I just sampled Samuel Adam’s newest brew, Alpine Spring. My first reaction is that they used their left over Octoberfest and mixed it with a wheat beer (i.e. Blue Moon). I don’t hate it though.
I’ll have a better review up in the next few days, after I’ve had time to try some more.
While there are about 1,000 + ways to get yourself kicked out of a bar, there’s about 10x more ways to piss off your bartender, thus fueling our excitement to jump to the chance to throw you out. Here’s one way… Personally, this is the one that get’s me the most giddy to either give you the boot, or to ignore you.
Don't make me bust out the jigger and measure the alcohol right in front of you.
DO NOT EVER… I repeat, EVER tell the bartender they didn’t make your drink strong enough. If you want a double or a triple, tell us that when you order it– That way we can make it right for you the first time, and charge you appropriately. Otherwise, if you just say “I’ll have a gin and tonic,” I’m not dumping half the bottle into your drink and still charging you for one, and frankly, most bartenders who do that have no clue that they’re probably going to get fired. Sorry, I like my job.
The thing you have to realize is that my boss is looking at two things when I’m working to decide if I’m doing my job the way he expects me to:
When those two things are off proportion, it means I’m stealing or giving away too much of the alcohol he or she is paying for. If the bar was crowded all night, and my sales are only $100… That means I have away HUNDREDS of dollars worth of his product. Any respectable business person would kick that employee to the curb and more than likely, press charges on them.
Now, there are always exceptions to these rules. If you’ve been in the place all night, spending your money, tipping me well, and buying drinks for other people… absolutely I will accommodate your requests (within reason), and you might even find yourself receiving a few drinks that you don’t have to pay for. But keep something in mind… someone is paying for the alcohol you’re drinking. It might be me putting some of my tip money into the drawer to make up for the product I’ve given away, or it might be my boss giving me permission to give you that drink and taking the hit on his income. I agree 100% that these are good business practices – it helps build our business and it keeps you coming back. If you come back and spend your money at my bar; if you tip me well – I will make sure you are taken care of. But I am going to do it honestly.
So, long story short… if you want a “hookup” (I put it in quotes because it isn’t a hookup– someone is losing money on it) at a bar, your best bet is to get yourself noticed by the bartender. It won’t kill you to buy a round for the guy next to you who took time to start a conversation with you. It wont kill you to chat with your bartender and get to know them. It won’t kill you to throw us $2 a drink in tip (instead of the 50 cents that’s left over in the change you get back from buying the drink) to get our attention. Things like that get you noticed, and in a good way! And in the long run, if you’re consistent with it, you’ll be considered one of the regulars where not only will I make sure you’re taken care of, but my boss won’t think twice about buying you a drink either. What you absolutely don’t want to do is tell me I don’t know what I’m doing because your drink isn’t strong enough after you left me no tip. I do know what I’m doing, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it… and for that matter, I will measure the alcohol right in front of you, and you won’t get a drop more than you’re supposed to.
-B
Hey there and thanks for stopping by my site!
I started this mostly out of inspiration from the blog “Waiter Rant” and the best-selling book released by its author. I bought the book not too long after I became a waiter myself, and laughed and cried the entire way through realizing that I’ve had moments in my career as a server that related to those of “The Waiter’s” moments. It was a kind of sickening comfort reading someone else’s horror stories and “are you f&^#*&! kidding me!?” moments.
Then came my promotion. A year and a half ago, my bosses promoted me to a bartender (some of you may laugh, but in the service industry, it really would be considered a promotion). And as I looked for the same connection in my new career path, all I could find were “how-to” videos, recipes and hints on increasing your tips. There was no personal connection with a bartender or a blog I could find with a personality and a spunk to it. As bartenders, we’re told be show our personality, be spunky, be personable and be able to entertain our guests for hours. The more entertaining you are, after all, the longer they will buy booze from you, and hopefully, the higher they will tip (ah… tipping… the subject I cannot wait to share my viewpoints on – more on this later). So why hasn’t a solid form of this persona been started online yet?
Enter: Me.
The Bartender's Blog 