Drinking bartenders

Make for much more fun & entertaining bartenders???

 

Mind your own business. Not your bar not your problem.

 

Why? I've read this a few times now in this thread. I don't understand what makes a drinking bartender specifically better than a sober bartender.

 

I could see an issue if its impeding the barkeeps ability to make a judgement call, like when to shut a patron off and call them a cab. Having a buzzed bartender let a drunk driver go home on his/her own is begging for a lot of trouble.

 

My perspective is that service is service. If you're having a great time and getting great service and the person serving is
drinking a Long Island Ice Tea or texting or dancing a jig or conducting a physics experiment, I don't understand why the server's activities would bother someone. That said, I fully endorse people taking their business wherever they feel like taking it. If you don't like the jukebox, the height of sink in the bathroom, the color scheme, the shots the bartender has.

I never would have guessed it's possible to do a good job after a few (or a bunch) but I've seen it.

I've been in hospitality for about 12 years as a waiter, manager, beer buyer, bar back, bartender and I would say maybe 35%-40% percent of folks who serve us are blasted on various drugs from meth in the kitchen to waitstaff taking bongloads in their cars while waiting tables to bartenders on molly to coked out management . I don't endorse any of these behaviors and it's certainly not my style but I've seen these people do an amazing job dazzling customers working circles around me while I struggled in earnest sobriety.

The point I'm trying to make is if you don't like the idea of someone serving you, cooking for you, or running the establishment you're in having adjuncts in their bloodstream, there may not be a place out there for you. That great server who knows your order by heart may have popped a couple pills before his shift, your favorite bartender who can always find you that perfect new beer and makes the best Manhattan you've had may be snorting her tips away in between orders, that owner who makes you feel like family and bought all that chocolate for your kid's fundraiser may smoke more marijuana than Cheech and Chong put together. Once again, not my style but this seems to be how the industry works. If you need your tea served to you by teetotalers, you may have to find another tea party. As the cat says "We're all mad here".

 

Breaks down a barrier. I like a relaxed, jovial, environment. Plus, if I see a bartender drinking decent beer, i'll know that i'm in the right place.

 

I once was in a little bar in Scotland. There were only three of us there that night, the bartender, some guy in a Kilt, and myself. First I bought a round, then the guy in the kilt bought a round, then the bartender would buy a round (of Scotch). This went on until we tried a glass of just about everything they had (and there was a wall full of bottles to try). We had lots of laughs that night. I have fond memories of that trip to Scotland.

Lighten up

 

Patrick Swayze says "No" in roadhouse.

 

we are extremely casual. But its normal for me since I grew up in it. So I don't see a problem with it. Unless they are drunk, then yeah. But 99% of those who I see do it, are quite responsible about it.

 

I do not disagree.

 

You had to say 3 Blatz drafts! We had a bar at Ohio State back then that did Tuesday night 3 pitchers of Blatz for 2 bucks. Many a Tuesday night was spent there.

 

In Frederick county Maryland, drinking behind the bar or while your serving is illegal, and most definitely a fireable offense. That being said, bartenders drink all the time, it's the only way to put up with babysitting grown ass folks for a living. I rarely drink when working behind the bar, but I'll be dammed if I haven't ever gone in the back and cracked a beer to sip on, to take the edge off a few times.

 

Doesn't happen in North Carolina, anyone serving alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited from drinking while serving.

 

Was in a popular local craft beer bar for a few hours one Saturday with a friend and the bartender was nursing a beer or two. I got the impression he had started that earlier. He broke 2 glasses while I was there and I remember one being a weissbier glass. He's lucky he didn't get cut. I wasn't digging that.

 

As a customer, I have no problem with a bartender or server imbibing while they work. If the person is moderate about it, otherwise competent at their job, and the drinking serves a purpose, i.e. making staff more sociable, happy, and knowledgeable about the beers / wines / drinks on offer, then I probably prefer it.

But, for an owner of an establishment it is a terrible idea. Most states have dram-shop liability. Check it out, if you're interested: http://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/dram-shop-liability-state-statutes.aspx

Generally, if a server knowingly provides alcohol to an already intoxicated patron, and that patron proceeds to drive drunk and injure or kill someone, or get in a fight, or goes on a vandalism streak, then the owner can be held liable. Some states even have criminal penalties for this! Now imagine that your bar is being sued in a dram-shop liability case, and the plaintiff calls a member of your staff as a witness:

Plaintiff's Attorney: Do you drink at work?

Staff Member: Yes, all the time.

Plaintiff's Attorney: Does your employer encourage you to drink while working?

Staff Member: Yes, he says we need to taste all the beers in order to inform the clients about them. He also wants us to be loose and happy with the patrons.

Plaintiff's Attorney: So in order to get loose and happy, how many drinks do you typically have in a night?

Staff Member: Usually about a pint every hour.

Plaintiff's Attorney: Is that what all staff members do?

Staff Member: Yeah, for the most part.

Plaintiff's Attorney: How long is your typical shift?

Staff Member: from 5pm to 1 am, 8 hours.

So over the course of your shift, you have up to eight beers?

Staff Member: It's probably a few less than that, but something like that.

At the end of the case Plaintiff's Attorney argues: How could any staff member reasonably be expected to make an accurate evaluation about whether or not a patron is intoxicated and should be cut off, if they themselves are intoxicated? The judgment of the staff has been impaired and the owner through his negligent policies allowed his staff's judgment to be impaired.

Most cases would never go to trial and most owners would have insurance. Of course insurance companies are in the business of denying coverage, so you never want to put yourself in the position of relying on it. Taking things outside of liability for a moment, as an owner of a bar or tap house, you should try to discourage people drinking to the point where they harm themselves or someone else. Your staff needs to be sober to make that call.

 

It may be illegal, but that doesn't mean that it does not occur.

 

This highlights why the two questions are very different: Does servers consuming alcohol on the job bug you as a customer? Versus, would you as an owner have a policy of allowing the consumption of alcohol on the job?

 

It's always a management issue. I remember well a few owners that drank in their establishments. I grew up in a permissive culture and we have survived. It seems the legal stallions and morally correct have their perspective, but I do think our modern culture is a bit staid and priggish. If I saw a drunk bartender I would tell him to get a sandwich, a cup of coffee and relax for a while.....or go home.

 

Ah, some actual perspective on this bin of loonies known as the service industry. If your job is to get your ass handed to you in the name of providing good service. I really don't care what you do to make it manageable. Just stay in control.

 

And The Replacements used to get loaded before, during, & after the majority of their concerts....Oh the Humanity!!!
"Left of the Dial"...