College students in Gainesville have the ability to go to a different club or bar every night of the week, but it can be useful to find a place that becomes "your spot."
Becoming a regular at a bar certainly has its benefits. If it's busy, a regular is able to get attention from bartenders more quickly than new customers. Not only do we recognize the person, but we can usually make his or her drink without having to ask for an order. This may not seem like that much of a convenience, but any time a bartender doesn't have to fight the noise of the crowd is a relief.
Regulars are also much more likely to benefit from the bartenders' comp tabs. People that consistently spend money at the same bar will typically get reimbursed with free drinks, even if the bar doesn't technically have a buy-back policy.
There is more to establishing yourself as a regular than simply showing up at the same place five nights a week. Special attention and occasional free drinks tend to come with a certain level of responsibility.
Even if it doesn't seem fair, regulars are expected to tip more than people that simply stumble into the bar for the first time. When you're getting special treatment, you're expected to give a little special treatment back.
While most regulars are a welcome addition to the bar scene, there are those who frequent a bar without following "the code" and quickly become the bane of a bartenders' existence.
Just because you come into the bar all the time doesn't mean you own the place. Usually bartenders give regulars the benefit of the doubt when they get a little rowdy, but that doesn't mean the rules don't apply.
Telling a bouncer "I come here all the time" isn't going to stop him from kicking you out if you start a fight. Bartenders also don't appreciate you running behind the bar to grab a cup, turn up the jukebox or for just about any other reason you might try to give them.
Becoming a regular can make your life like one overextended episode of "Cheers." Just remember that with certain benefits comes certain responsibility.
