The Reddit user stated that the incident happened in 2007 or 2008.
Going on a night out with your pals and getting to know that someone spiked your drink just leaves you feeling vulnerable and attacked. It makes you feel unsafe and ignites fear in you. One Reddit user took to the platform and asked, "Bartenders of Reddit, what was the weirdest/craziest thing you have overheard while making someone’s drink?”
One user, Pinkyfitts, quickly responded to the question with an incident that took the internet by storm. He wrote, "Was sitting at a bar with a band. It was noisy and crowded. Some girl comes up next to where I was sitting and tells the bartender 'excuse me, but I just saw that guy (customer) right there put something in that girl’s drink.' The user claimed that he did not know if the bar had a protocol to follow in such situations. However, what the user saw next was totally unexpected.
The user narrated, "I didn’t see the guy she pointed to. The bartender turns around and said something, I suspect a code word to somebody, and BAM. Immediately all the lights go on, the manager steps on stage, stops the band, and makes the following announcement: 'Attention: We have a report that someone in this room possibly drugged a young lady's drink. We request that all women here immediately put down your drink and don’t take another sip.'"
After the manager informed the patrons about the situation he offered all women free drinks, said the user. "If you are that young lady, we will notify you when you come to the bar. If anyone is feeling sick or weak please let us know,” said the manager. Further, Pinkyfitts recalled, "Wow. Lights stayed on. The band remained off. For a long time, maybe an hour. Cheers from the crowd and nobody complained. Don’t know what the guy did because I didn’t know which guy it was. That place rocks."
Pinkyfitts's response went viral. Speaking to Bored Panda, the user revealed that the incident took place in 2007 or 2008 in a very old bar named Tipitina’s in New Orleans. He also stated that it was the first time he had heard somebody alert the bar about a customer's drink being spiked.
"The request to discard drinks with free replacements applied to women only. There was no discussion of that but it seemed assumed that they were the ones at risk. I don’t remember any complaints, but I was just a guy in the bar, not working there," said the user. He added, "Roofies or date rape drugs seemed to be a topic in the news at the time."
Taking into account such unsafe incidents in bars, Bar veteran Kate Gerwin in 2016 introduced a “Friends”-themed sign in bathrooms to help those customers who were feeling vulnerable. Such patrons had to ask for Rachel any time they felt they were in a dangerous situation. According to Liquor.com, the initiative was inspired by Bartenders Against Sexual Assault. The community focuses on protecting customers from date rapes and other associated crimes that are likely to take place in bars.
References:
https://www.liquor.com/articles/how-to-prevent-drink-spiking-drugging/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by PeopleImages
