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navyjack posted:I just got a bottle of George Dickel White Corn whiskey from the distributor. That poo poo is awesome and I'm ordering us a couple of bottles so I can drink it myself. Try it. Hey, if you're into that, I'm headed your way in a month from the Appalachians. PM me if you'd like some real white lightning.
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Mar 10, 2014 18:46
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Dolemite posted:I'm not a bartender, but I hate to say it, I am one of those that will leave the bar if I find out it's cash only. If there's a prominent sign saying "Cash only!!!!!", then I'll leave before ordering a drink and screwing over the bartender. But see, bars like the one I work at don't give a poo poo if you walk away because we don't NEED your business. There are plenty of people that would be willing to deal with it because of the popularity of the bar. Those are the kind of bars that can get away with it. Your average bar not so much. Even then the regulars that keep the places afloat aren't going to give a poo poo, they'll just bring cash, and won't care if some guy walking off the street gets turned off.
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Mar 10, 2014 20:31
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Is there any place in either Chicagoland, or Toronto area, that I could pick up a bottle of Hennessy Pure White?
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Mar 10, 2014 21:56
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After an altercation with my manager at work, I was wondering what everyone's opinion is on what to do if you run out of basic house spirits? I realise that it should never happen, but my manager doesn't have a clue what he's doing and I went a full week with no Smirnoff, despite numerous verbal and written reminders for him to get some. So I suddenly get a conference group of 60pax, for two days straight, who happen to be vodka drinkers. Realising the boss's stubbornness is now going to make me look like a clueless fool in front of a large group of well paying clients, I gave them a "Sorry, I'm actually out of the house vodka, but I'll do you the Belvedere at the same price." Boy was that the wrong thing to do! According to boss man (and this has happened before with wine), I should have told them "Sorry, no Smirnoff. Your vodka and raspberry will be $13.50." I was verbally told off, well and truely, and then a written memo was put up for everyone to see. Now if, over a night, a group drinks so much that they drink me out of my entire reserve of very basic spirits, well then nuts to them. They can drink something else. But if I start a night with no Jim Beam, or Smirnoff, or any of the other staples of every bar on the planet, surely that's the bar's fault and problem?
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Mar 11, 2014 18:07
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You should have asked the manager what he wanted at the beginning of the night. Those decisions have to be uniform from night to night and from bar to bar. What happens one weekend where that same group starts asking for Belve at the well rate? Or, even if they don't, they see they're getting well at what they thought was the Belvedere price and even though they justify it intellectually they still feel bad about the bar at a gut level. Or worse still, you as a manager now have a staff that thinks it's all up to their feelings on how to fix issues and now your customers face rampant inconsistencies from night to night? Most bartenders immediate reaction to this talk is to say what they did was better for the bar than the other options but isn't that exactly the manager's domain and not the bartender, and doesn't that mean that as a supposedly socially intelligent person you just stepped on someone you work with and potentially made them feel bad? Honestly you could do that situation either way and in the long run neither quick fix is going to be worse than the other. So why not do the one that makes your coworkers happy? I'm not a bartender any more but I was comfortable doing whatever management decided. Sell only Belve? Sure chief, bigger tabs for me. Sell Belve at well prices? Sure chief, going to making a lot of doubles tonight. No Dom P bottles so we're marking up the Veuve tonight and reprinting the menus? Sure chief, they'll buy what I sell em. Only cans of Pabst and you want me to sell them for eight bucks? Well, there are limits... raton fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Mar 11, 2014 |
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Mar 11, 2014 18:19
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There's also always going to be conflict if you do something that will hurt the bar's margins, but will result in better tips for yourself. Even if that's not your intent, that's how the manager sees it.
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Mar 11, 2014 18:40
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You just jumped from Smirnoff to Belvedere? You didn't have a mid level option to pour, like Absolut? If we run out of a house spirit, I just move to the next cheapest brand after telling the manager what I'm going to do.
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Mar 11, 2014 21:09
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How the hell do you run out of rail liquor anyway? That's a comical oversight on somebody's part. How do they even work there?
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Mar 11, 2014 21:34
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Your manager sounds like a dumbass but sheep goats is right, you should've asked him what he wanted done. You could've also tried to avoid the situation altogether by seeing a solid group of well paying clients and just up sold them to the belvedere anyway. You make them want the good stuff and it becomes inconsequential that you're out of everything else. Also, I might be wrong but it sounds like from your story like you you were pissed off and frustrated with your manager and you took it out on him by trying to throw him under the bus with this group. Ohh, you guys want vodka? Well guess what, we're out of our well vodka cos my manager hasn't bought any for like a week. It's understandable to want to react like this if your boss is a dumbass and refuses to give you the tools you need to do your job properly (and also to not look like an idiot in front of customers) but you've got to understand, that sort of attitude just screws you over the same amount that it does him. It makes your bar look bad on a number of levels, as well as making you look just as bad as your clueless manager as well. I hope I interpreted it wrong, but if I didn't, always keep your poo poo out of sight and only ever let the customers see a flawless, pristine facade.
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Mar 11, 2014 21:39
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The most shaming thing you can say to a manager when he fucks up is actually "No problem man, I'll cover it with the customers." Unless he's a class A fuckhead. No manager should be happy to have his/her staff saying that to him. raton fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Mar 11, 2014 |
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Mar 11, 2014 21:55
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nrr posted:Your manager sounds like a dumbass but sheep goats is right, you should've asked him what he wanted done. You could've also tried to avoid the situation altogether by seeing a solid group of well paying clients and just up sold them to the belvedere anyway. You make them want the good stuff and it becomes inconsequential that you're out of everything else. It probably did sound like that, and you're all right. I wrote that while half asleep and a bit grumpy. I am not the bartender at work anymore, I was promoted to food and beverage supervisor, so I run the bar and restaurant. The manager wasn't there that day, and neither was our actual bar tender. I was the one serving in the bar in their absense, and I made the call because I was the only one there authorised to make it. Our spirits and pricing are all over the place at the moment, so yes Belvedere was the next step up from Smirnoff, with Grey Goose one above that again. I had a nicer selection at one point but nobody had heard of them... I was frustrated and pissed off with my manager, but only after the fact when I was publically berated for improvising a solution to cover for the fact that he's incredibly bad at keeping the bar and restaurant stocked with basic things. I didn't tell the clients that "my boss didn't bother ordering it" was the reason, I wouldn't do that. The customers only saw me defuse a situation before it was a situation, and the feedback we recieved after the conference left was that we are all brilliant and professional. When my reward for making a large, well paying group really happy and probably getting us repeat business is "but you only made us 300% profit instead of 400! What the gently caress do you think you're playing at??" well then I think I'm quite justified in getting lovely.
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Mar 12, 2014 03:03
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One of the bartenders at my local has his last shift on Thursday, after spending 14 years in the industry. Is there anything I should do for him apart from buying drinks for him and tipping well?
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Mar 12, 2014 05:09
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PT6A posted:One of the bartenders at my local has his last shift on Thursday, after spending 14 years in the industry. Is there anything I should do for him apart from buying drinks for him and tipping well? Tell them what their performance means to you. Tips are awesome (and fungible,) but it's always stood out to me when a patron verbalizes their appreciation for a job well done.
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Mar 12, 2014 06:20
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Throw a drink in their face and piss in their well actually just tip well for your drinks and tell them they rock and you will miss them
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Mar 12, 2014 06:22
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Get him a pack of adult diapers
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Mar 12, 2014 06:30
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ubermarcus posted:After an altercation with my manager at work, I was wondering what everyone's opinion is on what to do if you run out of basic house spirits? To go back to this for a sec, I definitely had this happen twice at my last bar. I moved people up to the next higher level of spirit (from lovely no-name vodka to Absolut, I think (blech)) without upcharge. Sometimes I'd say that I was doing so, most times not. I'd just take the Absolut off the back bar, stick it in my rail, and use it like it belonged there. This was common practice at the place, as apparently previous owners of the joint also had that kind of problem. That bar was funny. When I started having to bring in my own fruit every shift for almost 2 weeks straight, I handed in my two weeks.
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Mar 12, 2014 20:29
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FaceEater posted:When I started having to bring in my own fruit every shift for almost 2 weeks straight  the worst dive bar I worked at never had that problem. Although when I worked at a hipster downtown "Everything made fresh" bar I had to make my own supply runs to the nearby grocery store at the beginning of my shift; didn't pay for it though, and I was on the clock for it.
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Mar 12, 2014 21:31
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When I was barbacking sometimes I would go pick up the liquor order and get fruit from the store. I live in a place with state-run liquor stores and you have to buy from them at the same retail price as everyone else, no going to the warehouse. So I would go in and pick up the ordered/paid for $1000 worth of well-grade booze. I would get some real looks.
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Mar 12, 2014 23:32
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JawKnee posted:
I would put my receipts for $X worth of garnish into the night's closeout drop and just take the cash out of the drawer. Didn't care about repercussions, as the owner clearly didn't care about me/the customers/the bar. Never heard a complaint from him about it either. When I left he even told me the door was always open to return. Ha. SubponticatePoster posted:When I was barbacking sometimes I would go pick up the liquor order and get fruit from the store. I live in a place with state-run liquor stores and you have to buy from them at the same retail price as everyone else, no going to the warehouse. So I would go in and pick up the ordered/paid for $1000 worth of well-grade booze. I loved the couple times I was sent to pick up well-grade garbage booze at the local warehouse supply depot. About $500 worth of "Whiskey," "Vodka," "English Gin," and "Tequila." I am pretty sure it was all the same grain neutral spirit with different colors and artificial flavorings. I didn't even want to use the vodka to disinfect cuts; I was convinced it would crystallize in the wound and kill me.
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Mar 13, 2014 03:41
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I landed my first barbacking job this week, it's temporary but hopefully it will let me get my foot in the door because I've always thought bartending would be an interesting and cool job. It's at a pretty big, popular Irish pub in LA, and with it being St. Patrick's Day weekend, they're going big and they need extra help (that's where I come in). I've never worked at a bar, although I've worked in other parts of the service and hospitality industries; still, I basically got the job because I know one of the managers and she knows that I'd like to be a bartender some day, rather than being experienced. Is there any advice you guys can give me? What do you like to see out of a barback when it's insanely busy? I'm assuming that keeping the beer flowing, liquor stocked, and the ice full, without getting in the way, will be my top priorities.
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Mar 14, 2014 10:59
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I don't get stressed over running out of anything. You say sorry I'm out of that and upsell it or offer something else it's not a big deal, people are gonna drink whatever you have. If the manager fails to order anything he's only making himself look like a moron, no sense in doing something rash like charging well prices for top shelf and making yourself look dumb too.
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Mar 15, 2014 00:30
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The Casualty posted:
The best BAs are ones who are getting me poo poo without me having to ask and are allowing me to focus on customers rather than glassware/item stock/etc. Move as quickly as you can, always be trying to get something done if you're moving from Point A to Point B and stay out of the bartender's way. No idea what your exact role will be, but given that you're working a pub on St. Patty's, it probably wouldn't hurt to help out with bussing glassware, as I imagine pint glasses are going to be at a loving premium. Don't be stupid, like some of my current BAs at my joint and feel that certain poo poo is beneath you -- your priority is making your bartender happy. EDIT: Oh and having some spare pens and (if your bartenders smoke) a lighter on you will earn some brownie points if they ever run out of poo poo like that, as it shows you're being prepared. Perdido fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Mar 15, 2014 |
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Mar 15, 2014 00:53
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Perdido posted:The best BAs are ones who are getting me poo poo without me having to ask and are allowing me to focus on customers rather than glassware/item stock/etc. I went to a meeting today where we broke down the basics. Two bars, the inside one, and a temporary one set up around a Guinness truck in the parking lot, with enough beer inside to hopefully last all day. That's where I'll be. The owner bought thousands upon thousands of plastic cups, so we won't be running a single glass all weekend. The drink menu is also limited to 5 types of draft beer, plus simplified versions of our house cocktails that won't be coming with any garnish. Liquor comes out by the crate only. Basically the whole operation is streamlined so that even a caveman could do it, which is helpful. The only downside is it's 14 hour days outside, so I'm going to have to work extra hard to stay hydrated and uncooked. Apparently they did something similar last year and, while popular, it was not planned well and turned into a disorganized shitshow. They learned all their lessons and they're running this the right way. Sounds like it's going to be an absolutely insane, but profitable, 72 hours.
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Mar 15, 2014 04:09
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Is there any hardbar at the truck? An Ice-well? If not it sounds like you'll just be running garbage duty mostly, and keeping the beer stocked.
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Mar 15, 2014 04:24
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JawKnee posted:Is there any hardbar at the truck? An Ice-well? If not it sounds like you'll just be running garbage duty mostly, and keeping the beer stocked. Yeah we had all that stuff. I ended up doing basically everything except cooking, pretty much. A perpetual cycle of getting ice and bottles, changing kegs, jumping in on taking out trash (the guy they got for that was a little old and slow), even ended up pouring some beers when one of the bartenders got sick and couldn't continue. It was complete pandemonium last night, the outside bar was supposed to close at 10pm but demand was so high that we said gently caress it and kept serving until we ran out of already opened liquor and beer kegs, some time after midnight. But, we all got it done and had a fun time with it. I ended up working 13 hours yesterday alone, and more normal shifts on Saturday and Sunday. Busted my rear end the whole time so hopefully I made an impression on the management and they'll bring me back as soon as there's a permanent job opening. Can't wait to see what the tips come out to, people were throwing in 10s and 20s like they were candy. Highlights: - Used my leatherman to pull a bee stinger out of a woman's boob. - sliced up my thumb yesterday when my hand slipped off a beer tap I was attaching to a keg. They didn't have any finger condoms so I taped it up and made up taller and taller tales about it. - Met Lewis Black and Neil McDonough, both were super cool. - That corned beef. 
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Mar 18, 2014 18:01
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Has anyone worked at a place where drugs (specifically cocaine) has been a major issue? My place is really starting to become problematic with cocaine abuse and management understandably wants to be doing something about it. Beyond instructing staff to "keep a lookout" and ejecting people we catch red handed in stalls, there isn't much else we're doing. The two big ideas I have right now would be getting new bathroom attendants, one that will actually pay attention to what the gently caress is going on in the stalls, and maybe approaching CPS and seeing if we could get a paid duty in on the weekends to specifically be looking for this poo poo. It's getting a little ridiculous -- it's about three weeks in a row where we've found multiple baggies with coke still in them laying around the bar. One was in a loving ziploc sandwich bag and had a fair quantity in it.
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Mar 23, 2014 23:00
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What's the deal with treating "regulars" in most bars? There was some drama in my local because a regular came in, during a prebooked 80-person party, and ordered some meatballs, which are a cheap-rear end special for a different day. The cook said it would have to wait because he didn't want to gently caress up an 80-person party, and it ended with the bartender getting in a huff about "disrespecting regulars" and giving two weeks notice. As a regular at the same bar, I'd be loving embarrassed for myself if I ordered a $2 special on the wrong day during a party and expected it to come out pronto, so I'm with the cook on this one. Is the bartender being a nitwit, or is there a reason he freaked out over it?
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Mar 24, 2014 05:37
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Depends. Regulars who come in and spend lots of money and/or spend consistently and tip well? You bend over backwards for them and try to appease them as much as possible. Sometimes you won't be able to, but generally giving them a round on the house or comping their food will mollify them. If there's serious issues, that's when management steps in and tries to fix things. "Regulars" who come in and nurse the same beer or ask for countless refills of pop over the course of 4 hours and don't really spend any money are parasites who usually have the biggest sense of entitlement when it comes to being treated as a "regular." I don't really have a lot of patience for those types because they generally don't spend money (which is bad for the business), don't tip (which is bad for me) and generally complain a poo poo ton when things don't go their way. If the menu item this guy tried to order wasn't on the menu normally and the kitchen was still going to make it happen, that bartender is a loving idiot and was probably just looking for an excuse to give his 2 weeks notice. If the meatballs are a normal menu item and the regular had to wait a little longer for his food because there was a pre-existing party of 80 people and the kitchen was slammed? Well, he's a "regular" and not a regular and he can gently caress off.
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Mar 24, 2014 06:41
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Yeah, handing in your notice over a spat with the kitchen speaks to some other deeper issues going on. Or the bartender has skin so thin they might as well be organs wrapped in butcher paper. ~~~ Got drunk the other night with some friends and we end up barhopping. While we wait for my favorite pub to call us for our table we go across the street to a fancy Italian joint for 1 round; I ask the guy behind the bar how he would make a Negroni, and he responds that he doesn't know what that is (1st red flag) - and that I should probably stick to the house cocktail list. I open it up, and the first cocktail listed is a Negroni (2nd red flag). I point this out and he tells me that he's actually a server and that the bartender will make it for me. I'm on my merry way to being blitzed so I forget to ask her when she comes back how she makes it before I order it. I got a shaken mess with 3 ice cubes in a martini glass with a lime wedge. Lesson learned.
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Mar 24, 2014 06:56
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Hello thread! I've been really interested in getting in to Bartending as it seems like something I'd be good at and would be a good way to help me pay for school. I've been reading through the original thread in my downtime and been following this thread for probably about a year or so now and I finally landed a job in a restaurant/bar in eastern PA back in January as a Busser/Barback. The only problem is I can't seem to get Barbacking shifts, since they are currently occupied by two of the other bussers so I've started just doing it anyway when I'm working shifts that don't have a scheduled barback. I guess what I'm getting at is should I find a solid barbacking job somewhere else, or just keep asking my boss if I can take someone else's shift (which seems unlikely)
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Mar 27, 2014 03:11
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Cant Ride A Bus posted:Hello thread! I've been really interested in getting in to Bartending as it seems like something I'd be good at and would be a good way to help me pay for school. I've been reading through the original thread in my downtime and been following this thread for probably about a year or so now and I finally landed a job in a restaurant/bar in eastern PA back in January as a Busser/Barback. look around if you can (though try not to burn bridges). But honestly you might have to suck poo poo, work your rear end off and wait for your chance. One way or another you pay your dues.
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Mar 27, 2014 03:15
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Cant Ride A Bus posted:Hello thread! I've been really interested in getting in to Bartending as it seems like something I'd be good at and would be a good way to help me pay for school. I've been reading through the original thread in my downtime and been following this thread for probably about a year or so now and I finally landed a job in a restaurant/bar in eastern PA back in January as a Busser/Barback. You can always look around but honestly that's about how people start -- you're lucky to be in a town where barbacks even exist. Maybe in a year you'll be a bartender, maybe one of the bartenders will die on his big dumb Harley and you'll get there in months. Presumably the other bussers have already paid their dues. It's the way it works. Imagine someday you're a barback and the owner brings in a new guy and the manager gives him all of your shifts and makes you a busser again. The manager is doing the right thing at least, so when you get there you won't work for a piece of poo poo. raton fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Mar 27, 2014 |
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Mar 27, 2014 03:46
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Sheep-Goats posted:You can always look around but honestly that's about how people start -- you're lucky to be in a town where barbacks even exist. Maybe in a year you'll be a bartender, maybe one of the bartenders will die on his big dumb Harley and you'll get there in months. They definitely have, and I didn't mean to make it sound like I felt I should just be given the shifts off the bat. I'll just have to keep busting my rear end and getting noticed where I can and hope for the best. One of the bartenders was asking me if I was able to pick up the Tuesday night shift, or any other shift he works because he likes having someone around who reliably does stuff for him. So that's a good feeling at least 
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Mar 27, 2014 03:58
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Yep, just keep plugging away, letting it known you're interested. Sooner or later someone is going to call out sick or have an emergency, or maybe just not show up. Drop what you're doing and cover that shift.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:28
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Perdido posted:Has anyone worked at a place where drugs (specifically cocaine) has been a major issue? Call the cops? It's their job to deal with that poo poo, not yours. One of the neighboring bars here used to be called "Celebration Station" and we called it "Cocaine Station". It's under new ownership now, and the cops do walkthroughs now and then and apparently it has calmed down the drug use quite a bit.
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Mar 28, 2014 00:21
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That's kinda risky. Better to handle it in-house if you can, but sometimes the clientele shifts at your place and sometimes it can be awfully hard to handle it / shift it back.
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Mar 28, 2014 00:24
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How is that risky? I know from experience, nothing you do in house is going to accomplish anything besides maybe slowing it down for a day or two, maybe a week if you're lucky. Until people know there are cops involved they are going to keep doing it. It comes down to how bad you want that element out of your bar. If you want it gone you're going to have to involve the police, like it or not.
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Mar 28, 2014 00:57
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leica posted:How is that risky? I know from experience, nothing you do in house is going to accomplish anything besides maybe slowing it down for a day or two, maybe a week if you're lucky. Until people know there are cops involved they are going to keep doing it. It comes down to how bad you want that element out of your bar. If you want it gone you're going to have to involve the police, like it or not. I thought I had mentioned that the police already are involved, but I guess it wasn't in my original post. Sorry! On the weekends, police will swing by and do walkarounds. These guys are essentially beat cops, just doing their rounds. They pop in for about 10-15 minutes, and then take off. They may come in once or twice a night, and certainly don't hang around. There's also Gang Suppression, which also involves police coming in and doing sweeps. These guys are basically prowling around looking for gangbangers/drug dealers/other known faces. Gang Sup comes into our bar because we're part of a voluntary program to try and guard against OC. Once again, though, they come in occasionally and don't hang around. Finally, we do call the police whenever possible and we have had people picked up for possession. The problem is that we can't have the police on site all the time (hence my idea of recommending paid duties) and that cocaine use is increasing by a significant margin at my place.
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Mar 28, 2014 01:27
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In that case it sounds like you need bouncers to just start kicking people the gently caress out.
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Mar 28, 2014 01:38
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leica posted:In that case it sounds like you need bouncers to just start kicking people the gently caress out. More 'you needed bouncers months ago', really.
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Mar 28, 2014 16:06
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