Blind Spots

Blind Spots

For over 10 years I worked in luxury resorts throughout San Diego County California as both a bartender and a bar manager. During these times I both witnessed and regrettably participated in what would be considered unethical behavior. There was an old saying that I heard when I first started bar tending it went something like this”Show me a bartender who doesn't steal and I’ll show you a liar”.

I had just left the military and moved to San Diego to use my G.I. Bill and go to college. Being in one of the most desirable vacation towns in the country the hospitality industry was the obvious choice for a part-time job while I took classes. The first job I accepted was at a place that I normally wouldn't think I would end up working at but it was staffed by a bunch of people my own age(mostly cute girls) and being new to the area I definitely wanted to make friends. It was really busy most the time and was in a part of San Diego(La Jolla) that attracted all types of people with money.

The first night I worked behind the bar, the guy that was training me stuffed a wad of crumbled up bills into my back pocket. I didn’t know what to do because having just left the military the thought of stealing was alien to me. I didn’t know how he got the money, why he was giving it to me and even more disturbing was the thought of what he expected from me. Within a week the bartender who stuffed the money in my pocket and another guy who work there stole the nightly cash deposits and we never heard about them again.

That experience had a great impact on me as I continued to work in nicer and more exclusive places. The way I looked at it was I had no reason to steal because I was a good enough bartender that my tips always were more than enough to keep me happy. This rationality worked out well for me and despite knowing how other bartenders behaved unethically, I remain true to myself. That is until I moved up into management and started working at one of the most luxurious resorts in the country.

The new place was top-notch! It was a famous, historical five-star resort with 36 holes of championship golf, ridiculously nice spa and 90,000 ft.² of banquet space. I was hired as a banquet bartender and quickly moved into a Beverage Captains position. This was at a period of time where the real estate bubble was close to its peak and the corporate dollars were flowing endlessly. We catered to Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and any other successful business you can think of. This is where I first experienced what I know now to be defined as motivational blindness.

The structure of how we were paid was dependent upon the amount of sales we generated for the resort. It was a union job and our contract specified the employee’s pooled 14.5% service charge on all events. Now you have to realize we were hosting events that could have more than 1000 people for five days, breakfast, lunch and dinner with nightly events and up to a dozen open bars. I personally presented checks to clients for more than three quarters of $1 million. It was really easy and never questioned to inflate the beverage bill by up to 20%. Who cared, right? These companies had money falling out of their you know what’s!

I wasn't motivated by greed because in hindsight it really wouldn't have mattered much in my paycheck whether I had done it or not. How different was it then taking cash out of the till? Or taking payment for a drink and not ringing it up? That was the status quo there. It really was expected of me and that was how I was trained to do things. I didn't feel at the time that I wasn’t being true to myself because it was such a condoned act of unethical behavior all the way up the chain of command in management. I guess I felt as if my actions were benefiting all of the employees more so than myself. So in addition to the motivated blindness my blind spot included me overcoming my own values.

This is a fascinating topic of ethics which I find extremely interesting and relevant in today’s world. I hope that I am never faced with the situation like I had at the resort but if I am I have the tools and knowledge to try and make the right decision.