Occupational Hazards

In my short experience as a bartender I've learned just how glorified the position really is.  It's considered an easy job with a rather high rate of pay, dependent, of course, on such things as the venue at which you work. 

 

And I must admit that while remembering drink recipes is pretty simple, and ringing in drinks and taking cash is pretty easy, there are parts to being a bartender that really kinda suck.

 

Most prominent on the list of occupational hazards is the number of cuts, scrapes, slices, slivers and bruises caused by broken glasses, shattered bottles, and occasionally very physical interaction with overly drunken guests.  I swear my hands look different after every shift I work.  Boy, that shit is annoying. 

 

But the greatest hazard of all, at least in Texas, is the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) - the great enforcers of liquor law in our state.  There are severe penalties for serving minors, a pretty easy thing to avoid with proper identification techniques - but then there are the minor issues that cost major money, such as having less than an ounce of liquor in a bottle at any given time, or having a tax stamp missing or damaged on the outside of one.

 

And then there's the major issue that's often difficult to avoid - overserving guests.

 

This one scares me the most because of the very aggressive drinking habits of many of our guests, who hop from bar to bar drinking and drinking and drinking and drinking - yet somehow maintaining their composure...  until that ONE drink hits them and they get stupid.  What's most difficult about it is that when someone comes in drunk from their trips across town and you can't tell and serve them a SINGLE drink, you are STILL completely liable for overserving the patron.

 

Seems a bit unfair if you ask me. 

 

Anyway, I don't remember what I was getting at with this post - perhaps that bartending ain't as easy as it seems?  Yes, we'll stick with that.

 

The moral of the story, folks, is that bartending isn't as easy as it seems.  And also - bring the troops home!  That's what this post is all about.