Pub etiquette- cost of poor manners

[Cubist]

Seems a badly run pub in that the manager was off floating about somewhere and not helping the bar staff with the waiting customers. If he can be called over to deal with a complaint he should already be there dealing with the problem it arose from.

Demarcation innit. It's what killed the shipyards.

 

[swee'pea99]

I remember when it was courtesy to wait your turn and polite to point out if someone wax before you if you were offered service

Attitudes like this muppet are another nail in the coffin of the pub as we know it

I'm not at all sure this has anything to do with 'then & now', or any kind of decline in standards. There are pubs that operate this way - awarding queue-jumping rights to regulars - and pubs that don't. And that's how it's always been, at least as long as I've been boozing. I don't personally mind pubs marginally favouring regulars, up to a point. I think if I were a regular I'd feel I earned at least a degree of favouritism - getting the preferential nod in a 50/50 situation, say. (Though this doesn't extend to the situation described in the OP - for me at least.)

At the end of the day a pub is a business, and it's a business decision, on both sides of the bar. You decide whether to grant queue-jumpers rights to regulars; I decide whether to stay or leave. No hard feelings: it's business.

 

[jefmcg]

I once went to the pub next to the office when it was very busy. My colleague went to get a round in, and was gone quite a while. She was very much a regular, and had tended bar, so when she got to the bar, she asked if they needed a hand, hopped behind the bar, served a few customers and the came back with our round - on the house. Perfect win-win situation.

 

[Globalti]

Surely in a good local, the speed and manner of service depends on whether the publican wants your repeat business? After all it's the publican who sets the tone of the place by encouraging or discouraging certain types.

In one of those pub etiquette guides I read a story about a French couple who sat at a pub table for 25 minutes waiting to be served then stormed out.... but in truth I don't think even the French are that obtuse.

 

[MontyVeda]

Some pubs are just clique... if they don't know your face they don't value your custom. It's no wonder so many are shutting down. Good riddance in some cases.

 

[MontyVeda]

Has anybody written a learned paper on the subject? It's a very complicated and delicate social interaction. Seconds before "Time", getting right it can be the difference between having a lifetime mate and getting a glass in the face.
Tricky.

That reminds me.... I'm in a very clique local... it's 10.55pm and 'Time' is approaching. There's no one at the bar, so i approach and try to buy a carry out. The barman glances around and claims he's really busy (I'm the only one at the bar, he doesn't look very busy) and asks me to come back in five minutes. I return in five minutes and he tells me that time is gone and he can't serve me. "You fecking arrishole!"

 

[Globalti]

Cliquey pubs are annoying but what's worse is the pubs where all the regulars are allowed to stand in a big knot around the bar, preventing outsiders from getting to the bar. There's one just north of Blackburn called the Bonny Inn where the place goes silent when you enter and then you can't get to the bar for the braying hooray Henrys crowding around.

 

[Hyslop]

Pet peeve of mine are people queue jumping at the bar.
When you walk up to a bar you can see who is already waiting, but if the staff are busy they may not see exactly who is next, so when they say " who's next?" it's poor form to say you when you know it isn't!
I pointed this out to a guy recently who attempted to ignore me, the barman however took my point and served me first. Bloke had a fit and left. Barman - who turned out to be the manager- said he didn't want people like that in his pub anyway and I got a pat on the back from the guy who was after me in the queue.

Meant to say,as were in Carlisle,surely your pet peeve is your favourite drink?

 

[Ian H]

My favourite pub, just up the hill from here, seats six elbow to elbow, and everyone can reach the bar without getting up. The nominal price of a pint is £2.25, but a round never costs the same amount twice. There's a signed photo of Tina Turner on the wall. There are never arguments about who should be served first.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I can see where the bartender was coming from. The bloke who stomped out with his massive order sounds like a bit of an arse.

Err, no, just someone standing up for decent manners. If you think he was an arse, then, what can I say??

@Fnaar said : In Newcastle, I find that most customers are more schooled in it than the staff, and respect each others' bar-boundaries.

My local Wetherspoons is usually quite civilised (a Wetherspoons, yes!), as are most places I go to, although I was in another pub I sometimes frequent the other day there and as I was waiting, a guy walked in and got served before me. Seeing as he knew everyone else all sitting at the bar, I wasn't sure if he had ordered before going out and doing something else or what or if he had told his mates what to get.... Or something similar. That's what you never know.

That said, after reading this thread, I wont be back in a hurry (not exactly difficult, the place is a dump anyway).

 

[marknotgeorge]

A couple of weeks ago I was at the bar, first to be served with one slightly shy looking bloke next to me. This lad comes to the bar, tenner in hand, spreads his elbows and leans forward. The barmaid comes from the other room where she had been serving, smiled and scanned us. Youth raised his money holding fist and opened his mouth. I piped up, 'this guy's before me' and gestured to the timid fellow. I would have had no problem in making sure I got served first, but I wasn't going to let the lad push the other bloke out, so I gave up my turn to ensure that he had to wait.

I am so British.

Fans of Dave Gorman may be aware of bar etiquette and the art of barlowing.

That would probably be someone like me. I have the uncanny ability to turn any form of outerwear into the perfect Cloak of Invisibility when entering a pub.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I'm glad the bloke in OPs story walked out. It makes no sense to shun anyone just to satisfy a regular, given that said regular will be back soon anyway

 

[RedRider]

Err, no, just someone standing up for decent manners. If you think he was an arse, then, what can I say?

Neither you nor i were there so can't say for sure as relying on the op's judgement of a social situation. On the face of it however, I believe the person threatening to leave with a fistful of cash is more likely to be an arse than the bartender for slipping a pint to the regular. I certainly wouldn't be offended if that happened to me.
In the supermarket I'd also let the person with one item in their basket ahead if I had a trolley load.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Neither you nor i were there so can't say for sure as relying on the op's judgement of a social situation. On the face of it however, I believe the person threatening to leave with a fistful of cash is more likely to be an arse

True, but you are now making assumptions too.
He's got money (possibly from everyone waiting at the table), so what? He was there first, and maybe he's just sick of crap pubs - I know I've walked out of some before. As someone else said, if the other guy is a local then he'll be there anyway, so what's the rush?

than the bartender for slipping a pint to the regular.

Slipping one if and when they can is ok, but not doing it so blatantly that the other person being served notices.

I certainly wouldn't be offended if that happened to me. ]In the supermarket I'd also let the person with one item in their basket ahead if I had a trolley load.

True, but it depends on the circumstances, and as you say, we weren't there.
I am just irked at the fact that he is an 'arse' just because he has money in his hand (Sure sign of an arse that you know!! ) when he probably just had the money from others at the table.

 

[RedRider]

True, but you are now making assumptions too.
He's got money (possibly from everyone waiting at the table), so what? He was there first, and maybe he's just sick of crap pubs - I know I've walked out of some before. As someone else said, if the other guy is a local then he'll be there anyway, so what's the rush?


Slipping one if and when they can is ok, but not doing it so blatantly that the other person being served notices.



True, but it depends on the circumstances, and as you say, we weren't there.
I am just irked at the fact that he is an 'arse' just because he has money in his hand (Sure sign of an arse that you know!! ) when I said that he probably just had the money from others at the table.

yes, I am making an assumption that the bartender was best placed to make the judgement call based on the no doubt complex situation. Perhaps she made an error of judgement under pressure but nevertheless and on the face of it the person who marched his entire coterie out the pub sounds embarrassing.