Pet Hates!

[Stroopy121]

I'm a bit late but, It's a bit dickish to ask for a taste of an ale/beer. However, any barman worth their salt should offer before the customer needs to.

To me it's on a par with tasting a wine to see if it's corked before you're served it.

If I'm in a bar where the barman can offer me a decent description of the ales then I'll go by his word and order a pint of what he (or she, sorry ladies) recommends. If, however they barperson is an ignorant fuckwit who doesn't know an IPA from a stout, then I'll give it a taste and see what tickles my fancy.

You'd be stunned how often I've asked for 'whichever of the guest ales is the darkest' and been given a blank stare in return like a dog that's just been shown a card trick...

xx

[Lemonade]

I'm a bit late but, It's a bit dickish to ask for a taste of an ale/beer. However, any barman worth their salt should offer before the customer needs to.

What utter balls. The barman is there to give you drinks and take your money, he's not like the free sample people that stand around Asda giving you cocktails sausages and bits of Tracker bar.

[Stroopy121]

What utter balls. The barman is there to give you drinks and take your money, he's not like the free sample people that stand around Asda giving you cocktails sausages and bits of Tracker bar.

No, they're there to provide a service. It's the same idea as a waiter in a restaurant should ask you if you're ready to order, would you like more drinks? etc... rather than them waiting for you to ask for them. It's more of a grey area though. And it hugely depends on how busy the bar is etc, if the place is hoaching with one or two staff on then obviously priority #1 is get all the drinks out and it takes a total wanker to fuck around with stupid drinks orders at that point, IMHO.

xx

[Bigsby]

To me it's on a par with tasting a wine to see if it's corked before you're served it.

Completely different. The wine waiter is not giving you a taste to see if you like it or not. It's to see if the cork has reacted with the wine to turn it into vinegar.

If you were to say "Well, it's not corked but I don't actually like it, take it away" they would tell you to fuck off, and rightly so, unless you were in a Gordon Ramsay restaurant where according to his show the customer is always right even if they are complete bellend secret diners with unreasonable requests.

Now if you had a pint that was off then of course you should get another, but you don't need a fucking sample to ascertain that.

[Chris]

What utter balls. The barman is there to give you drinks and take your money, he's not like the free sample people that stand around Asda giving you cocktails sausages and bits of Tracker bar.

Bollocks, good barstaff should be able to recommend drinks to the customers and at least know what the drinks are that they're serving.

[Captain America]

Completely different. The wine waiter is not giving you a taste to see if you like it or not. It's to see if the cork has reacted with the wine to turn it into vinegar.

If you were to say "Well, it's not corked but I don't actually like it, take it away" they would tell you to fuck off, and rightly so, unless you were in a Gordon Ramsay restaurant where according to his show the customer is always right even if they are complete bellend secret diners with unreasonable requests.

Now if you had a pint that was off then of course you should get another, but you don't need a fucking sample to ascertain that.

You can say no to the wine if you dont like it. Most resteraunts just chuck it into their bar in the "house wines" section.

The only reason most pubs dont give samples is because all they serve is lager piss that tastes the same everywhere in town. Any pub serving real ale that might change on a regular basis would and should be happy to give you a taste.

[ca_gere]

Bollocks, good barstaff should be able to recommend drinks to the customers and at least know what the drinks are that they're serving.

Correct. The bar trade is a shambles in Britain. We have all these amazing whiskies, ales, beers etc yet 9 out of 10 barstaff are clueless and can't offer any advice. Bar tending is a skill that should be reserved for the passionate few who take pride in what they do. I hate the thought of pubs and bars being a place to just get hammered on whatever's cheapest.

[ca_gere]

What utter balls. The barman is there to give you drinks and take your money, he's not like the free sample people that stand around Asda giving you cocktails sausages and bits of Tracker bar.

No but if he has a customer that genuinely doesn't know what to get and he offers him a little taste he's a) done his job better and b) should get tipped more. As I say, bar tending in britain is sadly an under-respected trade. We're so quick to complain when someone's slow and shit but reluctant to tip/praise anyone who does the job well.

For the record, I'm not a barman.

[Lemonade]

Bollocks, good barstaff should be able to recommend drinks to the customers and at least know what the drinks are that they're serving.

Aye, true, but "any barman worth their salt should offer before the customer needs to"? No way. Like someone said before, if you want to try a new beer, ask the barman what it's like and buy a pint of it. Real ale types really seem to expect an awful lot from their barman, who nine times out of ten is getting paid minimum wage and couldn't give a fuck if they like the beer or not. And what's more they normally stand in front of the bar wearing woolly jumpers and getting in everyone's way.

I've worked in loads of bars and the only people I ever gave free tastes of anything were lassies with big bangers.

[Stroopy121]

Completely different.... corking etc

Agreed, 100%, wine being corked is a whole different ball game from not liking the wine because of the taste - but as discussed below:

You can say no to the wine if you dont like it. Most resteraunts just chuck it into their bar in the "house wines" section.

if you ask for a bottle of the house wine for example and refuse itas you don't like it, if the restaurant sell that wine by the glass they will probably sell it on that way, however if yuo ask for a top end bottle, they will still bill you for it.

BUT the key difference here is that to let you taste a wine they need to open the bottle and cannot resell it. That's not he case with ale obviously and there is therefore nothing stopping a customer requesting a sample to judge it by taste.

Bollocks, good barstaff should be able to recommend drinks to the customers and at least know what the drinks are that they're serving.

QFT, couldn't agree more.

Correct. The bar trade is a shambles in Britain. We have all these amazing whiskies, ales, beers etc yet 9 out of 10 barstaff are clueless and can't offer any advice. Bar tending is a skill that should be reserved for the passionate few who take pride in what they do. I hate the thought of pubs and bars being a place to just get hammered on whatever's cheapest.

Once again, couldn't agree more. I have all the respect in the world for a good, knowledgable barman and I tip pretty generously when I'm served by one. Fact is though I usually get served by a student who's working part time to pay their way through uni.

I can't say I think bar work should be specifically reserved for 'good bar workers' as I don't think there are nearly enough people who would be passionate enough to do so. Then again, if bar work was treated as a skilled trade (as waiting is in France for example) then the wages would be better and the booze snobs like myself would be more willing to work behind a bar for a living - the only reason I stopped was because of the money.

I respect students who work their way through uni, but if that's the case and you don't have a particularly extensive knowledge of the products at hand then you should be willing to allow customers a taste instead.

xx

[ca_gere]

Aye, true, but "any barman worth their salt should offer before the customer needs to"? No way. Like someone said before, if you want to try a new beer, ask the barman what it's like and buy a pint of it. Real ale types really seem to expect an awful lot from their barman, who nine times out of ten is getting paid minimum wage and couldn't give a fuck if they like the beer or not. And what's more they normally stand in front of the bar wearing woolly jumpers and getting in everyone's way.

I've worked in loads of bars and the only people I ever gave free tastes of anything were lassies with big bangers.

I'm not saying offer any cunt a free taste but if someone's clearly umming and aaing over what to get, asking questions etc, I think it's good form to suggest they try one you've recommended, i.e. before they reach the point where they have to ask.

If real ale types tipped more they'd soon get the service they're after. It's amazing what an extra quid or two can do to a spotty student.

[ca_gere]

Once again, couldn't agree more. I have all the respect in the world for a good, knowledgable barman and I tip pretty generously when I'm served by one. Fact is though I usually get served by a student who's working part time to pay their way through uni.

I can't say I think bar work should be specifically reserved for 'good bar workers' as I don't think there are nearly enough people who would be passionate enough to do so. Then again, if bar work was treated as a skilled trade (as waiting is in France for example) then the wages would be better and the booze snobs like myself would be more willing to work behind a bar for a living - the only reason I stopped was because of the money.

I respect students who work their way through uni, but if that's the case and you don't have a particularly extensive knowledge of the products at hand then you should be willing to allow customers a taste instead.

xx

You're probably right about there not being enough people passionate about the drinks industry to create a bartending culture like there is in most parts of Europe and the States. This is most likely down to the wages i'm sure. Bar folk here in new york generally work just for tips and this makes for some of the best service I've ever experienced. Ok, American tipping culture is another level compared to Britain and this could never happen at home but there's definitely a widespread appreciation for a good bartender that we don't have in Britain despite the fact we have an amazing selection of drinks people go nuts for elsewhere in the world.

[Lemonade]

People who slurp their tea. Just wait for it to cool down a bit you fucking animal.

[Jaaakkkeee]

It seems bartending is now something that doesn't require skill, but a student card.

As people have said: bartending should be a skill. You should know the drinks your serving. If not, get to know them. I think we've got too many 'franchise pubs'. As much as I'll go to one for a pub lunch or so, the level of actual tending bar is not great. It's just someone that can count and pull a pint. And I'm glad we've got places like BrewDog where the people have a passion for what they do. And because they make their own beer, you can have tasters. They use stoppers on 330ml bottles don't they? and obviously just give you a little out the tap for other stuff. That's a great approach.

[Bigsby]

if you ask for a bottle of the house wine for example and refuse itas you don't like it, if the restaurant sell that wine by the glass they will probably sell it on that way, however if yuo ask for a top end bottle, they will still bill you for it.

Correct. You can't just say no because you don't like it. You're not tasting it to see if you like it, you're tasting it to see if it's corked. Anyone sending back wine because they don't like it should be billed anyway.

One thing I learned from serving very rich folk in what was at the time the poshest restaurant in Aberdeen is not to bother tasting the wine when the waiter comes with it. Proper wine drinkers don't bother. They know that if it IS corked then the restaurant will come and exchange it with no fuss regardless of whether two glasses have been poured out of it, 'cause it's going down the sink anyway.

Winewaiters know that anyone who bothers to taste the wine has no fucking clue about any of this stuff.

I see your point about being able to give a sample without discarding a whole bottle a la wine, but I still think it's bollocks as the same principle could apply to other beers/spirits/food etc, but real ale drinkers think they are special and expect special treatment.

[ca_gere]

Correct. You can't just say no because you don't like it. You're not tasting it to see if you like it, you're tasting it to see if it's corked. Anyone sending back wine because they don't like it should be billed anyway.

One thing I learned from serving very rich folk in what was at the time the poshest restaurant in Aberdeen is not to bother tasting the wine when the waiter comes with it. Proper wine drinkers don't bother. They know that if it IS corked then the restaurant will come and exchange it with no fuss regardless of whether two glasses have been poured out of it, 'cause it's going down the sink anyway.

Winewaiters know that anyone who bothers to taste the wine has no fucking clue about any of this stuff.

I see your point about being able to give a sample without discarding a whole bottle a la wine, but I still think it's bollocks as the same principle could apply to other beers/spirits/food etc, but real ale drinkers think they are special and expect special treatment.

Yeah but tasting it gives you the chance to make that classic gag: *sip*...*ponder*..."Yep, it's definitely wine".

[Chris]

To be honest, I've never actually HAD to ask for a taster. Usually if you ask the bartender what a certain beer is like (is it an IPA or a stout for example) they just offer a taste. It's such a common practice in pubs that have ale taps that it's got nothing to do with feeling special.

Agree about the wine thing though. No point in tasting it, especially now that the snobbery over screw tops is disappearing. That's why they have tasting notes in the wine list and if you're not sure ask the waiter what they recommend.

[Lemonade]

I genuinely wouldn't be able to taste if the wine was corked or not anyway. I drink like 2 glasses of wine a year so I don't know the difference. I just go "yep that's fine" regardless if what it tastes like.

[framheim]

my favourite thing was a waiter asking if i wanted to taste the wine and it was a screw top. clearly people are idiots.

[Guest Bob Knob]

The main point I was trying to make was that people who work in the oil industry are cunts. How do I know they are in oil? because they fucking tell you.

Tar, brush etc...

Big dogs cock.

[Guest Bob Knob]

People who slurp their tea. Just wait for it to cool down a bit you fucking animal.

This. People with bingo wings are the worst.

[Gypsum_Fantastic]

Yeah, what a fucking hardship for the poor ol' barkeep having to pour an extra splash of ale into a glass rather than having a customer waste his 3 because the pub has god rid of the selection of ales it had on the previous week and has brought in a whole new bunch.

It doesn't extend to spirits because they are limited in number and the ones each pub offers seldom change. As with lagers. It doesn't extend to food because if a pub changes an item on a menu to offer steak instead of mac 'n cheese, only an utter fuckwit wouldn't know what to expect.

Let's say there are 6 guest ales on offer, I think 5 of which are shit, would you expect me to be willing to (in the worst case) buy / drink 5 pints of shit ale (or 2 1/2 pints if I buy halves to taste) before finding something I like, only to take the fucking thing away the following week?

Fuck right off.

xx

You must spread, totally agree, i get offered tasters in my locals and if they didnt i would ask and not feel any shame in the slightest.

[Guest Bob Knob]

People taking ages to get off the bus. Its not a chellange guys, just fuck off.

Even more annoying when they stop and chat to the driver on the way off! "Aright Doogie, how's yer loons min?"

GET. OFF.

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

People taking ages to get off the bus. Its not a chellange guys, just fuck off.

Were you on a "special" bus by any chance John?

[framheim]

Steam. it's a system seemingly designed to entirely enfuriate and frustrate you when you just want to play a game. all bloody evening i've been trying to play football manager but steam keeps saying it's updating, can't connect, or that another version is already running(fuck knows where though, it doesn't appear anywhere!). why should it be so hard? I have the game, the disc is in the machine! whatever happened to popping a disc in and playing the game?

fucking steam.