Bartenders work during the holidays and therefore become a part of their customers’ holiday experiences be they amazing or terrible. Although customers can be annoying at any time of the year, there’s a special vibe during the holidays that makes their behaviors much harder to cope with in a friendly manner. Here are some surefire ways to piss off a bartender during the holidays.
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How to Piss Off a Bartender During the Holidays
1. Complain about your hangover.
You’d think New Year’s Eve would be the least desirable bar shift, but it’s actually New Year’s Day. Working on New Year’s Eve is usually fun, great money, and gives you an excuse to avoid overpriced New Year’s Eve parties. Working on New Year’s Day, however, is the worst. Nearly every guest is cranky and hungover, and they feel the need to announce their hangover as if it were a secret shared among friends. Guess what? We’re hungover too, but we’re working on New Year’s because we’re professionals. Drink your Bloody Mary and leave us be.
2. Ask us overly personal questions.
Holidays bring out the chatty Cathies. We know people just want to connect, especially this time of year, but remember we are at work. If a bartender offers up personal information during a conversation, cool, but we’re not on a first date. Just because it’s the holidays, we don’t necessarily want to discuss our hometowns or our relationships with our parents.
3. Get too lit.
We’re all for letting loose from time to time, but something about the holiday season makes people go too hard too fast. If you aren’t much of a drinker, remember to pace yourself. We see too many bar guests get caught up in the holiday spirit and be wasted by their second cocktail. We’re looking out for you. No one wants to be the talk of the office holiday party.
4. Linger.
Even though most bars and restaurants are open for the holidays, we often change our hours of service to accommodate the staff celebrating with their families. If it’s Christmas Eve and we close at 10:00 PM, please respect that by leaving at last call. We don’t want to be rude on the holidays, but we will kick you out into the snow if we have to.
6. Request holiday music.
How many times does a person need to hear “Jingle Bells” to feel life is complete? Perhaps try enjoying a few hours without holiday songs cycling through your brain. However, there is one exception that you can always request: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” We’re not monsters.
7. Order round after round of seasonally-themed drinks.
If we have to make one more hot toddy, we may explode.
8. Be a bad tipper.
Come on, even your mail carrier gets a fruitcake. 