platbrownguy

But it wasn't a simple drink. Diet coke is a simple drink. Heck, diet coke with cherry syrup is a simple drink. But then you have (1) tall glass, (2) easy ice, and (3) lime, and any good bartender would roll her eyes, even if a generous one might go ahead and indulge. Keep in mind that the average person with this kind of request will then micromanage the creation of the beverage ("well, I didn't mean that easy on the ice") and will likely either not tip or tip at most a dollar for what ought to be a $2-3 special request.

The self-service machine is great exactly because it caters to people like OP who want multi-modded drinks. Just grab the tall glass and lime from the bar (which I wouldn't feel any compulsion to tip for), and move on.

Allan38103

After reading about three-quarters of this thread - when my eyes started glazing over - I realized that it was five minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

tennessetom

How would I have handled it, well I would not have spent much time letting it get to me. I mean the energy involved in getting worked up and finding the manager telling her the story maybe when I was younger but today I would have gotten over it fast an sat down and moved on to something else.

Antarius

The issue is that the self service machine has cherry coke, not coke with cherry syrup - similar, but different taste.

Regardless, this is what the bartender is there for. Mixing and serving. How is this materially different than an old fashioned, martini etc?

Them saying no is like my client asking me a question and me sending them a link to wikipedia.

NYC Flyer

...to be ordered at your own risk in the AC.

But seriously, this is a hospitality job and the setting is one in which the customers should be made to feel welcome. This specific bartender's attitude is clearly inappropriate and should be addressed.

The fetish with the drink machine that management seems to push onto the staff generally is also an issue. The club is not a factory. AA should give the operations focus a rest.

ZonaFlyer

​​​​​​Had to get this from the bar at DFW D last year because the machine was broken. The bar version was way better. Bartender even gave me 2 even though I only wanted 1, maybe so I didn't have to come back.

platbrownguy

Exactly -- AC bartenders generally make one-ingredient and two-ingredient drinks, plus garnish. There are some well-established exceptions like margarita and bloody mary and whatever they have on their "featured cocktail" display or menu. But once you get into martini, old fashioned, manhattan, negroni territory, then you're that guy. If you know the bartender or if you have good reason to believe they're able to make that drink, and if there's not a long line behind you, then fine. But otherwise this just ain't that kind of joint.

Reminds me of a sign I saw at a bar, something like "1 ingredient, $5; 2 ingredients, $6. 3 ingredients, $10; 4 ingredients, $20; 5 or more, get out"

Adam1222

Um, wow.

I get being dissatisfied with customer service.
Claiming to be humiliated over the suggestion you get your cherry coke at a machine is borderline (the overwrought language makes me skeptical).
But suggesting the response is to "assert dominance" is beyond the pale. This isn't a dog. It's a human.

If you are an entitled customer who "asserts dominance" over service employees regularly, that would explain why you may not get the most helpful friendly service.

Stripe

None of these people make very much money, and you have no idea what or who that bartender had to deal with prior to your encounter. I wouldn't have been happy in your shoes, but I think running to the manager and making a stink was as much of an overreaction as hers was to your very inflexible drink request. (A drink request which I find revolting FWIW.) Perhaps laughing along and having a little understanding would have made for a better outcome for everyone concerned. It sounds like she had plenty of other satisfied customers.

VegasGambler

Yeah, that's the point. Things like this don't happen often and they should not happen at all. If the story is accurate then that employee should not work there any more.

If it's not accurate then of course we don't know. You're saying that you don't believe it, which is fine. I'm saying that I don't know because I wasn't there.

Antarius

IMO, they're in the wrong profession if cherry + coke + lime is too much. The OP isn't asking some random person for help, this person is behind the bar with the sole job of bartending.

I can't see how ordering a basic drink makes you "that guy". Somehow the Amex Centurion lounge manages without issue as does every bar. Remarkably, AA manages to find a way to have it's staff underwhelm in every comparable position.

VegasGambler

The fact that it's a simple drink that anyone who calls themselves a bartender (or even someone who doesn't; I would feel fairly confident mixing this one up) can make is not the point. Maybe she is a great bartender and maybe she is a terrible one. Or maybe somewhere in between. But the fact that she felt the need to be condescending means that she should not hold any job where she has to interact with customers. The only real job requirement here is to be polite to the customers, and she went beyond failing miserably.

platbrownguy

OP, out of curiosity, was the first bartender's name Xavi? Puerto Rican woman?

NYC Flyer

Hilarious, and I can totally understand the sentiment...at a pub or dive bar.

The issue is that the AC is positioning the club as a premium product, and the overt emphasis on "faster processing" of the sheep customers is antithetical to this. IMHO, the requested drink was not unreasonable, nor does it require the skill or time involved in making a proper cocktail. Had the request included a zest of lime, muddled maraschino cherries, etc, or the customer came back twice for refills and never tipped, then I could see it being excessive.

unfrequentflyer

It is possible they ran out of Diet Cherry Coke. Sometimes the EK First Lounge at DXB run out of Chateau Mouton or Dom Perignon P2 too.