

> I think it's bad form for a bartender to smoke while working, even if
> everyone else in the bar is. For one, it's distracting, not to
> mention a health code violation in most places.
Even in the ancient days when I tended bar, most better places did not want
tenders smoking behind the bar. :) At that time there were no laws or codes
prohibiting it, but it wasn't considered proper.
That said, tenders in lesser bars did smoke behind the bar as part of their
socialization ritual with the patrons. In these types of places, they were
also expected to drink as well, and often their tips came in the form of a
customer buying them a drink. Most of the tender's had a dummy bottle for
themselves and, with the permission of management, ended up reclaiming the
tips from the drawer at the end of the night.
What we smoking tenders and servers did was to take a break when we could to
smoke in the back room if we weren't slammed. Other tenders would cover just
as they were covered for. When I was tending, I don't think I ever knew a
tender who didn't smoke.
This is one area where things have really changed over the years. I can
remember being more worried about my doctor burning me with his cigarette than
I was about whatever else he was doing to me. I also remember our male school
teachers smoking in the class rooms (female teachers smoked in the teacher's
lounge) and our football coach smoking both on the field and in the locker
room. The point to all this history is to provide a backdrop for bartenders
not smoking behind the bar, so as to provide some perspective. People in
uniform were not suppose to smoke while performing tasks. As to health issues
or clean hands - hell the chefs were smoking while they were preparing food.
And your parents thought that was pepper on their eggs from the kitchen.
Just a dated observation.
Chance
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