This thread is to try and find out what people think of bouncers, sorry door supervisors.
I'm a doorman myself and try to do my best to make sure everyone has a good night. I do my best not to fight because at the end of the day, whats fighting accomplish? You might think that we have an easy job but, is it really that easy when some of the place you work requires you to wear a stab/bullet vest.

I like bouncers ;)
I feel a bit of a tit when they ID me, but they've got a job to do so I co-operate :)
I definately feel safer with bouncers on the door, mind you, I've never witnessed any trouble while I've been out.

i like to think bouncers are there to make sure i have a safe enjoyable time in the establishment. on the rare occasion i've felt intimidated or threatened by them, i take my wallet elsewhere.
i feel sorry for them sometime when they have to deal with idiots who go out looking for a fight or students who have four pints and get all stupid.

When I first started my first problematic customer was a forum member :hihi:

Damn drunks :roll:

Originally posted by caprice
mind you, I've never witnessed any trouble while I've been out.

You walking round with blinkers on Blondie :confused:

bouncers around sheffield are not to bad and its usually the pubs and clubs i don't like that have the worst door staff. Nottingham can be a bit funny with door men sometimes they seemed to be a touch more aggresive!

Haven't had any touble with bouncers for years I don't think. Used to get turned away a bit when I was younger and had shaved head but I usually find 'em all great when I'm out now.

I hardly ever go anywhere with bouncers cos I'm a real ale drinker but I used to go down West St when I was I student and for a few years afterwards and I always thought the bouncers on the doors were great, always pleasant, said goodbye as you left and wished you a good night etc.

Its an industry with an image problem but it has been trying to improve and of course all door supervisors are supposed to have their SIA badge now I believe or face a £5000 fine and to get this training is required.

I meet a lot of "security" firms in my business and whilst most are a bit rough around the edges they are not criminal or violent.

Mind you one or two are.......

I dont have a prob with them in general and think they do a good job. The ones on Kingdom are nice enough but theres one at leadmill thats not very nice. My mate and i had already been let in after queuing for ages already but had to go back and ask bouncer bout summat cos we was meant to get some ticket thing on door, but was just screamed at to get out of F****** way and get to back of F****** queue!! they would not even listen or anything and had to queue all over again for no reason whatsoever! I cant sorta understand he was annoyed cos had just bin sortin out some idiots right before and was bit wound up but we didnt deserve to be screamed at like that. Other than that have never had trouble other than get ID'd everytime without fail and always take loads of convincing them its me on DL cos look totally diff to 4yrs ago.

hazel xx

Well it appears everyone seems to like doorstaff. I've got admid even though I'm one myself there are a fair few I can't stand. But hey you can't like everyone. Keep your opinions coming people.

Originally posted by D2J
When I first started my first problematic customer was a forum member :hihi:

Damn drunks :roll:



You walking round with blinkers on Blondie :confused:

Hayley still beating you up mate?

Of course some think they are 'the man' it's the same whenever i go to gyms....you get to a certain size and you lose brain cells and think you're all that. Of course this is a generalization and most the times i'd agree with how bouncers handle people, i wouldnt do it.

I've only been refused in somewhere once, because there was 3 of us and they didnt like the look of us??. oh yeah!! i look well threatening...not!

Do the courses to do door work involve any customer relations or is it just 'defuse a situation or give him a slap'

And i see trouble anytime I go out round town centre...thats why i dont bother going anymore

theyd minority of them would be ok if they actually did there job and not abused it!

Originally posted by J-Blaze
Hayley still beating you up mate?

Yeah :( Praps she should use my SIA Badge :hihi:

What the public sometimes don't realise is that its not always up to the door supervisor who decides who comes in and who doesn't.
We have promoters and managers who 'spot' the punters in the queue and then tell us who they want and who to refuse.
Your refusal may be based on many facts that the club/pub has to take into consideration........for instance we may be told that the promoter only wants an older/mature or student customer on that night.
You may be dressed smartly which normally we would let you in but you may be of the wrong age group that the promoter wants. And when you're refused you naturally ask....why?
By law we do not have to give you a reason why you have been refused, but arguing a point that we have no control of only seems to wind people up. By admitting a certain type of customer into the club on any one night maintains the atmosphere and also helps keeps order.
It may not be want some people want to hear but its fact that we have to deal with, its not always our decision why you're refused but its us who have to deal with it. Lifes not fair.....if it was i'd look like Brad pitt, drive a ferrari and live somewhere warm!

Originally posted by D2J


You walking round with blinkers on Blondie :confused:

Honestly, I havent seen a thing! The bouncers must be doing a really good job cos I can honestly say that I've never seen any trouble whatsoever! :D Its either that, or I'm usually waaaay too drunk to notice a thing lol!

Must be that short attention span Caprice :heyhey:

You've never seen them pouring out of the bars on Carver Street brawling ?

I've worked a few places where you'd expect trouble such as Pitsmoor/Burngreave, Manor/Intake, and Woodseats. I ended up fighting on Sat because of some lads who thought it would be got to start attacking us. This is the first time in three years. I've had a situation like that. ***t happens!

Originally posted by ryan123
theyd minority of them would be ok if they actually did there job and not abused it!

By which way do door supervisors abuse their jobs? This is not a critisism i'm sure it happens.

Originally posted by DuffBeer
By which way do door supervisors abuse their jobs? This is not a critisism i'm sure it happens.

im happy to explain..

they have to live up to this beefed up man image, and if anyone dents their ego, then basically your not coming in. When all people wanna do is go into a nightclub and have a good time, but like i sed u get the odd few who wanna spoil it by basically picking up on something "they" dont like!

I'm sure what you say is right, but if someone 'dents my ego' by giving me abuse.......for example if a group of guys come up to the club and i'm not sure how drunk they are what kind of attidude they are going to have i will first of all refuse them. The next thing that happens is straight away i get a load of abuse ..........which i think makes me correct in my descision. If they want to fight with the doormen then how will they react if someone bumps into them inside a busy club or knocks their drink over?

OR they ask me why..........i say it just isn't their night..........they ask is it because they're not dressed right/too pi**ed etc.......
I can now get a feel of how some people react when they are upset.
If they're okay with the descision i'll ask them where they've been etc..........if they aren't abusive i will often change my mind and let them in. People should learn that if you are polite not abusive to doormen they will have a better chance of getting into a club or at least getting in next time. This is of course only my point and not what every doorman does. But maybe if peoples attitude toward us changes then maybe ours will too.

Originally posted by DuffBeer
I'm sure what you say is right, but if someone 'dents my ego' by giving me abuse.......for example if a group of guys come up to the club and i'm not sure how drunk they are what kind of attidude they are going to have i will first of all refuse them. The next thing that happens is straight away i get a load of abuse ..........which i think makes me correct in my descision. If they want to fight with the doormen then how will they react if someone bumps into them inside a busy club or knocks their drink over?

OR they ask me why..........i say it just isn't their night..........they ask is it because they're not dressed right/too pi**ed etc.......
I can now get a feel of how some people react when they are upset.
If they're okay with the descision i'll ask them where they've been etc..........if they aren't abusive i will often change my mind and let them in. People should learn that if you are polite not abusive to doormen they will have a better chance of getting into a club or at least getting in next time. This is of course only my point and not what every doorman does. But maybe if peoples attitude toward us changes then maybe ours will too.

If you dont mind me saying you seem to have the best attitude:thumbsup:

I've spent the last 13/14 years going to clubs and i'm always polite to a bouncer. Asked them if they are alright. Just being friendly and i have never had any hassle whatsoever.

Although i do spend every sarurday at corporation now in my younger years with the 'lads' we use to go to some 'dodgy clubs in different towns/citys and we always respected the bouncer. In blackpool one night we got refused entry. Asked the guy why (thought we were too drunk) and said so be it. We trudged on. He came after us and let us in!

Only people who have hassle with bouncers are those who bring it on themselves by being an idiot. No sympethy for them.

I've got plenty of times for bouncers:thumbsup:

Originally posted by DuffBeer
I'm sure what you say is right, but if someone 'dents my ego' by giving me abuse.......for example if a group of guys come up to the club and i'm not sure how drunk they are what kind of attidude they are going to have i will first of all refuse them. The next thing that happens is straight away i get a load of abuse ..........which i think makes me correct in my descision. If they want to fight with the doormen then how will they react if someone bumps into them inside a busy club or knocks their drink over?

OR they ask me why..........i say it just isn't their night..........they ask is it because they're not dressed right/too pi**ed etc.......
I can now get a feel of how some people react when they are upset.
If they're okay with the descision i'll ask them where they've been etc..........if they aren't abusive i will often change my mind and let them in. People should learn that if you are polite not abusive to doormen they will have a better chance of getting into a club or at least getting in next time. This is of course only my point and not what every doorman does. But maybe if peoples attitude toward us changes then maybe ours will too.

no well i idnt say if they give u abuse, if for example someone was making chit chat with you, and sed something you didnt like there are some bouncers that wont let u in, just for taking offence to a simple thing when all people wanna do is get into the nightclub without any hassle..

And depending on who you are/what u look like the bouncer will say yes or no, with regard to shoes/what u wear.. like a form of predjudice..

Thanks RobT. We also appreciate it when we're told we're doing a good job. I hope since we all had to do the SIA course that the attitude has changed of doormen in general because as many will agree, we had to smarten up our attitude too.
Also not many people will know that if you appear to be under 21 years of age then we have to ask for proof of identity, the police have sent underage people in to try and catch clubs out which results in an 80 pound fine for the doorman if i dont correctly identify the age of some who appears to be under 21.
If you do get asked for identity please dont have a go at us, its probably you're own fault for your youthful good looks!

Originally posted by DuffBeer
If you do get asked for identity please dont have a go at us, its probably you're own fault for your youthful good looks!
Ha ha love it :thumbsup:
I must admit I do miss sometimes working the doors.
I retired in 2004 (summer of) but I do feel the pull every now and then back to the industry.

It's a good laugh and if you're with a good door team who you can trust then you have a good time.

Sometimes people (in their drunken state) just don't get what hassle door staff have to put up with and how difficult the job really is.

Of course there are bad eggs who are doing it for a power trip, same as the police. However I'd say the majority of the door staff I've worked with (both men and women) are decent people who do it for the money... not for any form of status they think it may bring.

Total respect to the doorstaff out their and keep up the good work and be safe yeah!

www.workingthedoors.co.uk is a decent site too if you've not already seen it :thumbsup:

I have a very good sense of humour and i do take into consideration that things said when someone is pi**ed isn't always meant to be offensive. Obviously if you insult my mother i'm not going to be pleased:cry: !!

But i also use my common sense. It would have to have been something pretty bad for me to not let you in. But if you really want to get in a club try not to say something bad to the doorman, I agree some of us dont have a sense of humour.
If you find a good club and the doorman are okay, have a chat, hopefully not............ but you might need our help one day.

I think bouncers are jus wimps who try and pretend to be hard. I sued to lyk them until sum guy grabbed my arse in ice bar and threw glass @ em after i told him off and the bouncers said they were too scarred of his ' gang' to throw them out. HATE THEM.

Originally posted by DuffBeer
But i also use my common sense. It would have to have been something pretty bad for me to not let you in. But if you really want to get in a club try not to say something bad to the doorman, I agree some of us dont have a sense of humour.
If you find a good club and the doorman are okay, have a chat, hopefully not............ but you might need our help one day.

I wish a lot more would use theirs!! ok basically from the sounds of it, chats with bouncers aint on the cards, u just need to know which ones to talk to.

I dont think ill be needing your help one day ;)

Originally posted by present
I think bouncers are jus wimps who try and pretend to be hard. I sued to lyk them until sum guy grabbed my arse in ice bar and threw glass @ em after i told him off and the bouncers said they were too scarred of his ' gang' to throw them out. HATE THEM.

I'm sorry that happened to you. I heard about this (Ice Bar, i think). Please be assured that this wouldn't happen to you in every bar/club.
Its not an excuse, they should have been escorted off the premises. If they refuse we have radio's in contact with the police and they should have been called.
Not every doorman is like that i assure you. Try not to let this bad experience make you think we're all the same. If i were you i would complain to the Ice bar management about this if you haven't already. Its the only way something will get done about it.

The number of Bouncers on this forum is growing rapidly :suspect:

Originally posted by D2J
Must be that short attention span Caprice :heyhey:

You've never seen them pouring out of the bars on Carver Street brawling ?

I haven't! I've had a sheltered upbringing :hihi:

Originally posted by D2J
The number of Bouncers on this forum is growing rapidly :suspect:
Someone jealous? :hihi:
I remember being the first bouncer (I think) on the forum.
Ah the good old days.

Nice to see the diversity of the place picking up and the stereotype of the typical doorman (as in can't count, read or use a keyboard) being overturned by technically capable doorman being round these parts.

I've never had a problem with any of them, and sometimes had nice chats when it was quiet. I've never felt all that comfortable though as at one point it seemed more like a 'protection racket'. One area I used to go to, I never heard of any problems at the pubs or clubs, then all of a sudden everywhere had doorstaff. And they were all from the same company...

Val

Originally posted by present
I think bouncers are jus wimps who try and pretend to be hard. I sued to lyk them until sum guy grabbed my arse in ice bar and threw glass @ em after i told him off and the bouncers said they were too scarred of his ' gang' to throw them out. HATE THEM.

Sometimes, and I mean sometimes there are occassions where doorman won't touch a certain gang because they know theres a good chance of them being shot. (I know from experience!) The reason they've got in is the same reason. I ain't saying the doorman were being wimps but why should I or anyother person put their life on the line? I'm won't stand in the way of a bullet I don't get paid enough!!! But I gotta admid I do my best to try and reason with them, refuse them entry, or get them to leave.
Call me a wimp if you want but all of you non-bouncers if you think the job is easy - try it! We get more grieve than the police normally.

When you get gangs in a club/pub it is very difficult to get rid of them. The way we have sorted things out in the past is to confront the main members of the gang on a personal level (usually where they work) while they're on their own.
We explained that our 'gang' was bigger their's and like bullies they tend to leave and find a softer target (club) because "its too much trouble". The chance of you getting shot is very small but it does happen.....and you're right Taffi.......we dont get paid enough mate!

Bouncers do a job that I'll put my hands up and admit that I couldn't. Their job is to ensure that the rest of customers who are out for an enjoyable night don't come to any harm from those who are out for a fight. Unfortunately because of this they often see people at their worst which I'm sure can be dismaying. Their task is often a thankless one which is also a shame. Until some people realise that having a punch-up after 20 pints isn't what most people want from a night out we'll need doormen to step in and eject the little cretins.

Having said all that there's good and bad people in all professions. Being in such a position of responsibility doormen need to ensure there aren't a minority amongst them abusing this position.

I've got to say I've worked alot of places others won't, normally out of city centre. Mainly because working local areas is more enjoyable because you get to know people and secondly the experience is invaluable. I find city centre to be mundane, whens theres trouble everyone knows about it. When there isn't any it's relatively boring and you don't know many of the people because clientel changes week in week out.

I agree that you get some bouncers who are ok and some who are real dick heads like in any profession. I remember when working at Charles street nightclub i made some good friends who were on the door and i can understand if doormen are reluctant to throw out certain customers. I think everyone has had some bad experience with a bouncer and as they have to deal with drunken dicks all night it's understandable if some of them come on a bit too strong. I was once punched in the stomach and dragged out of the toilet by my neck for urinating in the sink, which maybe would have been acceptable had i been doing it. I don't know why they thought i had been or why they were so heavy handed but i was only 18 at the time and my ripped shirt meant i had to go home. I think allot of the time if bouncers are polite and nice to you you are nice back, drunk or not. The last thing any club needs is to employ a nutcase who is going to cause trouble, maybe ending with an attack on all the bouncers or the building. Say what you want about Sheffield bouncers there a lot more polite and civil than the coke snorting, arrogant, gangster minions who do the doors at my home town of Ashton Manchester, and some of them are family.

I think door supervisors in Sheffield are so much better than the rest of the country. Most elsewhere don't even say hello etc. They have a horrid job with nasty ****** students and hooligans..and the gangs in Sheffield. I don't envy their job. Also,the antisocial hours. Must be hard to have a normal life with the job when you work every evening......Must be a good way to stay off the alcohol though. It would put me off drinking seeing all those drunk idiots!!!!!!

Sheffield is a very difficult city to work in as a door supervisor. In my experience it is one of the most violent places in the country. Consider the amount of hooligans and the fact that exiled gang members from manchester are here causing a surge in the level of violence that we are used to. There isa real threat to the public within the inner city areas like we have never seen. The worst is yet to come. The doormen are standing up to most of the groups, however the threats are there and are being followed up. Be respectful to the door staff because if you are in real trouble 98 percent will help you.
I blame the Kiss music channel!!!!