I work at a restaurant that prides itself on selling many different beers, ales, and the like. In fact, we got voted best beer selection, or something, in the city, a fairly large one.
Anyhoo, I am the cashier, and often people come and want beer, but don’t know which one to try. Apparently, the selection overwhelms them. So, they ask me what alchoholic beverage I suggest? When I started working, I figured that “I don’t know. I’m eighteen” would work, but it didn’t. All I get are strange looks from people under thirty, and “No, really. What kind should I try?” from every one else.
Some lady even gave me a hug and told me that I had just made her week. She apparently had a son that waited until 21, and didn’t think anyone else did, anymore.
Is it now looked upon as strange for someone to not drink until they are legally able to? This is disheartening
Aside: Most of my coworkers are and look underage, but they still comment on the taste of various beers to the patrons.
You’d think that you wouldn’t want the patrons to know that the people preparing your next meal openly break the law numerous times. :rolleyes:
I drink on occassion. Only on the weekends, when I’m in the privacy of my own home, and I’m not driving or operating heavy machinery. I’m 18.
Why not wait until I’m 21? I refuse to obey this unjust law on general principles. If the government can draft me and send me off to die in combat in some god forsaken jungle, they should sure as hell allow me to have an alcoholic beverage every now and then.
Blalron, I am not against people who drink underage. I know quite a few people who drink and are kind, loving people, the kind of people I would want to look after my pets.
I am angry at the assumption that if I am 18, I drink, and if I don’t, there is something wrong with me.
I should not be considered weird if I do not choose to break the law.
No worries. I’m 29, and don’t drink at all, either. What’s the point? It’s expensive, bitter, and causes headaches. Why, my life is all of those things already!
Seriously, do you have any idea what the fuck you’re talking about? There hasn’t been a draft since Vietnam… The last two major conflicts have been in deserts… No matter what you believe, a country with 1.2 million troops is not going to instate a draft…
It is statements like this that are why politicians questioned the drinking age. Are people at the age of 18 mature enough to handle booze responsibly?
Guess not. Do not fret, Blalron, for you can drink to your heart’s content on the very same day that they allow you to first vote.
Yes, I find it fairly annoying. I am 21 and do not drink and everyone thinks I am weird. Why? Not everyone smokes. Not everyone drinks coffee. What’s so all-fired special about alcohol that everyone on the face of the planet must drink it or be “strange”?
I have a good excuse now, though. I had a baby just before my 21st birthday, and I am nursing. No one expects a breastfeeding mother to drink.
So I guess that “register for the draft” thingy is only for shits and giggles, right? “Yeah, the law says we can draft you, but we really won’t, so lay off that liquor, hear?”
And Jonmarzie, yep, you are in a minority, but if that’s fine with you, it’s nobody’s business. By the way, instead of bringing up your non-alcohol status, why not offer recommendations? “I’ve heard that Guinness is good if you like a heavy, smokey taste, but if you want something lighter, I’ve heard that Beck is good.” Solves the customer’s problem, and your personal life is not offered for comment.
I’m 30, rarely drink, and HATE HATE HATE HATE beer. I’d sooner drink piss straight from the goat. Beer is vile. Just the smell makes me want to hurl.
And yet everyone assumes that everyone else drinks beer. “I’ll buy you a beer sometime” “hey, more time to drink beer, right?” etc. And if I say that I don’t like beer, I get weird looks. Then they tell me that I’ve never had the right beer.
It gets annoying.
For the record, I like sweet drinks. Only sweet drinks. And water. To me, a drink that isn’t sweet is sort of like ice cream that isn’t sweet, or unsweetened chocolate or something. Not to say that I think drinks are similar to desserts, just that unsweetened drinks are about that gross to me. Just who I am.
I think it’s entirely possible to comment on the distinguishing characteristics of beer, wine, etc. without actually having to drink the stuff.
Particularly if someone works in a restaurant. It’s your job as a waiter (if there’s no sommelier) to be able to suggest what wine goes with a particular dish.
You can read about the different characteristics, or ask someone who does drink.
Nothing’s more frustrating than someone who works in a restaurant or bar and has no idea about what they’re selling.
What do I think of someone who doesn’t engage in activities that most people engage in? Well, sometimes I think it’s kind of odd. Sorry. I have a difficult time understanding their point of view. Like celibate priests and nuns. How can they spend their whole lives never having sex with another person, and if they follow their religion that strictly, never even engaging in solo sex.
I don’t understand Vegetarians either. I like the taste of meat. One time, in my younger years, I tried to go a few days on a vegetarian diet. It was awful. I never really felt “full”, and I wanted to eat dead animal flesh.
Same thing goes with people who’ve never tried alcohol before, a widely used drug.
I don’t. You could certainly ask me about the finer points of various teas, coffees or alcohols, but in my opinion, they are all incredibly nasty. I could certainly read up about how wonderful they allegedly taste, but I certainly couldn’t tell anyone which they are supposed to prefer (or even which they might prefer). So, I might well be able to talk the appropriate jargon, but it would be fairly obvious to anyone with half a clue that I would have no clue what I’m talking about. And I don’t think anyone would really want my recommendations in such circumstances.
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Jonmarzie works as a cashier (according to the OP), not a waiter. It isn’t necessarily part of his(?) job description to know the finer points of what is being sold.
I’m sorry to break this to you, but one of your duties as a restaurant employee is being knowledgeable in what it is your bar or restaurant has to offer. And according to you, one of the main selling points of this place is it’s vast assortment of beers and liquors. Your lack of knowing even a basic response to these inquires is nothing short of pathetic.
I mean, did it ever occur to you that these people weren’t looking at your perturbed because you don’t drink, but were looking perturbed because you didn’t seem to know anything about what it is your establishment apparently prides itself on?
Obviously not.
If you asked me, I’d say you either need to learn a bit about where it is you work, or you should quit. Anything short is a disservice to your employer.
There are absolutely descriptive terms one can use describing wine and beer to inform the buyer without necessarily stating your like or dislike of it.
And, yes, I know Jonmarzie is a cashier, I was generally commenting about waiters, bartenders, etc. Besides, being a cashier wasn’t Jonmarzie’s issue - his issue was not being able to inform a customer about a product because he can’t legally drink yet.
I’m 15 and I don’t drink. A combination of morals, and the fact that alcohol just tastes awful to me. So far, everyone seems to understand, but I can see the weird looks coming.
An Blalron, yeah, and don’t forget those homosexuals. They don’t have sex with the opposite sex, which is what most people do. Why can’t they just screw their opposite like everyone else? :rolleyes:
No one is talking about lying, they’re talking about being informed. And being informed means having simple and easy answers to people’s routine questions.
Seriously, how hard is it to say, ‘Well the Leini’s Honey Wiess is pretty popular’ or ‘You know, I really don’t drink but so and so sells well’?
Back in my day that’s what I did. I never tried every beer my bar had (Something like a hundred and twenty different beers, ales, and the like) but I could at least offer suggestions based on what more informed beer drinkers had told me in the past.
Face it, it’s their job, even if they are only a cashier.
Zoggie and airdisc, there’s a difference between not understanding someone else’s point of view and insisting that they adopt your own. People who roll their eyes excessively, for example, are probably in the latter group.
