Showing posts with label back scratching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back scratching. Show all posts

Monday, June 23, 2008

Industry Standards...

First off, there is no such thing as an overall industry standard when it comes to the operations of a bar or club. There is no such thing as the elusive "Industry Courtesy".

With that out of the way, let me explain something that shouldn't be needed to be said.

You work at a bar or club and you decide to go out. You walk up past the line of people waiting and ask the doorman if the club does "Industry Courtesy". If you have to ask, the answer is more than likely, No. Obviously you don't know the doorstaff and they don't know you.

You order drinks from a waitress or bartender. After hearing how much your drinks are you ask if there is an "Industry Courtesy" price because you work in the industry. No, there isn't and if you don't tip your a tight ass broke piece of crap. Maybe you should work in a different industry.

There are so many people that work in this industry that think they should get preferential treatment. They get the job just so they can say they work somewhere and feel important. It's actually pretty dismal when people brag about where they work and then don't tip or treat the people working like crap because they've never heard of you or the place you work at. Get over it. Your a nobody just like everyone else, even me.

On the rare occasion that I do go out, I don't ask for anything. I figure there's no reason to. If someone recognizes me and decides to hook me up then I'll take care of them. Taking care of them entails tipping them and treating them like a normal person.

So here comes the fun part. I work industry so I know people survive on tips. If they discount my drink then it doesn't mean I tip less.

Let's say I order a $7 drink. I should normally tip about $2 on a $7 drink. The bartender recognizes me and gives me the drink for $3. Well, I'm already expecting to pay $7 so they just made a $4 tip. Seem outlandish? The outlandish thing to me is how some people think they deserve that $4 price cut without having to tip anything. Hey asshole, remember that when the bartender comes to your bar and he doesn't tip you well either.

You give and it returns. When you tip accordingly, whether you get hooked up or not, it will come back to you. Some day that bartender might show up at your bar. You hook them up and they'll hook you up. Maybe you need that extra cash that night, maybe you don't. Just remember them.

Getting to know other establishments is always a good thing. Depending on what position you hold will depend on the amount of good things. When your the doorman you get recognized almost immediately when you go to places. Especially if the employees from that place come to yours. Get in good with the doorstaff and things happen much faster. Sometimes the doorstaff will ask the bartenders to comp out a few drinks and that opens the lines of communication for the bartender.

Basically, when you ask for an "Industry Courtesy" your admitting to being a douche. You probably just got your job or your oblivious to how annoying that question is. Just because you work in the industry doesn't mean your any more special then the guy who works in a bicycle shop. Use a little tact, act human and talk to people. In most cases it works out better for everyone.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Busy, Busy...

Now that the heat is starting to turn up more and summer is in effect we've been getting busier. Thursdays have became the new Friday and Friday and Saturday are still just as busy as always. Plus, with all the little festivals going on in the neighborhood it gets people out of their house earlier and they want to stay out later. Which means even more people trying to get into the establishment.

What's this mean for me?

It means that I deal with more people that just don't seem to have a clue. It means more people waiting in line to get in and even more people arguing with me as to why they aren't coming in. The wait time is longer because less people are leaving. Even more people are trying to play the "I work at this place or that place" game and more regulars to deal with.

The entire neighborhood has changed a lot. There's more of the baby stroller yuppie types in the neighborhood now and a lot more suburban people coming through which means less stories about people trying to tip me to get in. Now it's usually "Stop by my job and I'll hook you up with free entries with your dinner," or "I'll hook you up with free tickets to a show." The sad part is that I already have these hook ups through these peoples bosses. So now your offers are null and void.

I wish I could revisit posts of people hooking me up like Mr Strong Handshake did back in the day. If I had more days like that I wouldn't be so stressed about everyone being clueless about how things work. I guess I've been in the industry too long to realize that not everyone thinks of these things as common sense practices.

The major festivals bring about bands and promoters and I'm always trying to hook them up. I don't ask for anything from them but if I have heard of them I will do what I can. If I don't know you then I hope that you show up with someone I know from the club you played at. Then I can make them look like rock stars. Occasionally I'll get tickets to a fairly big show in the area for helping them out.

When I get the tickets it's a toss up as to what I actually use them for. Sometimes I'll give them to some unknowing customers that were really cool or I'll give them to a co-worker, very rarely I'll sell them. If I do it's money in my pocket and everyones happy, especially me. I've even used them as trade before to get things that I really wanted for myself. Flat panel TVs and other items are pretty expensive these days.

So every hook up is used for a hook up. That's how it's done. A person doesn't go out of their way for you just because they think your nice if they don't know you. They do it so they can get something out of it for themselves. Yes, that even goes for that nice guy that held the door open for the girl. Everyone wants something.

I know.. I'm being cynical again. Or am I?

Monday, May 07, 2007

Hook ups...

When you work in the bar industry there's always certain people you take care of. Certain bars hook up certain bars and it works the same with venues and resteraunts. Everyone scratches everyones backs and that's how you get hook ups at other places. I've addressed this before but you can read the other post just to get caught up.

Here's the other post: CLICK HERE

It's basically an unspoken type of thing. You offer up something and you hope that when you visit that person they'll offer something up to you. That's how it works. You don't barter for certain things that just makes you seem needy.

So when I see Stewie over in the corner talking to Laura about a show coming up I opened up my ear.

Stewie - "Yea, you should really come to the show. If you stop by I'll be working the door and I'll let ya in."

Laura - "Really? That'd be pretty cool of ya."

Stewie - "Yea, I know. Then when I'm hungry I'll come over and you just give me what I want for free."

At that point Laura's face kind of went south. Not only did Stewie offer to let her in for free he pretty much demanded something in return. You don't offer things up and then ask for something. That's like giving someone a pencil that you could get from anyone and then asking for $5 for the pencil. Why pay for something that is being given to you?

Stewie should have just offered it up as a nice guy and then waited to see if Laura hooked him up the next time he went there for food. If she does then cool. If she doesn't then she doesn't get the hook up again.

Stewie's kind of new though, he'll learn in time.