Bouncers

Hi guys!
im a bouncer in Glasgow and have been for a few years now. I have also just left uni so im kinda the bridge between students and bouncers.

if anyone has an questions regarding the industry, rules or legality of something a bouncer might have done then id be more than happy to help

Reply 1

evalilyXOX

20

Original post by BenTheBouncer

Hi guys!
im a bouncer in Glasgow and have been for a few years now. I have also just left uni so im kinda the bridge between students and bouncers.

if anyone has an questions regarding the industry, rules or legality of something a bouncer might have done then id be more than happy to help

Wow that's really interesting! How did you fall into the job? :smile:

Reply 2

BenTheBouncer

OP

7

Original post by evalilyXOX

Wow that's really interesting! How did you fall into the job? :smile:

Was looking for a part time job for ages while at uni, started doing Deliveroo on the motorbike but work dried up too quickly with that.
Saw an advert for the job and the company was offering free training and the badge paid for by them.
Hadn’t considered doing it before but went ahead.
Now I work full time, one of my companies main people. Have worked at the European championships, Edinburgh Hogmanay, P!NK concerts, TRANSMT, and the six nations as well as all my clubs and bars

Reply 3

AsianIndividual

1

Original post by BenTheBouncer

Hi guys!
im a bouncer in Glasgow and have been for a few years now. I have also just left uni so im kinda the bridge between students and bouncers.

if anyone has an questions regarding the industry, rules or legality of something a bouncer might have done then id be more than happy to help

Hi, I’ve encountered an issue regarding a bouncer at a fairly small club [Popworld]. I’m wondering what I can do to unsolve the issue because it’s left me stressed and wondering why. I’m asian, and my partner is a white brit. I’m 5”2 and he’s 5”7. I’m 19 and he’s 24 but we both look at student age (lack of facial hair, slim faces).

So I’m in a civil relationship with my boyfriend. I went to the club with my boyfriend and my two female friends. Obviously we went there to drink and have fun. There was this bouncer in particular who had been keeping an eye on us throughout the duration we were there (10am-12am).

When me and my partner needed the restroom, we went together, obviously not in the same stall. There was also one other person occupied at another stall, so it was just us three in the restroom. When I stepped outside my stall, I saw the bouncer waiting outside my boyfriend’s stall. So I washed my hands, waiting for my boyfriend. Once he went out, the bouncer asked “if you can please follow me outside”. So my boyfriend went with him, and I followed them behind as the bouncer said “you come too” as they passed me.

We went downstairs near the ticket stand/entrance after you enter the venue where there was a small corner. It was visible to the public but a bit dim. The bouncer asked if he’s able to search my boyfriend, my partner gave his consent. So the bouncer checked him up and down, felt his front and back pockets (my boyfriend had a long sleeve, jumper, work trousers and formal shoes on, had no bags or any carriers, only his wallet). Bouncer asked my boyfriend to take a look at the compartments but it was just all (shopping) receipts and notes, as well as cards. Bouncer took out the receipts, checked them. He didn’t even take out my boyfriend’s ID, bank card or any other cards, so he didn’t even do a proper background check (Age, location etc.).

After that, my boyfriend put everything away, the bouncer didn’t even conduct a search on me. The bouncer proceeded to tell me and my boyfriend that “this is just a random search” and that “I’m not targetting you or anything”. Then we just continued to have fun but it did bring us down a bit.

Now I look back at the event and think wow how did I disregard this. We were not drunk at all, nor were we under the influence of any drugs. We didn’t carry any weapons. We didn’t even look at all suspicious as we were just dancing and drinking (a bloody WKD), we stuck by our female friends for the whole duration of our time there.

I’m curious, because what he said is contradicting to what his actions were. “I’m not targetting you or anything”. Clearly he was since he made the effort to go upstairs to the restroom and wait for me and my boyfriend, my boyfriend specifically, to conduct “a random search” downstairs. I don’t know why he chose us, he could’ve chosen anyone, but he chose my boyfriend? Literally everyone on the pole was on top of each other on the floor.

If the bouncer thought he was intoxicated, then he would’ve at least checked out the toilet itself for any vomit, and it wouldn’t be necessary to take everything out the wallet, leaving the cards. Was it because we were gay? A gay couple that was really promiment? I want to complain but I don’t know how. Am I being overdramatic?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Will making out with someone outside the toilets let’s say (so not in the main room) get u thrown out if a bouncer sees you?

Reply 5

Anonymous #2

Why do bouncers knock people back for no reason? I’ve been knocked back so many times for being “too drunk” but haven’t even got a drop of alcohol in me!

Also why do you all hate big groups? Whenever I try to get into a club with more than 5 people you tell us to go somewhere else.

Reply 6

BenTheBouncer

OP

7

Original post by AsianIndividual

Hi, I’ve encountered an issue regarding a bouncer at a fairly small club [Popworld]. I’m wondering what I can do to unsolve the issue because it’s left me stressed and wondering why. I’m asian, and my partner is a white brit. I’m 5”2 and he’s 5”7. I’m 19 and he’s 24 but we both look at student age (lack of facial hair, slim faces).

So I’m in a civil relationship with my boyfriend. I went to the club with my boyfriend and my two female friends. Obviously we went there to drink and have fun. There was this bouncer in particular who had been keeping an eye on us throughout the duration we were there (10am-12am).

When me and my partner needed the restroom, we went together, obviously not in the same stall. There was also one other person occupied at another stall, so it was just us three in the restroom. When I stepped outside my stall, I saw the bouncer waiting outside my boyfriend’s stall. So I washed my hands, waiting for my boyfriend. Once he went out, the bouncer asked “if you can please follow me outside”. So my boyfriend went with him, and I followed them behind as the bouncer said “you come too” as they passed me.

We went downstairs near the ticket stand/entrance after you enter the venue where there was a small corner. It was visible to the public but a bit dim. The bouncer asked if he’s able to search my boyfriend, my partner gave his consent. So the bouncer checked him up and down, felt his front and back pockets (my boyfriend had a long sleeve, jumper, work trousers and formal shoes on, had no bags or any carriers, only his wallet). Bouncer asked my boyfriend to take a look at the compartments but it was just all (shopping) receipts and notes, as well as cards. Bouncer took out the receipts, checked them. He didn’t even take out my boyfriend’s ID, bank card or any other cards, so he didn’t even do a proper background check (Age, location etc.).

After that, my boyfriend put everything away, the bouncer didn’t even conduct a search on me. The bouncer proceeded to tell me and my boyfriend that “this is just a random search” and that “I’m not targetting you or anything”. Then we just continued to have fun but it did bring us down a bit.

Now I look back at the event and think wow how did I disregard this. We were not drunk at all, nor were we under the influence of any drugs. We didn’t carry any weapons. We didn’t even look at all suspicious as we were just dancing and drinking (a bloody WKD), we stuck by our female friends for the whole duration of our time there.

I’m curious, because what he said is contradicting to what his actions were. “I’m not targetting you or anything”. Clearly he was since he made the effort to go upstairs to the restroom and wait for me and my boyfriend, my boyfriend specifically, to conduct “a random search” downstairs. I don’t know why he chose us, he could’ve chosen anyone, but he chose my boyfriend? Literally everyone on the pole was on top of each other on the floor.

If the bouncer thought he was intoxicated, then he would’ve at least checked out the toilet itself for any vomit, and it wouldn’t be necessary to take everything out the wallet, leaving the cards. Was it because we were gay? A gay couple that was really promiment? I want to complain but I don’t know how. Am I being overdramatic?

You’ll have to excuse me if I miss anything as this was quite a large text 😅.

obviously as I always say, I wasn’t there so I wouldn’t know the complete context. I didn’t see how you two were behaving outside or inside the club whether it be suspicious or not.

first of all I’ll say that obviously there’s nothing wrong with you two going to the toilet together and you’re definitely right not to go to the same stall together.

from my experience, it’s quite common for female customers to go to the toilet together and most bouncers wouldn’t look twice when this happens. Unfortunately it is a lot rarer for Male customers to go together. I’m sure you can appreciate this on a statistic level and see that it’s not a sexist thing at all.

all I can assume is that the bouncer saw two males going to the toilet together. He either didn’t realise you were together and thought “I’ll make sure they’re not taking drugs” which is my usual first thought or he knew you were together and wanted to make sure you weren’t doing anything inappropriate. The other issue with same sex couple is obviously the ability to go to the toilet with your partner. Most Herero sexual couples, for obvious reasons, can’t do this therefore there’s no worry of them doing anything in there. When we see anyone going to the wrong toilet (in the bouncers own opinion at the time) we will always suspect things.

all bouncer do this, they’ll stand outside your cubicle and either listen for sniffing, look under to see your shadow or where your feet are standing to determine what you’re doing in there. He may have had slight suspicions of your partner as to what he was doing in there and decided to search him to be safe.

what you’ve got to realise is that the security are there not only to protect all of you but also to protect the premises’ licence. They need to do everything they feel necessary to make sure no laws are being broken in their club. So when they search someone it is honestly just then wanting to cover their own backs

overall I’d say it wasn’t targeted as such with regard to the fact that you were gay or Asian. But I would say that the circumstances of you both going to the toilet could have been conceived as suspicious to maybe an inexperienced bouncer.

Id say the search wasn’t random it was probably based on suspicion and the fact that any doubt needs to be checked. They can’t risk it. Even I tell people it’s just a random search to try and ease the situation. It’s better than saying it’s because you look dodgy 😂.

when a bouncer says it’s just random it’s because they don’t know you. They don’t know how you might react and the best way to avoid that is to keep the situation calm

Reply 7

BenTheBouncer

OP

7

Original post by Anonymous

Will making out with someone outside the toilets let’s say (so not in the main room) get u thrown out if a bouncer sees you?

If you mean outside the doors to the toilet then in general no.

It depends on where the toilets are. If it’s a narrow passageway and it’s a fire exit you’ll probably be told to move. Not because of what you’re doing just because of where you are. If it goes any further than kissing then probably. In most cases that would be public indecency.

As a whole I usually just embarrass people that do this. I’m often in a kebab shop and people make out in the seats. It’s just a case of “maybe find somewhere more private for that guys” I mean at the end of the day people are trying to eat 😂

Reply 8

BenTheBouncer

OP

7

Original post by Anonymous

Why do bouncers knock people back for no reason? I’ve been knocked back so many times for being “too drunk” but haven’t even got a drop of alcohol in me!

Also why do you all hate big groups? Whenever I try to get into a club with more than 5 people you tell us to go somewhere else.

Obviously Im sure you’re aware that bouncers don’t need a reason to knock you back. If there’s no obvious reason it might be down to something they’ve seen you do or say and they’re worried you *MIGHT* cause trouble later on. If that’s the case then most would rather say no to start off with.
It’s always easier to refuse entry then to kick someone out. It’s also less paperwork. If there’s even a slight doubt that someone might cause trouble then believe me once they’re in it’s so hard to get them out.

Regarding groups. Each venue has its own rules and those are probably set by the manager not the security. A few reasons could be statistically groups cause more problems and fights. Main reason being large groups tend to stand with eachother. If you imagine one large group standing together and walking together it’s a lot worse than individuals or couples trying to move about. We also prefer for people to be buddied up so pairs or triples. One of our biggest problems is drunk people being left by themselves or their friends leaving. It’s easier to forget someone in a large group but if you’re broken up you’re more likely to remember if someone’s missing.

Reply 9

ANM775

20

Original post by Anonymous

Why do bouncers knock people back for no reason? I’ve been knocked back so many times for being “too drunk” but haven’t even got a drop of alcohol in me!

Also why do you all hate big groups? Whenever I try to get into a club with more than 5 people you tell us to go somewhere else.

they don't like big male groups because if one gets in a fight they'll then the rest of the group will back them up, and bouncers don't want to deal with having to restrain a large group of males incase as it's harder basically.

Reply 10

RealLifeJoker

13

Original post by BenTheBouncer

Hi guys!
im a bouncer in Glasgow and have been for a few years now. I have also just left uni so im kinda the bridge between students and bouncers.

if anyone has an questions regarding the industry, rules or legality of something a bouncer might have done then id be more than happy to help

Do you choke vulnerable people until they are unconscious?

Reply 11

AsianIndividual

1

Thank you for replying! I’ve received an email from them. They replied by outlining the main roles of the staff’s duty briefly, including monitoring the crowd for intoxication, behaviours that may cause incidents etc., as well as toilet/fire exit checks every 30 minutes to ensure no illegal activity is going on eg drugs.

They say the staff just heard “a loud sniffling sound”. I was there at that time. The sink from the stalls was like 10 metres away. If it was that loud, I would’ve heard it. The restroom door blocked the music from the main stage. My partner literally needed a piss for like 15 seconds. That security guard was already present when I stepped outside the stalls.

My partner wrote an email himself to the venue, adding more detail from his perspective and an event where we encountered a homophobic chav behind us whilst we were waiting for our drinks at the bar, making lewd comments about my female friend (he assumed that my boyfriend and her were together), and my boyfriend pointed out that we were together, then replied with “don’t **** with that.” My partner just ignored this and turned around. He took his shots, and the guy behind us still, commented “slow down there buddy”. So we left to our spot. We assumed that that person could’ve resented my partner’s sexual orientation and reported it to the bouncer for potential suspicious activity. The venue said that the staff didn’t have any third party made an allegation against my partner.

They replied practically the same to my partner’s email that it was just a routine search on hearing signs of drug misuse. They say it’s an inclusive venue and that it is evident from the people present, but there is possibly no way of telling who’s gay or what.

They asked the member of security to get all the information before replying back to my partner’s first email (yesterday). It happened a week. I never stated when the date the event happened on my email, so were they just making a comment about “a loud sniffing sound” for the sake of replying? Surely the security guard would likely to forget our presence within that time, as well as having the role of looking at everyone and the amount of searches he must’ve conducted.

If he also us to be doing malicious things as we were both male going to the toilets together, then why would he still continue to search my partner, as he clearly saw I came out from the other stall.

Reply 12

PopesMan

4

No you are not a bouncer. You're a door supervisor as per SIA licensing.

Reply 13

Reality Check

22

Original post by PopesMan

No you are not a bouncer. You're a door supervisor as per SIA licensing.

Talk about nitpicking...

Original post by BenTheBouncer

Hi guys!
im a bouncer in Glasgow and have been for a few years now. I have also just left uni so im kinda the bridge between students and bouncers.

if anyone has an questions regarding the industry, rules or legality of something a bouncer might have done then id be more than happy to help

This is a much more interesting AMA than usual. What would you say is the biggest misconception about bouncers?

Reply 14

Anonymous #2

Original post by ANM775

they don't like big male groups because if one gets in a fight they'll then the rest of the group will back them up, and bouncers don't want to deal with having to restrain a large group of males incase as it's harder basically.

We’re a group of girls. Thinking we’d start a fight with anyone is laughable.

Reply 15

StriderHort

21

Original post by AsianIndividual

Thank you for replying! I’ve received an email from them....

Overthinking to the the max. They thought you might be punting drugs, you weren't. As OP said, guys going to the toilet together tends to get their attention, all the more so if they don;t know your face.

Oddly years back I asked a Glasgow bouncer I knew what the worst part of his job was, and he made a pained looking face and told me it was having to shove toilet doors open and drag 15 year boys out of each others bums (exact words) :rolleyes:

The club had recently started a laughable 'unders' night and he was kind of an older 'classic' bouncer and I don't think he'd really signed on for that :tongue:

Reply 16

ANM775

20

Original post by Anonymous

We’re a group of girls. Thinking we’d start a fight with anyone is laughable.

This is very strange behavior from them if you're female tbh.

The only other thing I can think of for why a bouncer would knock you back is race. Plenty of racist bouncers about. Are you an all black group?

Reply 17

AsianIndividual

1

Original post by StriderHort

Overthinking to the the max. They thought you might be punting drugs, you weren't. As OP said, guys going to the toilet together tends to get their attention, all the more so if they don;t know your face.

Oddly years back I asked a Glasgow bouncer I knew what the worst part of his job was, and he made a pained looking face and told me it was having to shove toilet doors open and drag 15 year boys out of each others bums (exact words) :rolleyes:

The club had recently started a laughable 'unders' night and he was kind of an older 'classic' bouncer and I don't think he'd really signed on for that :tongue:

It takes like 15 seconds for me to piss. I like pissing straight in the water and not on the side because I want people to know im pissing and not taking drugs (via sound). It aint that hard to acknowledge im not doing anything nasty. My partner wouldnt bend down and hand me the drugs under the stall, which would be obvious, neither would he supply it to me beforehand. Also, how the hell do people “sniff” in the toilets. You wouldnt be pissing and sniffing drugs at the same time would ya. You gotta make placements and that right? I dont even do drugs smh.

Reply 18

StriderHort

21

Original post by AsianIndividual

It takes like 15 seconds for me to piss. I like pissing straight in the water and not on the side because I want people to know im pissing and not taking drugs (via sound). It aint that hard to acknowledge im not doing anything nasty. My partner wouldnt bend down and hand me the drugs under the stall, which would be obvious, neither would he supply it to me beforehand. Also, how the hell do people “sniff” in the toilets. You wouldnt be pissing and sniffing drugs at the same time would ya. You gotta make placements and that right? I dont even do drugs smh.

TBH If you're saying drugs and the culture aren't your thing...there's little point in you second guessing how they do the job, given they deal with it every/most nights. Still overthinking.