Clubbers found $350 bottle of gin gone after dancing, club says manager 'tried his best' to help

You can't expect everyone at the club to be good, it seems.

A group of friends paid $350 for a bottle of gin at an Orchard Road club only for it to disappear while they were on the dance floor.

What made it worse was the response of the staff at Drip in Concorde Shopping Mall, according to Stomp contributor Rei, who said it happened during the wee hours of March 30.

"My friends and I went to Drip at around midnight and were recommended to get a bottle," recounted the Stomp contributor. "We decided it would make the most sense. So we got Hendrick's Gin and were asked to pay $350 for five people."

After getting a table, the friends made a drink and went dancing on the dance floor.

"We came back 15 to 20 minutes later and realised our bottle was gone. My two male friends tried to talk to the bodyguard and were told it was none of their responsibility. They tried to talk to the manager, but no one was helping. So my other female friend and I tried to talk to the manager again.

"The manager said he would check the CCTV but disappeared for over 40 minutes. We asked him to come back and let us know what was going on, but we felt he wasn't actually helping us. Rather, he wanted us to leave.

"We went back and forth because he seemed annoyed at us and kept repeating he was helping us and taking time out of his work to make this effort for us. We felt he was yelling. I asked him to at least show us the CCTV himself but he said no."

The Stomp contributor shared a video of her interaction with the manager at the club where he said: "You cannot expect all the guys here to be good guys."

She told Stomp: "He said he would get us a tray of tequila, but at the point, it was past 2am, we just wanted to go home."

Asked whether they made a police report, the Stomp contributor said: "We did not because it seemed pointless at that point and too much effort. We thought the CCTV should have captured this and at least, the staff could have been more helpful."

In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson for Drip said it conducted an internal investigation and provided its own version of events.

According to Drip, when the Stomp contributor and her friends reported that their bottle was stolen, its security replied that the club was not liable for the loss of personal properties as well as purchased products from the establishment.

They requested a manager and were asked by the operations manager to wait at the bar while he checked the CCTV in the security room.

The spokesperson said: "It is a time-consuming and tedious process to screen CCTV footage as the alleged manager had to pinpoint the exact time frame, which he did not have, with different CCTV angles.

"On top of that, he still had to tend to incoming texts to ensure operations flow, such as the arrival of his other guests, direct purchase/orders from his regulars, ticketing emergencies, occasional inventory shortage issues, assisting with queries from new staff. It is an extremely fast-paced environment.

"The customers were anxious, so they called for another manager to check in with the alleged manager in the security room for updates."

The "alleged manager" was still trying to find the CCTV footage that showed what happened to the Stomp contributor's bottle.

"While the alleged manager understands that it might seem really long for the customers, in his defence, he knew that it was almost impossible to do so at that period of time without interrupting the security department that was ensuring the safety of other guests while the club was still operational with the CCTV still running.

"That being said, he proceeded to try his best in hopes of capturing the accurate footage."

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When the Stomp contributor and her friends wanted to know why it was taking so long, the "alleged manager" went out and told them: "You need to give me more time to screen the CCTV. I'm helping you here to check who is the culprit that stole your bottle."

"After which the customers said that the alleged manager was taking too long, the alleged manager provided an alternative solution which was to file a police report and have the authorities handle it as he wasn't sure how long it would take to fully go through the different CCTV footage and thought that that was a plausible solution so that the customers' claims could be fully accounted for officially if we have time on our end to investigate," continued the spokesperson.

"The customers were not satisfied with the provided solution and requested compensation from the club.

"The alleged manager then had to leave the bar area so that he did not disrupt operations as another colleague required access to the bar cashier, which is at end of the video clip.

"The alleged manager then went out of the bar and explained to the customers that if they did not want him to spend time checking the CCTV as they wanted to leave soon, what he could do at the moment was to offer them a jug of gin tonic because they lost a gin bottle."

The Stomp contributor rejected the offer.

"The alleged manager acknowledged their rejection because a jug of gin is $55 and agreed with it. So he offered a tray of shots worth $150. The customers rejected that offer too because they wanted to leave the club immediately," said the spokesperson.

"The alleged manager was at a loss as to what to do. The customers suggested that the club reimbursed a bottle of gin back to them as they wanted to bring it out of the club.

"He reiterated our policy of 'No alcoholic drinks to be brought beyond the premises' due to licensing protocols that all clubs have to follow as the licence only allows the sale and consumption of alcohol on club grounds.

"The customers then requested a cash reimbursement. However, this request was beyond the authority of the alleged manager due to possible discrepancy issues adhering to company policies.

"He suggested that a cash reimbursement would only be possible from the culprit should he or she be apprehended after an extended investigation."

The "alleged manager" offered a tray of tequila shots again but was rejected as the Stomp contributor and her friends insisted on a cash reimbursement.

"He communicated to the customers that he felt it was unjust because while the establishment tries its best, things do happen and it is almost impossible to monitor and be responsible for the actions of all customers in the club setting that we operate in," said the spokesperson.

"The customers were dissatisfied with the solutions provided and left without any conclusion. The alleged manager then had to proceed to attend to the duties he put on hold earlier."

Regarding the video with the "alleged manager", the spokesperson explained: "This was after the customers were communicating that he was wasting their time. So he just wanted to show them what tasks he was putting aside while he screens the CCTV in hopes of possible empathy and understanding from the customers.

"He would also like to address that the music was really loud so he had to raise his voice, it never was his intention ever to come across as dismissive or disrespectful. It wasn't his best choice of words, it did not come out the way he wanted to and he will work on it.

"We would also like to share that the alleged manager has been with the company since the beginning and is well-loved by many regular patrons as well as fellow colleagues. He is always kind with his words and thoughtful with his actions.

"We would like to officially stand our ground in defending his stance after understanding the circumstances. We truly believe that he tried his best but it wasn't enough."

The spokesperson added: "We do sincerely apologise for the lack of experience as we only want to provide all clubgoers with the best experience to the best of our abilities.

"Moving forward, we will be working closely on our internal security SOPs to increase the frequency of routine checks and optimise our surveillance routes to minimise theft.

"That being said, the policies that the alleged manager communicated to the customers were all in line with the company policies.

"We urge all patrons to be responsible for their belongings, while we try our best to help goers keep an eye out, it is extremely difficult to do so given the environment."

As for what happened to the missing bottle, the spokesperson said: "We managed to find the exact frames, it was slightly out of angle, but it should still be identifiable with the assistance of professionals from the authorities.

"We kept the footage and are ready to co-operate with the officials should an official report be made."

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This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.