A No for Annoyance
A bartender has to deal with many situations in a day. A busy day, a gloomy day, a low-on-the-stock day, and an irritating guest day. But as they say it – ‘All in a day’s work’ the show must go on with less stress over hurdles and more insight into the tactics to overcome any kind of situation. Handling difficult patrons is one of the foremost things to be addressed to any new bartender who is ready to take baby steps in the field of bartending. Understanding consumer behaviour and doing a behavioural analysis of a patron as an exercise during the learning curve of the bar staff is one of the fundamentals which is observed at any training.
10 customer service tips for bar staff
Dealing with customers and handling different types of customers in a satisfactory way without damaging the decorum of the place and also making sure that existing customers are happy and the new customers become regular patrons is like a challenge which is definitely a huge hurdle to cross. The lessons on ‘How to deal with difficult customers' and the queries about ‘how to deal with angry customers ‘ are always the most prevailing doubts of bar staff while they undergo rigorous training to be the best in their field.
Top 10 tips for safe drinking
Always expecting a shiny day with no clouds is next to impossible in the hospitality industry as the world is filled with many choices and also millions of people who possess millions of choices attached to them. It is in the hands of an able and smart bartender to understand and accept their mentality and serve them with the kind of service they expected without any complications. Yet there are few customers who make the bar staff’s life miserable with their unique abilities to irritate and annoy not just the staff but also the fellow customers who come to the joint to have a good time but end up having a wretched experience due to some ‘kill-joy’ specimens who leave very fewer expectations from the humanity.
Social Drinkers vs Problem Drinkers
Here is a list of 7 types of such annoying bar customers who are nothing less than just a new annoying synonym of nuisance:
1. The high on Happiness type:
The “Laughing Buddha’ is immensely loud and laughs his/her worries out by encouraging others to dance, sing and laugh loudly. Cheering up the crowd is good, but forcing them to be extra exciting can get on somebody’s nerves. Giving some personal space and providing the opportunity to choose to be a part of somebody else’s celebration must definitely be the criteria to be explained to such people.
2. Friend, friends, and more friends type:
An annoying habit of some customers who have the world as their friends is that they randomly pull someone or anyone to ask the bartender to provide them with the drink they like. This might be like the invasion of somebody’s privacy by just barging into their private space and dragging them to spend time with them without their consent. Such people must be addressed with suitable conditions and words at the earliest else they will get friendlier and fiercer with 100s more of them.
3. The angry bird type:
These are the common types that are found in almost all bars across the world where the person is always up his toes to be rude and angry. “Why is the table not clean?” “Why is the light so dim?” Why are no two menu cards on the table?” “Why is the bartender so dull?”... The list is endless. They are the difficult ones to handle as it is like managing the tantrum of a small baby where the adult has no clue why the baby is actually crying. Such a tricky situation has been addressed well in a finely structured RSA course like that one by Galaxy Training Australia.
4. The madly-in-love couple type:
The couple who are glued to each other and exchanging love and lovely gestures at times make other customers and the bartender uncomfortable. Being in love is the best feeling but the PDAs the others have to encounter, are sometimes not necessary. Always being involved with each other without ordering their drinks can annoy any bartender.
5. The ‘What is there to have?’ type:
Menu – right there, the board which mentions the specials being served – right there but yet few customers go on asking the bartenders as to what they serve. Enquiring about the suggestions is on the one side but repeatedly asking ‘what is there in your bar?’ and ‘what is there which may impress me?’ are too annoying, especially on a busy day. Trying to be considered by going through the menu and then ordering what you desire can be the least a patron can do.
6. The ‘I know everything’ type:
Having a love for alcohol is great, but showing it off all the time can be annoying. There are a set of customers who time and again keep suggesting to the bartenders how can they improvise by using some methods and ingredients. They claim it as their secret and reveal it a million times in front of everyone. This smarty attitude must be curbed to preserve their impression as the best patron of any bar where the bar staff would be more than happy to serve them each time they visit their joint.
7. The pessimist type:
You might sometimes come across some customers who no matter what will never enjoy anything even though it would be the most priceless thing in the world. The negative nerds see mistakes and dissatisfaction in every element they see. Though polite or rude, they express discontent with whatever they acquire.