ZOOM

Using a social contracts perspective, explain why the actions of the bartenders relevant to "spill sheets" as

discussed in the case are unethical. Students MUST discuss at least three stakeholders negatively affected

by these actions and MUST use a social contracts perspective.

DRINK SPECIALS

While working as a waitress in a busy restaurant/bar, I observed a practice that was very

common, but appeared questionable. Often, in busy places of business, it is all too easy for employees to

bend the rules and get away with it. Managers have so much on their hands that they have to trust their

employees and, sadly, not everyone is trustworthy. In our restaurant, servers and bartenders were given a

daily "spill sheet" on which they were supposed to record any alcoholic (and, especially, expensive)

drinks that were accidentally spilled in the course of business that day.

When an employee is moving fast and dodging customers, spills are a natural occurrence, and the

"spill sheet" was meant to take those accidents into account for the restaurant. When I began working

there, I realized that at the end of the night not all of the spills on the list were genuine. Employees,

typically bartenders because they had direct access, would serve free drinks to their friends all night and

put the drinks on the spill sheet.

To accommodate large numbers of missing drinks, bartenders would serve their friends the same

kind of beer all night and then claim a dropped case of that brand of beer. They could also claim a

dropped liquor bottle and have enough to keep alcohol flowing for their friends. Other employees would

also take responsibility for some of the spills to make the bartenders appear credible.

I was asked on several occasions to take responsibility for a fake "spill". In this way, employees

used the spill sheet to their advantage instead of using it for the intended purpose. They would serve free

drinks courtesy of "spilling" until the volume reached was just under the suspicious level. As long as a

pattern was not formed, the managers never knew they were being deceived.