Being a bartender is probably the best job anyone can have in college. Not only are you being paid to go out and show face, you get to hangout with your friends at your bar and never have to experience (usually) FOMO. But sometimes you completely regret having to deal with half of the things that go down at night. Don’t get me wrong, it can be quite entertaining to watch, but you start to ask yourself, “why?”
Having worked at The Strip Entertainment Group for more than three years, I’ve seen some things that I wish I could un-see and have dealt with more than my fair share of BS. Luckily for you, I’ve compiled a list of the 10 worst things you can do while out so you can hopefully avoid doing them.
1. Make out at the bar
I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we probably all have done it. You might think it’s cute at the moment, but in reality no one wants to see you sucking face with a complete stranger, especially when I’m trying to get you to pay for your drinks. Take it somewhere else and stop wasting space at the bar.
2. Throw up on the bar
I kid you not, I have seen someone throw up on the bar and someone else come up, and casually chill on top of it without knowing. It’s disgusting and makes me want to throw up myself. If you can’t handle your liquor, do us all a favor and just leave. No one wants to deal with you or your leftovers.
3. Not tip
This one really gets me heated. If you can afford to pay cover and buy a drink, you can afford to leave a tip. I don’t stand behind a bar for five hours to make you and your friends a million drinks for nothing. Even if you’re friends with the bartender, leave a tip. It’s rude and eventually we start to ignore you when you come up to the bar.
4. Complain about drink prices
I understand that we’re all broke college students, but stop whining about the drink prices. Being in a college town, we are blessed with only having to pay one to five dollars for drinks at most bars/clubs. Go to New York or Miami and you’ll be paying double, sometimes triple, the amount for a single vodka water.
5. Try (and fail) to buy a drink with an under-band
As bartenders, we’re programmed to check wristbands. When your boss posts on Facebook seven times a night to check bands, we check bands. However, there’s always that one sly guy who thinks he can get away with putting their under-band on their other wrist—nice try. Don’t do it, it’s a waste of time and I’m not trying to get arrested so you can look cool in front of your underage friends.
6. Yell to get my attention
I get it, you’ve been waiting a while and you’re annoyed, but you need to relax. There’s not much we can do when we’re making drinks for someone else and have to ring them in. Yelling or laying on the bar will not get my attention and will piss me off, and then I’ll ignore you. Have your money out, wait, and we’ll get to you when we have a chance. I can’t tell you how annoying this is, especially when it’s AYCD.
7. Start a fight
Fighting at a bar will only ever lead to you being kicked out and possibly getting a trespassing charge, or worse. It’s not worth it, just walk away.
8. Steal a bottle
This happens more often then it should, and most times people end up grabbing a bottle of Blue Curaçao. Good luck getting drunk on that. If you get caught, you’ll get charged with stealing, congrats.
9. Cry
Mixing alcohol with emotions always leads to someone crying at the bar. You’re only embarrassing yourself and ruining your friends’ night. Just go home and watch some Netflix, don’t bring your problems to my bar.
10. Screw around in the bathroom
I don’t even have to go into detail about how disgusting this is. There is a time and place for everything and it is not in the bathroom stall of a bar.
There could be worse out there, but from my perspective, these are all pretty bad. If you can avoid doing any of these things at a college bar (or any bar), you could save us all the trouble and memories. Going out in college is supposed to be fun, don’t be the person who ruins everyone’s night. And always remember to tip your bartender.