John D.
Yelp
This is a classic example of a place that is able to stay open and thrive solely because it's one of the very few options available for nightlife. This place is a horrible experience, especially if you go the week of the 4th of July, so just brace yourself if that's your plan, and know that Crown & Anchor (for example) is a far better venue, in terms of the space and the treatment of customers. The inside dance floor at A House is absurdly hot and humid. Simply trying to walk across the dance floor to the back patio requires squeezing through a bunch of people and getting drenched in their sweat in the process. Like can they not turn up the air conditioning if they're going to allow this level of congestion? Going to this place is reminiscent of going to some bad college house party. But people still pile in there for lack of alternatives around.
But on top of that consistent flaw, to make bad matters even worse, I just had an especially awful interaction with one of the bartenders. I ordered a drink at the archaically cash-only bar (it's 2022, such a thing should not still exist). The outside bartender (a lanky, whiny guy with long dark hair) saw me pick up my change after giving me a drink and started telling me to put some of it back down as a tip (which I planned to do until this preemptive entitlement came out). He then reiterated, "I'm talking to you, don't put all your cash away, you have to leave me a tip." I understand that you're slammed and deserve to receive tips (if you're giving quality service) but you shouldn't be harassing and yelling at your customers if they don't leave one. If it's mandatory, you need to say so beforehand or just include it in the pricing. And also if it's required, why give back all of the change to begin with? Makes no sense. Just because you don't like the American tipping system doesn't mean it isn't still voluntary for the customer, and it's not the customer's fault if your management underpays you. When I responded with "you're demanding a tip?" his defensiveness escalated to a ridiculously unprofessional level, and when I asked if I could leave the drink and get my money back instead, he also denied that with a loud "NO YOU CAN'T" and then yelled over to what I assume was their "bouncer", pointed at me, and said "WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM OVER HERE!"
Never have I had such an outrageous experience with a bartender or anyone in the service industry for that matter. You don't get to insist on a tip, which is inherently an arbitrary amount of money. And with that level of entitlement you don't deserve a tip, or deserve anyone's business to begin with. You're pouring some Polar sparkling water, ice, and vodka into a tiny cup, and you're making a scene over not getting tipped by the customer you're already ripping off. When I walked away after leaving him his undeserved tip, he yelled "don't you dare come back to my bar" and then to another person said "can you believe this a**hole?" And turns out he told someone else that same night that their tip wasn't enough because they need to be leaving at least a dollar for each drink.
Again, they clearly only get away with having staff with trashy behavior like this because they're one of the only options for a bar people have in this overrated town. Otherwise any normal business knows trying to have any customer that doesn't tip you thrown out of the bar is a terrible business model. Not to mention you could probably get a lawsuit against you for requiring tips since the IRS would not consider it a tip if it's mandatory. Either way, this bartender should be fired and find a line of work that doesn't require dealing with the public, or a place that actually understands basic customer service principles, and the bar owner should be ashamed for hiring this individual and allowing them to be blatantly hostile to customers. This person needs a serious ego check. I highly recommend everyone take their business to any other bar in the area.