gives him the slight advantages of that.

"Man, thanks for watching this for me. I got her number and we're hookin up when I get out of here."

"No problem man. She's a pretty hot chic, what's her name?"

"Huh?"

"What was her name?"

"Uh, hold on," he pulls the paper out of his pocket that has her number on it. "Yea, it's Sara."

The many stories always seem to start out this way too.
"That chic I met here the other night. Let me tell you..."
"She's that one that was here, I got her a few drinks. Then later we..."
"You know that chic I got in last week, I went and had a few drinks with her after we left here. Man, that girl can..."

A few of us have even thought about starting some kind of a betting system on him. We just have to figure out the odds.

Now, besides all this, Casper is a pretty decent guy. He shows up on time occasionally, he sets up his station once in a while, and if everything goes right he's never the last to leave. All qualities that every one wishes they could get away with.

His stories never cease to amaze. Sometimes his stories make you wonder though. I mean, can women really bend that way? I hate to sound like a novice here but I'll gladly admit I am. Some of the things that he describes just sound like it should be coming from the Exorcist movie or something crazy like that.

I guess I'm in a little awe of Casper once in a while and yet just the opposite at times too.

Later Sparky...

So it was just under three weeks. The scrawny, little, spiked hair, Sparky has left the building. No one really knows why but there's a good guess that the kid got scared.

After a few big shows and having to listen to customers and bands the kid never came back. I guess it was too much for him to make heavy decisions and stand up to people.

I have to admit, when I first started working on a doorstaff it was pretty hard. A lot of people just don't have the backbone for it. You have to be able to make a decision right there and then and stick by it no matter what that person says to you. If necessary you need to be able to back that decision up as well.

I had a feeling when he walked in the door that first day he wouldn't make it a month. The way he stared at the table and floor when he was talking was a big give away. The kid just didn't have the self confidence needed to do the job.

I worked with the kid so little that I actually just noticed that he was gone. From what I was told he had a pretty rough night with some people walking past him and giving him some static and just never came back. He didn't call in and he still hasn't came back for his last check. I doubt he will come back for it. More than likely they'll mail it out to him.

From what I know, under three weeks is a new record for fastest time for either quitting or being fired. Which means ole Sparky will be remembered for something.

Bullsh*t -n- Bologna....

What ever corner you turn there's almost always some kind of bullshit going on. At every job I've ever worked there's always bullshit going on. Sometimes good but usually there are teams set up to play the field. The connivers versus the workers.

Let's take a look at these words.

Connive:

1. To cooperate secretly in an illegal or wrongful action;
2. To scheme; plot.

Workers:

1. 1. One who works at a particular occupation or activity: an office worker
2. A member of the working class.

Two totally different, opposite ends of the spectrum, words. Yet, they seem to exist within a level of existence that is soon to come crashing down.

Whenever you work at a place where your boss falls for fake people being cool you will always have connivers. These people are pretty much useless. They'll sit around and joke with just the right people.

They might even stop into work early, while the day staff is still around, just so they can find out who the real bosses are. Then they start doing favors for them and get on their good sides. Obviously, the day staff has no idea what's going on at night so they think that person is awesome for showing up so early for work.

Next thing you know, they get the good shifts or a faster advancement because the day boss loves them. Molly and I have never really had a problem seeing eye to eye. The times that we have had talks have always been settled and one of us has seen a point of view that the other did not. She usually understands that she doesn't know what's going on at night. She's never here at night and likes it that way. So once in a while she needs to get an idea of what is going on.

The problem in that is this. If she found out half of the things that are going on then half of the staff would probably get fired. Between the self inflicted habits and people just not doing their jobs they'd be out the door. Including one Sparky that she thought was such a great idea. An update on him soon to come. So sometimes it's better to let things play out the way you want them too.

This is when the other side of the coin kicks in and also how things get a little twisted. There are definitely teams in a sense at any bigger place. Taking the way our little club works it always seems to be the doorstaff versus everyone else.

The doorstaff is basically made up of blue collar workers. We all know how most regular jobs work. You go to work, do your job, and after so long you get rewarded. End of story. Unless your worthless you get what's coming to you. Sometimes you do even when your worthless just not in a good way. Besides all this, when we see someone get screwed over we want to try and fix it. It might take us a while but it gets fixed. Especially when it's someone that we consider part of our team.

Everyone else is basically the bartenders, managers, and the higher ups. The bartenders are usually no problems. Most of them have been doormen before they became bartenders. They know what's going on and don't usually involve themselves.

The manager is pretty pliable. Depending on how you handle them depends on where they are. We keep them out of trouble so they listen but that's never anything to really believe in.

The higher ups are ones I stay away from. These are people you don't want to include in anything. Usually that's where the top dog goes if really needed. The top dog (TD) is the head doorman. TD knows all the higher ups and can state his opinion to them without consequence. If I were to open my mouth to them I'd probably get fired on the spot.

Now the twisted part. This is when you get all the different people going in all the different paths. The connivers become the hunted and the workers becoming the connivers against the connivees. Certain people that want in to see certain friends won't be allowed in. Favors will be hard to get and the connivees will be watched for any certain patterns they start.

It's almost like a well drawn out battle plan. In the nightlife it really is basically all about what people can do for people. Then again, it's also what you can't do for people too. No one really knows what can or can't be done for anyone. We can tell you no and the manager says yes but the manager has to come to us and say yes. We don't have to look for the manager. The inconvenience is there for both the parties, the person wanting something and the manager having to make time for them. We're the middle man, we don't always have what you want.

Some might say that we just get lazy because we won't go look for someone. Guess what, that's not our job. When it comes to letting people in that are on a guest list, this is our job.

"Your on the list, come on in."

OR

"Your not on the list. The cover's $__."

"But I was told I was on the list for tonight."

"Your not, so you can pay the cover or don't and not come in."

"Well, can you get ______? They said they'd put me on the list."

"No we can't. Either pay or don't, your choice."

That's when the person gets all upset and leaves. Which could mean a numerous amount of things could or could not happen. It's just a small slice of enjoyment for us and maybe an eye opener for someone else.

Hey there Sparky...

Every once in a while there's a call for some new blood at the venue. Usually, we look for big guys that look like they can hold their own against a whole group of people in a mosh pit. That is if we, the security staff, do the hiring.

Of course, most people do all their job hunting during the day. Just like Sparky did.

As I was sitting at the door a young kid walked in asking to leave his number. Explaining that he had just filled in an application earlier and had put down the wrong number. All 120 pounds, skin covered skeleton with spiky hair of him was asking nervously to leave his number. Repeating himself a few times as he stared at the table. He kept saying that he talked to someone but couldn't remember her name.

The her that he was referring to was the day manager. The lady who signs the checks. I've never had any troubles with Molly and that's how I like it. I've heard a few horror stories about people who have had problems with her though. Once in a while she decides to hire a security guy and it's usually not all that great of an idea. She kind of hires doorguys like the bar hires waitresses. They look good so they must be good.

Inevitably these little scrawny kids either quit or are fired within a couple months depending on how many hectic shows we have.

Once in a while we are proven wrong. Pete is a pretty scrawny guy but he has some training behind him and can hold his own. Then again, he's only been around for about two months.

So now, not only will we be babysitting the drunks and rowdies at the shows, we'll also have to keep an eye on Sparky.

Get your game on Sparky. No one likes to babysit anyone they work with.