A General Liability Lesson for Bar Owners

Whether you’re a bar owner or a bartender, you probably have to deal with patrons asking for a place to charge their phones on a regular basis. While the simple answer might seem to be to comply with the customer by charging their phone behind the bar and keeping them happy, that can pose a liability for your business should their phone become lost, damaged, or stolen while in your possession.

In this post, we’ll explain the ins and outs of general liability for situations like these, including ways you can minimize or even eliminate this liability so you can save your business from a lawsuit for a customer’s lost, stolen, or damaged property at your bar.

Handling Customer Property Creates Liability

If a customer asks a server or bartender to take and charge their phone, it can cause a dilemma. On the one hand, obliging can keep the customer happy and lead to a friendly experience and maybe even a good review, but, on the other hand, charging phones behind the bar on a busy night especially can create clutter, confusion, and risk of damaging or losing the customer’s property.

While the nuisance of holding a customer’s phone can impede service, the bigger worry is the legal responsibility the bar has upon taking possession of the property. If any damage occurs to the phone or if it becomes lost or stolen, the bar is responsible and open to a lawsuit.

Commercial Property Insurance vs. General Liability Insurance

Although your bar probably has commercial property insurance from a Philadelphia business insurance provider, this likely does not help you in a situation like this, as these policies typically only cover the business and its property, not the property of others. For coverage in these scenarios, you would need general liability coverage, which covers accidental damage to the property of a third-party.

Ways to Minimize or Eliminate Property Risk

Other ways to minimize or even eliminate risk if a customer asks you or a member of your staff to charge your phone include:

1. Collecting a charging fee – This deters the majority of patrons from even asking and helps reduce the number of phones behind the bar on any given night, although it does little to protect the bar from liability when they do accept a charging request.
2. Publishing disclaimers – Signs that state your bar does not accept responsibility for lost, stolen, or damaged property of patrons can give you a defense for liability suits, although it does not totally protect you from a customer filing a lawsuit.
3. Denying charging requests – The safest way to avoid these situations is to make it a policy that you do not take customers phones to charge them. This might make some guests unhappy, but it will eliminate your responsibility for their property.

What to Take Away

When it comes to charging customers’ phones for them behind the bar, the best policy is to simply and politely say no. But regardless of your charging policy, it is always smart to have a comprehensive business insurance policy that covers general liability scenarios like these.

For quality business insurance policies in Delaware County, PA, contact Bachmann-Zeitlin Insurance Agency at 267-288-5193.