I believe that everyone we meet on this journey teaches us a lesson or has something to learn from us. Normally, I move through my days happily meeting and chatting with everyone in my path…that is until SOMEONE showed their true colors.
You’ve probably gathered from experience that every bartender has their unique qualities. For instance, in my experience, particularly in my hangout, the girl bartender makes better Tom Collins than any of the guy bartenders. I’m not sure what it is about her mix but it’s the best. The youngest tender of the bar has the best conversation skills and then there is another dude, that’s just plain weird.
In the bar I work at each of the tenders has their own uniqueness. The youngest appeals to bikers, her sassy attitude and tiny body make her irresistible. The only guy has an old soul. Where he lacks in years he makes up for in taste in music. The long haired blonde is super laid back, VERY mellow and is known for her STIFF drinks.
Then there is me.
I’m not even sure what my particular style is. I guess I’m known for my love of hockey and well rounded knowledge of random stuff. I know about cars, sports, travel, random facts about useless information…you name it.
This post is not about me so much but rather a customer. An I-don’t-give-a-shit-if-the-customer-is-supposed-to-always-be-right-this-ASS-hat-is-WRONG.
He wears a goofy looking hat and my blood pressure rises as soon as I see him pull-up or hear his name.
It wasn’t always like this.
I actually enjoyed his company. He’s an old movie buff and now works at a marina, two things I enjoy. We used to talk movies and compare notes. Which films he liked, which ones I like… I took a film class in high school about the hidden symbolism within movies. Two decades later, that elective class gave me quite a bit of fodder for this customer.
Then all hell came loose.
Maybe he got comfortable enough with me to complain, maybe his true colors were revealed, I’m not exactly sure what happened, but we’ve been struggling to get along.
It started over a drink that I poured.
“Jes, we’re friends, right? Put a little vodka in this!”
He wasn’t nice about it and the drink was already strong enough. But, I’m more of a fire extinguisher than a lighter so I poured more alcohol in it.
For weeks, every time I made him a drink he complained. I told my partner in crime and she came up with a plan, SHE’d make him a weak drink and see if he’d say anything to her.
Last week, we put our plan into action. She made his drink WEAK and with rail vodka and he didn’t make a peep. The very next drink I made, doubling the amount of alcohol in it and HE COMPLAINED! She even told him that she barely put anything in it and I doubled it and he didn’t believe us. I couldn’t control the frustration so I told him, if he doesn’t like how I make drinks he should order beer from me.
And he did. Every shift since, until last night.
Of course, he would order a mixed drink. To his benefit, he didn’t complain about the drink…instead he drank some of it and then ordered a shot on the side, which he poured in the already strong drink. One of my regulars commented on it which made him complain about my drink making skills.
That overly powerful drink cost him $13.
And I don’t care one bit.
If he wants stranger than a 7 second pour, with an extra shot, then he should come in on someone else’s shift, like the notorious stiff drink pourer.
I’m not sure WHAT we have to learn from each other or WHY he was put on my path, but man I hope I learn the lesson soon.
As I’m typing this up, I can’t help but wonder if the lesson is patience, or perhaps counseling of some sort…I mean, if dudes drinking a glass full of vodka at a time he’s definitely got something that’s bothering him enough to need other help.