Disclaimer: If you don't frequent a bar, club, or pub often or don't mind waiting for service or your favorite drinks take a while to make- THIS IDEA PROBABLY WON"T APPEAL TO YOU AT ALL.
That being said, how many times have you elbowed your way to the bar for a simple bottled beer and were then forced to wait while the bartender makes six Frozen Flying Grasshoppers and a few 10-odd part liquor shots that must be layered and then set aflame before being covered in whipped cream?
Meanwhile, all you want is a damn beer, but by the time you get it you lost your buzz...
My Idea is simple- Any place that has several bartenders could have each one wear a different colored shirt. One with a red shirt that had "Shots" written across it would be the guy you would see if you wanted a few shooters. Then a bartender in a pink shirt that read "Frozen", that's who you get that Strawberry Daiquiri or Pina Colada for your girlfriend from. Then a bartender (my guy or gal) in a white shirt that read "Beer". This would not only be my future best friend, but a bartender who could probably be able to serve 4-5 times as many people in the amount of time it took a bartender with the same level of skill to make 1 Pina Colada or Martini.
Ahh, the benefits of job specialization. I am willing to bet Henry Ford would back me on this idea.
If you like Pina Coladas (and getting caught in the rain.... never mind, lets stick to the subject here) you may nix this idea, however I'm sure a bartender who made nothing but Frozen drinks could make a better Pina Colada then any one of three-or-so do it all bartenders. Same thing goes for Martini drinkers. You may wait a little longer, yes, but the quality would probably be better. And my (and other beer drinkers) benefit? (Because let's face it, a bartender can't "make" a bottled beer any better that the next one) I wouldn't have to wait so long for a simple Bud Light.
And who knows, if the "Martini" bartender happens to be an attractive woman... well then I like my Vodka Martini's shaken, not stirred...-- Pac-man, Jul 12 2006 Splodgenessabounds: scroll down to 54 http://ilx.wh3rd.ne...d.php?msgid=4835257Why won't you serve me? [Ling, Jul 13 2006] shot girls http://www.azcentra...otgirls0112-CR.html [xandram, Jul 14 2006] good idea! that's a + for you!-- pwn3d, Jul 12 2006 ...but a *round* usually consists of several types of drink - you'd take forever.
btw, are they all paid the same?-- po, Jul 12 2006 Now, I was pretty much with you for a while there. And then you said "Bud Light". Living in Bavaria where excellent-quality beer is a way of life, I sneer at you superciliously with a curled lip. And what Po said about rounds. --- squeak, Jul 12 2006 You had me up until you refered to Bud Light as "beer". So we need one bartender for real beer, maybe in lederhosen, or a barvarian biergarten wench outfit. And another one for american light lagers, maybe dressed in pink paisley, or a muumuu.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jul 12 2006 A muumuu? Why a muumuu? What have you got against muumuu's? I like the word muumuu. It's fun to say muumuu. muumuu muumuu muumuu. It's fun to type muumuu, too.-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Jul 12 2006 At first I thought this was a brilliant idea, but the rounds are a problem, and I usually order a mixed shot and a beer together- I have been to several bars and clubs that had areas and seperate bars that only served beers and the main bar served everything else, which really works well +-- tatmkr, Jul 12 2006 I didn't vote on this because while appearing to be a good idea, I started thinking of all those bartenders bumping into each other whilst scurrying around inside the little space provided for them behind the bar. and what [tat] said-In large nightclubs (with several bars) there usually is a Beer Only bar, for faster service and then other bars for mixed drinks.-- xandram, Jul 13 2006 Most of my inspiration for this idea came from my local bar, which is set up as a four-sided bar with all the bartenders inside the square. I have been to many a club with Beer Only Bars (A marvelous idea BTW) however there just isn't enough room for one in the bar I'm thinking of. Yes, rounds would be a problem but I think the good outweighs the bad in this one.
And [Po] yes, they all get paid the same except for the huge bearded giant in lederhosen who, after serving you any skunky import (i.e. real beer, I'll admit bud light isn't anywhere near the best beer in the world, but for me it's the beer to have when your having more than four) he bellows "Tiki-Taky, Tiky-Taky, Oii-Oii-Oii!!!!" ... He gets paid extra.-- Pac-man, Jul 13 2006 P.S. so does the Bavarian Beirgarten Wench and this next one for all of you veteran HB'ers... A guy with a hook and a parrot who only serves rum... come on, you know where I'm going with this...-- Pac-man, Jul 13 2006 How is "better/faster bartenders" (which is what you're really asking for) a new idea?-- DrCurry, Jul 13 2006 If bars could just go out and get "better bartenders" I think they would. My idea is to take the bartenders a bar already has ( which should be the best ones they can get anyway) and let them focus on making one type of drink all night. This increases productivity all around (well maybe only on one side, and by that I mean the side the bartenders are on) the bar, thus effectively cutting my wait time. As an added bonus, bartenders could make better tasting mixed drinks as a result of all the extra experience they have in sticking to one type of drink. The only drawback to this is that they will be weaker in making other types of drinks but that won't matter anyway because a different bartender handles that.-- Pac-man, Jul 13 2006 but again, if there was one bartender for each kind of drink to be made, there would be more bartenders than customers...-- xandram, Jul 13 2006 I think he is just proposing a different bartender for each major category of drinks. Beer, Shots, Shooters, Highballs, Blender, should about cover it. And the first two categories should make for very short bar lines.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jul 13 2006 Splodgenessabounds 1980, 2 weeks at number 1 spot. See link for lyrics: "2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps please".
"Sorry, crisps aren't my department. More than my job's worth".-- Ling, Jul 13 2006 The Octagon in Bangor used to have a separate bar for Beer and cocktails.
This idea goes much further though !
[+]-- monojohnny, Jul 13 2006 [G_C] I do understand that, but there are soooo many frozen/blender drinks, that only one bartender for all those drinks would not make for a very "specialized" bartender.
Of course, shot girls are becoming popular. [see link]-- xandram, Jul 14 2006 Depends what the purpose of the specilization is. If the intent is to free up the beer server to keep the "2 pints please" crowd happy, then giving all the frozens to one person makes sense. If the idea is to perfect the booze laden milkshake, then I am imagining a row of bartenders each with his or her own shaker, blender, mulcher or chipper/shredder ready to produce highly specific diluted intoxicants.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jul 14 2006 random, halfbakery