Rant Thread II

[Saya]

Maybe instead of asking for ID she screws with patrons who she's sure is underage?

[JCC]

If she gives you the wrong drink then just ask her to make it right. Just because she's a bartender doesn't mean she knows shit about drinks; she's there to pour things and know roughly what she's doing. We all start out somewhere.

[honeythorn]

Agreed. I've worked in a restaurant and did some bar work also. If someone had asked me for a whiskey or did so now, I'd ask them how they wanted it. Having it in a glass with ice may be popular but not everyone prefers it that way.

I know that here, bartenders are taught how to pour a pint, change the barrels, and work the till. That's it. Of the 6 years I worked in that industry I met only one bar worker who had been to any sort of formal training and that was for being a wine waiter.

The bartender cannot possibly know how a customer would prefer their drink regardless of the popular manner of serving, unless they're a regular. So if most of the regular customers at the club night have shots, then it's highly likely that's what you'll get served un less you specify otherwise.

[Saya]

Yeah, when I worked as a bartender I was just thrown to the sharks, no one explained anything to me (it was my mom's bar, it started out as a "can you cover this shift for me? KTHNXBAI) and I don't think once that year anyone ever asked for anything "neat". Most people drank beer anyway, the only time I needed to take the bartender's bible out was when I was making drinks for myself XD

[ape descendant]

bartender's bible = fun

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by honeythorn

Having it in a glass with ice may be popular but not everyone prefers it that way.

That's the point. Neat means in a glass, NO ice. It's a common expression. It's as common as asking for pie à la mode. Show me a waiter or waitress that doesn't know what à la mode means and I'm going to have the same reaction.

Yeah, there's a lot of badly trained bartenders out there ... that's equally the fault of the bartender and the supervisor that trained them. But this is such an ordinary phrase that it should be common knowledge to every bartender in even the cheapest of beer and shot joints.

As with nearly every other job in life, I can understand making allowances for a person not knowing everything about a job. But when I have to explain to someone the most basic terms of how to do their job, it is annoying.

Yeah, Korinna could have explained what the phrase meant. I probably would have. But I understand her irritation. And I'm surprised the bartender didn't ask for a clarification of what the phrase meant herself. If she had done that with me, the empathy and understanding you all are professing for an ignorant bartender would have come out, and I would have explained.

[honeythorn]

Sorry to tell you this but training is not the same the world over. I have no idea what à la mode is with regards to pie of any sort. I've never heard of it. I don't know anyone else amongst my former workmates who does either. No one has ever asked me for anything à la mode. Seriously, and I was a waitress in a silver service restaurant for six years.

If someone orders a pie off the menu they get the pie off the menu and whatever else they've ordered on the side. The only thing I was ever told to ask was how they wanted certain things cooked, primarily steak of course.

[JCC]

The waitress said "Do you want in a glass with ice?" Is it really so difficult to reply "In a glass, but no ice"?

[Ben Lahnger]

Apparently "à la mode" would be expected to be known here in the United States, but I made the mistake of assuming that would be the same elsewhere. I still stand by my statement that if I encountered a server here who did not know what it meant, I would be rightly annoyed.

Originally Posted by JCC

The waitress said "Do you want in a glass with ice?" Is it really so difficult to reply "In a glass, but no ice"?

No, not really difficult. Harder to say than "Whiskey, neat", but not difficult. As I said, I might have dealt with it differently, but I understand her irritation.

[Underwater Ophelia]

Commitment issues, lol.
Ok.

[Solumina]

I'm really, really tired

[gothicusmaximus]

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

Commitment issues, lol.
Ok.

Is this the kind of commitment issue where she's hideous and desiccates your boner? I have that too.

[korinna5555]

I know, right?
Man, I wish I was gorgeous like Ophelia.

[Underwater Ophelia]

Originally Posted by korinna5555

I know, right?
Man, I wish I was gorgeous like Ophelia.

See, I get how this works. But...you actually are far less attractive than I am in MEASURABLE ways, so...I guess...I'm sorry.

I mostly feel bad for you, but hey! Proactiv is cheaper all the time.

[JCC.]

Originally Posted by honeythorn

Having it in a glass with ice may be popular but not everyone prefers it that way.

By the power of Grayskull, you are perfect.

[Tam Li Hua]

Zune no longer supports Tristania's main albums. The only album it supports of theirs is a little 4-song one.

I -hate- it when Zune decides to drop a less popular artist, because it's usually an artist I really enjoy.

[ape descendant]

You could always buy their CDs... rip them to your hard drive and put it on to your device from there...problem solved

[Ben Lahnger]

In the course of researching whether to fly or drive to my family reunion in North Carolina, I stumbled across the following website:

How to Live in Your Car

The article is full of remarkably helpful pointers, and the author tried to keep it up beat and promotes a "think positive" attitude, but it just depressed me a bit.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by ape descendant

You could always buy their CDs... rip them to your hard drive and put it on to your device from there...problem solved

Oh, BUYING CD's! You're so old school!

(So am I.)

Actually, scenarios like this one are why I always have a generic MP3 player and either buy CDs and rip from them (the used CD stores around here have some real bargains) or I buy songs/albums from Amazon because they come in the unlocked MP3 format.

[ape descendant]

I've always kinda liked buying CDs... I love getting to hold the artwork in my hot little hand... I love the rainbow reflections in the plastic... the smell of a new CD, the excitement of getting to hear songs I've not heard before... I love buying CDs.

[Deadmanwalking_05]

Well I just found out that my star pupil is over in Afghanistan kicking ass and taking names with the Airborne.

I heard he scored four shots and four hits at qualification with an M-14 out at the 1400 meter mark and center punched it.

I hope the kid makes it back okay.

[Tam Li Hua]

Originally Posted by ape descendant

You could always buy their CDs... rip them to your hard drive and put it on to your device from there...problem solved

We plan on doing just that, seeing as how we prefer that ourselves. Still aggravating, though. My husband and I have a LOT of music we like, and only so much space in our house; it's already covered head to toe with books, CDs, DVDs, Blu Rays, video games, consoles, TVs, computer equiptment, figurines, and a bunch of other stuff.

Ben: You can put regular MP3's on the Zune. We use the service because it allows us to listen to a -lot- more music for a -lot- less money, and we both get bored with music easily. But yes, we like CD's too, and have a lot of the ones we owned ripped to our Zunes.

Deadman: I hope so too, though more for his sake...mentally, emotionally, AND physically.

[Ben Lahnger]

Tam, oh I'm familiar with the Zune music service (similar to Rhapsody, which I used to do tech support for when I was working for Verizon.)

It's an answer for people who want a lot of variety but don't have a lot of space. I personally never liked the fact that for the cost of a CD each month you don't get to own anything. But, for some people, it's a viable answer. You just don't have any control over how long your music might be available.

[honeythorn]

KILL ME NOW. Please. The sisters are playing in Leamington Spa, less than an hour from me by train...AND THERE ARE NO FUCKING TICKETS LEFT :

I'm seriously annoyed and upset now.

[Admiral_Happypants]

Honeythorn- Shit that sucks. I feel your pain, only my problem is I live a couple hundred miles from any decent venue. You could always see if anyone is scalping tickets.