Serving a Beer Snob

SWMBO called me an "*******" after I told the hostess at a "taphouse" we will be going somewhere else to eat because their beer menu wasn't good enough. I used a non-******* tone! I thought I was just being honest.

alcibiades said:

SWMBO called me an "*******" after I told the hostess at a "taphouse" we will be going somewhere else to eat because their beer menu wasn't good enough. I used a non-******* tone! I thought I was just being honest.

Click to expand...

Once again, a shout out to my wife for being that "*******." When we were dating (many years ago) we frequented a nice downtown restaurant that had Whitbread Ale on draft. That was really something back then. We'd head there every Friday after work for Whitbread and happy hour grub, sometimes staying for dinner. Then we went there for our 1st anniversary only to discover that they'd replaced the Whitbread with Bud Ice, which had just come out. My wife had no problem telling them we were out of there, and why.

They won't know if you don't tell them.

Off topic, but if any of you are ever around Downtown Disney (between Disneyland & California Adventure....), stop by the Uva Bar. Seems in the last year since I was there, there's been a "considerable" change in management, and said management has now stocked the place with an astronomical international beer selection. All I can honestly remember is Chimay Blue and several French & Belgian varieties that I can't for the moment recollect (some porters, some lambic, etc.). And the staff was well-versed on what they were serving. Definitely made my b-day at the D-land much more memorable (or....not...).

scrambledegg81 said:

Off topic, but if any of you are ever around Downtown Disney (between Disneyland & California Adventure....), stop by the Uva Bar. Seems in the last year since I was there, there's been a "considerable" change in management, and said management has now stocked the place with an astronomical international beer selection. All I can honestly remember is Chimay Blue and several French & Belgian varieties that I can't for the moment recollect (some porters, some lambic, etc.). And the staff was well-versed on what they were serving. Definitely made my b-day at the D-land much more memorable (or....not...).

Click to expand...

That's what friends are for. To go out with and have a good time. When you really have a good time, they are there to tell you all about it the next day, usually with unwanted photographic evidence.

alcibiades said:

SWMBO called me an "*******" after I told the hostess at a "taphouse" we will be going somewhere else to eat because their beer menu wasn't good enough. I used a non-******* tone! I thought I was just being honest.

Click to expand...

SWMBO called me a "duche" when the server brought me a bohemian pilsener in the correct pilsener glass, and I quickly stated as he placed it in front of me "Ah, proper glassware thanks!". I guess a "Thank you" would have sufficed. This was a proper beer establishment, Roadhouse in Brookline MA, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. Part of me wanted to show off to the server that I knew this was the correct presentation. Don't know why, but sometimes I want to run to the top of a mountain and shout about my beer geekdom!

gallagherman said:

SWMBO called me a "duche" ...
Don't know why, but sometimes I want to run to the top of a mountain and shout about my beer geekdom!

Click to expand...

That would be your *****iness showing.

Domminigan said:

That would be your *****iness showing.

Click to expand...

I thought duche was a bit harsh. How bout "huge loser" instead?

I see where you are going with that, but only your SWMBO would know the hugeness of your situation.

GilaMinumBeer said:

I never considered myself a beer snob until I pinpointed both low levels of diacetyl and a hint of infection in a few sample beers poured at a local resturant.

Click to expand...

Ah yes, the quintessential OKC beer drinking experience. Done it, loved it, bought the buttery/infected t-shirt!

scrambledegg81 said:

Off topic, but if any of you are ever around Downtown Disney (between Disneyland & California Adventure....), stop by the Uva Bar. Seems in the last year since I was there, there's been a "considerable" change in management, and said management has now stocked the place with an astronomical international beer selection. All I can honestly remember is Chimay Blue and several French & Belgian varieties that I can't for the moment recollect (some porters, some lambic, etc.). And the staff was well-versed on what they were serving. Definitely made my b-day at the D-land much more memorable (or....not...).

Click to expand...

I noticed that when I went to d-land a few weeks ago. I was in a rush though so I didn't have time to stop for a beer, but I noticed the significant change in beer selection as I walked by. I'm definitely gonna give it a whirl the next time the SWMBO is trying to convince me to go to d-land. The only time I've been to the Uva bar is when I saw DKM twice in one night at the HoB. I met some people at the first show who were also going to the second show, and I had an extra tick for the second show that I gave them a good deal on for one of their last minute friends that was on the way. So they just kept feeding me beers and scotch at Uva while we waited for HoB to reopen for the second show.

alcibiades said:

SWMBO called me an "*******" after I told the hostess at a "taphouse" we will be going somewhere else to eat because their beer menu wasn't good enough. I used a non-******* tone! I thought I was just being honest.

Click to expand...

Whether or not you displayed ******* behavior depends on
1) You were going out for dinner (*******) or
2) You were out for drinks (not *******)

I worked at a restaurant that opened before we got our liquor license. Quite a few *****ebags left because we did not have booze.
This is exactly like leaving a restaurant because they don't have a smoking section. Seriously? You can't sit down for 55 fecking minutes to enjoy a meal without a smoke?

northernlad said:

Whether or not you displayed ******* behavior depends on
1) You were going out for dinner (*******) or
2) You were out for drinks (not *******)

I worked at a restaurant that opened before we got our liquor license. Quite a few *****ebags left because we did not have booze.
This is exactly like leaving a restaurant because they don't have a smoking section. Seriously? You can't sit down for 55 fecking minutes to enjoy a meal without a smoke?

Click to expand...

I don't see either as being an *******. You can choose to eat wherever you'd like, however you'd like. If the establishment doesn't do things the way you like, you don't go there. Seems like a simple concept to me. If you want a good beer with dinner, don't go to a restaurant that doesn't have good beer. Same way with smoking, it's not that they can't eat without having a smoke, it's that they'd prefer to have a smoke after dinner, so they're making their choice.

Scimmia said:

I don't see either as being an *******. You can choose to eat wherever you'd like, however you'd like. If the establishment doesn't do things the way you like, you don't go there. Seems like a simple concept to me. If you want a good beer with dinner, don't go to a restaurant that doesn't have good beer. Same way with smoking, it's not that they can't eat without having a smoke, it's that they'd prefer to have a smoke after dinner, so they're making their choice.

Click to expand...

+1

Telling a business 'I require these things of you to enjoy your services at the price you charge' is appropriate. What kind of ******* runs a restaurant where they expect that their customers would suffer through a less than satisfying experience rather than go down the street to the place that meets their expectations?

Perhaps my original statement was more for effect than accuracy, but I personally don't have enough time in my life to make sure an operator has taken me into consideration before he opened his doors and I always found it ultra irritating when a guest woud make a scene about one petty thing or another.
Could be why I don't work in restaurants anymore. The customer isn't always right, you just can't tell him so.

kornkob said:

+1

What kind of ******* runs a restaurant where they expect that their customers would suffer through a less than satisfying experience rather than go down the street to the place that meets their expectations?

Click to expand...

The kind that understands he can never meet any guests expectations 100% but still has to deal with those who demand it.

Scimmia said:

I don't see either as being an *******. You can choose to eat wherever you'd like, however you'd like. If the establishment doesn't do things the way you like, you don't go there. Seems like a simple concept to me. If you want a good beer with dinner, don't go to a restaurant that doesn't have good beer. Same way with smoking, it's not that they can't eat without having a smoke, it's that they'd prefer to have a smoke after dinner, so they're making their choice.

Click to expand...

I agree, particularly when it comes to drinks. I enjoy having a beer with dinner. It makes dinner all around better provided I have a beer that goes with what I'm eating. If I'm in a particular mood to have a beer for dinner, and go to a restaurant that doesn't have a decent enough selection then I might leave, and I'd let someone who works there know. Especially if they call themselves a taproom and there's only BMC. I'd feel sorta cheated if that was the case; "taproom" implies to me that there's a wide variety of beer available.

northernlad said:

Perhaps my original statement was more for effect than accuracy, but I personally don't have enough time in my life to make sure an operator has taken me into consideration before he opened his doors and I always found it ultra irritating when a guest woud make a scene about one petty thing or another.
Could be why I don't work in restaurants anymore. The customer isn't always right, you just can't tell him so.



The kind that understands he can never meet any guests expectations 100% but still has to deal with those who demand it.

Click to expand...

Bro, your employer is not entitled to my cash. If he doesn't provide an experience at that price that he charges, I'm definitely going somewhere else.

Yeah, waiting tables sucks. Its good money and is able to work around school, which is nice. But, dealing with the people are annoying. Some people just walk in the door already pissed. Some people are just never going to be pleased no matter how well you do.

northernlad said:

The kind that understands he can never meet any guests expectations 100% but still has to deal with those who demand it.

Click to expand...

In which case, the operator is the ********* .

While you can't make every customer happy, deciding that everyone who leaves because they want more service than you are able to provide is an ********* is evidence of a backwards attitude.

A customer who wants to drink or smoke or watch TV or read a newspaper or surf the net or whatever while they eat drink or otherwise partake of the services offered who doesn't get offered their preferred option isn't an *******, even if they tell you that is why they are leaving.

The ********* is the person who mumbles about the customer when they leave.


The service oriented person looks at it either as a missed opportunity (Gee-- maybe we should have gotten that liquor license thing worked out) or simply a mismatched business transaction (Service being offered didn't meet the needs of the consumer).

A wise GM once said to me, "The customer is always right but not everyone is our customer."




(Incidentally, I'm assuming that your statement is incorrectly stated: the idea that you can NEVER meet a guests expectations 100% is flatly false unless you aren't' even trying.)

Plus juan on telling the restaurant why you're leaving. You don't have to be a dickhead about it, just be polite. If they get enough of that kind of response then they'll change.

I just realized I am a customer snob in a beer snob world.

Turlian said:

I'm fortunate to live in northern Colorado, so I just ask for "local" beers. Granted, that includes Coors, but it shortens the list considerably.

Click to expand...

Aint that the truth. I used to live in Boulder before moving to Denver and all the restaurants / bars /pubs have GOOD beer in bottles and on tap

northernlad said:

I just realized I am a customer snob in a beer snob world.

Click to expand...

If you want to turn your nose up at some people's money, that's your call. I wish you all the luck in the world with that attitude.

I think working in a restaurant, will give anyone a different view on what some ridiculous things can happen from a customer to employee.

maskednegator said:

If you want to turn your nose up at some people's money, that's your call. I wish you all the luck in the world with that attitude.

Click to expand...

I think its most amusing that it seems perfectly fine for a customer to expect perfection in an establishment but an operator is not allowed to expect anything of his guests past a pulse and enough money to pay the bill or to have an opinion about peoples opinions and subsequent snobbery.
You might be suprised at how many guests have relieved a lot of stress on the team by proclaiming they would never return.


The point I am trying to make is that stating an opinion about anything other Cleanliness, Service, and Consistency makes a guest look like an ******* whether or not it was intended. Most operators have given their whole lives to develop a concept that they want and its irritating when it seems that every guest would have them change something to fit their needs.
An owner knows that they is not going to capture every person and they are perfectly fine with it. That was the point of NEVER being able to satisfy ANY guest 100%. It has nothing to do with not trying. Its just not possible.