One of the hardest rules for us to enforce here for our non-regular players, who come in planning to eat and play pool, is letting them know before they order, that in order to maintain our tables in top condition for everyone's benefit, we don't allow players to eat while playing. That is also clearly stated on our menus. We politely explain to them that when their food comes out, we'll suspend their time, so they are not paying for pool time while they eat.
Sounds simple, and most of our regulars respect this rule, but there have always been people who continue to press the limits on this policy. When you're serving french fries, hot wings, burgers with all kinds of messy toppings, there is absolutely no way they can take bites between shots, even if they use a napkin after every bite, without transferring grease, ketchup, etc. from their hands to the cloth - resulting in a permanent stain that will be there until the table is recovered.
Even our regular tournament players, when they've ordered food during the tournament, try to sneak bites during a match while their opponent is shooting, when I'm not looking. Anyway, just curious how other poolrooms handle this issue, in a constant struggle to keep our cloth free of stains without angering and driving off customers?
Sounds simple, and most of our regulars respect this rule, but there have always been people who continue to press the limits on this policy. When you're serving french fries, hot wings, burgers with all kinds of messy toppings, there is absolutely no way they can take bites between shots, even if they use a napkin after every bite, without transferring grease, ketchup, etc. from their hands to the cloth - resulting in a permanent stain that will be there until the table is recovered.
Even our regular tournament players, when they've ordered food during the tournament, try to sneak bites during a match while their opponent is shooting, when I'm not looking. Anyway, just curious how other poolrooms handle this issue, in a constant struggle to keep our cloth free of stains without angering and driving off customers?