Bar Etiquette (Input from fellow bartenders)

wickgixxer · 02-20-2007, 04:08 AM

That last post got me thinking about my job and the love / hate relationship I have with my customers. So, here is the start of do's and dont's for all you to ponder:

1) When you approach the bar and it is busy, Do Not whistle, shout "Yo", bang your glass/bottle on the bartop in hopes of getting our attention.

2) If you do not know the bartender (well) do not ask to "make it strong" or "Hook it up".

3) Do Not take all your change, and tell us "I'll take care of you at the end, Man". Either tip on 1st round or just walk away quietly, the "tip c#@k - tease is is never good.

4) Do not order a mixed drink "tall" and then bitch that there is no alcohol in your drink. The amount of booze in a short drink is tha same as the tall, when you order tall, you get more soda/juice ..etc. Why people think that ordering tall will get them more booze free, I do not understand

Ok, fellow GDC Bartenders please feel free to add on / modify

chaos14 · 02-20-2007, 07:18 AM

yea i love the hook it up line next to not tipping its the best way to get a bad drink... what makes it even better is that most people who use that line are bad tippers

at the bar i work a tall does have more alcohol in it, but you do pay more for it

5) when i come to take your order know what you want and dont make me wait while you fish your money out of your pocket or while you finish your conversation

6) if its busy and you just need one bud you can interupt me cuase its only going to take me a second to pop the top and collect your cash

7) i have no problem skipping other people to serve someone who tips well or comes in often and tips ok

its part of my job to be friendly and its not just an act i really am glad to have you there. when im in the weeds you can easily see it so cut me a little slack. to paraphrase hemmingway its good to be in a place where money defines how people feel about you

so have fun get drunk(i know i will) and take a cab home

2_wheeled_slave · 02-20-2007, 08:38 AM

I've NEVER had better worse service because of the way I tip. I could leave a $5 tip for a beer on my firts go around, and they won't pay me any more attention than if I had given them nothing at all. It's an overrated myth.

Either the bar is so busy they can't care/remember, or it's slow enough that you don't have to wait long anyway. That said, I usually throw them a dollar.

segue00 · 02-20-2007, 09:09 AM

Yeah, most bartenders don't remember who tips well when it's busy. You can tip a 100% and you'd get the same service the next time you come in!

gixxer27519 · 02-20-2007, 09:10 AM

LOL... for the guys/gals that have been here a while, we had a bartender do a post almost word for word like this about this time last year... are you guys just inherently angry?

I mean dude... you deal with DRUNKS for a living.. no offense... but you're gonna be putting up with BS when it comes to drunk people...

jim schmidt · 02-20-2007, 09:32 AM

Rules for bartenders:
1. Quit whining about your customers or your job. I'm not your counselor. You're mine.
2. Never take my beer before its empty. It makes you look unseemly and greedy.
3. If you short me, I am permitted to stick the fruit knife in your hand.
4. Ask me. Don't sneak me.
5. Ask me about my next drink before my last one is done. Have it there soon after.
7. If your're not happy with your tips, you're in the wrong profession.
8. Impatient with drunks? Go work in a bank.
9. Be glad you can make this much money without taking your clothes off.
10. Quit whining (it's worth repeating.)

;-)

Mucho Gonzales · 02-20-2007, 10:17 AM

I believe I responded this way in that thread a while back:

I tip you good so you'll serve me first on my following trips if there is a line or a lot of people. I will continue to tip good if you serve me ahead of all the others, if you don't get to me right away then I don't tip you good on my following trips.

and what's wrong with asking to be 'hooked up' if I tip good. you should do whatever you can to satisfy a customer if they tip you good. if you don't, i'm sure another bartender will.

gixxer27519 · 02-20-2007, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim schmidt

Rules for bartenders:

9. Be glad you can make this much money without taking your clothes off.
10. Quit whining (it's worth repeating.)

;-)

Or a college education

bassholic · 02-20-2007, 10:49 AM

Glad my bartenders like me. The best i had was in Alcapulco. Tipped well at the club. Needed another beer walked up as my tender was opening it for another patron he saw me and basically diverted the handoff to me, man that felt pimp.

Anyhow about tipping when busy, i've noticed the tenders don't even see what amount you leave b/c they need to get to the next person, remember you wouldn't want to wait either. If you are going to do the large tip you better get there before the crowd so they know and can remember your face.

And yes someone posted something like this last yr

TwistedGray · 02-20-2007, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mucho Gonzales

I tip you good so you'll serve me first on my following trips if there is a line or a lot of people. I will continue to tip good if you serve me ahead of all the others, if you don't get to me right away then I don't tip you good on my following trips.

and what's wrong with asking to be 'hooked up' if I tip good. you should do whatever you can to satisfy a customer if they tip you good. if you don't, i'm sure another bartender will.

You musta have never been a bartender before?

-T-O-O-L- · 02-20-2007, 11:52 AM

o man...

tutmondigo · 02-20-2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassholic

Glad my bartenders like me. The best i had was in Alcapulco. Tipped well at the club. Needed another beer walked up as my tender was opening it for another patron he saw me and basically diverted the handoff to me, man that felt pimp.

Anyhow about tipping when busy, i've noticed the tenders don't even see what amount you leave b/c they need to get to the next person, remember you wouldn't want to wait either. If you are going to do the large tip you better get there before the crowd so they know and can remember your face.

And yes someone posted something like this last yr

First off, that story is pretty awesome. Secondly, all you have to do to make sure the bartender knows how well you tip is tell them to, "Keep the change." Then they'll have to figure out how much you tipped them in order to keep the register straight. All you have to do is stand there for a second while they count so they can look up at your face when they get done.

Budo · 02-20-2007, 12:33 PM

Know your bartender... Be nice to him and he'll be nice to you... Its really just common sense. I bartend and as long as people are nice and know how to tip i dont mind.

The people that annoy me are the occasional rednecks that come in and ignore any greeting i offer just to say "Cooooooooors Liiiiite" in that thick texan accent. Its just rude. I guess i just dont like rude people...

Oh, and know the difference between a Double and a Tall... yes there is a difference.

Bartending is nice because you have more control over your customers than any other food/beverage serving job (at least in texas... thanks to TABC

). If you happen to be rude, drunk and to top it off not tipping well... guess what? I'm just not gonna serve you... ;)

Twisted Sister · 02-20-2007, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budo

Know your bartender... Be nice to him and he'll be nice to you... Its really just common sense. I bartend and as long as people are nice and know how to tip i dont mind.

The people that annoy me are the occasional rednecks that come in and ignore any greeting i offer just to say "Cooooooooors Liiiiite" in that thick texan accent. Its just rude. I guess i just dont like rude people...

Oh, and know the difference between a Double and a Tall... yes there is a difference.

Bartending is nice because you have more control over your customers than any other food/beverage serving job (at least in texas... thanks to TABC

). If you happen to be rude, drunk and to top it off not tipping well... guess what? I'm just not gonna serve you... ;)

ESCUZZEE...but that would be Kerrs Light

I don't recall what I put in the thread last year, and I am sure most valid points have already been covered in this thread, but here is my $.02 having been in the business for several years.

YOU are a bartender, a choice that YOU made. As stated, your job is to deal with people getting drunk, and everyone knows that all common sense and most etiquette go out the window when that happens. If you find yourself constantly upset/angry/annoyed, bitching on a sportbike forum about it etc... then perhaps it is time to move on to a different job/career AND/OR venue.

I myself experienced this, and it wasn't the job or people that had grown tiring. It was the establishment I was working for. I had simply been there too long. Sometimes we tend to do that due to comfortability and ranking.(particularly in the rest/bar biz) Others were over the fact that they had been bartending for so long, that they just didn't enjoy it anymore. Yet they couldn't recognize that. Co-workers and certainly customers did...believe me, they can see it/smell it on you. I absolutely loved my job, my regulars, new customers, hours, money....butit was time for a change.

Bomb300 · 02-20-2007, 01:18 PM

Customers, the excuse, "The waitress took my drink before I was done" doesn't fly. Especially when you order premium or top shelf drinks through the waitress.

If by chance she did take your drink, you either:

1. Left it on the table for an unusually long period of time without a napkin or something over it.

2. You told her to take it.

Don't come to my station whining about it and ask me for a free Johnny Walker Blue or Courvoisier. It ain't gonna happen.

If you feel your drink is too "weak" then drink at home or carry a flask in your pocket.

If you feel I've made the drink incorrect, don't expect to keep it and then ask me for another. The incorrect drink will either be consumed by me or poured out.