I first went to H-Kan on the South Side. That was my first experience at a Hookah Bar. It was expensive, but at least you knew that going in. It was a modern atmosphere with normal employees. When Sphinx opened a new location (in addition to their location on the South Side) in Oakland, which is where I was living at the time, I figured I would check it out. The man who sat us (who I later learned to be the owner) was not very personable at all. He basically said "Come with me, " and pointed to where we were to sit. Our server was quite nice, as are most of the other people that work there... I feel bad for them. When we got our check, we were shocked. The place is known to be BYOB. What they don't explain is that you are charged $2.00 if you do not order a drink from them. Ok, I'm fine with that. But it should be pointed out when you walk in the door with a six-pack, not right before you are ready to leave the place.in addition, they charged two of my friends $2.00, and they didn't even drink at all! We explained this to the jerk owner who finally agreed to remove their fees. Also, they will charge you for a hookah mouthpeice tip unless you call them on it... For everyone around the table, regardless of whether or not they smoke... And you never see these extra mouthpeice tips unless you ask for them.
A good friend of mine worked for Sphinx for a very brief time before which he was told he would be salaried at $250 a week. He was only required to work 30 hours at first and was told that he would work up to 40 as time progressed. When he received his first paycheck it was quite less than $250. He approached the owner who told him that the $250 is only paid if you work 50 hours a week! That comes out to be less than minimum wage. He also wasn't allowed to keep his tips! Thanks for wasting my friend's time and my money in your cheesey psuedo-egyptian nonsense bar. Don't go to this place. Buy your own Hookah... It's much more practical and you won't have to deal with this jerk.
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