Message 17886 of 39188 in General Discussion

Share on Facebook |  Save to del.icio.us

> > I blame James Bond. I stand by my point though: if you want something 
> > 
> > specific then ask for it. If I want an Old Fashioned then that is 
> > what I will ask for. 
> > If I want a treacle then I won't ask for an Old Fashioned and then 
> > 
> > chastise the barman  for not making it with rum and apple juice. If I 
> > 
> > want a vodka martini then I will ask for one.
> > 
> > Yes yes yes, perhaps many people do ask for a martini and expect a 
> > 
> > shaken vodkatini with  a twist. Does that make it right?
> 
> 
> Better to be right than to serve the customer what they want?  
> Doesn't seem like a good philosophy in an industry based upon tips.  
> Beans correctly points out that a lot of people ordering have very 
> limited knowledge of cocktails and terminology.  Sure, as a bartender 
> you may know what's what but I doubt all of your customers do.  


Perhaps if they don't know how to order their drink then they'll not really 
care how it's served :-P
Remember my post was in reply to a comment about how annoying it is when 
people ask for a Martini and then get irate that they've not got what they 
thought they'd ordered. I think it's fair enough to be annoyed by that. If 
they care enough to get annoyed at the barman then they should care enough to 
order it properly. I'm not saying you should throw the person out of your bar, 
or even get visibly irate with them. Smile sweetly, remake the drink and call 
them rude names under your breath to keep your sanity.

I suppose people who order martinis can be divided into people who know what 
they are ordering and those that don't. Those that don't are either 1). 
ordering the drink because they've heard the name or seen a picture and think 
they'll look cool holding one (in which case if it's served with a twist they 
might be dissapointed since the commonly repeated media image is with an 
olive) or 2). ordering it because they had it elswhere and liked it. 
Chances are group 1 won't care too much if it is gin or vodka, but are 
probably expecting vodka. Never having tried one before they don't know what 
to expect, and so will either like it or not. 2 might expect anything and then 
be very surprised to get what they percieve as the wrong drink. They probably 
think the way their local bartender makes it is the only, or the generally 
accepted way. 

The facist in me thinks a world where everyone ordering a martini gets a gin 
martini without any questions being asked would be a good place. I mean, 
people would start to specify pretty damn quick wouldn't they! But yes, really 
it's the barmans job to find out what the customer wants and give it to them. 
I'm just standing up for the guy who does it right and then gets bitched at.

I won't even go in to people who care enough about what they want to get 
pissed at you, but don't care enough to order it right the first time.