Long time no post! Mostly, I’ve been out of the customer service industry since obtaining my bachelor’s degree. I now work with individuals with mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities. At times, these individuals can be very difficult to deal with but they cannot help themselves so there is no way I would ever post anything disparaging about this population and the times they are difficult.
On occasion, I have tended bar part-time for a few extra bucks and because I always found bartending fun. It’s especially fun if you step away from it for a while and not need the money or the job. My attitude is much different when I know that I have a “real” job out there. Suddenly, the general public has less of an ability to slip under my skin and annoy me. Don’t get me wrong, they still do – but I handle it much differently. If they are being sucky customers – I straight up tell them because I don’t fear losing the job.
I have composed a list of rules for bar customers that mostly applies to the times where the bar is slammed and I am making a metric fuck ton (a measurement I learned from this very forum years ago!) of drinks. So, please, if you see yourself committing any of the atrocities on this list, do yourself a favor – stay out of any bar I am working.
1. Do not snap your fingers, wave your money, yell obscenities, throw things, or pound on the bar top to get my attention. The only thing you will get is straight up ignored. I have a system when I am busy. I work from one end of the bar to the other and then back. When the bar is slammed it is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE for me to tell who was really next to be served, so my system is the best I can do to reach everyone. If you are standing behind the current person at the bar and get pissed when they get served and you’re not next, be patient, you will be served on my next pass. However, if you commit any of the atrocities mentioned at the beginning of this first rule, you will be lucky to get served at all.
2. Do not tell me you will tip me well if I wait on you next. 99.9% of the time…you will not. So, you will wait as I run through my system.
3. After standing at the bar, waiting for service, especially when you’ve been waiting for longer than five minutes do not let the first question that comes out of your mouth when I finally reach you be, “What do y’all got?” Are you freakin’ kidding me? You’ve been standing there for over five minutes, with all our liquor and beer on display and you don’t know what we have? So, yes, excuse my shitty response of “are you kidding me?” and just order what you know you always order anyway!
4. Do not ask, “How much is y’all drinks?” I am NOT going to say, “They’re ALL 50 cents!” We have a plethora of alcohol, no drink is the same, and no price is the same. It’s easiest for you to tell me what you what to spend and I will give you a drink from that range. If you tell me “I have $2” you will get the bottle of water that we sell at that price.
5. Following that line of ruling – do not tell me how much you are going to pay for the drink I just made. It will be pulled from in front of you and you will get no drink and I will not care! Furthermore, do not try to haggle with me on the drink prices. This is not a flea market or a bidding contest.
6. Do not tell me that I did not put any alcohol in your drink when you quite clearly seen me pour alcohol in your drink. Do not bring me a drink I did not make you and tell me that there is no alcohol in it. I will tell you to take it back to the bartender who did make it.
7. If you know you need more than one drink when you come up – give me the order for all the drinks. Do not give me the drink order piece by piece after I make each drink.
8. Do not tell me “make it strong” or “hook it up” or “give me a little extra” . You want extra, you will pay for it. (A little bar tending trick I learned some time ago for those insisting drinks are "not strong enough" - floating a tiny bit of alcohol on top of the drink or pouring just a tiny bit down the straw - viola - instant stronger drink for just a drop more of alcohol).
9. Do not try to convince me you are old enough to drink. If you have not been branded by the bar door people as someone who is old enough to drink, do not be offended if I ask for your ID and do not be offended if I refuse to serve you when you cannot produce said ID. There is no way I believe that you got a wrist band at the door and lost both the wrist band and your ID between the door and the bar.
10. Yes, my boyfriend knows I tend bar. No, he does not mind that I tend bar. Please don’t tell me “If you were my girlfriend, there’s no way you’d let me tend bar.” Along these lines, don’t not tip me but give me your phone number.
11. No, you cannot touch my breasts or see my breasts or any other part of my anatomy. No means no and I’m not going to change your mind if you tip me a dollar or offer me a drink.
12. No, I don’t want to see your penis. For Christ’s sake, your girlfriend is standing next to you.
13. I’m sorry, the older I get, the harder it is for me to hear especially if the music is loud, the people are loud, and you are mumbling your drink order. Please do not get pissed if I ask you to repeat yourself however many times it takes me to understand you.
I’m sure there are more. Club bartending is crazy! One of the last shifts I worked, one of our bartenders got smacked across the face and had a mixing tin thrown at her all because she refused service to a total bitch. I have news for anyone going to a bar – not only does the establishment have the right to refuse service to anybody, so does the bartender. Even if the establishment says serve you…the bartender can still tell you to get bent. As I said earlier, I really enjoy filling in as a bartender part-time when I don’t need the job but the extra money is nice. I am much looser in my customer service skills and put up with a lot less shit than I did when all I had were bartending jobs.
Thanks for letting me share!
On occasion, I have tended bar part-time for a few extra bucks and because I always found bartending fun. It’s especially fun if you step away from it for a while and not need the money or the job. My attitude is much different when I know that I have a “real” job out there. Suddenly, the general public has less of an ability to slip under my skin and annoy me. Don’t get me wrong, they still do – but I handle it much differently. If they are being sucky customers – I straight up tell them because I don’t fear losing the job.
I have composed a list of rules for bar customers that mostly applies to the times where the bar is slammed and I am making a metric fuck ton (a measurement I learned from this very forum years ago!) of drinks. So, please, if you see yourself committing any of the atrocities on this list, do yourself a favor – stay out of any bar I am working.
1. Do not snap your fingers, wave your money, yell obscenities, throw things, or pound on the bar top to get my attention. The only thing you will get is straight up ignored. I have a system when I am busy. I work from one end of the bar to the other and then back. When the bar is slammed it is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE for me to tell who was really next to be served, so my system is the best I can do to reach everyone. If you are standing behind the current person at the bar and get pissed when they get served and you’re not next, be patient, you will be served on my next pass. However, if you commit any of the atrocities mentioned at the beginning of this first rule, you will be lucky to get served at all.
2. Do not tell me you will tip me well if I wait on you next. 99.9% of the time…you will not. So, you will wait as I run through my system.
3. After standing at the bar, waiting for service, especially when you’ve been waiting for longer than five minutes do not let the first question that comes out of your mouth when I finally reach you be, “What do y’all got?” Are you freakin’ kidding me? You’ve been standing there for over five minutes, with all our liquor and beer on display and you don’t know what we have? So, yes, excuse my shitty response of “are you kidding me?” and just order what you know you always order anyway!
4. Do not ask, “How much is y’all drinks?” I am NOT going to say, “They’re ALL 50 cents!” We have a plethora of alcohol, no drink is the same, and no price is the same. It’s easiest for you to tell me what you what to spend and I will give you a drink from that range. If you tell me “I have $2” you will get the bottle of water that we sell at that price.
5. Following that line of ruling – do not tell me how much you are going to pay for the drink I just made. It will be pulled from in front of you and you will get no drink and I will not care! Furthermore, do not try to haggle with me on the drink prices. This is not a flea market or a bidding contest.
6. Do not tell me that I did not put any alcohol in your drink when you quite clearly seen me pour alcohol in your drink. Do not bring me a drink I did not make you and tell me that there is no alcohol in it. I will tell you to take it back to the bartender who did make it.
7. If you know you need more than one drink when you come up – give me the order for all the drinks. Do not give me the drink order piece by piece after I make each drink.
8. Do not tell me “make it strong” or “hook it up” or “give me a little extra” . You want extra, you will pay for it. (A little bar tending trick I learned some time ago for those insisting drinks are "not strong enough" - floating a tiny bit of alcohol on top of the drink or pouring just a tiny bit down the straw - viola - instant stronger drink for just a drop more of alcohol).
9. Do not try to convince me you are old enough to drink. If you have not been branded by the bar door people as someone who is old enough to drink, do not be offended if I ask for your ID and do not be offended if I refuse to serve you when you cannot produce said ID. There is no way I believe that you got a wrist band at the door and lost both the wrist band and your ID between the door and the bar.
10. Yes, my boyfriend knows I tend bar. No, he does not mind that I tend bar. Please don’t tell me “If you were my girlfriend, there’s no way you’d let me tend bar.” Along these lines, don’t not tip me but give me your phone number.
11. No, you cannot touch my breasts or see my breasts or any other part of my anatomy. No means no and I’m not going to change your mind if you tip me a dollar or offer me a drink.
12. No, I don’t want to see your penis. For Christ’s sake, your girlfriend is standing next to you.
13. I’m sorry, the older I get, the harder it is for me to hear especially if the music is loud, the people are loud, and you are mumbling your drink order. Please do not get pissed if I ask you to repeat yourself however many times it takes me to understand you.
I’m sure there are more. Club bartending is crazy! One of the last shifts I worked, one of our bartenders got smacked across the face and had a mixing tin thrown at her all because she refused service to a total bitch. I have news for anyone going to a bar – not only does the establishment have the right to refuse service to anybody, so does the bartender. Even if the establishment says serve you…the bartender can still tell you to get bent. As I said earlier, I really enjoy filling in as a bartender part-time when I don’t need the job but the extra money is nice. I am much looser in my customer service skills and put up with a lot less shit than I did when all I had were bartending jobs.
Thanks for letting me share!
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