I Shall Now Document Each and Every Shift I work as a Bartender

As opposed to magic fantasy money paying them?

this could be an interesting thread!

I don't think so, but Britain seem to have just given up on it. I remember reading once that in the 18th century in England, if you were a gentleman and went to visit someone, you would have to tip all his servants to make sure they did not lose your stuff.

tipping's just annoying and people think people wanna talk about it when i guess everyone's sick of talking about it so if you don't wanna talk about it

don't.

Maybe I'll document my every shift as a Health Service I.T. Professional.

I never worked with anyone who wouldn't have preferred a uniform 15-20% grat to the whims of the customers.

Earlier in the week, I had a $7 and change breakfast, gave my server a ten, and never got my change back. I was going to take a dollar of the change and leave the rest, but instead I left a note explaining what happened and that I would not be giving this business anymore patronage.

This totally fits in with the power dynamic explained in the article, of course. I almost always tip 20% or so if service is decent, but I DECIDE NOT YOU, PEON!!!!!! (despite the fact that my shitty wages probably come to less than most food or bar service type folks)

Er, I dont think so.

We have never tipped bar staff. Ever.

Wait staff get a tip if service is good. Simple as that. Unfortunately many restaurants throw in a "service charge" automatically, which deters a lot of people from tipping any more. Perfect example - tonight - 10 of us at a Mexican restaurant - bill was £251 - plus 10% "service charge" = £276. If it had just been £250 we'd have thrown in plenty for the (excellent) wait staff, but as it was we gave them £280. How much of that "service charge" goes to the staff is another matter.... but fuck it, I'm not tipping twice.

But if servers spent half the energy pushing for this that they do exhorting, lecturing, and bitching about tipping habits, they might actually get their way!

I mean, my sense of servers on this issue is that a lot of them are like working-class Republicans -- apart from the joy of taking home cash in pocket, there's always the hope that they could either land good-service windfalls or move up to the sorts of establishments where tipping can be really lucrative. (Cuz just like the gulf between CEOs and garbagemen, having the skills to work someplace nice will bring in way more money for work that's not necessarily that much more burdensome.)

around 6 o'clock. the restaurant is starting to get busy. in a table in a corner of the restaurant, an elderly man starts having a serious heart attack. emergency medical workers are called. the restaurant is scrambling, getting customers up (our tables are close together), pushing tables aside to make way for the stretcher. they are using that emergency electrical shock shit on his chest. children are crying, his wife is bawling, asks one of our managers to go with her to the hospital. another customer announces he's a doctor, rushes over and tries to help (don't think he did much but stand there).

meanwhile, i am mostly in a daze, not knowing how to react. i can't do anything to help the situation at all, but can i act normal? how can i say "did you save room for dessert?" when a man is so close to death a few yards from me.

meanwhile, restaurant is operating somewhat regularly, everybody still doing their jobs. after i finally catch myself and feel comfortable enough to work again, after a few minutes of absent mindedly not really doing anything, and doing a few things wrong (forgetting some drinks, etc...) i go to take a new tables order. during this whole ordeal, they sat down, ordered some drinks, then decided they didn't like their table, demanded to move, and ended up in my section.

they have maybe a 5 minute wait, 10 minute absolute max, before i take their order. when i do, they scowl and snidely make a remark about wondering how long it'd take me before i finally decided to help them.

to table 61 in my restaurant tonight: you are scum. if there is anybody whose food i'd like to spit in, which i've never done, it is yours.

I don't think I could ever be a server. I'd be fine 99% of the time, but with people like that, I'd devolve into Evil Eye mode.

Time on: 3:45
Time off: 10:00
Hourly Wages Earned: $7.50 x 6 = $45
Tips Earned: As yet unknown, b/c the closer didn't leave me my tips from last night. I know I said I was going to try to be objective, but this is TERRIBLY annoying to me that I don't have my money from last night.
Drinks Served: Approx 120
Most complicated drink served: Ambassador Smash (kiwi, lime juice, mint, simple syrup, Woodford Reserve bourbon. Served in a bucket glass with a slice of kiwi on side. Resembles pea soup, but with kiwi seeds floating in it. Price: approx: $10)
Glasses of wine poured: Approx 50
Cocktails served: Approx 30
Beers poured: Approx 10
Non-alcoholic drinks poured/made: approx 25
Meals served at bar: 6
Breaks Taken: 1 for a smoke
Patrons of Note:
- Man and woman who want a nice piece of "cleanly grilled salmon," without any fats or sauces. Later ask for side of fries. Woman drinks a Patron Silver margarita on rocks with sale, man drinks Ciroc vodka on rocks with twist (x2). Later noticed, and verified by other staff members, that woman is not wearing any underwear.
- Woman seated in bar area with very large bosom, but wearing tank top which a) threatened structural failure during her entire 2.5 hour stay, and b) provided much distraction/amusement for entire service staff
- Drunk friend of coworker who had, during the course of his 4 hour visit, 5 double vodka and cranberries (about 4.5 ounces of vodka per drink) and 4 pints of Stella Artois
- Young, obviously terribly in love couple who had three high-end cocktails and tipped well in excess of 20%. Cocktails ordered: Ward Eight (Jack Daniels, pomegranite juice, sour mix (lemon juice and simple syrup) and two dashes of Angostura Bitters), Pisco Sour (Pisco brandy, sour mix, egg whites, three drops of Angostura Bitters) and an apple martini (Stoli Vanil, Apple Pucker).
- Late middle-aged couple who seemed to want to impress each other with their order, based entirely upon their overly-particular manner in ordering. Man had a sidecar, woman a glass of William Hill chardonnay
Server Hijinx - Mid-30s coworker yelling at Mid 20s coworker about not being open about his opinion about this job and/or customers; impish long-time employee trying to scam free shots of Jameson from me; dining room server ordering, over the course of his shift, about 20 lemonades and strawberry lemonades, which are all made by hand by the bartender(s).

That's about all I can remember for now. I'll try to keep up this level of particularity with all of the posts.

The tips made up for it, but I'm really not about being taken advantage of. Ugh.

But dinner has calmed me. Whew!

On saying that I am quite keen to drink more cocktails. But not at those places I think. BLAM do you make French 75s? They are the best!

does anyone else find themselves thinking along this line too often? i know i do.

I'm a pretty nice and patient guy. I put in a good deal of work, and expect to be compensated for it. As a result of this, I have NO patience for people with overblown senses of entitlement. People who feel like the world owes them something, before anyone else, and they're going to make things miserable for other people until they get their way.

So long as these folks aren't interfering with my happiness, I have no real opinion about them except for the same feeling I have about roadkill - whoa! Let's not go near that! But, upon the times that they do exert some control over my life, regardless of in how small a way, I want to beat them. Loudly.

He whines about not making enough money as a host (dude! you're 20! You're SUPPOSED to be broke), he whines about the restaurant hiring people as servers over him, he has this adolscent, dismissive attitude re: EVERYTHING, and he's now taking money out of my pocket. Fuck 'em.

The Duke fan was pretty cool. I left before the game had started. His story was typical - "Yeah, its just that, when I started to get into college basketball, they were the team that was winning blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah." You know what? The same thing happened to me. Except I didn't start cheering for the OVER-ENTITLED, SPOILED ASS BITCHES of Duke University. I started cheering for the Sin City Supermen - the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. They were a good, clean program, with a strong moral compass as a coach, and I'm sure at least an 85% graduation rate.

NO, fucktard! Its NOT a shitty life. Its a damn good life but people like you make it shitty.

Other than him and servers who don't tip for extra effort, its fine.

Either your sense of humor is as dry as melba toast, or the UNLV I know is a totally different towel-eating turkey.

He said that to your face to justify his treatment of you, or just as a general waaaahh?

you see that? That red stuff is "sarcasm".

HAHAH

I'll post later about today...gotta get some studying done. Did pretty well, and had a good round of customers. The server working the lounge with me today is a very cool dude, so we had a good time today.

That's sad!

Perhaps you do, and I hadn't noticed.

I'm exhausted and tea isn't working, I think only a champagne and gin cocktail could keep me up now.

Do any places in the UK have dedicated hosts? That aren't ultra-snooty places, that is... usually you just go in and one of the waiters will point you at a table. I larfed in Veronica Mars where she appears to be a host in a... coffee shop?? Good grief, people can find their own seats in a coffee shop for crying out loud.

-- Stephen X (figmentfragmen...) (webmail), February 9th, 2007. (Stephen X)

seriously? that's bizarre. never seen a place like that before.

Sorry about the lackluster post, guys. I'm just REALLY REALLY tired, and I don't want to go into work tonight.

Beergaritas are yummy.