Ask a Bartender: What are the Best and Worst Ways to Get Your Bartenders Attention?

Ask a Bartender: What are the Best and Worst Ways to Get Your Bartenders Attention?

When the line at the bar gets longer, patience runs thinner – both for patrons and for bartenders. You just want one Bud Light bottle. It seems so easy, and yet, you’re waiting for what seems like an hour because someone in front of you keeps tacking on more drinks to their order. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because the bartender can’t see that you’ve been waiting and certainly knows you have a simple order. It’s at that moment that some people become very, well, let’s say energetic trying to catch the bartender’s eye.  Here are some of the ways people sabotage themselves trying to get the bartender’s attention.

1.    Banging on the bar. You are drawing attention to yourself—that’s for sure. You are drawing the wrong kind of attention. Everyone behind that bar is now intentionally avoiding eye contact with you, wondering if they should quietly shut you off, or just have the bouncer escort you away from the bar.  Either way, you don’t end up with a drink. 
2.    Snapping or whistling. Unless you’re at a jazz club or poetry read, snapping has no place in a bar. Yes, we are there to serve you, but we are not your servants. There is a difference. Don’t snap. Or whistle for that matter. There is no more obvious way to announce yourself as an awful, condescending human being. 
3.    Taking a call. Rude. If you want my undivided attention, I expect at least 75% of your attention in return. Just for 30 seconds at most. Then you can return to your call. Besides, if you can’t hear your friend who is lost in the crowd or looking for a parking spot, you won’t be able to hear me at the same time. Some owners will not allow their staff to serve someone until they are off their phone. That’s a rule I can live with. 
4.    Stand at the bar, looking back at your friends. If you’re not looking at the bartender, that’s a sign you haven’t figured out your order yet so you will get passed by during a rush. It might be uncomfortable standing shoulder-to-shoulder with another thirsty stranger, so I can understand why you’d look back to talk to your friends. Just recognize that that is why you are not getting immediate attention. 
5.    Repeatedly yelling the bartender’s name—or what you think their name is. You may have overheard someone say the bartender’s name and now you think they can’t ignore you if you are yelling their name. Wrong. It’s human nature to respond when your name is called, so you’ve got us there. But when the bartender looks over and realizes it is not their friend, it’s the guy they ignored earlier when he was banging on the bar, you’re just going to get laughed at. It really becomes somewhat of a game. What’s worse is if you only thought you heard the bartender’s name, so you start yelling something similar, but not quite right. For example, a lovely group of gentlemen stood at the corner of the bar and yelled “SAM! SAM! Hey, SAM!” for about five solid minutes one night. Finally I looked over to see who was yelling for their friend Sam. Sure enough, they were yelling to me. Oh boys, swing and a miss. 

In reality the absolute best way to get your bartender’s attention is to stand at the bar, entirely facing the bar, and make eye contact with your bartender. No verbal cue necessary.  If you’re sitting, leave your arm on the bar and keep your body open to the bartender’s general direction. Does it help if you wave money or a credit card? Varies by bartender. Some will be drawn to you; others will associate that with snapping or whistling. 

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Pam Martin bartends at Compass Tavern at 90 Harding Street in Worcester every Friday night and Sunday afternoon.