Effex NightClub — Restaurant in Albuquerque

last-night I went to effex with my boyfriend and some friends to celebrate the new year. We arrived about 25 minutes before the ball dropped so we got in line at the bar on the 2nd floor. My boyfriend and I ordered two double shots of tequila with some cranberry to chase, since it was so busy, we weren’t able to get our drinks until after the ball had dropped, I only mention this for the sake of a time frame. Anyways, we got our drinks and we were charged $14.00 for the two double shots and the cranberry juice, we tipped $2, so $16 total. An hour later, about 30 minutes before effex closed, we went back to order two more drinks at the same bar on the 2nd floor. We ordered two single shots, this time we had a different bartender, Nicole. She got our drink order wrong, she mixed the tequila and juice after I asked for them separately but that wasn’t a big deal and I wasn’t even going to correct her, I was fine taking the drinks. The problem came when she said the total would be $18. I was immediately taken aback and said “my boyfriend and I were here earlier and were charged $14 for two double shots” she immediately gets a nasty attitude and says “I doubt that” so she asks the bartender who had served us prior, then handed us the receipt for $18. I should have told her to give us a refund because I was completely turned off by the bad attitude and poor customer service. I decided to write three fat zeros on the tip line and at the bottom of the receipt, I wrote that she was RUDE. I slid the pen and receipt back at her and it ended up falling on the floor and then I just walked away with my drinks. Not even 5 minutes later, my boyfriend and I get kicked out for ‘throwing’ something at the bartender. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and I was so confused, when did I throw something at her?? So I explained my side of the story, the security guard was very polite, I didn’t get his name but I was told he’s head of security. He heard me out and suggested I make a complaint.

I have been a bartender and I have also been a security guard so I really didn’t want to cause trouble. All I wanted was to know why I was being charged more, maybe it was the type of tequila we were served because I didn’t specify, or maybe it was just a mistake. I just wanted to know why. Instead of trying to figure it out and see if she can give me some sort of explanation, Nicole was completely rude and displayed horrible customer service skills.

I would suggest speaking with your bartender Nicole, maybe she needs more training...

The security here needs a severe ego check. Effex has gender neutral bathrooms and have a rule that there is only one person in a stall at a time, which makes complete sense. Very valid rule after it was explained to me by the very nice woman at the door. I didn’t know this rule before my girlfriend needed to use the restroom. None of the stalls have any locks, and there are men in the restroom, so I go in the stall with her to hold the door shut and to make her feel safe. I was 5 feet away from her, facing away, holding the door shut. Again, not doing anything weird. A random man tried to enter the stall, while my girlfriend is still using the restroom, banging on the door and shoving trying to get into the stall, yelling at us. I tell him to wait his turn and to F off because in my mind, it’s some random creep trying to peep or do who-knows-what. He keeps trying to enter the stall by banging and kicking at the door after i repeatedly say there is a woman who is not clothed and to wait. The whole time this man is trying to kick down the door, never explaining to me who he is, so I continue holding the door. She finishes and we walk out and it’s security and they threaten me and my girlfriend with violence saying they will “drop both of us immediately” if we don’t leave the bar. My girlfriend has never felt more unsafe, thinking a random man was trying to barge into her stall. And feeling unsafe by the people who’s job it is to keep the bar safe. Again, I get the rule and it makes perfect sense, but if I’m holding the door closed for my girlfriend and some random person tries to barge in on her, I will hold the door shut. Not once did the man say he was with security. She is still crying because it scared her so much, and it happened hours ago. Security should be there to make you feel safe, not like someone is trying to break in a stall and assault you. Completely uncalled for and deplorable behavior by Effex staff. Will never return to this bar. Install locks and train your staff. Not once did the man trying to enter the stall say he was staff. Obviously I was not going to let him in, for her safety. Absolutely despicable behavior from the Effex staff. You made my girlfriend feel unwelcome and more importantly, very unsafe. Had security told me who was at the door, told me one person in the stall at a time, I would have happily held the door from the outside and there wouldn’t have been a problem. $20 paid to have us both feel unsafe and threatened by...

We have been going to Effex for the past seven years and have always had a good experience until a recent night out. We each ordered one drink in Side Effex and walked around. We proceeded to the indoor, rectangular bar on the second floor to order another round. The bartender approached us to take our order, but he pulled away before we finished. I don't think he realized we had one more in our party. I snapped my fingers once to try to get his attention. I figured that would be nicer than yelling. I didn't intend for it to be rude. He obviously took it that way. While waiting for our drinks, we were greeted by security who said we needed to leave. We were quite astonished and security escorted us downstairs. Once downstairs, we spoke with a manager named Steven. Steven immediately apologized and stated he would comp our drinks, but unfortunately due to state law, he cannot. He asked what he could do to make it right. We asked for an apology from the bartender due to this overreaction and to be permitted to continue on with our night. We told him we did not feel safe in Effex after the incident. He again apologized to us and stated we are safe and assured us we are fine to go about as we please. We proceeded back to the bar to order our drinks thinking the misunderstanding was resolved. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, it was not as the bartender refused to serve us (we were fine with this and were about to go somewhere else), however, the bartender again asked security to escort us off the premises. This time we went outside where we were greeted by Steven who again apologized. He stated we are welcome to come back, but we do not feel this way. This is such a shame as we, for years, have always enjoyed this establishment. I think what is most remarkable is that a mild misunderstanding escalated so quickly without anyone from security even bothering to speak to us politely and try to resolve the issue. Even if we had malicious intentions with a single snap of the fingers, it is a huge overreaction to have customers escorted out by security for such a minor misunderstanding. Some of their staff clearly need to grow up and quit acting like a bunch of oversensitive...