Working in the bar service industry, I get he opportunity to see many different people. I find it very interesting to see how they approach the bar and the people that work behind the bar. I can just tell you this patience is your best asset, it will get you the best service and your cocktail in the soonest possible time. Distracting the bartender from his work will just cause mistakes and more time before he gets to you. Believe me bartenders see all of you out there and most of us are still more interested in getting a quality cocktail to each and every one of you just as quickly as we can. Any distractions will just slow the process.Here is an interesting list of 10 things that you really do not want to do to a bartender.
10. Don’t ever ask for
free drinks
Oh there was a buy one get one free deal at
the Safeway you just came from? Great bro, but let’s keep it that way. While
many an experienced patron, with the right combination of frequency and tips has gotten a round on the house, these
are not favors that should ever be instigated. The bartender is not running the
local alcohol donation center, and there’s no quicker way to get on his bad
side than to be that guy asking to be “hooked up” after your third drink.
9. Tip appropriately
By far the most important rule on this list.
Due to some unfair laws and country norms, most people in the service industry
make a base pay of far below the standard minimum wage (we’re talking 3.00 an
hour in some states). Which means that without your tips, the bartender is
going to have a bad time paying rent this month. No one’s asking you to be the
Bill and Melinda Gates of the after hours crowd, but if you were imbibed on
time, and if the bartender wasn’t the spawn of the satan, please remember to
take care of them. That means one dollar a beer, and 20% on a tab.
8. Bartenders are people
(sometimes even smart people)
While people tend to remember to treat people
in the service industry like people, it seems to be forgotten all too quickly
with a third shot of Jameson and a trove of drunken blondes. Your bartender is
a person, and for all you know he’s paying his way through college, med-school,
or just supporting his family through honest work. Don’t snap your fingers at
him, don’t wave money in his face, and don’t talk down to him. We’re all on different
walks in life, so never assume anything about why someone is in his particular
profession.
7. Know What You Want
This rule seems to be violated most by the
thirty-something crowd, out for a girls night out after watching Eat, Pray,
Love, who want to just have have something “fun,” without doing any
research. But for any of those of you bros out there who have ever said
“Surprise me” or “What do you recommend?”, please stop. Not only is it taxing
(and time consuming) for a bartender to brainstorm drinks for you, but it also
almost always results in a less satisfied customer (i.e. less tips). Get to
know a few drinks, try them out, and know what you want like a proper
gentleman. And if you are really in the mood to try something new, make sure
it’s a slow night , and start off by first telling the bartender what base
liquor you’re in the mood for. Oh, and tip well.
6. One Tab Per Night
Please
Admittedly, I have to confess to violating
this one a few times myself actually. In these days, carrying cold hard cash
seems more foreign than texting money to China and having Bitcoins appear in
the tip jar. But alas, while great strides have been made in smart phones and
tablets, the process for opening and closing a tab at a bar is still as
cumbersome as it was in the pre-internet era. And while no one’s asking you not
to use your credit card (well, actually some bars do this), please keep the
plastic to a minimum. This means keep your tab open until you’re absolutely
sure you’re done, and then close it all it once, and promptly. In large groups,
figure out who’s paying and work the rest out between yourselves. It’s not a
restaurant, and the bartender does not want to use five credit cards to close
out a $30 tab.
5. Your Drink is Strong
Enough
A common and annoying faux pas, do not tell
your bartender that you drink doesn’t taste strong enough. Mixing drinks is
above all else about ratios, and chances are the bartender knows much more
about proper portions than you do. If it tastes weak, it’s likely that the drink
was either made well, or the establishment has pre-specified liquor amounts to
use on particular drinks, which may well mean your gin and tonic only has one
shot in it. But the bartender cares about their job more than your quest for a
hangover, so please don’t try the “Hey man, you want to take it easy on the ice
on this one?”
4. Know the Venue, Order
Appropriately
Would you order jagerbombs at a wine bar? How
about craft beer at a cocktail bar? No? Then don’t expect to get a glass of the
2008 Gavi de Gavi at your local dive bar either. Everyone is entitled to
ordering whatever alcohol helps wash away the week, but that is also why God
invented different bar venues. Take a look around the bar you’re at; the
liquors out aren’t just for easy access for the bartender. They also serve as a
guide to what you should order. If you want to order Irish car bombs until
you’ve gotten your daily nutritional intake of calcium, first double check that
the name of the bar you’re at begins with the letter “O” and that it hasn’t
been reupholstered in years. Then make sure you know where the bathroom is.
3. Don’t Hit on the
Bartender
Unless you’re a blonde bombshell , or a
pickup master, don’t hit on the bartender. It’s alluring, and it always seems
just a hair away from possible, but remember that these are paid professionals
who for the most part try and be friendly with their customers. But they’re on
the job, and there is nothing more annoying than someone trying to make small
talk when there are 10 drink orders on deck (except of course, you are
exception #1. In which case, please continue).
2. Don’t Get Too Drunk
Now clearly there is some gray area on this
one. We all try and control ourselves, but admittedly, the line gets a little
blurry between the seventh and the eighth shot. But while life as a fake
ID-wielding bar newbie meant getting blacked out and passing out in the back
booth, things should start to change by the time you’re out of college.
There are exceptions: we all reserve the right
to annihilate our brain cells on our birthdays, and our boys’ birthdays, but be
careful about where and how you do this. There is no quicker way to get
banned from your local bar then drunkenly reaching into the tip jar ala George
Costanza to make sure the bartender saw you tip. He’s not gonna hear your
excuses between the slurring and the cursing of the bouncer dragging you out.
1. Don’t Try and Cut Into
The Line
If it’s crowded like a Chinese subway up at
the bar, then it’s because it’s a Friday night and you’ve discovered the bar
where all the hot chicks hide out. It’s not because all of those other people
are unimportant, have no money, or haven’t already ordered a drink from the
bartender and are now his BFF because they know his name. The polite procedure
for ordering a drink goes as follows: make sure to make yourself visible, make
eye contact once to signal you’re ready to order, and then wait patiently like a
civilized human being. Cutting the line is a commodity that is hard earned, and
so unless you’re childhood friends with the man behind the counter, or if
you’re known to tip like T-Pain at a strip club, don’t expect to get that
special treatment.
Read more@ http://www.examiner.com/article/10-things-not-to-say-to-a-bartender
Read more
This was a interesting completion of ideas that I ran across, but most of them really are very true. It really boils down to whether you were raise having good manners or not. Try patience, I can stand quietly even back a row and let the bartender ask me what I would like when he or she feel it is my turn and 99% of the time bet my cocktail sooner that those who are rude. ;o)
