To The Part-Timers
This nugget of information was posted on 13/12/11 at 2:35 pm by Jos and is filed under A View From The Bar.
In these past few weeks Leeds has experienced a tidal wave of festive revellers: Office parties, assorted work do’s and students in Christmas hats have been flooding our fair city, rockin’ out and spreading good cheer. It’s been fun for us bartenders too; there’s a lot to be said for a full-on party rolling in at 7 o’clock on a Wednesday night and it’s not often you get to play AC/DC at full blast two hours after you’ve opened.
I’d like to direct this month’s piece, however, to a much rarer group of customer than our usual funsters. I call them ‘part-time drinkers’. Now, I don’t mean people who aren’t constantly pissed (because I’m told by my GP that it’s good to lay off the booze every few hours… or something like that). No, I mean people who don’t often spend time in city centre bars. They usually go to their local pub or out to a restaurant but once in a while, a few times a year, (often on bank holidays) they venture into the city for one big night out. And they seem to be very confused by what they find.
The vast array of booze and brews in your city centre bar are to the part-time drinker as headlights are to a rabbit. They enter the bar in good spirits, chatting and laughing. Then they catch sight of the well stocked back-bar or the dozens of taps. Their conversation stops suddenly. The group huddles tightly together a few feet from the bar, ignoring the bartender’s greeting, whispering to one another…
“What do they do here?”
“What are you having?”
“What the hell is that stuff?”
I’d like to take this moment to shout to you huddled masses “Don’t be afraid! You can direct your questions to me! I’m here to help you!”
We bartenders want to make sure you guys get a drink you’ll like. Just a quick chat and we can give you some concoction or other that’ll hit the spot. Don’t see your usual poison? Well, we can recommend something similar. As much as we want our bars to make a profit, we’re not going to use fancy bartender mind tricks to force you to buy the most expensive whiskey in the house. In fact, if you’re very nice, we, your generous hosts, might let you try something before you’ve even handed over any of your hard earned cash.
So please, next time you’re in a weird bar in a strange city, don’t be scared to ask that freak of a bartender for some help.
