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The bars I've worked at had bells but they were only rung to indicate a good tip.
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Sep 26, 2013 02:21
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the bars ive worked at have had belles and you ring them after you're done cashout
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Sep 26, 2013 04:14
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Bar I worked at, there was this guy that lived around the corner we'll call Jim. Jim claimed he was a bartender/barback at some other joint in town, but was always really, really hard up for cash. The first few times I saw him, I gave him the standard industry discount of a buck off per drink (standard in the bar I worked in, anyway) but someone then informed me that he was a notorious liar. A week later, he comes in and proceeds to tell me about what a great teacher he was to 4th graders, how all the parents called wanting their kids to be in his class. He's a voracious reader, has a huge vocabulary, but also clearly has a loving serious personality disorder and coupled with being an obvious alcoholic, it was hard to hold a conversation with him when every other sentence was a lie. From the mundane poo poo like how many dogs he owned (0), to the famous authors he'd met (0), to any and every detail of his life. All of it, lies. They let him barback at that other bar a handful of times 'cause he was always so broke and they felt bad. Of all the "industry" folk I ever met, I've never had a guy demand booze at lower rates like this guy would. I didn't much mind his presence until one day he burned me for about $20. It was my fault for not taking a credit card to open a tab for him, but usually most bartenders and the like, and especially neighbors to the bar, would be given our trust and be allowed to run a cash tab. This guy Jim hosed all that up. A few weeks later, when he would ask me if I could run a tab for him, like, the kind you pay back at the end of the month because he couldn't pay today, I told him I needed cash up front on the spot before I would even open a beer or pour a shot for him. He left and I never saw him again except through the window where he'd look to see if I was working. Long story short, the guy started creeping around other bars as well. He's clearly lost his mind, and some neighborhood folks are convinced he's got bodies strung up and facemasks made of human skin all over his little rathole apartment. That became a running joke about the guy, and every time he'd walk into one of the bars around the way (he's since been banned for nonpayment there, too) they would play "Goodbye Horses" a la Silence of the Lambs on the house jukebox. Every. Single. Time. Poor guy. I feel bad for 'em, but he really kinda hosed himself up with the hooch. And the lying. Ally McBeal Wiki fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Sep 26, 2013 |
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Sep 26, 2013 05:49
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Every bar I think has a guy (or two) like that. Sounds a lot like an ex-regular we had. We used to stock a special rum just for him, and he proceeded to gently caress one of the bartenders over, as well as one of our other regulars (he was living with him at the time and apparently secured a lien against the other regular's house) before disappearing into the aether. I also hate the 'OH HEY I'M A BARTENDER GUYS' line that gets dropped by people (who invariably ran the drinks cart at the golf course or worked as a server at Local Chain Restaurant.) I hate doing it myself when I go out. I don't get why people do that poo poo. If you're industry, we'll get to know you. Perdido fucked around with this message at 11:18 on Sep 26, 2013 |
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Sep 26, 2013 11:15
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I heard about this second hand but I wish I could have seen it: A friend of mine was bartending in the middle of the day and there was a group of 8-10 gutterpunks hanging out. He served them up some pitchers and mixed drinks and all was well until this one girl knocked her drink off of the table. She came back up to the bar and spent a solid 5 minutes explaining why it wasn't her fault and she needed a new drink. It was apparently quite the presentation. My friend listened to this whole story staring silently at her and as soon as she was done, he put his foot up on the bar, tied his shoe, and walked away. Another guy at the bar who was watching all this just started dying laughing. She had no idea what was happening, so she asked him "what the gently caress was that?" "Darling, you're not getting a free drink". That guy could teach a master class about being an rear end in a top hat. He ended up getting fired for writing "Do not hire these loving people ever again" in the bar logbook after this terrible cover band cleared the place out on a busy night. It was nuts, the place was PACKED at 10pm on a Thursday in December and I thought "oh man, I'm gonna get some good fares out of here tonight". I came back an hour later and the place was completely empty except for two people at the bar, the bartender and the cover band, playing BTO's "Takin Care of Business" at full volume for nobody.
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Sep 26, 2013 13:50
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If you want to go to a bar and introduce yourself as a bartender, you have to do it in a way where you're offering something to the person behind the bar. I usually do it after I payed for a drink at full price and tipped well, and then I tell them which bar I work at. If I get a deal after that I make sure to remember that bartender's face because then I have a friend who will a) come visit or b) send business my way. If you do it any other way you're kind of needy and lovely and you're taking advantage of bartenders' natural generosities. re:regulars: There was a regular in my bar who was certifiably insane. Short, long haired, loud guy who said he was from Louisiana. We eventually figured out the story that he was living off a rich relative's inheritance, but the inheritance was given to him piecemeal each month. When he was great he was still crazy, but he tipped a lot. He shared drugs and gave us gifts (usually things he didn't want anymore). He talked real big, but he was relatively smart and would have interesting conversations with the interesting people in the bar. He'd have his packages sent to the bar, and it was always a neat thing to see all the dumb poo poo he'd buy. But sometimes he'd go on binges. He'd show up at the bar early in the morning with a buzzcut and a suit, have a few beers, and then go off to a meeting. He'd come back and get loving hammered. He'd ask for straws. A lot of straws. Dude would drink all day and night, come in the next day red eyed, and keep going. Sometimes the packages he would have sent to the bar would have knives in them. Lots of times the packages he'd have sent would have knives in them. One time he stopped coming in for a few weeks. We found out later it was because he went up to the roof of his apartment naked and threw a TV off of it. He'd come into the bar with weird photographs from "his security system" of FBI agents coming to get him. He'd also tell us his brother worked for the USGvt and he was getting recruited for the CIA. I went over to fix his internet router one time. Except for a bookshelf of dragon statues and a poo poo ton of cigarettes in a huge ashtray, his house was totally normal. I have to go to work.
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Sep 28, 2013 17:24
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Hi, my name is martinlutherbling and I'm a bartender too. I've been working at a brand new place for the last two months. It's a sorta high end brick oven pizza spot with 24 taps and a decent selection of high end booze. It's been great except for one thing. The bar manager who hired me is a really good friend of mine, as well as a few of the other bartenders. On Friday and Saturday nights he'll jump behind the bar, usually from like 5-8:30 or so. This presents two problems; 1: It means we have 4 bartenders on. We get pretty busy, as the bar section seats maybe 35 people and the service bar prints tickets non stop, but still not 4 people busy. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that 2: He takes a full quarter of our tips and tipshare. The rest of us are on from 4-11, and he's only behind the wood from like 5ish to 8:30ish. The rest of the time he does manager stuff for the servers. He doesn't clean, restock, or do any bar closing side work, he'll take breaks to watch tv or eat while the rest of us are working. It's pretty lovely, and the problem is compounded by the fact that we're all really good friends. I don't wanna go over his head and get him in trouble with the owners, but I'm pissed to lose out on $50 a night for practically no benefit. What would you do in my shoes? martinlutherbling fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Sep 28, 2013 |
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Sep 28, 2013 18:45
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If you ARE really good friends, then it should be easy to tell him "Hey, man, quit being a dick and taking our tips." I'm pretty sure that, depending on where you work, managers aren't allowed to touch the tips at all. If it's not illegal for managers to be in the tip pool where you are, then you should split tips by hours worked. That is, in your situation there was a total of 24.5 man hours behind the bar. You and the other tenders would get 7/24.5, or 28% of the pool, and you friend would get 3.5/24.5, or 14%. If he actually is that good a friend, there should be no problem in talking to him and explaining how unfair it is. If he makes a big deal of it he 1) isn't a "really good friend of yours" 2) is lovely to work for 3) is a jerk. E: I can't math. E2: I'm pissed because there was a really really poo poo crowd last night. Another bartender and I rang in $7,000 over 6 hours and we each got $60 in tips. I'm pretty pissed. It was a wedding, so we were expecting to get a big tipout at the end. We got $0. But we DID get the biggest "Thank you SOOOOO much!" ever. Rotten Cookies fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Sep 28, 2013 |
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Sep 28, 2013 18:54
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Rotten Cookies posted:If you ARE really good friends, then it should be easy to tell him "Hey, man, quit being a dick and taking our tips." I'm pretty sure that, depending on where you work, managers aren't allowed to touch the tips at all. If it's not illegal for managers to be in the tip pool where you are, then you should split tips by hours worked. That is, in your situation there was a total of 24.5 man hours behind the bar. You and the other tenders would get 7/24.5, or 28% of the pool, and you friend would get 3.5/24.5, or 14%. Managers, ie: anybody with the power to hire, fire, or discipline, are PROHIBITED from participating in tip pools. So pulling 1/4 from the tip bucket is completely illegal. When I bartend, I either have an isolated section and keep my own tips, or if I'm just dipping in to help, I just pitch it into the tip bucket, shrug, and think of Jesus. I don't don't DON'T touch the tip pool ever.
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Sep 28, 2013 20:33
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Are managers prohibited from taking tips given to them provided there's no pooling? My local has a lot of "managers" that work the bar or kitchen from time to time. I don't really have a problem with them taking tips if they are working as a bartender or server; they aren't poaching good shifts by any means. I feel like a jerk as a customer if they aren't getting tipped for serving me, whether they're managers or not. I'd say the line gets muddied a lot more when they just "help out" during a busy shift, which the managers at my place don't do.
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Sep 29, 2013 02:52
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navyjack posted:Managers, ie: anybody with the power to hire, fire, or discipline, are PROHIBITED from participating in tip pools. So pulling 1/4 from the tip bucket is completely illegal. This varies by state. It's even normal in some locations (Vegas). I don't have a problem tip-sharing with a manager if he's working behind a bar (and I need him back there). Tip shares should be done hourly though, it isn't that hard. John: 8 hours Dave: 10 hours Lucinda: 8 hours Cheech: 4 hours Total hours: 30 John gets 8/30ths of the pool, Dave gets 10/30ths, blah blah blah. In this particular case you don't even need a calculator, you just pretend like your dividing the money between 15 people and John gets four piles, Dave gets five, Lucinda gets four, Cheech gets 2. "But it was busier when I was working" I don't buy. If it's the sort of place where it's a restaruant for the first six hours and then turns into a bar just make two seperate tip buckets for those time periods and then parcel those out by hour. raton fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Sep 29, 2013 |
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Sep 29, 2013 03:55
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Usually I strenuously avoid being a dick to customers. I like my job, and I'm a natural at eating the kind of dumb poo poo drunk idiots say and do to impress their drunk idiot mates, I honestly don't give a gently caress. Most of the time. I had my monthly "just let a customer know the level of contempt you have for them" moment last night, when a dude comes up to the bar and orders "the strongest thing you've got". I pause for a moment, because this isn't a completely unreasonable drink order, but I wanted to clarify, is he talking about getting the best bang for buck ABV wise or does he literally want the highest proof thing I can find? I want to draw this thing out as long as possible as well, just so I can figure out if he's broke student out for a night with a strict budget, or some dickhead out to get as drunk as possible. So I ask him: "what do you mean by that?"  (again) "I want the strongest loving thing you've got"*short pause, before I pour a shot of Bakers* "what the gently caress is this?"me: "Its the highest proof alcohol I can find" "nah gently caress that, whats the strongest cider you've got"*I shoot the bakers, which was not so much an actual attempt at figuring out what he wanted to drink as a sort of power play/ also an excuse to do a shot* me: "look I'm just gonna serve these guys over here *gestures to crowd of bemused looking people, one of whom I recognized as a bartender from a local pump bar that I was on good terms with* until you can figure out what you want. If you actually figure out how to order a drink in the meanwhile, flag me down and I'll sort you out" kind of starts to lose his poo poo here and so do I, meanwhile I start on two other orders, and I'm pouring tap beers and explaining to the crowd in general as a way to vindicate myself that it's a huge red flag when someone comes in and starts ordering drinks by their strength and nothing else, I seem to have done a good job of keeping the crowd on my side. Bartender dude slides a glass of the IPA to , turns out they're mates. I just have to twist the loving knife.me: by the way, your mate figured out the IPA is the best value for money to get hosed up without being a complete prick about it Bartender dude cracks a smile, rest of his friends seem to think its funny, is seething and later makes a passive aggressive remark when I'm chatting to their table and clearing glasses about "smart asses get glassed", which i usually have an absolute zero tolerance policy for, but I felt like the dude was probably feeling a bit bruised in the ego and he probably needed that one.
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Sep 29, 2013 04:34
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Buddy, I feel you on having to vent. Working the cocktail side, I've learned more than twice (thankfully from other peoples indiscretions) that you never know who knows whom and the wrong comment can cut much deeper than expected. It's a hospitality business, after all, and if letting one slide hurts, it's much easier to seethe a little than pick up the wrong rep. A bad experience feeds two nods and a bad one gets a yelp or loses a regular. On being glassed though, that poo poo is no joke. Had a bartender (with a lovely rep and a hot temper to start) lose a job and all his face last week when he bottled a guy at our #1 industry bar and the cops called his high-profile opening saying either turn himself in or they'd come find him...and the NYPD doesn't gently caress around with finding you.
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Sep 29, 2013 06:19
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Vegetable Melange posted:On being glassed though, that poo poo is no joke. Had a bartender (with a lovely rep and a hot temper to start) lose a job and all his face last week when he bottled a guy at our #1 industry bar and the cops called his high-profile opening saying either turn himself in or they'd come find him...and the NYPD doesn't gently caress around with finding you. Jesus Christ. I thought the guy that required being carried out on all fours in my former bar was serious business. Why is it reading these stories I feel more like I miss the work behind the bar than at any other time? loving sucker for punishment I guess... Watch out for this horrible GBS thread coming to a bar near you, btw: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3572261
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Sep 29, 2013 06:43
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It's 2:30. "Can I get 2 Bud Lights?""Nope." "You're turning down money!??!""Yeah, I like my job and don't want to get fired." "It must be terrible having to work for tips. Guess how much I make?""I don't really give a poo poo." "$2500 a week!""Wow! That's a lot of dicks you must suck!" *swing*
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Sep 29, 2013 12:12
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Also acceptable: Wow, your jaw must really ache!
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Sep 29, 2013 17:33
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I had some awful customers last night. I used the exact same language I'd use with anyone else, but enunciated more deliberately. It got the message across, and I didn't do anything wrong. It is rare that you can get respect from someone without giving it in this industry.
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Sep 29, 2013 17:35
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Kaizoku posted:I had some awful customers last night. I used the exact same language I'd use with anyone else, but enunciated more deliberately. It got the message across, and I didn't do anything wrong. It is rare that you can get respect from someone without giving it in this industry. I had a couple of bar-pounders/hand-waver/finger-snappers last night. I generally ignored them until it got too aggravating at which point, "Why are you doing that?!? STOP IT!"
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Sep 29, 2013 18:15
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navyjack posted:I had a couple of bar-pounders/hand-waver/finger-snappers last night. I generally ignored them until it got too aggravating at which point, "Why are you doing that?!? STOP IT!" That is behavior I don't tolerate. "Excuse me sir/miss, I am your server: not your servant. Acting otherwise isn't going to get you far." Sometimes saying that will end up getting you a bad tip, but do you think they were going to tip well before you said it? Also, if the customer is acting that way because you are doing a lovely job of paying attention to them, don't get sassy. The place I'm currently working, most of the bartenders are AWFUL. They are the reason I am writing beyond the first paragraph, so don't take this as me judging you; I have no idea what your circumstances are. Last night, a guest sat down at the end of the bar while the bartender was taking a to-go food order from someone standing directly next to the guest who had sat. He takes the order, goes to the POS at the other end of the bar, and then starts chatting with a couple near the POS. 12 minutes later, he brings the bag of food for the to-go customer, and then asks the former if he'd like something to drink. He says, "I did awhile ago, but not anymore. I'm leaving." I was very impressed by this guest because he didn't raise his voice or throw a fit, he spoke calmly and still tried to let the bartender know he was doing a lovely job. (I witnessed this because I was cocktailing the patio that night, and had to wait at the end of the bar for my tables' drinks, since we averaged 7 minute drink tickets that night.) The bartender then bitched about the guest who left to me, in front of at least ten other guests between tables that could hear and the two sitting at that end of the bar, about the guest who left. TLDR; I need to find a new place to work.
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Sep 29, 2013 19:02
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Kaizoku posted:That is behavior I don't tolerate. "Excuse me sir/miss, I am your server: not your servant. Acting otherwise isn't going to get you far." Sometimes saying that will end up getting you a bad tip, but do you think they were going to tip well before you said it? Yeah, if my beer's empty and I can see the bartender is not busy, I'll occasionally call their name or wave to get their attention. If I can see they're busy making drinks or something, I'll let them finish that and then try to get their attention.
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Sep 29, 2013 20:16
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PT6A posted:Yeah, if my beer's empty and I can see the bartender is not busy, I'll occasionally call their name or wave to get their attention. If I can see they're busy making drinks or something, I'll let them finish that and then try to get their attention. Oh yeah, for sure. I only get sassy when I'm 4 deep in the weeds making drinks with both hands and people get nasty. I feel like John MacLaine in Die Hard "Do I look like I'm ordering a loving pizza back here?" My favorite from last night was the guy who was waving and impatient, but when I went up to him, he didn't know what his group wanted, changed the order twice, added a shot after I delivered the drinks, then split the check three uneven ways. I was like, "you get that THIS poo poo is why it takes forever to get a drink, right?"
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Sep 29, 2013 20:35
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^ ^ ^ I used to loving love those people when I worked clubs. "Hey. HEY! IM FUCKIN WAITING HERE MAN!" Yeah, and I saw you, along with the other 20 people waiting at the bar who were here before you. Then when it does come to be their turn and they get all exasperated about how long you took but instead of giving you an order, they turn around to their group and start asking them what they want. I get the biggest dumb idiot grin on my face ever, give them about a second and a half to give me an order and before I loudly announce "WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY WANT?" and move on to the next person in line who's hand has never failed to be the first one that shoots up into the air. When you serve everyone else at the bar and come around to them again, the order comes out pretty quickly and politely, and I don't give a drat how lovely the tip is. It's always worth it. tl;dr: When you shout out or whistle or click your fingers or whatever trying to get served faster, you're not only disrespecting the bartender but you're disrespecting the other people who've been waiting longer than you have as well. The bartender will make an example out of you and you deserve it. Last night I told someone to shut the gently caress up for the first time since my nightclub days (~2 years ago now) and got a rousing applause from all of my other guests. Feels good man.
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Sep 30, 2013 02:09
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Kaizoku posted:(I witnessed this because I was cocktailing the patio that night, and had to wait at the end of the bar for my tables' drinks, since we averaged 7 minute drink tickets that night.) Christ, get your bar manager on this, that is damned unacceptable and I would have been embarrassed to have that slow a turnover (provided something hadn't gone terribly awry to slow me down)
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Sep 30, 2013 02:28
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I admit I don't have the balls to outright yell at someone, the most I do is passive aggressive ignoring, if someone hassles me and then isn't ready I will calmly walk away and take someone else's order. If they give me poo poo when I come back to them, I just politely say, "You weren't ready , so I thought I'd give you another minute." You guys harassing jerk customers make me jealous. I'm terrified that I'd lose my job.
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Sep 30, 2013 06:34
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JawKnee posted:Christ, get your bar manager on this, that is damned unacceptable and I would have been embarrassed to have that slow a turnover (provided something hadn't gone terribly awry to slow me down) The management/ownership avoid confrontation of any kind. All of these issues have been brought up with them, on umpteen occasions by the other staff, customers, and myself. The only complaint that has been addressed with any of the staff is, "(Another bartender) says we need to raise the bar tipouts." My response was along the lines of, "I never have an issue with the tipouts the servers give when I'm bartending, it's almost always quite more than the minimum 2% of bar sales. If they're only getting the minimums, it's not because the staff is stingy and perhaps the people making this complaint need to be reevaluated." There is a bartender who was hired as a favor to them while they had their hours cut at their "real job." Their real job is bartending elsewhere, so it feels doubly condescending, but that is beside the point. They make bad drinks slowly and call last-call far too early. They once tried to call it 3 1/2 hours before legal last call, which is fine in this establishment, if there are only a few customers left, but there were 33. 22 of the customers were mine, the other 11 at the bar. The bartender called last call, and I called him out in front of all the customers, "We are not doing last call yet, we still have at least 30 guests." (I didn't count until after this, which I only did so I could be as accurate as possible when telling the owners about the incident). The punishment this bartender received? They get to close with me every week, because I will call their bullshit. The management took me aside and thanked me for talking back to my coworker, because management really doesn't want to have that conversation. Management's solution is actually to foster animosity between two of their staff. For the last ten years I've taken pride in my profession, and I still do, but I don't have any pride in my current job. I am so glad I started venting; seeing it laid out like this, I'm realizing I need to work a lot harder/quicker to get the hell out of this place. I deleted many more stories and exposition from this post--some for being too descriptive in case someone from my current job sees it, and some of it because it's far too universal. Every bar has their stories about an on-staff alcoholic (if only one), high school drama, and lovely customers. While too much of any of that is a reason to leave a job, the individual stories aren't that interesting--you don't need my full pro-con list.
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Sep 30, 2013 06:34
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Advice posted:I admit I don't have the balls to outright yell at someone, the most I do is passive aggressive ignoring, if someone hassles me and then isn't ready I will calmly walk away and take someone else's order. If they give me poo poo when I come back to them, I just politely say, "You weren't ready , so I thought I'd give you another minute." You guys harassing jerk customers make me jealous. I'm terrified that I'd lose my job. Yelling is a loss of control; you don't want to do it, and it's hard to mentally go back to professional from it. Staying well spoken and deliberately enunciating are your best bets. I keep a nice attitude while working, so going from, "Hey folks/ladies/sir/miss, can I get you something to drink right away, or do you need a minute to look the selections over?" to "I'm going to give you a minute to figure out what everybody wants," is enough for people to realize they have done something rude. A lot of people don't realize that they are being rude, and act politely after this. Also, because this has been my second nature for quite a while, I just remembered that another strategy that employs is that instead of asking a question and giving the guest the choice, you are making the choice there and that transition gives most people a mild self-evaluative shock as well. Save yelling for warnings, "I need a fire extinguisher now!" is acceptable to yell. Someone who is 20 feet from the bar and acting a complete fool is a reason to yell. If your response to someone being oblivious to the industry or simply rude is to yell, well, you need a different job.
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Sep 30, 2013 06:51
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nrr posted:the bars ive worked at have had belles and you ring them after you're done cashout Well played, sir. Anybody going to https://www.portlandcocktailweek.com/ ? If you're at all interested in craft cocktail it's a pretty rad time, I hear. This'll be my first year and I got into an education major (beyond the bar), but I didn't get put up at the hotel, sadly.
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Oct 2, 2013 17:10
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I'll be there working/attending, but I bet you already knew that.
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Oct 2, 2013 23:59
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Of course that would be on the weekend I'm trying to get to New York. Pretty sure Art of The Cocktail starts on the Monday or Tuesday on Vancouver Island as well.
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Oct 3, 2013 01:15
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There's a thread in GBS about trolling bars by hijacking the jukebox: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3572261 Anyone here been behind the bar when something like this has happened?
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Oct 3, 2013 02:12
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Many bars have override features for the jukebox where the bartender can skip any given song.
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Oct 3, 2013 02:16
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Yeah, they all think they're very clever, but every TouchTunes jukebox has a remote that can skip songs or clear out the entire queue. Also, you can't play the same song more than, I think, twice in a row, but that might be a user setting.
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Oct 5, 2013 01:23
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Masonity posted:I'd love to work until 4 or 5pm. I'm considering leaving the trade for it. I doubt I'd have much luck looking for office roles even though I have a degree (2:2 in economics and law, 2007) so I'll probably look for management jobs in more daytime places like sandwich shops and the like. Pretty much for the same reason, I want to spend more time in the evenings with my wife. In two weeks time I'm also stepping away from the bar scene and starting a career in food counter sales management. It's also a company known for career progression... So basically I'm getting a real, grown up career type job. Albeit not an office one. My last shift will be a friday night, and I intend to end up moderately buzzing, but not hammered. I'll then stay for 3 or 4, but I have induction at my new place on Saturday morning. So I'll have to go back the first time I have a saturday off for a proper friday night leaving drink with everyone. That'll be a real liver breaker. Leaving the industry hurts, as does leaving my current bar and my friends there. I'm 30 next year though, and really should be spending my evenings home with the wife and kids and not at a bar.
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Oct 5, 2013 01:32
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Does anyone understand the economics of getting cover bands to play at a bar? My friend is the bassist in one and they regularly get $400-500 plus a lot of comped drinks. (Though they do get screwed over pretty regularly too.) That just seems like a lot of money to be paying out, and these aren't bars that are wall to wall people. A decent crowd, but selling a lot of Bud Light pitchers too. I'm surprised the owners make back their money.
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Oct 5, 2013 03:23
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It's a form of marketing that pays off by getting people to the bar who might not come by normally. Also 400-500 dollars should be nothing for a bar on a prime night to cover, even including comped drinks.
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Oct 5, 2013 05:03
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Where do people get the tomato juice for their Bloody Marys? I'm assuming no fresh juice, but do people just use the stuff from your local supermarket, or is there a premium tomato juice brand ala Fever Tree?
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Oct 5, 2013 06:14
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smackfu posted:Does anyone understand the economics of getting cover bands to play at a bar? My friend is the bassist in one and they regularly get $400-500 plus a lot of comped drinks. (Though they do get screwed over pretty regularly too.) Depends on the band. I've had cover bands that would charge us ~$5k to play (but would net us $8k+ at the door and gross another $12-$15k at the bar), down to $500 + comped drinks that would barely break even. What's important when hiring a band is to understand a few things: A - What kind of music do they play? Being talented doesn't matter, but you want to know what kind of crowd they're going to bring. If they cover Willie Nelson and Hank Williams Sr, and your place is a chic lounge, it's probably not a good fit. B - What kind of a draw do they have, and how do they promote themselves? You should be doing your own marketing, as that's in your best interest, but they should be pushing to get a crowd in there. Caveat: It's not OK for them to advertise other shows they're playing at your venue. Similarly, you shouldn't expect them to announce a show at your place when they're playing elsewhere. C - That said, where else do they play? Does that place charge a cover, and can you? This can also help give the band an incentive to promote the show if you give them a cut of the door. D - Will the band help the bar push drinks? The singer saying something like "I love playing here because it's the only bar that stocks my favorite beer, XYZ, go get one!" or "I love the shots here, they make em strong, and they put em on special when we play, buy a round - and buy one for me!" can help push bar sales, and build good will. I could go on and on about the difference between a cover band and a successful act that covers well known songs, but this should give you the basic idea.
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Oct 5, 2013 06:29
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andelazo posted:Where do people get the tomato juice for their Bloody Marys? I'm assuming no fresh juice, but do people just use the stuff from your local supermarket, or is there a premium tomato juice brand ala Fever Tree? If you're looking for good tomato juice you just juice tomatoes. You'd expect it to be more complicated than that but it isn't. If you're not in a rush you should chop up and salt the tomatoes a bit first and let the juice run into a bowl. If you are they go right into the blender. You then need one of those big conical strainer things ("Chinoise Strainer" according to Amazon) to press the blender mess through to take out most of the larger bits. Instead of doing any of this you can also just use a juice extractor if you want to / have one. You then add the usual bloody mary ingredients of which Worcestershire sauce, celery salt and horseradish seem to be the most central. Taste this mix and add salt and acid (lime juice probably but you can also use a vinegar of your choice) if you need to (depends on the tomatoes). Out of season many of the canned, diced tomatoes you can buy in supermarkets actually make surprisingly good substitutes for the desolate winter tomatoes that may be available from your grocer. I think pickled asparagus and a thin green onion are awesome as a garnish. I also really prefer to put real chili in the mix instead of Tabasco or whatever -- in a bar you can blend the chili with water and lime juice to make a paste which can go right in a fruit tray and spooned into the mix before giving it a brief shake to spice them to taste if you have wimpy customers. Oh and if you're preparing it for your bar consider adding MSG. Cancer is bad for people, but there are taste receptors on your tongue for free glutamates (which is what MSG dissolves into) which are part of what gives a long/low cooked tomato sauce its savoryness and part of what makes fire roasted stock bones acquire that particular richness. If you've had a bloody mary in the past that was just oozing rich tomato flavor it was probably because someone put some MSG in there, and MSG is what allows the canned, pre-made bloody mary mixes to still taste okay after pasteurization and shelving. raton fucked around with this message at 06:54 on Oct 5, 2013 |
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Oct 5, 2013 06:46
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Canned, skinned San Marzanos, pushed through a sieve ("chinois" is the French term but it translates roughly to "china cap" and is kind of super racist) with the back of a ladle. E: purée them first.
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Oct 5, 2013 06:53
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| # ? May 31, 2024 10:42 |
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Oh if you make it from scratch and it doesn't come out very red people often add tomato paste as well.
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Oct 5, 2013 06:57
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