Never get anyone drunk or cut anyone off.
Never? Ok, well maybe not “never” – if someone comes in drunk, they’re already cut off… but if they ordered and you or another bartender didn’t notice it – cutting them off, then again, cutting them off is the way to go right then and there – also if they have a table and someone else has gotten them way too drunk and they’re a problem because you couldn’t be in control of that situation… but otherwise, while this sounds like contradictory advice (don’t cut them off but don’t get them drunk?) – it isn’t. When you serve a client and the client begins to get a bit worrisome (as in shitfaced, 9 feet tall and bulletproof with an attitude coming on), tell him you’re concerned in a friendly way.
The client will look at you with a pleading eye but before he can say anything quickly say this (this is kind of like a mental “bums rush”): “Listen, just relax, I’m not going to cut you off or anything – you came here to have a good time and I want you to stay and enjoy yourself. So I’m going to give you a couple of sodas and you can walk around and in an hour I’ll give you another drink.” Well you know what? I have never had a problem with that.
What IS a problem is when someone else has gotten a customer drunk – either a waiter or another bartender – and it’s too busy to stop to have the guy thrown out because he’s getting a little bit belligerent. Here’s how you take care of that: You tell the guy right out (you tell him – you don’t ask) “Listen, I think you’re getting a little inebriated – I’m going to switch you to beer, Heineken?” and walk away – The guy was invariably (I have done this dozens of times) ready to puff out his chest and start making a scene – but because he can still drink beer, he deflates knowing that’s the best deal he’s going to get.
To make this work you have to start each night by taking three or four O’Doul’s out of the refrigerator and burying it in one of the ice bins behind the bar away from where people can see it. The first one you pour into a glass is quick with your hand over the label, and you toss the bottle in the garbage (if you had to produce the Heineken bottle just reach in and pull one out).
After the first you’ll see his eyes before he can say a word – you reach in pop it open and pour it before he knows you saw him looking – and give him his second “Heineken”. Never fails. In either case the soda guy or the “Heineken” guy don’t usually last another hour and both head home happy they didn’t get thrown out or cut off, and they always come back and they don’t get drunk next time.
Here’s a YouTube video done by BartendingPro with his perspective on how to handle the situation.
Site Author, David Jonathan Curtis: David Jonathan Curtis, a seasoned professional in his fifth decade of bartending and bar management, began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in both iconic Midtown clubs and Wall Street bars, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.
