A Note About Service
These past couple of weeks since I wrote about the Clarette Club, I have been trying to take note of service in the bars I've gone to. Last night at Harry's, which I think has pretty good service overall, I saw 2 examples of the kind of service I want in a bar.
The first was when someone walked in, bellied up to the bar and asked what the happy hour specials were. The bartender actually walked the length of the bar to grab one of the happy hour flyers they have and handed it to the patron. Then the bartender treated that customer the same as the regulars at the end of the bar and NOT like we wasn't welcome. At 75th Street Brewery, the bartenders will actually tell you their name, ask for yours (if they don't know it already), shake your hand and address you by name for the rest of the night.
Another instance of good service at Harry's last night occurred when a guy ordered a Heineken in the bottle (which would have made Don Draper happy). The bartender popped the top and gave him the bottle and then asked if he would like a glass. This is the minimum level of service that I expect if I order a bottled beer.
I was a little unsure if I was being too picky when I went to a new place. An anonymous commenter that came over from Tony's site took exception with my critique of the Clarette Club. As part of writing for this site, I do tend to go to a lot of new bars and I wasn't sure if I was nitpicking things. But, I don't have that worry anymore, good service is good service. The Clarette Club's problem was that the bartender there was a dullard. It's not that he didn't talk to me, he didn't talk to anyone and I'm sure most of the people at the bar were regulars. I should have mentioned this in my original post but based on reading about the place on the Internet (which I don't do before I go someplace new) it is a popular place for Karaoke and pool, 2 pursuits that I don't enjoy, and I just figured it was just a bar that wasn't for me.
The anonymous douche should comment on this post and tell all of KC what bar he works at that doesn't appreciate new people coming in, the bar that has all the customers it needs or wants and the bar that is so successful the patrons must behave within a strict set of rules or they will be kicked out. Perhaps this anonymous commenter was the Soup Nazi, but I expect he's an underemployed dullard bartender that can't keep a job because he doesn't know how to serve customers. Or he's the kind of loser that is afraid to take charge of his life and demand to be served the way he wants to be served.
The first was when someone walked in, bellied up to the bar and asked what the happy hour specials were. The bartender actually walked the length of the bar to grab one of the happy hour flyers they have and handed it to the patron. Then the bartender treated that customer the same as the regulars at the end of the bar and NOT like we wasn't welcome. At 75th Street Brewery, the bartenders will actually tell you their name, ask for yours (if they don't know it already), shake your hand and address you by name for the rest of the night.
Another instance of good service at Harry's last night occurred when a guy ordered a Heineken in the bottle (which would have made Don Draper happy). The bartender popped the top and gave him the bottle and then asked if he would like a glass. This is the minimum level of service that I expect if I order a bottled beer.
I was a little unsure if I was being too picky when I went to a new place. An anonymous commenter that came over from Tony's site took exception with my critique of the Clarette Club. As part of writing for this site, I do tend to go to a lot of new bars and I wasn't sure if I was nitpicking things. But, I don't have that worry anymore, good service is good service. The Clarette Club's problem was that the bartender there was a dullard. It's not that he didn't talk to me, he didn't talk to anyone and I'm sure most of the people at the bar were regulars. I should have mentioned this in my original post but based on reading about the place on the Internet (which I don't do before I go someplace new) it is a popular place for Karaoke and pool, 2 pursuits that I don't enjoy, and I just figured it was just a bar that wasn't for me.
The anonymous douche should comment on this post and tell all of KC what bar he works at that doesn't appreciate new people coming in, the bar that has all the customers it needs or wants and the bar that is so successful the patrons must behave within a strict set of rules or they will be kicked out. Perhaps this anonymous commenter was the Soup Nazi, but I expect he's an underemployed dullard bartender that can't keep a job because he doesn't know how to serve customers. Or he's the kind of loser that is afraid to take charge of his life and demand to be served the way he wants to be served.
