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Drink Service

Discussion in 'LV Strip Hotels' started by bighouse304, Aug 6, 2012.

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  1. Motorhead168

    Motorhead168 MIA

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    IMO the best for drink service was Aria. There is no second place.
     
  2. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    I didn't read through all the posts, so if this was covered-never mind.

    There are so many variables involved in this. We have several friends who are cocktail waitresses in LV and have firsthand knowledge. Here are just a few things that could result in poor service.

    CW calls in sick and isn't replaced, or there is delay in getting a replacement and one CW has to cover two areas. You can call in sick up to one hour before your shift is scheduled to start at some casinos.

    Break time- one CW might have to cover two areas.

    Ambition of CW. Does she need the money from tips? Or, would she prefer to yak with the customers and the bartender at the bar?

    Now if you happen to be in the casino when any of the above happens, you are probably going to complain about the crappy service. I'm not defending poor service and sometimes complaints are justified, but many times it is not the CW's fault. It is out of her control.

    There are other reasons, but at least this gives you an idea.
     
  3. Vegas freak

    Vegas freak Tourist

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    My experience at Paris has been the opposite.Just returned from Vegas
    and had great service at Paris.Sometimes to good.I did have one night
    that I waited a hour to be offered a drink,but after that it kept on coming.
    I guess its a hit or miss kind of thing.
     
  4. Tubbs

    Tubbs High-Roller

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    My experience is that there are no guarantees anywhere away from the high limit rooms and the bartops. You find a casino or casino area that seems to have great service. Next time you're there, you wait an hour for a CW! :rolleyes2:
     
  5. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    I don't end up ordering a lot of drinks so my criteria is a little different. One is one often the CW comes by. I hate going to casinos where they don't have enough service because I don't want to wait an hour or more for another chance to order. The other is how the CW collects orders. I like it when they take the effort to give everyone a chance to place an order. It annoys me when they breeze by yelling cocktails but never give you a chance to actually order.

    For me, ones that have been the most consistent are Harrah's and CP. They both have CWs that check with everyone to see if they need something. At Harrah's, I've been in areas where the service areas overlap so there are two CWs serving you. My only grip at CP is that it seems like the service areas at off peak hours are a little too big but the service overall is consistent.
     
  6. DReynolds86

    DReynolds86 Let's Go Pens!

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    There was a blackjack table right near the service station when I was at Paris. Single (or was it double?) deck with 3:2 on a natural and five feet from the service bar. Can't go wrong.
     
  7. marillo

    marillo Tourist

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    +1 for Wynn :beer:
     
  8. StudiodeKadent

    StudiodeKadent Tourist

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    Okay, the following is exclusively based on my experiences... so disclaimer!

    I'm not sure I'd rank them, but...

    Bellagio: Attractive waitresses typically with lots of cleavage, and the drinks are always high quality, speed can be inconsistent
    Aria: Generally quite fast but sometimes they cost-cut with cocktail ingredients. Waitress cleavage hidden behind sparkly mesh but the ladies are attractive
    Mirage: Efficient, fast and brought me anything I asked for during the day, although they cost-cut at night
    MGM Grand: Not the best quality (or best sized) drinks, but all the drink service I've had there has been surprisingly fast given the size of the casino, and they tend to comp me cigars too

    That said, the best drink service I've ever had was off-strip, at the M Resort.
     
  9. Jack21

    Jack21 Guest

    mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....driinnnnk serrrrvice....
     
  10. Ben Jammin

    Ben Jammin MIA

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    I used to like the drink service at the bar at the Western. I mean, they were fast. When you bellied up to the bar there was no mistaking what you were there for so the friendly bartender would just hand you one of those semi cold bottom shelf domestic draft tap beers in a plastic cup for only fifty cents!

    But seriously my best drink service has always been on a weekday when I'm the only one tipping at least a buck a beer.

    I've had some pretty friendly waitresses in my time that were more than generous with the casino's liquor,as long as I was tipping. Not to mention a few lonely bartenders that just happen to have an old bottle of Tres Generations laying around for in between Heinekens or Sierra Nevadas.
     
  11. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    Monte Carlo on the floor $5 tip a drink and never had an empty glass. High Limit room....$5 a drink never had an empty glass....but had the good stuff:thumbsup:
     
  12. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    I've found this to be endemic on the graveyard shift. There often isn't a lot of business for them, the density ratio is small (lots of walking for a relatively small number of orders), and not a lot of suits around to supervise them, so they almost adopt a "why bother?" attitude.
     
  13. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    Here's a rule that's never let me down. If you tip well on your first drink, your second one will come faster and will often be a double.

    What's tipping well? Depends on the property. At a low end property, $5 tips will get you very well served. Higher end properties, proportionately more.
     
  14. mrem3200

    mrem3200 VIP Whale

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    Does anyone have any idea how much money CW's make? I would assume the hourly rate is very low and it is almost all tips, but I would think the tips add up pretty quickly. A conservative (maybe) estimate - $5 per order delivered (assuming 5 drinks and each person gives $1). 6 orders per hour X 8 hour shift...5 days a week would be $1,200 per week (just in tips) before whatever they have to tip out to bartenders etc. Also, do they rotate who gets to work the high rollers area, which I assume would be better. Feel free to shoot holes in my estimate.
     
  15. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    Returned from Vegas a few days ago. Imperial Palace and Flamingo provided quick, consistent, friendly service for $1.00 tip per drink.
     
  16. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    Yes, they do rotate which areas they work and at which times of day as well because the casino and how busy they are is a lot different at 7PM than it is at 7AM. Some will also do shifts where they just provide breaks.

    For how much they make, for a typical casino I think your totals are probably pretty close, but your numbers are off...

    First, I would say that outside of 4PM-1AM there isn't that much business for them and at 2-5AM even the big mega casinos can get really quiet. Thats not to say people aren't ordering drinks at those off peak times, but at 11AM at most casinos the waitress is making rounds about every 5 minutes just looking for somebody who wants a drink.

    During prime time in the casino they are a lot busier, but they are also making a lot few trips to the bar... but this made up for because with a busy area they can come out of the back with a tray loaded with 15-20 drinks in a single trip.

    The other thing is: not everybody tips. I mean, who can't afford a buck a drink? But there are actually quite a few people who don't tip, who tip only a quarter or two per drink, or tip once to cover multiple drinks, IE: husband and wife both order a drink and when waitress comes they tip $1 or might be a group of 6 or 7 guys around the craps table and they all order drinks but only one guy tips $2-3 to cover them all.

    Yes, there are people that tip more, but going through this whole thread thats why those people get better and preferential service: they are pretty rare so when the waitress finds somebody who is tipping $2 or $5 a drink they make sure to come by as much as possible.
     
  17. redsoxmom5

    redsoxmom5 Low-Roller

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    Last weekend at the Venetian drink service was pretty much non-existent in the mornings. In the evenings it was hit and miss. Planet Hollywood was fabulous, though.
     
  18. RWDPeanut

    RWDPeanut Low-Roller

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    We just got back from a trip 8/18 - 8/22 and the drink service was amazing all over (Paris, TI, P-ho, Bellagio, Wynn, Mirage) with the exception of one really, really, weird event.

    My buddy and his wife ordered a drink at Paris (They are Diamond Members too), the server, not goign to mention her name, told them that they just finished a drink during the last 20 minutes of play and casino policy is they need to wait 30 minutes between drinks.

    So my buddy goes up to another CW who they became friendly with during the trip, asks her if that is true and her response is "No, blank is bitch and every one hates her including customers becuase of her attitude but she can't be fired because she is black."

    We had no comment and uncomfortably moved on! :confused2:
     
  19. PopsOLA

    PopsOLA Low-Roller

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    wow!!! Unprofessional on both parts. 1, there maybe a written policy that actually says this so the casino covers their a$$. The waitress may be going by the policy, I mean really why would she lie? Does it benefit her in ANY way to lie about this? She gets less tips and more complaining. However, im sure the CW could have been a little more empathetic to your friend. Now why on earth would the next waitress make such a comment?
     
  20. PopsOLA

    PopsOLA Low-Roller

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    We have had various experiences at various casinos and like everyone else said it really depends on the casino and time of day.

    I have one story. We went to Paris about a year ago and had a blast. The CW were amazing and chatted with us every trip and flirted a tad with my father which of course made his day. We tipped well, nothing they would go and post on facebook about but enough to show we appreciated their service. Usually $5 per order and we would order anywhere from 2-4 drinks between our party. They seemed pretty friendly with everyone that was willing to chat with them even when I saw people not tip them. I never once got empty on my drink. We went to Paris 3+ hours every day of our trip because of this and the same waitress was their daily and remembered us.

    Six months later, we go back (march of this year) and they are doing construction on the casino floor. Majority of the slots are turned off and herded into a corner with yellow tape around them. The service was pitiful. We literally had to search out a CW. The CW on staff looked like they had been cut by at least 50%. They brought drinks, didn't chat or mention anything to us besides asking what we want to drink. They took a while to come around with drinks and they refused to give our party drinks if everyone wasn't there. We had 3 people drinking and we had to sit and wait until a CW came around to use the restroom if we wanted a drink. We started by tipping same $5 per order but changed quickly to $1 per drink. The way I figure, they did enough to get my $1 but didn't do anything to deserve more. We played there for a few hours even though I was ready to walk out after 10 minutes just because of past experiences we wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.

    Needless to say, in 6 months Paris turned us off. We will go again at least to check it out on our next trip but I won't stay long if it's same.

    Now, because of Paris last issue we stayed downtown a lot last trip and it seemed EVERYWHERE had pretty good drink service and friendly staff. If you are looking for the 21yr old drop dead sexy CW, you won't find it downtown. I am married so my wife actually does prefer downtown more LOL. Only downside is that downtown really won't offer premium drinks much. I drink dos equis and majority of the strip properties offered them but I don't know of any downtown that did.
     
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