Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #10

#10: The customer is not always right, especially in a strip club.

Working in a bar is completely different than working in an office or working in any type of retail position. Granted, bartenders are still in the business of customer service and catering to the needs of the customer. When alcohol is added to the mix, it changes the playing field entirely. Most customers don't have a problem controlling their alcohol intake. It's the people who can't control themselves after consuming alcohol that makes the job interesting.

I always managed to work the whole "the customer is not always right" to my advantage whenever I worked behind the bar. Granted, only the most awful customers would ever experience the wrath of my "the customer is not always right" bartender attitude. Nice customers always received my best customer service. I was always considered one of the nicer bartenders behind the bar at the club I worked at. As glamorous and fun as bartending in a strip club may seem, if you work behind the bar long enough in one of those places, it eventually starts to eat at your soul and make you bitter. The bitterness eventually comes out in the form of a "take no shit" attitude towards the customers.

Tell, Don't Ask

In a regular bar or restaurant, if a customer becomes overly intoxicated and starts bothering other paying customers, they will probably be given a warning or two and eventually be asked nicely to close out their bill and leave. It doesn't quite happen like that in a strip club. Sometimes customers might be given a warning or two for their bad behavior. If the customer fails to comply with the rules consistently, no one will ask the customer to leave. They will tell the customer to leave.

When you have a club full of scantily dressed women and drunk men, it makes perfect sense why there are strict rules in place. If a customer wants to stay, the customer has to play by the club's rules. When it comes to club management, there is no room for discussion. You either follow the rules or you leave.

Non-Tippers

My philosophy when bartending in a strip club was if you're there, you're there to spend money. If you had money to buy a lapdance, you had enough money to tip the bartender a dollar or two for your drinks. It always irritates me whenever I get stiffed, but it really got under my skin when I was bartending in a strip club. I would always give customers two chances (two rounds) to redeem themselves. If they stiffed me on the first round, I figured they were probably short on cash and would hook me up on the second round after they paid a visit to the ATM machine. If the customer stiffed me on the second round, I'd give them a dirty look. On the third round, I'd avoid the stiffing customer as long as I could. I would make sure to help everyone else around them. Sometimes the customer would catch on to my passive scolding and put money on the bar. As soon as that would happen, all would be forgiven. If the customer still didn't have a clue and asked me why I wasn't helping them, I'd kindly explain to them that since they had chosen to stiff me two times in a row, I'd no longer be serving them for the rest of the night.

The Snappers, Whistlers and Wavers

If you want to piss off a bartender, try snapping your fingers or whistling at them. It's the fastest way to either get kicked out of a place or to not be served at all. In the strip club, if a customer snapped their fingers or whistled to get my attention, I'd be sure to stop whatever I was doing and inform them in front of the entire bar that I wasn't a dog and I refused to be treated like one. This was always quite effective on a Friday or Saturday night when the bar would be packed. The public scolding would work twofold. First, the Snapper/Whistler knew right away that his bad behavior would not be tolerated at the bar. If he wanted to be served, he had to be polite and wait his turn, at the end of the line. Secondly, the rest of the bar would shame the Snapper/Whistler on his outrageous behavior.

The Wavers just get on my nerves. Wavers are always the people whom you know have never worked a day of their life in either a bar or restaurant. They have no clue as to how bar etiquette works. To them, they think as soon as they approach the bar, someone should be willing and able to serve them right away, never mind the rest of the people who were at the bar before them. The Wavers always seem to be the leader of their group. As soon as they approach the bar, they wave at you and then turn around to ask all of their buddies what they want to drink. Whenever I had a Waver come into the strip club, I'd mock them by waving right back at them and then purposely help the person right next to them. I knew I could always get away with going out of my way to piss off the Wavers in a strip club. My mocking them and their self-righteous attitude always taught them a valuable lesson in bar etiquette: if you want to be served at a bar, don't wave at the bartender and have your drink order ready.

Rude People

Most times in a customer service situation, if a customer is rude to you, you have to be nice back. It's the nature of the business. Working in a restaurant, I constantly have to bite my tongue and have a completely different conversation with a rude customer than the one I have in my head. That didn't seem to be the case in a strip club. If a customer was rude to me, I was always rude right back to them. I refused to take any of their crap. Management always backed us up too. I guess they figured with all of the crap we already had to put up with all of the sleazy dudes trying to pull one over, if someone got postal on us, management had no problems yelling at them as they kicked their rude ass out.

Whiners

Bartending in a strip club, it was a requirement that we had to measure out all of the alcohol for every single drink we poured. This rule was definetly not up for discussion between the management and staff. People would get fired for not using their jiggers to pour alcohol into drinks. There were cameras everywhere watching our every move. The club made a lot of money on alcohol sales. In the management's minds, if a bartender wasn't properly measuring out the alcohol for a drink, the bartender was stealing. Stealing is always the quickest and easiest way for any bartender to get fired, at any bar.

So if a customer ever complained about there not being enough alcohol in their drink, I'd snatch the drink right out of their hands and look them dead in the eye as I poured their drink down the sink. I would then grab the glass, set it on the bar and have the customer watch me remake their drink using the jigger. I'd inform them that it was the club's rules that every drink have a specific measure of alcohol in them. If they had problems tasting the alcohol, they could either order a double and pay for a double or drink somewhere else.

I have found in my experience as a bartender that whenever a customer complains about not being able to taste the alcohol in their drink, they're being cheap and trying to pull a fast one by getting more alcohol without having to pay for it. This customer probably even stiffed me on the first round. And then there's the customer who orders a drink that is loaded with sugar and mixer and complains when they can't taste the alcohol. If you want to taste the alcohol, then order alcohol, not a drink that is loaded with sugar and mixer.

Two Things That Drive Me Crazy

There are two things that really drive me crazy whenever I am working behind the bar:

1. People who try to come in before we're open for business

I spend the hour before we open up for business setting up the bar. I cut fruit. I stock fresh garnishes. I bring out the mixers. I fill my well with ice. I stock up my juices. I make espresso drinks for the kitchen. I make fruit punch drinks for the runners. I count my drawer. I use this hour to not only physically prepare my bar for the evening, but I prepare myself mentally for the night as well.

It irritates me to no end when we get customers who come in before we open and demand a drink. Are you kidding me? If I take the time to serve you before I have a chance to set up my bar, I risk falling behind for the rest of the night. It might not be such a big deal on a slower night. If its a busy night, your stupid drink might set me back so far that I never quite get the chance to get caught up for the rest of the night. No one wants to start off their night already being behind. The bar and restaurant industry appreciates the business it receives from its customers. Please try to patronize the business during its set business hours. There's a reason why we open at 5 and not 4:30.

2. People who try to come in 5-10 minutes before closing

Slow nights suck. Slow nights are painful because the time drags by as you watch the clock and then watch the door, hoping and waiting for customers to come in. Now picture this. You've just spent the last 5-6 hours watching the clock tick by. You had a couple of customers here and there, but no one has come in over the last hour. Since closing time is officially less than 20 minutes away, you start to close down the bar because there's no one there. You've just tossed out the rest of your lemons, limes and fruit garnishes when the door opens and a customer walks in. Are you serious? There's no one in the bar or restaurant and it's now five minutes to closing. That sucks.

It's painful to keep a kitchen open long after closing for the one person who decides to come in right before closing. That means the kitchen staff, server, bartender and manager on duty all have to wait patiently and watch (in vain) as the customer enjoys their meal because none of us can go home until the customer does.

The next time you dine out, please reconsider when you walk into a bar or restaurant before opening or near closing and don't expect to be welcomed with open arms. Chances are if you were in the restaurant/bar staff's shoes, you would be just as annoyed if either one of these scenarios happened to you.

And don't even get me started on the customers who sit and chat at their table well past closing time.

If you ever find yourself in the position where you just can't resist patronizing a business outside of it's designated business hours, make it worth the staff's while by being a generous tipper.

What's Good?

"What would you like to drink?"

This is how I typically start every single one of my bar transactions with a customer.

Every now and then I get a customer who responds to my question, "Well, what's good?"

It's fine. I get it. People like this are trying hard to be funny in front of their friends. If it's slow enough at the bar, I might humor the customer and ask them what types of drinks they normally drink or what spirit they would like their cocktail to be based on. But in most of my experiences, the wisecracking customer always seems to ask this question at the wrong time...when I am knee deep in drink orders from servers and have a packed house at the bar. I'm talking standing room only. It's at times like these when all I can say in response to the customer is "Well, EVERYTHING is good", just as I take the drink order of the person standing next to the wise guy.

That's right. People who try to be funny when a bartender is busy generally get skipped. It's not that we are trying to be rude. We are just trying to be efficient. If not only for the tip jar, but for the bar.

When a bar is busy and there is only one bartender taking the drink orders and making the drinks, there isn't a whole lot of time to have a discussion about what "good" drink a customer should have. If a bartender does stop in the middle of a rush to have this type of conversation, you better believe the rest of the bar will be watching angrily and slapping their fists full of cash on the bar.

Do yourself a favor potentially wisecracking customer. Be mindful of the bar and save your funny comments and responses for the slower portions of the evening. Trust me, you will be better off annoying the poor bartender who has to pretend to laugh and strain to find humor in your comments than having to deal with the wrath of countless thirsty bar patrons who already know what's "good" and are ready to order.

The dumb things customers say

In the service industry, you're nothing without your customers. So bless them for saddling up at the bar and helping me pay my rent. But sometimes, the things customers say really crack me up. To the point where I question their thinking process. I mean really, it's just a drink.

It's interesting to see how some guy will react to certain cocktails and the glasses they're served in. I had a group of three guys sitting at my bar one night. Guy Number One ordered a specialty cocktail featured on our menu that is served in a martini glass. He took a sip of the cocktail and exclaimed how delicious it was. A satisfied customer. Guy Number Two ordered a beer. Bless him. So easy and fast. Guy Number Three looked at Guy Number One's cocktail in a martini glass and then at Guy Number Three's beer, looked at the menu, looked at me and then asked me if "said specialty cocktail on our menu" was a "girlie" drink? I asked him what about the drink he thought made it "girlie?" Then I asked him what makes any drink gender specific really. If he wanted to try the drink, then he should try it. A drink wasn't going to make him anymore of a man or anymore of a woman. He quickly apologized because he thought he had offended me. He didn't offend me. I just thought his question was stupid.

Then there was the lady who picked out the sweetest cocktail on our cocktail menu, easily dessert in a glass. When the lady ordered her cocktail, she proceeded to request that her drink have Amaretto omitted from it. The reason why? She thought the Amaretto would make her drink too sweet. The ingredients for the cocktail she ordered included: Kahlua, Frangelico, Amaretto, Baileys, a shot of espresso, half and half, chocolate sprinkled rim and Chantilly cream on top. Trust me, the subtraction of Amaretto would not have made the drink any less sweet. I made the drink per her request, minus the Amaretto, but I couldn't help but think how her request was just plain stupid. If you don't want a sweet drink then don't order a sweet drink.

Customers not only help me pay my rent on a regular basis, but they are quite entertaining in the process.

Whenever You Have A Moment...

Why is it that whenever I am at my busiest behind the bar (server tickets printing out of control and standing room only at the bar full of thirsty customers), people will sometimes try to get my attention by uttering, "Whenever you have a moment..."

Whenever I have a moment? Why don't you hop in line behind all the people who have been waiting at the bar before you along with my servers who also need their drinks for their tables. It's not like I'm sitting back here picking my nose. Whenever I have a moment. Sheesh!

Also, screaming "Hey Bartender!" at me will only get you ignored and keep you at the end of the line. Just be patient like everyone else. Don't worry, I know who's next in line and I'm moving just as fast as I can to get to everybody because I want your money too. :)

When a customer repeatedly stiffs you

It's bad enough when a customer stiffs you on a tip for a round or two, but what if a customer repeatedly stiffs you on every single round that they order? How I handle the situation all depends on the bar I am working at. Sometimes bars and restaurants have a strict policy about customer service. They fumble over themselves doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy. That means that when a customer doesn't tip, there isn't much you can do or say. You just have to accept it and hope that the next customer does tip.

Then there are places where providing good customer service isn't as much of a priority as it is to pour an accurate shot amount. When customer service in general goes by the wayside, you have a little bit more flexibility in how you handle the stiffers. I'm the type of bartender that feels it is important to always provide good customer service. My philosophy? The better the service, the better the tip. It also increases the chances of return business.

When some bartenders call out a customer right after the first or second round, I give the customer three chances (just like three strikes). After the third round of being stiffed, I pull the customer aside and check in with them. I ask them if the drinks and the service being provided is okay. If they answer yes with a smile, I then let them know that when a customer doesn't tip, it makes the bartender think that there is a problem with the drinks or service and because they haven't tipped me on any of the rounds that they've ordered, it leads me to believe that there might be a problem.

Now this conversation can go a few ways and you have to be prepared to deal with the repurcussions. Either the customer will "get it", apologize and grab whatever cash is in their pocket and leave it on the bar as a tip. Or the customer could just be a complete jerk who doesn't tip and just walks away. Then there are the customers who don't speak a lick of English and don't understand what you're saying so they just smile and walk away.

With the non-English speaking customers, I've had the best luck when they come in groups because there's always one person in the group who does speak English. The English speaking group member will see that a conversation is taking place at the bar, come up to the bar to make sure that everything is okay and when they realize what we're talking about, they'll leave some sort of tip.

Most importantly, as a bartender you have to pick and choose your battles. You don't want to be the whiny, rude bartender, but then again you work for tips and don't want to be constantly ran over by the cheap customers. In the big picture, the tips all even out at the end of the shift anyways. For the one person who doesn't tip, there will be someone who over tips. So don't get upset over the one person who stiffs you on a round. It happens. But when a customer does it each and every time they order a drink (even more so if their order is complicated and their high maintenance), then having the conversation might be a good idea.

Playing the "I'm a bartender" card

It's so incredibly lame when someone comes into my bar, acts like a jackass and then when they complain to me about how I gave them attitude, pull the "I'm a bartender" card. If these people really were bartenders they would:

1-Not act like a jackass in the first place.
2-Order fast and easy drinks to make if the bar looks busy. In other words, not be high maintenance.
3-Be patient.
4-Not approach the bar until they knew exactly what they wanted to order and were ready to order it.
5-Not start off the transaction with "I'm sorry to be a pain in the ass but..."

When people pull this "I'm a bartender..." crap on me, I not only question if they truly are a bartender, but I can't help but wonder, what in the hell kind of bar do they actually work at?

I have worked in a variety of bars during my bartending career and I know better than to pull this kind of crap on anyone else. To me, announcing that you're a bartender in a situation where you are clearly the one who is throwing attitude and acting like a jackass just screams "douche".

Complaining about a free drink is poor bar etiquette

Receiving a comp drink, free drink or a drink on the house is a luxury, not a right. It’s annoying to bartenders everywhere when someone complains about their free drink. It’s understandable if the quality of the drink is not up to par or maybe the glass of wine that was ordered didn’t taste right, but complaining about the amount of alcohol in (or not in) the drink is poor bar etiquette.

For example...Read More

Times Are Tough, But

I know that times are tough, but it is never okay or acceptable for a person to bring their own bottle of booze inside a club, bar or restaurant (unless you bring in an unopened bottle of wine, then you pay a corkage fee). Bringing in a flask filled with "name your favorite spirit here" is a major faux pas. Its trashy and its illegal. ABC could swipe a business's liquor license away if they caught outside booze being brought in and consumed on the premises. No liquor license means no liquor sales which ultimately result in loss of business and loss of jobs for the business's staff.

Tonight while cleaning up, I stumbled upon an empty bottle of tequila that was brought in and drunk by one of the night's customers then discarded underneath a table. I mean if you truly can't afford to go out and have to stoop to the ultimate low of bringing your own booze to a bar, you should really reconsider going out in the first place.

Now it just makes me wonder about all of those people who only ask for non-alcoholic mixes like soda and juice. Are they really not drinking or are they smuggling in their own liquor?

How Much Is...?

It's always a red flag to me when a customer approaches the bar and says something along the lines of, "How much is....?" or "What can I get for...?" even after I put a drink menu down in front of them that lists the prices of all of our drinks. Whenever I hear a customer ask me something like this, I know I am not getting tipped. Especially when I watch them dig in their pocket, pull out a few crumpled bills and then mouth to me "sorry" when there isn't enough for a tip. It's obvious that people like this have never worked in the service industry and therefore don't realize that those of us who do, survive off of our tips.

The type of bar you are in will give you an indication on how much your drinks will cost. Look around your drinking environment. A dive bar is obviously going to have cheaper prices than say a a shee-shee nightclub or a bar in a fine dining restaurant. Also, take a look at the bar's specialty cocktail menu. Expect to pay higher prices for a cocktail that is labor intensive and calls for a lot of fresh ingredients.

People who go out drinking in San Francisco generally have a good idea knowing how much a cocktail or beer will cost them and therefore don't require their bartender to run through the bar's entire inventory and price list. Drinks and spirits are divided into categories: well, call, premium and super premium. If you are a babe on a budget, go for the wells because the wells will be your cheapest bet in any bar. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to know how much something is, especially if it's something off the back bar (back bar=higher prices) or if it's something you don't normally order. Ask to see a drink menu or ask what the price is on the specific drink you are ordering. Just don't expect your bartender to rattle off all of the prices for everything behind the bar.

For the people who start off the transaction with their bartender, "quizzing" them on prices, stiff their bartender on the tip and then have the nerve to bitch about their drink not having enough alcohol, your best bet is to take your few crumpled bills to the corner store and buy yourself a six-pack.

The “Best Of” Articles: Open Bar Etiquette

I came across an article in the Seattle Weekly a couple of weeks ago, written by Maggie Savarino where she discussed, in detail, open bar etiquette. Reading this article brought back awful memories of when I had to bartend a number of open bar parties at the nightclub I worked at. I was happy to pick up the extra shifts, but was unhappy with the amount of cash I would come home with after working the parties. Sometimes I would come home with forty dollars. Sometimes I would come home with twenty dollars. Sometimes I would come home with nothing at all. And if the (lack of) tips weren’t enough, it seemed like working the open bar parties required a lot more energy and work than the regular club nights did. It was something about the open bar that made all of the guests leave their manners at the front door. Read More...

13 Things Your Waiter Won't Tell You

I found this article while looking around on Yahoo. Believe it or not, most, if not all of these points do apply to bartending so listen up. I agree with all 13 points.


From Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by The Waiter (Ecco/HarperCollins) by Reader's Digest Magazine

Waiters share insider secrets about restaurants -- from tipping to what days to avoid dining out

1. Avoid eating out on holidays and Saturday nights. The sheer volume of customers guarantees that most kitchens will be pushed beyond their ability to produce a high-quality dish.

2. There are almost never any sick days in the restaurant business. A busboy with a kid to support isn't going to stay home and miss out on $100 because he's got strep throat. And these are the people handling your food.

3. When customers' dissatisfaction devolves into personal attacks, adulterating food or drink is a convenient way for servers to exact covert vengeance. Some waiters can and do spit in people's food. (I have never and will never do something like this. I believe in karma. The Universe will always take care of the really mean customers. I don't have to stoop to their level just to get revenge.)

4. Never say "I'm friends with the owner." Restaurant owners don't have friends. This marks you as a clueless poseur the moment you walk in the door. (When people do this, it makes me want to charge them more because to me it sounds like they are just asking for a freebie. If the owner is really your friend than wouldn't you want to help support their business?)

5. Treat others as you want to be treated. (Yes, people need to be reminded of this.)

6. Don't snap your fingers to get our attention. Remember, we have shears that cut through bone in the kitchen. (We aren't dogs so don't treat us like one.)

7. Don't order meals that aren't on the menu. You're forcing the chef to cook something he doesn't make on a regular basis. If he makes the same entrée 10,000 times a month, the odds are good that the dish will be a home run every time. (Two words: High Maintenance!!)

8. Splitting entrées is okay, but don't ask for water, lemon, and sugar so you can make your own lemonade. What's next, grapes so you can press your own wine?

9. If you find a waiter you like, always ask to be seated in his or her section. Tell all your friends so they'll start asking for that server as well. You've just made that waiter look indispensable to the owner. The server will be grateful and take good care of you.

10. If you can't afford to leave a tip, you can't afford to eat in the restaurant. Servers could be giving 20 to 40 percent to the busboys, bartenders, maître d', or hostess. (I couldn't agree with this statement more.)

11. Always examine the check. Sometimes large parties are unaware that a gratuity has been added to the bill, so they tip on top of it. Waiters "facilitate" this error. It's dishonest, it's wrong-and I did it all the time.

12. If you want to hang out, that's fine. But increase the tip to make up for money the server would have made if he or she had had another seating at that table. (Nobody ever does this, but it sure would be nice if they would.)

13. Never, ever come in 15 minutes before closing time. The cooks are tired and will cook your dinner right away. So while you're chitchatting over salads, your entrées will be languishing under the heat lamp while the dishwasher is spraying industrial-strength, carcinogenic cleaning solvents in their immediate vicinity. (People that come in right before opening and right before closing annoy me so much. So, so much. I can tell these people have never worked in the industry before or else they wouldn't pull this crap.)

Inappropriate Conversations

I know I have mentioned it before, but it's worth saying it again. If you choose to sit at the bar and (even better yet) dine at the bar, please make sure you are aware of the people around you before engaging in certain conversation topics. Things such as describing in detail the bladder infection you are experiencing or having a heart-to-heart with your significant other about the crazy affair you are having with your wife's best friend are not only inappropriate for a public setting such as a bar, but they make the people who have to hear your conversation uncomfortable.

I know the bar is a fun place and shouldn't be a formal setting like dining at a table, but you still need to use your better judgment when it comes to conversations that should take place behind closed doors and not in public.

Being a bartender, one of the best parts of my job is that I love meeting people and hearing their interesting stories. There are some things though that I don't need to hear. TMI people. TMI!!

10 Things Bartenders Hate

A friend of mine asked me what ten things bartenders hate. I can only speak for myself here, based on my own personal experience. It took me a second, but I came up with a pretty good list. Keep in mind, I absolutely LOVE bartending. No joke. But if I had to pick ten thngs, this is what they would be.

Not listed in any particular order. I think I hate them all pretty equally:


1. People who don't want to wait their turn to order a drink.

2. People who don't tip on free drinks (open bars especially).

3. People who try to order a drink while talking on a cell phone.

4. Having to cut a customer off.

5. People who order drinks without ice. I understand if your teeth are sensitive, but it's the people who don't order ice thinking they are going to get more liquor. Nope, they are just getting more mixer.

6. When people say "Make it strong!" and assume off the bat that I am going to make them a weak drink.

7. Customers who touch me. There is no reason to touch the bartender, EVER!

8. When people expect free drinks. Free drinks are a privilege, not a right.

9. Customers who come in as soon as the business opens or earlier. Customers who come in right before closing time.

10. When customers place the same order with multiple bartenders.


Hey, no matter how much you love a job, no job out there is perfect all of the time.

Happy Cinco De Mayo. Do I hear Taco Tuesday? I think I do!

Major Bar Faux Pas

Most of the time, I really enjoy my customers at the bar. Honestly. No joke. I am very fortunate to work in an environment where my customers are respectful towards our staff and are a genuine pleasure to serve. The smile on my face is for real because I truly am happy to be working behind the bar I am at now.

Over the years, I have come across customers who want to make my night a painful one, whether it be intentional or not. There are a few things a customer can do that can really annoy or piss a bartender off. If you fear you might be getting ignored by the bartender or receiving exceptionally weak drinks, check to see if you are committing any one of the following major bar faux pas:

1. Placing the same drink order with multiple bartenders.
When a customer places an order with one bartender, that customer needs to stay with that bartender throughout the whole transaction. Otherwise, if the customer places the same drink order with more than one bartender, that customer is going to receive more drinks than they bargained for. Not only does this eat up valuable drink making time, but it costs money and wastes product. The bartender has to try and sell those extra drinks or throw them out. Either way, the bartender will remember that customer on their next round and make the customer pay in the form of an extra wait or an extra weak drink.

2. Picking up the napkin a bartender places in front of the customer.
When a bartender places a napkin or coaster in front of a customer, they are communicating to the rest of the bartenders behind the bar that the customer has been acknowledged, approached and had their order taken. If a customer picks up the napkin and uses it to blow their nose or clean off the bar, the other bartenders behind the bar have no way of knowing whether or not that customer has been helped without having to ask them. The marking with the napkin or coaster prevents the customer from being bombarded by multiple bartenders for their drink order. Customers should relax. It's their night off. Leave the cleaning of the bar top to the bartender.

3. Snapping fingers to get the bartenders attention.
Bartenders are humans, not dogs. There is no reason to treat a bartender like a dog. It's disrespectful and rude.

4. Telling the bartender to "Make it strong!"
If a customer places their drink order and follows the order with the instructions to "Make it strong!", that customer is assuming that the bartender would have made them a weak drink. Customers should give bartenders a chance. If a customer orders their first round and finds that the drinks were on the weak side, they should mention it to the bartender on the second round or ask for a double. A customer should never assume that the bartender is going to make a weak drink or else that is exactly what the customer will get.

5. Not leaving a tip.
This goes without saying. Bartenders provide a service for their customers in hopes of being rewarded by their customers in the form of a tip. If a customer stiffs a bartender, that bartender NEVER forgets. EVER.

How to be a Good Customer (and Get Your Drinks Faster)

On my Examiner.com page, I am starting a new series called, "How to be a Good Customer (and Get Your Drinks Faster)". My idea is to help customers have a better bar experience while educating them for my fellow bartenders.

I think it's important for customers and bartenders to understand both sides of the bar. This series is geared more towards educating general bar patrons on following proper bar etiquette when ordering their drinks.

I understand that for as many crappy customers there are out there, there are just as many crappy bartenders, so be sure to read my other article, What Makes a Great Bartender?. And when you do spot those great bartenders out there, be sure to let them know how much you appreciate them in the form of a tip AND a compliment.

If you take good care of your bartenders, they will always take care of you.

The Customer Who Just Didn't Know

I think everyone should hold a service industry job at least once in their life. That way, everyone would know what a service industry person has to go through on a regular basis. People would learn to be better customers and treat the people who serve them well.

With that said, I had a customer who came into the restaurant ten minutes before we were closing. I happily greeted him and took his drink order right away. It was a rather slow night, my bar was near being closed up and I had nothing else left to do for the evening. How long could one drink take, right?

The customer ordered a mixed drink and sat at the bar, staring at me. In addition to staring at me, the customer was constantly stirring the ice in his drink with his straw. Since it was only the customer and I in the bar, I could hear the ice being swirled around inside the glass loud and clear. I didn't know what was more annoying, the sound of the ice being stirred in the glass or the guy staring at me. I just tried my best to ignore him and the ice and continued on with cleaning up and closing down the bar.

After awhile, he tried to make small talk with me. He told me that he noticed everyone was clocking out and asked what time we closed. I told him we closed at 11, which would be in five minutes. Not catching on, he went back to stirring the ice in his drink.

Ugh.

Now if he had ordered dinner and some wine, then staying open past closing time would have been worthwhile. But this guy had one drink and instead of drinking it, he continued to stir the ice around and around inside the glass.

It was obvious that this guy was lonely and probably had a few drinks earlier in the evening. He told me twice that he had walked five miles. Wow! Five miles? Really? Like I cared. I had been working since 4:30 that night. I had to get up early in the morning for my other job. I didn't care. I just wanted to go home and go to bed.

I finally ran out of things to do behind the bar so all I had left to do was stand behind the bar and stare right back at him. It wasn't until then that the customer asked me if he was holding me up from going home. I told him (with a smile) that he was my last customer. Finally, he got the hint, slurped up the remainder of his drink, thanked me for serving him and left.

I thought it was really interesting that despite seeing all the employees clocking out, being told that the restaurant was to close in five minutes and seeing that he was the only customer in the place, the only thing that clued him in was me staring right back at him.

Here's a Good Customer tip: Good customers don't come into a bar or restaurant five minutes before closing. If you have ever worked in the service industry, you would know how freaking painful it is when customers do that and you wouldn't do it to anyone else. And if you did, you would make it worth that person's while by tipping extra and not taking your sweet time!

Some people just don't know.

Open Bar

I want to know: what's the deal with open bars?

I mean, I know what an open bar is. An open bar is usually a private party that rents out a bar for a group of people for a certain amount of time and has agreed to pay for all of the drinks served during the party so that no one in the group has to pay for their drinks. I get that part.

What I don't understand is, why the people who drink at the open bar parties don't tip? I have worked several "open bar" type parties and it's a common (often times annoying) theme among all of these types of parties that the people drinking for free just don't tip. I find that, in general, people who drink for free never seem to tip. It's not just the open bar parties, but people who have drink tickets rarely tip too (unless they work in the industry).

I would think the less someone has to pay for a drink, the more they would tip. That would make sense, right? I guess in order for people to tip (I am talking about the general population here, not industry folks), they have to actually reach into their wallets and grab money.

It's the weirdest and most frustrating thing. And it never fails. As soon as the open bar party ends and people have to dig in their wallets to pay for the drinks, the tips start coming in.

A bartender still needs to make a living, open bar, drink tickets or not. So please, ALWAYS tip your bartenders. And if you don't have to pay for a drink, then you should have no problems leaving a measly tip. It doesn't even have to be outrageous. Just a little something.

Turn Off the Cell Phone

I don't know what it is, but I find it really annoying when people talk on their cell phone while they are at the bar. I just laugh at the guys who walk around inside nightclubs with their bluetooth ear piece in their ear. Who do they need to talk to so desperately at 11pm on a Friday or Saturday night? And even if they couldn't miss the call, how could they possibly hear the conversation in the club in the first place?

If someone comes up to the bar already on their cell phone, I will usually insist that they finish their conversation before placing a drink order with me. I find cell phone usage in those situations really, really rude. If your call is that important, then you should finish it up outside before starting another conversation on the inside. Don't you think?

I had this guy come in the other night who dined at the bar and spent his entire meal on his cell phone. That's right-the entire meal!! How could you possibly enjoy your meal while being attached to a stupid cell phone? Especially an expensive steak and glass of wine. He ordered his drinks while being on the cell phone. He drank his drinks while being on the cell phone. He ordered and eat his dinner while being, shocker, on the damn cell phone. At least he left a nice tip.

At first, it annoyed me. But then after awhile, I didn't care. Hey, it was one less person to have to talk to at the bar and it freed me up to talk to all of my other customers who were there at the bar, in the flesh and mind.

Still, regardless, cellphone usage at the bar annoys me. Turn the damn thing off and talk to me. I am kind of fun to talk to. A lot more interesting than your stupid phone.

I Can Hear You!!

If you sit at the bar and decide to have an intimate conversation with the person sitting next to you, I have news for you. Bartenders can hear your entire conversation. Especially if you are the only two sitting at the bar and especially if you stay an hour after the bar closes.

Tonight I had a couple come in and have quite a personal conversation at the bar. Keep in mind, the bar is small enough for me to bartend both sides if I stand in the middle of it. I wont get into the details of what was discussed because I want to protect them (whomever they may be) and I really enjoy my job (bartenders have unspoken confidentiality obligations to their customers too), but I have to say the whole experience was very uncomfortable. It's one thing to keep me an hour after we close, but it's another thing when I learn more about the both of you and your "situation" than I care to really know.

It's none of my business, but if you decide to have such a conversation in such a public place, just know that there are people listening.