tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post8243551869284098918..comments2023-05-31T01:20:09.913-07:00Comments on Crema's Beer Odyssey: 13 Reasons Why Working Behind the Bar is EntertainingEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06761021858837635618noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-76969984126653854432017-11-15T03:04:17.639-08:002017-11-15T03:04:17.639-08:00Thanks for your comment, pp.
Firstly, as stated i...Thanks for your comment, pp.<br /><br />Firstly, as stated in the post the example you referred to took place at the original Hop Locker, which is essentially a small beer tent in a food market. Saturdays in summer get extremely busy. I think it was maybe 32 or 33 C that day and the queues were endless. That is sadly not a scenario which lends itself to engaging with customers in any detail (it can be likened to ordering fast food). The other example, as stated, took place on a quiet Monday evening when we had time to chat at length to customers, hence they were different scenarios (for a number of reasons). So there was zero opportunity to turn the exchange into a longer and more detailed one.<br /><br />Secondly, when you work in a service role you learn how to cater your response to the end user based on their interaction with you. I have 17 years of experience in my profession, teaching practical laboratory techniques to large groups of MDs, nurses, MSc students, military personnel, lab scientists from all walks of life, with varying levels of spoken/written English and most importantly with varying attitudes. I have, for example, learned how to teach men who do not wish to be taught anything by a female expert.<br /><br />I also have experience as a tutor, which is distinctly different to teaching because the tutor's role is get the tutee to do the majority of the speaking.<br /><br />You have a spectrum of responses available as a service provider, from smiling and saying nothing to actively disagreeing with the end user if they cross a line of what is acceptable (e.g. sexist or racist comments - because the customer is not always right, actually). In this particular case the customer did not wish to have an equal exchange with me (which as you rightly pointed out is completely fine). So it didn't really matter what I said in response as he wasn't really interested. I doubt the customer was made to feel inadequate by our exchange because he didn't really listen to me anyway. I could have just smiled and said nothing instead though and perhaps that would have been a more appropriate response.<br /><br />I disagree that I should outright lie to customers to make them feel happier though. So I'm not going to tell a customer that beers I've 'ticked' are mostly free samples from work because that's completely inaccurate. There is no 'element of truth' to it. Call me old fashioned but I think blatant dishonesty is unprofessional. :)Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761021858837635618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-42262665884505138282017-11-14T04:06:46.002-08:002017-11-14T04:06:46.002-08:00I'm sorry, but your behaviour in 8b) would be ...<br />I'm sorry, but your behaviour in 8b) would be objectionable in a social situation and unacceptable in a hospitality situation. Your job is to make the punters feel good, not imply that you're 6.7x better than them, and then decided that the journey they're on is boring anyway. Can you understand what it must feel like to be on the receiving end of that?<br /><br />You just say "Yeah, I use that app, it's good isn't it?" You bond a little through shared experience, his app-choosing decisions are validated, he goes away feeling better than he did before. <br /><br />And in the unlikely event that he or his friend ask how many ticks you have, "It's a bit embarrassing, I'm up to nearly 2000 - but a lot of them are just free tasters I get at work. 300 is really good going if you're actually buying your own pints!" That may be a convenient fiction but there's also an element of truth, and delivered with a bit of self-deprecation means that the punter isn't left feeling inadequate. <br /><br />People feel good sharing their knowledge and experience, even if it is less than yours - so if you wanted to prolong the 8b conversation you ask them what was their favourite out of the 300, again you get them to feel knowledgeable. Your job is not to be a hosepipe, a one-way spray of beer-superiority, but more of a well - unobtrusive but with depths of knowledge that can be drawn on if requested. The 13) customers are great (might disagree with you on the yeast contribution of trad porter though...) but the really good staff can steer a conversation to turn an 8b) into a 13).pphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02205641693912545833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-59300146042061136412017-11-07T04:03:44.285-08:002017-11-07T04:03:44.285-08:00Thanks. Incredibly, this one has passed me by.Thanks. Incredibly, this one has passed me by.Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761021858837635618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-5651601652666077812017-11-06T12:31:10.408-08:002017-11-06T12:31:10.408-08:00https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2013/0...https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2013/06/20/William-Sharvatt-s-London-Velvet<br /><br />Presented without commentZak Averyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10650929798289995172noreply@blogger.com