Hookah Bar Issues

[hookahman]

I hate lounges that forget to service the coals and refill my water. I also especially don't like coals that they use for BBQing!! Yuck.

[thecoalition]

yea i stopped going to lounges after i really learned what i was doing due to alot of these issues. the place i used to go the most finally would let me pack my own bowl fill my hookah and do all the coal work. Then i realized...i can do this all at home while drinking or watching a movie.

[A13lackFish]

[quote name='blagage' date='28 December 2009 - 08:42 PM' timestamp='1262050956' post='442182']
Went to a hookah bar near me today and it made me realize that it sucks knowing more about hookah than the people who work there.

As soon as they brought the hookah and i took the first hit i knew something was wrong. It was an obvious air leak so i found the leak and brought it to their attention and they promptly replaced it.

The new hookah they brought me had the wrong stem base combination which caused the pull to be very difficult so i said something and they fixed it.

One base was overfilled with water so it pulled up into the hose

Amount of coals i know is a matter of preference usually but they really didnt get it right ever. I kept asking for more coals or less coals.

All in all it was not a BAD experience, once they got the hookah right and let me handle the coals it was a good time but I felt like an ass bringing them over to tell them all these issues with the hookah.

Anyone else have this problem? At a hookah bar and know more about it than those who get paid to pack and manage it.
[/quote]
'
Ive had this before quite a few times, its funny too because when i requested the tongs to move coals when necessary since they were too thick headed to realize that shisha burns fast if you place the coal smack center on the crappy excuse for a bowl they use they got all offended....

Ive also had where they dont have any clue what brand of flavors they serve, not knowing that washable hoses were meant to be washed, and realizing that you need to replace gromets when dead (not stuff tissue in to try and create a seal....

[bigtoepfer]

I've had good and bad experiences at hookah lounges. I used to run a hookah lounge. And say I served 100 people on a friday. Maybe 3 or 4 would complain about something. I only ever got compliments on my ability to prepare a hookah. Now my employees could be a differnet story. But that would take to long to type here. I still plan to open my own lounge and hope to continue to give excellent hookah to everyone.

[KeepItSimple]

I'd much rather save the money. The hookah lounge near me is 16 bucks a bowl and the hookah is the same as the one I own. AND I like my CH nats more than the nats they use. For 16 bucks I can get a new flavor of Tangiers so fuck goin to the hookah bar. I do want to take the thirty minute drive to Erics though, that would be worth it.

[PSU Smoker]

[quote name='KeepItSimple' date='11 March 2010 - 06:27 AM' timestamp='1268306828' post='456532']
I'd much rather save the money. The hookah lounge near me is 16 bucks a bowl and the hookah is the same as the one I own. AND I like my CH nats more than the nats they use. For 16 bucks I can get a new flavor of Tangiers so fuck goin to the hookah bar. I do want to take the thirty minute drive to Erics though, that would be worth it.
[/quote]

16 bucks a bowl??? holy shit thats a lot...all the ones around me have $10 hookah. I havent been to any of them but im assuming that comes with a bowl and unlimited coals and another bowl is more but i dunno

[jelatin]

Eric pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Just like I'm sure many of us eat at restaurants that are not as good as what we could make at home, we go for the convenience of being able to relax while being waited on, and being able to walk away from the mess afterward, and in many cases, the atmosphere of the 'dining out' experience.

I would just say if you aren't that interested in being waited on / the convenience of being able to walk away from the mess, or if your hookah bar isn't that good of an atmosphere, then avoid them altogether.

[PSU Smoker]

as far as restaurants go just wait till i open my own up =)

[Loki Shinigami]

I go to a Lounge about once a month, more so if Stressed out. Ive never had problems with the people who fixed mine, although there was one time our bowl and another person's got mixed up with the wrong flavors, but the lounge was packed that night too

[agunn1231]

one of the best hookah bars in town just closed and they knew alot about hookah. all the other places downt know much at all. it sucks. I just opt to smoke at home now

[agunn1231]

[quote name='PSU Smoker' date='11 March 2010 - 09:51 PM' timestamp='1268369469' post='456700']
as far as restaurants go just wait till i open my own up =)
[/quote]


my girlfriend and i wanna open out own hookah lounge but have no idea where to even start with that idea lol

[TheyCallMeDave]

If I'm with a group of friends, I have no problem splitting the cost for good atmosphere and a pipe set up for me. But like the topic starter said, I HATE fixing every detail not seen in common service. Starting out with hookah, this is all I did. SPent ridiculous amounts of money until I invested in my own and made a technique that suited me.

The issue of the poor setup isn't what bothers me. It's that unless you are in the vegas area, hookah bars aren't in huge abundance. I like in the Northern Kentucky/Cin. area, and I'm lucky enough to live down the street from one.

BUT.


If you're going to own/run/work at one of the few hookah lounges within a 50 mile radius, LEARN WHAT YOUR DOING! I don't go to a sushi bar to have shushi made like my McDouble, and I don't go to a hookah bar to pay anywhere from 9-12 bucks for a quick prep service.

It's not the poor service that bothers me. it's that unless you plan on hauling your KM pipe and hose down with you, your lucky to get a great hookah lounge experience, with the ACTUAL hookah.

[highvolt4g3]

[quote name='Cheng' date='11 January 2010 - 10:41 PM' timestamp='1263267680' post='444649']
I once smoked an Apple Bazooka which is basically an Apple made into a bowl, and the smoke was so damn thin, I told these guys many times that my shisha was crap, all they did was try and plug the hose in more and whack another lump of QL on top which did nothin lol. This was in North London and they were Turks, I was a noob then.

Arabs @ Edgeware road are very good, but they are usually rude if your not Arab or you dont speak Arabic, one time I was lucky enough to have a friend who spoke Arabic - He told the guy something in Arabic and then said "Yallah" (means quickly?) and the waiter was happy as a mo fuker to sort out our coals.
Oh another tip, bring attractive girls with lot cut tops, you will get the fastest service in the WORLD, they will be standing there only to serve your table! Arab waiters are big pervs
[/quote]

"Yallah" means "let's go" literally, but can be used as quickly figuratively.

There's a hookah bar near me which is pretty good, although I haven't been there since I got my own hookah and I didn't know anything then, so I'm not sure what I would say if I went now. It is also pretty expensive. But their food is great. And they are Arab so they do know something about hookah.

I still prefer smoking out of my own hookah, though.

[3uphrat3s]

He probably told him "Yallah ya gawad!" jk/jk!

[KeepItSimple]

[quote name='PSU Smoker' date='11 March 2010 - 01:37 PM' timestamp='1268339831' post='456581']
[quote name='KeepItSimple' date='11 March 2010 - 06:27 AM' timestamp='1268306828' post='456532']
I'd much rather save the money. The hookah lounge near me is 16 bucks a bowl and the hookah is the same as the one I own. AND I like my CH nats more than the nats they use. For 16 bucks I can get a new flavor of Tangiers so fuck goin to the hookah bar. I do want to take the thirty minute drive to Erics though, that would be worth it.
[/quote]

16 bucks a bowl??? holy shit thats a lot...all the ones around me have $10 hookah. I havent been to any of them but im assuming that comes with a bowl and unlimited coals and another bowl is more but i dunno
[/quote]

Yea, its a standard egyptian bowl and unlimited coals and a refill of a new flavor is 8. The starbuzz lounge i hear gives you a free refill and will change the flavor if you dont like it for free, and my friends said it was around ten bucks, so thats not too bad. Theres one in Huntington that I like and it's ten bucks but they use mya acrylics and jap coals. But the atmosphere there is cool.

[mitchard]

The bar I used to go to is about $17 for the hookah/bowl, and 6 bucks for refills I think? And thats just for AF.

I am sure the newer lounges I haven't been to are similar in price, if not more expensive. Seattle sucks.

[agunn1231]

I've never had trouble at the hookah lounge i go to now-a-days...the guy who is usually workin there is always nice...the only tyhing that has ever kinda sucked is that two hits in the downstem fell off....but the guy working there brought out another hookah, without any problems and without me asking...all i did was point to the downstem lol...But a fair amount of the lounges around here are full of drama...not the one i go to though

[TobiasKM]

I have yet to try a good hookah lounge here n Denmark. I've only tried some where you were basically smoking coals.. No flavour and harsh smoke.

If I had the money and oppotunity I would love to open up my own place. It's like, if you provide a proper tasting hookah, nice atmosphere access to drinks and whatnot.. I think it could work.

But alas, being 21 and a student it's not really an option Besides, the politicians have threatened with making hookah tobacco illegal. They claim its sweet nature "lures young people into smoking cigarettes". It's ridiculous, and if it actually happens.. I'll be very annoyed.

[nali]

There are A LOT of Hookah places in my town that are authentic ... family owned, and they know how to run their business, hookah.... etc..

SADLY................ They hired new management and it's all gone down hill from there. In Saint Louis there is a place called Delmar Loop, and there are two Hookah spots.... well, those as well were taken over by different management and smoke sucks, the coals aren't properly placed..... it's just horrible...

SO What my friends and I did was, lol, we drove down in front of the Hookah bar... (hot spot.. tons of people) we parked in front.... well, we had 3 hookahs in my car, it's a bmw coupe... SMALL car... well, 5 of us fit along with the 3 hookahs... we had all the windows up.... blew out enough smoke to have the whole car covered in smoke... we let the windows down ALL smoke went out haha ... drew attention of course.... more than we expected, well, everyone stopped by asked what we were doing... it was a GREAT experience...

we saved money, we enjoyed being in the Loop.... and we had so much fun.

YAY for great ideas?

lol.

[Fumo1]

[quote name='blagage' date='28 December 2009 - 09:42 PM' timestamp='1262050956' post='442182']
Went to a hookah bar near me today and it made me realize that it sucks knowing more about hookah than the people who work there.

As soon as they brought the hookah and i took the first hit i knew something was wrong. It was an obvious air leak so i found the leak and brought it to their attention and they promptly replaced it.

The new hookah they brought me had the wrong stem base combination which caused the pull to be very difficult so i said something and they fixed it.

One base was overfilled with water so it pulled up into the hose

Amount of coals i know is a matter of preference usually but they really didnt get it right ever. I kept asking for more coals or less coals.

All in all it was not a BAD experience, once they got the hookah right and let me handle the coals it was a good time but I felt like an ass bringing them over to tell them all these issues with the hookah.

Anyone else have this problem? At a hookah bar and know more about it than those who get paid to pack and manage it.
[/quote]

Went to a Turkish style hookah bar in Bucharest last night. Took them 45 min to bring out the hookah I was going crazy. The food beer and tea was great but the hookah service was the worst. They said they heat their coals in the food oven so I guess the food competes with the coals for space. Pretty nutty.... My hookah almost went out for lack of coal service. No amount of critiquing would ever help these guys.

Tonight I found a row of bars in the Old City Center of Bucharest. There were 6 or 7 hookah bars in a row. I chose an Egyptian bar run by Egyptians not locals. I had a hookah in about 5 min. and the service was awesome. They knew what they were doing and it made it a great experience. Cheap as hell as well. Most places charge about $3.50 for a hookah and around $3.00 for a beer. You need to order a drink to have smoke but the price was definitely awesome .... All these places had their act together and I wont even bother with the Turkish place again.

As far as voicing you opinion on the bar I think if you do it in a constructive way that's cool. As far as you knowing more than the servers I can understand that but an owner should at least be competent and try to correct the errors and problems you brought up if they care about their business. The guys in the first bar I went to had no clue and will loose hookah business to more attentive bars. Vote with you dollars.

[Ski]

Being new to having my own hookah and very interested in opening my own hookah lounge soon. I know I have human error in m and I wouldn't even begin to think that I know all there is to know. Would you think less of an establishment if you knowtaced something wrong and thy asked you for advice on how to improve the lounge?

[agunn1231]

[quote name='Ski' date='13 May 2010 - 10:11 AM' timestamp='1273770671' post='467970']
Being new to having my own hookah and very interested in opening my own hookah lounge soon. I know I have human error in m and I wouldn't even begin to think that I know all there is to know. Would you think less of an establishment if you knowtaced something wrong and thy asked you for advice on how to improve the lounge?
[/quote]

If they took the advice, and actuallyput out effort to improve, then i would give them return business, and have a higher level of respect for the owner of the lounge

[Chreees]

Wish all my local lounges didn't suck...

[SweetNut]

Wish I had ANY local lounges

[Cp44]

nothing is better than making your own hookah