It's Time To Go

What is the deal with customers who sit and chat at their table well past closing time? I mean if it is 10 or 15 minutes after closing, no big deal. But today, we had a table of three that stayed an hour and a half after we closed. An hour and a half! Were these ladies completely oblivious of their surroundings and didn't notice that they were the only ones left in the establishment except for the staff? Didn't they notice the music had been turned off? Didn't they see all of the servers polishing the silverware out on the floor? Didn't they have anywhere else to go?

It's Sunday afternoon at 4:30. We have been working all day serving you. Chances are we were up all last night serving you too. Don't you get it? We want to go home! People who linger in bars and restaurants like this obviously have never had a service industry job in their life or else they would understand that the staff wants to go home after their shift.

It's always the Sunday brunch crowd that pulls this crap too.

Did You Really Just Ask Me That?

Last night, I had two separate incidents that made me stop, scratch my head and ask myself and the customer(s), "Really?" Don't get me wrong, I deal with all kinds of different scenarios all night long, but the following two really took the cake last night.

Scenario #1: Party of Three (two girls and one guy)
I believe over the course of their three-hour stay, they had three or four rounds of drinks. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Some wine, vodka crans and shots of Macallan served neat. But when it came time for the party wanting to close out, the guy asked me for a to-go cup.

A to-go cup? Are you serious?

Maybe you can take your alcoholic drinks with you in the state of Nevada, but not in the state of California. I thought they were joking until I realized I was the only one laughing when I told them no. On top of that, they forgot to sign their credit card slip for the $140 tab and left their credit card on the bar.

Scenario #2: Party of Three (three girls)
This group of ladies approached my bar and decided to have a pow wow about what drink they were going to order. Finally after the whole group had come to a consensus, the leader of the pack ordered one margarita. I asked the other two what they wanted to drink and they shook their heads no, saying that didn't want to order anything. Okay. I made the margarita and finished the cash transaction with the ring leader. Then she asked me for two cups, with ice.

Huh?

That's when I realized that the reason for the pow wow was for the group to decide on which drink they all three were going to share together. I was left speechless and didn't know what to say to that one.

What Kind of Drink Is This?

No joke. I was asked to make this drink last week while working behind the bar:

In a wine glass:
Half a serving of white wine
2 shots of Jim Bean
Triple Sec
Served on the rocks

Did someone take this drink they concocted at an old high school party and try to bring it back to life? Was it a dare? Were they just trying to come up with the foulest thing to drink? Could they possibly have truly enjoyed this creation?

I am beyond puzzled. So was the server. Crazy cocktail concocter customer, you get the WTF award for the night.

The Business of Comped Drinks, Drink Tickets and Other Free Drinks

If you ever find yourself being given a comped drink of any sort whether it be the bartender buying you a drink or a promoter or bar manager giving you a drink ticket, consider yourself lucky. Free drinks are always an awesome thing. Keep in mind that free drinks are a gift, not a privilege. Obviously someone, somewhere on down the line thought you should be entitled to a free cocktail. Lucky you.

Comped drinks. Drink tickets. Free drinks. You may not have to pay for that round, but we (the bartenders) still have to make the drinks so please tip accordingly. In fact, since you aren't fronting the cash for the cocktail in the first place, show the bartender a little "extra" love and appreciation. Otherwise we are going to think you are bottom feeding pond scum, you will get served last and your drinks will only get weaker and weaker over the course of the night.

My rule of thumb and reasoning is if you can't afford to tip properly, you can't afford to go out so you might as well stay at home.

Fair?

Ordering Appropriately

Doing something as simple as observing the traffic at a bar and ordering appropriately will not only speed up the process time of getting a drink in your hand, but it will greatly enhance your overall bar experience.

First and foremost, before you approach the bar, know your party's entire drink order. When the bartender looks at you and let's you know that it's your turn to place an order, have the drink order complete and your money ready. Don't look back at your friends to see what they want or else I will move on to the next customer who is ready to place their complete order.

Once you place your drink order with the bartender, don't add to it. This will only slow your bartender down. The more you slow us down, the longer it takes for us to get you a drink.

If you see that the bar is busy, another way to enhance your drink service is to order appropriately. At busy times, it's always best to order drinks where the name states all of the drink's ingredients such as vodka/soda, rum and coke, gin and tonic, tequila/sour, Redbull/vodka, etc. Busy times are not appropriate for lemon drops or mojitos. If I have to muddle or serve something up in a cocktail glass, it's going to take me that much longer to get your drinks to you. At times like these, bartenders also appreciate serving bottled beer and shots (not chilled of course). The faster we can serve your drinks, the faster you get them and the more money we make. It's a win-win situation all around.

When a bar isn't so busy, all bets are off. These are the times when it is appropriate to chat up your bartender and ask them for a drink recommendation. This is also when we will take our time and put a lot of pride into serving a labor intensive, muddled cocktail. I actually enjoy making labor intensive, muddled cocktails, but not when I have 100's of people staring at me waiting to be served.

Being a smart customer and gauging the activity level of the bar will only help enhance your bar experience. Please order appropriately.

Big Tippers Make My World Go Round

I noticed today going back in my blog that there haven't been a whole lot of positive entries lately. I don't want my dear readers to think I am one of those bitter bartenders who hates my time behind the bar. In fact, I have never been happier in my life, Bartending for a living is just icing on the cake for me at this point. I am really thankful that I work at such a fun place with such cool people. The customers aren't bad either. ;)

Tonight, I had an exceptional night, especially for it only being a Wednesday. Tonight was technically my Monday. I strongly feel that if your work week starts on a good foot, the whole week can only get better.

Let's face it. Big tippers make every bartender's world go round. Bartenders here in the U.S. make most of their money through the tips they earn because the hourly minimum wage we get sure doesn't pay the rent. So when someone comes in, is pleasant and fun to deal with all night long and leaves me a big tip at the end of my night, I am more than grateful. I am overjoyed and sometimes overcome with emotion. It doesn't happen very often when someone will tip higher than 20%. When it does happen, I remember their name, face and type of cocktail they drink because the next time they come into my bar, their first drink will be on me.

I had a couple different people tip me over 50% of their total bill tonight. 50%!! I haven't had that happen to me in a long time. One of the tips left me so confused, I approached the customer and verified that he left the right tip amount. He just hugged me and told me he loved me. I love you too Buddy!

For all of the crap I do put up with on a nightly basis, it sure does feel good to be handsomely rewarded once in awhile.

My Name is Not "Hey"

My name is not "Hey". When you are waiting at a crowded bar and desperately want to get the bartender's attention so you can get served next, jumping up and down, waving your hands and screaming "Hey!!" will only get you served last. If someone calls me "Hey", my reaction will depend on my current mood. If I am having a good night and this person is the first retarded customer of the night, I will smile at them as I am helping someone else and tell them that "Hey" is not my name. If I am three deep and I have been a rough night so far, I just might ignore their impatient ass. If I am really feeling like being a dick, I will make sure to help the person standing right next to them, next. Usually, I don't have too many problems with the "Heys". Once I quickly correct them on their manners, these customers usually learn to be patient and polite. Sometimes you just have to remind people that they need to be polite.

Last week, I had two girls come up to the bar and ask about our infused vodkas. After I explained to them what they were, they wanted to try one and asked for a mixer suggestion. I told them what I had in mind for them and then went to make their drink. When I came back, the girls already had another cocktail in front of them. I looked at them and then they looked at me with a guilty look on their face. Apparently as soon as I stepped away to make their drink, another bartender approached them and they double ordered.

In this situation, I could have easily gotten pissed off and told them a thing or two about how I felt. They not only wasted my time, but wasted alcohol. Instead, I took the opportunity to properly educate these two. I figured they wouldn't be a lost cause because as soon as I came back with their drink, they both knew they had screwed up. I explained to them that if they start a transaction with one bartender, then they need to end the same transaction with the same bartender, Otherwise, duplicate drinks are made. I think they were relived that I didn't go off on them. They apologized profusely and even told me they wanted to pay for both drinks. And on top of that, they tipped me well.

Sometimes, you just have to show them the way.