You're cutting me off?

It's never easy cutting off a drunk person. No matter how calm or rational you are, the rationality is always wasted on the drunk person you are cutting off.

A woman walked into the bar the other night and made it really obvious that she was loaded. It's one thing to get drunk at an establishment. It's another thing to come into a establishment already tanked and act like a fool. Looking back on the incident, we should have just asked her to leave from the beginning. But in fear of making a poor, customer service call, we gave her the benefit of doubt.

This chick was all over the place. Everywhere she went, she stumbled and slurred. She was loud and obnoxious. She even shattered a martini glass at her table just because it was in front of her. Her friends were so embarrassed by her public drunken stupor. They individually came up to the bar and asked the entire staff to not serve her because she was so drunk. Fortunately, all of us at the bar already had our eyes on her and had established amongst one another that none of us were going to serve her any alcohol.

At one point, the boyfriend of the drunk girl had ordered a beer for himself. Ten minutes later, drunk girl realized that her boyfriend had a drink and she didn't. She then stumbled up to the bar and demanded to know why she didn't have a drink. I watched the commotion unfold. As the bartender calmly explained to drunk girl that she wouldn't be served any alcoholic drinks, the drunk girl's voice got noticeably louder. People sitting at the bar were starting to look over to see what all of the commotion was about.

After the third time of hearing drunk girl asking the calm bartender why she wasn't getting served alcohol, I walked over to where the loud conversation had been taking place. As I stood there next to the bartender, drunk girl demanded to know who was responsible for cutting her off. I quickly piped in, "Me. I'm the one who cut you off. I'm the bar manager and I made the call." Of course she demanded to know why. I told her that she had been stumbling all over the club as soon as she had got there, reminded her of the glass she shattered at her table and told her that even her friends had told us to cut her off. Sounded like a no brainer to me, but then again I was the sober one in the situation.

Of course the answer I gave her was not the answer she wanted to hear. She started screaming a variety of curse words as she backed up from the bar, as if to prepare to lunge at me and my fellow bartender. Just as I was in the process of telling her that now was the time for her to go, security came up from behind and kindly escorted drunk girl to the door.

I think its safe to say that this chick has been permanently 86ed from our bar.


Word to wise:

Bartenders: Always keep your cool. Always remember that drunk people aren't rational. You can't take it personal when someone is blaming you for their drunken actions.

Drinking Public: If a bartender cuts you off, it's probably for the best. Accept the fact, quietly leave the bar, get in a cab and go home. Running your drunk ass mouth and making a fool of yourself in public won't get you served and is the quickest way to the front door.

Designated Drivers

Scandinavia is responsible for introducing IKEA to the United States and the idea of having designated drivers.

So what is a designated driver?

A designated driver is a person who decides to remain sober, abstaining from alcohol in order to drive their friends home safely after a night of alcoholic consumption. Designated drivers are a safe alternative to driving under the influence. Besides the obvious safety reasons, being a designated driver also helps the environment by reducing the total amount of miles driven. The less miles driven means a savings on gas the emissions released into the air. Read More...

How to Handle Drunk Customers Who Want to Leave

Hey bartenders, this one is for you. Hey friends who go out drinking with one another, this is for you too. Let's make a pact to make sure everyone always gets home safe after a night of drinking.

Whenever a bartender serves a customer an alcoholic drink, that customer becomes the bartender’s responsibility. This is why it is important that if a customer comes into an establishment displaying signs of obvious intoxication, the bartender legally has to refuse service to that customer and ask them to leave. It makes sense. The bartender doesn’t have any idea how much that obviously intoxicated person has had to drink. Who knows? Maybe that one drink the bartender serves that customer will send them over the edge. Then the bartender is now responsible, even if this customer was over served somewhere else.......What does a bartender do when one of their customers becomes overly intoxicated? And worse, what if that customer wants to leave? Read More...

How to Cut Off a Customer

Cutting off or stopping service to a customer is my least favorite part of bartending. With bartending, it’s a numbers game. The more drinks a bartender serves, the more money that bartender will make. So saying “no” to a customer is never desirable, but in some situations, it is absolutely necessary. Anytime a bartender serves a customer an alcoholic drink, that customer becomes the bartender’s responsibility. It is the responsibility of the bartender to make sure that the customer doesn’t become overly intoxicated while at the bar. When a person starts to display signs of being overly intoxicated at the bar it is the responsibility of the bartender to cut off any more alcohol service to that customer.

So how does a bartender stop service to a customer? Read Here...

Busting Bar Myths: Food DOES NOT Sober A Person Up

In the state of California, it is illegal for bars or nightclubs to serve any alcoholic beverages after 2 AM. Last call is usually around 1:45 AM. After 2 AM, the streets are filled with people coming out of nearby bars and nightclubs. It’s at this time of night where late night restaurants and food chains make a bulk of their money. Clubbers and bar hoppers are looking to sober themselves up to make the drive home by filling up their stomachs with late night grub. Unfortunately, food does not sober a person up. The only thing that sobers a person up is time. Read More...

11 Factors That Affect a Person's BAC

Bartenders and customers should both know that there are eleven factors that can affect a person’s BAC. BAC stands for Blood Alcohol Content, which means the amount of alcohol that has been absorbed into the bloodstream and is represented as a percentage. Factors that can effect a person’s BAC include: rate of consumption, drink strength, body type, body size, body fat, gender, age, a person’s emotional state, medications, food and carbonation. Read More...

What Makes A Person Drunk

Bartenders have a responsibility to their customers when they serve them alcoholic beverages. Bartenders need to make sure that the customers are legally old enough to drink. Bartenders also need pay attention to the types of alcoholic beverages their customers are ordering and how many they’re consuming. It’s a lot easier to prevent a person from becoming intoxicated than it is to deal with someone who already is overly intoxicated. This is why in most restaurants and bars, the bartender has the ultimate say on when a person is “cut off.” The bartender will know how many drinks that customer has had because they served them. It’s also important for both bartenders and customers to know and understand how alcohol affects the human body. Read More...

What is the ABC?

Hopefully EVERY working bartender here in the state of California knows and understands what the ABC is, why it exists and how it works.

I wrote and published an article on California's Department of Alcohol Beverage Control today. I feel like this is such an important part of bartending that I wanted to link the article here in my bartender blog as well.

SF Bartender Examiner: What is the ABC?

There are many aspects to the ABC, which I will be covering on my Examiner page over the next week. Stay tuned and stay informed.

Sober Bartending

I can't stress enough the importance of sober bartending. Now, I am not opposed to the occasional "shot-thirty/bar staff meeting/relief shot every now and then. On some nights, you just need a shot or two to make the painful customers less painful or to kick your ass into a higher gear. Call it liquid motivation if you will.

What I am opposed to are the bartenders who get so stinking drunk that they stop being functional bartenders. Trust me, I have worked with this type on a number of occasions. It's annoying for customers because they usually get served slower and receive incorrect drink orders or F-ed up drinks. It's annoying for the rest of the bar staff because now everyone behind the bar has to work twice as hard to make up for the drunk bartender. I don't want to have to pull someone else's weight behind the bar too. I have enough things to worry about already.

And what if an incident takes place at your bar like a customer gets unruly and picks a fight with another customer? We all know that drunk people aren't the most rational people on the planet. So if you add a drunk bartender into the mix, you can make a bad situation worse.

Some bars have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drinking meaning no drinking behind the bar or you can get fired. Some bars require you to ask a manager before drinking anything alcoholic. Some bars just don't care. Whatever kind of bar you work in, do your customers and co-workers a favor and maintain yourself.

There is nothing sexy about an ill-functioning, drunk bartender.

No Kiddos At My Bar!

The other night I had a family come in for dinner and had their three, very under-aged children sit at my bar. No no NO! Absolutely not allowed!!! Totally illegal and in direct violation with the ABC (the people who issue liquor licenses here in the state of California).

I would like to think that the parents of these children just had a lapse of judgment when they saddled their children up at my bar. I mean, people can't really be that stupid to think that it would actually be okay for a child to sit at a bar, can they?

I had to ask the parents, kindly and quickly, to move their children to a nearby table, away from my bar, while they waited for their table. The couple obliged without any hesitation. Thank goodness.

Oh yeah and if you look a day under 30, I am carding you. I have every right to. It's my job on the line and I am not trying to lose it over your under-aged ass. If you are of legal drinking age and I card you, take it as a compliment. Don't roll your eyes and give your bartenders grief when you have to pull out your ID. We are just trying to do our J-O-B.

Cutting People Off

When it comes to bartending, there are so many more aspects to the job than just making drinks. If you are a bartender, you are the ring leader for that party. It's your duty to make sure everyone is having a good time. Sometimes you have to be a matchmaker. Sometimes you have to be a therapist. Sometimes you just have to smile, nod and pretend like you care. Bartenders are also responsible for maintaining their customers. If you come into my bar already drunk, I legally cannot serve you. Sorry. If you become intoxicated while in my care to the point where you start acting a fool, I have to regulate you. That means no more drinks for you Lushface.

I want to share a funny story about how I had to cut off a drunk before in the past. It's such a good story, I use it in my lecture at the bartending school when I talk about having to cut people off.

A few years ago, I was bartending at a really busy nightclub here in the city. I had this group of guys who had been standing in front of my well all night, drinking. I was cool with it because they were not only a lot of fun, but they were tipping me really well with each round they ordered. Later in the night, one of the guys in the group wanted to order another shot, but clearly was in no state to take another shot. Call me crazy, but if your eyes are cross-eyed and you are slurring your words, I'm not going to serve you anymore alcohol.

So what do I do? I didn't want to single this guy out in front of all of his friends and point out that he was unable to handle his alcohol as well as his friends could. With my quick bartending thinking, I told the guy I would make him a "special shot". Hell, I would even take one with him. I grabbed my tin, put some ice in it and mixed up a special shot consisting of 7-up, cranberry juice, a splash of pineapple and a little bit of oj. I gave the tin a good shake and poured us two shots. The guy went to grab his wallet and I quickly told him that this round was on me.

Drunk Dude took the shot and LOVED IT! He even tipped me. Dude was so drunk, he never even noticed that there wasn't a lick of liquor in his shot.

It's times like these that make me really, really love my job.

The Pressure To Drink Behind The Bar

This post is more aimed at those who work behind the bar.....

Do you ever feel the pressure to drink while at work? Working in a restaurant/nightclub/bar is a very different kind of work environment. Your job is to not only serve good food and/or tasty drinks, but you are responsible for entertaining your guests. With that said, the entertainment is usually focused around alcohol. Go figure.

I know a lot of places out there forbid their staff to drink while on the clock. And with good reason. I have seen many people abuse the drinking privilege (yes, being allowed to drink on the clock is a privilege not a right) in every single bar I have worked at. Some people can't control themselves and let themselves get carried away with the shots. Some people can't control their liquor. Some people just can't control themselves. A lot of people can get carried away with the night and forget why they are there in the first place.

I am a bartender that likes to always be in control of the situation, no matter what type of situation it is. I always want to be of sound and mind when I deal with cash, balancing my drawer, dealing with intoxicated people, breaking up nasty conflicts or having to cut someone off. A bartender always has to be ready for anything-the bad situation, the rush and the clean up. I always like to ready stone cold sober.

Don't get me wrong. I have had my moments. We all have. I remember bragging about back in the day when I went through my whole 6 hour shift on 12 shots of Fernet and finished with balancing my drawer to the penny and was still able to stand up. But that isn't something I am necessarily proud of. I certainly wouldn't do that to my current employer or my body today.

I feel like no matter which bar you work at, there are always pressures placed on you to drink. Even if there is a no-drinking policy put into place. There are pressures from co-workers who slip shots throughout the night to one another. There are pressures from customers who want you to drink with them and try to buy you shots. As an example, I had this really nice customer the other night who seemed to really vibe off of me. He insisted on buying me a glass of champagne (my favorite BTW) even though I told him I couldn't drink it while I worked. So I poured a glass, charged him for it, thanked him and then had to stare at the glass for the rest of my shift. What a waste, but I appreciated the gesture.

If bartenders drank with all the customers who wanted to drink with them, could you imagine what that night would be like? Or how about the next morning for the bartender? Yup, I have been there too. That's how I became an expert at disguising my shots. Coke looks like a lot of dark liquors. A mixture of juices can pass off as an sort of fruity shot. Water looks like vodka. You get the idea.

So my question to you is how do you deal with the pressure to drink while at work? Are you one of those bartenders who caves in easily and says "F It?" and drinks anyways? Are you one of those bartenders who stands your ground and refuses any drink that might come your way? Or are you one of those bartenders who plays along and tricks the customer into thinking you are drinking with them when you really aren't?

Let me know. Post your stories....