Who knows how much the next group might spend? Might be broke-dick water drinkers. WHY run off a good tab?? Stupid as shit. Not blaming just this place but any place that does it.
Pool room with a table time limit
- Thread starter Rospaw1966
- Start date
put a minimum pool/food/drink combined tab on the table, say 40bux for 2hrs. that'll weed-out the cheap ass water drinkers. if they want to play on the shiny new GC6 tell them there's a price to be paid. i just think the whole idea is lame.
Rospaw1966
Active member
Nope ... asked that and they said "it's so everyone can play" "You all can not stay on the table more than two hours" ..... I almost fell on the floor!
Let's start with this --- the proprietors of this room are very good at the pool room business if their room is so busy that they need to impose a limit on table time. They obviously are offering a product for which the demand is high. I wish every pool room had the same problem.
Yes, this policy will, on occasion, cost them a little revenue, but it's fair as long as it's made clear to anybody getting onto a table that they must vacate after two hours. Surely, the regular patrons know of this policy but show up anyway.
I find this policy to be reasonable, even if it's not perfect.
Yes, this policy will, on occasion, cost them a little revenue, but it's fair as long as it's made clear to anybody getting onto a table that they must vacate after two hours. Surely, the regular patrons know of this policy but show up anyway.
I find this policy to be reasonable, even if it's not perfect.
I feel for people that live in an area where real pool tables are so scarce that the room tries to ration them. Also feel for the room that can't expand or yank tiny tables and still make it.
Cheap-ass water drinker? Guilty. Not offended, just diabetic. I guess if I plowed through all the beer and the carbs on the menu it would someday help to thin the waiting list for the tables.
I do get coffee and tip the desk well.
Cheap-ass water drinker? Guilty. Not offended, just diabetic. I guess if I plowed through all the beer and the carbs on the menu it would someday help to thin the waiting list for the tables.
I do get coffee and tip the desk well.Its not unheard of to have this type of policy over here in the UK (well actually I should say was common as many places have shut down now), when it's busy, obviously if no-one is waiting you can stay on, but if there's a list you have to go, which seems fair enough frankly.
I've also seen a slight twist, where so long as you say up-front you can play for however long, i.e. if you say 3 hours you can stay for 3, but if you say 2 then they have probably already allocated the table so couldn't stay for the 3rd.
I've also seen a slight twist, where so long as you say up-front you can play for however long, i.e. if you say 3 hours you can stay for 3, but if you say 2 then they have probably already allocated the table so couldn't stay for the 3rd.
Rospaw1966
Active member
The other six tables are first come with no time limit and are the first to fill up on fri/sat. I see no benefit to the proprietors at all but i do see several regulars not coming in due to this. Many of them (like myself) would come in a 4- 5 while the place is dead and rent the table until midnight. The place doesn't have a drinking crowd until 9pm-10pm on those nights. 2 hrs barely gets you 5-6 scotch double one pocket games! lol
Question SJM...... If you had a pool room / bar .....would you put a time limit in? A yes or no would be great.
No, I wouldn't.
it seems logical that when you rent a table you keep it as long as you want.
but i can see the owner thinking if the tables are always full on the weekend then new players or ones that get discouraged wont come back at all.
even when there are tables empty.
but i can see the owner thinking if the tables are always full on the weekend then new players or ones that get discouraged wont come back at all.
even when there are tables empty.
I don’t get it. If the equipment/room layout/playing conditions were top-notch, it might attract serious players who would naturally insist on a ‘no time limit’ policy, but then, why would they show up on nights when a noisy ‘drinking’ crowd was typically there? It’s bad enough on a quiet night, when the owner/counterman has to close up, and your game isn’t finished yet.
Rospaw1966
Active member
"but then, why would they show up on nights when a noisy ‘drinking’ crowd was typically there?"
Some folks work for a living and only have fri /sat nights or have kids and bed times durong the week ...... Like most folks.
This would mean that someone (probably several someones) wanted to use those tables also, could not, and suggested the change. If there is such a demand for some specific tables, then maybe adding more of them would work for the place also. Used GC are available often for not a lot of money.
Usually the issue is the place is too small to handle the amount of business they have at peak periods. Another way of managing it is I have been warned in advance that I will be paired up if practicing alone and they run out of tables. Likewise, two players may be paired with not more than two more if they get busy. Seems reasonable but I can't remember when these policies haven't been self limiting, business goes elsewhere!
I have also seen them wanting to charge the entire group table time like two guys and two gals when only two are playing at a time or charging groups of as many as five full rates for individual players when all were on the same table. I retaliated by renting two or three tables breaking up the group before I went inside. Now we had three tables and were only playing on the middle one! Things got busy, people got upset seeing empty tables they couldn't rent, tough patoee! A few nights of this and the owner saw the value of setting a maximum price per table like the rest of the world and life was good!
In truth common sense needs to come into play. Owners need to work with players, players need to work with owners too. Being paired up can be annoying when you want to work on something but I have also met good people like that. Met some jerks that I plucked like chickens too!(grin)
Hu
I have also seen them wanting to charge the entire group table time like two guys and two gals when only two are playing at a time or charging groups of as many as five full rates for individual players when all were on the same table. I retaliated by renting two or three tables breaking up the group before I went inside. Now we had three tables and were only playing on the middle one! Things got busy, people got upset seeing empty tables they couldn't rent, tough patoee! A few nights of this and the owner saw the value of setting a maximum price per table like the rest of the world and life was good!
In truth common sense needs to come into play. Owners need to work with players, players need to work with owners too. Being paired up can be annoying when you want to work on something but I have also met good people like that. Met some jerks that I plucked like chickens too!(grin)
Hu
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
It's free enterprise. I would leave if a hall wanted me to pair up with a stranger. I'd pay double to not pair up.
They are free to do what they want, but they will lose business either way.
One of my biggest reasons for going out to play vs just on the home table is the fact you can meet new people/players there. Unless I was already playing with someone I'd actually appreciate if the houseman asked if I wanted to play with someone. Even doubles can be fun with some other table if they are of similar skill. I get bored just playing and half the point of a pool hall is the social aspect of it. I'd take a half drunk guy trying to wave 20s at me to play over banging balls at home alone. I go to hang out with a few friends that play league on nights just to se if anyone from the other teams wants to play around a bit after or on a spare table.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
I didn't have a table at home. I don't play for money. I will play tourneys. I don't go to the hall to meet people. I have met people at the halls, but it takes a while before I want to play with them much.
Pool is stress relief for me. It is a time to concentrate on something other than work.
As an aside, nobody ever admits to being the guy who loses money playing pool. How does that work?
I've seen it before. And yeah, the trick is to get everyone in your party to sign on the list. And if possible keep the rotation going. In my experience most only truly enforced that when people are hanging around the table but not playing or building a tab. In most places I've seen it it's just a reason to bump the freeloaders.