Why do they always start with Bud Light?
Jun 25, 2014, 6:14 am
#16
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<rant on> I eat at a lot of different restaurants (and drink at a lot of different bars). If I'm too far from the taps to read the handles, I ask the server to tell me what draft beers are available. They always start with Bud Light and list another 6 beers that taste exactly like it (i.e. no flavor) before they get to anything I would remotely consider putting in my mouth.
I wish I was responsible for training servers across the world. That would be one of my rules. Of course you have Bud Light and its clones. No one asks what's on tap because they want a Bud Light. Start with the outliers and stop wasting the customers' time.< rant off>
I wish I was responsible for training servers across the world. That would be one of my rules. Of course you have Bud Light and its clones. No one asks what's on tap because they want a Bud Light. Start with the outliers and stop wasting the customers' time.< rant off>
It is widely accepted that if you give people a short list they tend to favor and choose from the top of the list. Conversely, give them a long list and they will favor the end of the list. It makes sense to start with the popular but low-end beers and finish with the expensive, high-end craft beers.
Jun 25, 2014, 9:38 am
#17
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They may not realize it, but this is probably a good way to describe a beer list.
It is widely accepted that if you give people a short list they tend to favor and choose from the top of the list. Conversely, give them a long list and they will favor the end of the list. It makes sense to start with the popular but low-end beers and finish with the expensive, high-end craft beers.
It is widely accepted that if you give people a short list they tend to favor and choose from the top of the list. Conversely, give them a long list and they will favor the end of the list. It makes sense to start with the popular but low-end beers and finish with the expensive, high-end craft beers.
The ideal solution is an updated-daily beer list. There are one or two places here like that, but I have to cater to Mrs BamaVol's tastes too and she's a wine drinker and wants a little more variety in where we eat. There are hundreds of restaurants within short driving distance of the house and I hate to exclude too many. If it was up to me, I'd eat here every time I went out.
Truly, everyone seems to have a bottle of Sam Adams or Fat Tire in the cooler so I'm never at a major loss. I just prefer a draft microbrew and so I ask what's on tap to find out if there is any. I will try asking what microbrews are on tap next time and see what answer I get. Occasionally I may get a seasoned server with some beer knowledge and I will try to be grateful for that (and will express it with my tip).
Jun 25, 2014, 7:58 pm
#18
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Hey, I'm a beer snob, too, but I have enough common sense to understand why servers do that.
They may be wasting your time, but the fact remains that Bud Lite is the top selling beer in the US, followed by Coors Lite, Bud, Miller Lite, Corona, Natural Lite, Busch Lite and Heineken. So apparently there are people who ask about beers and opt for a Bud Lite. Why don't you just ask the server what craft beers they have on top? Or ask them to skip the Bud, Miller, Coors and Busch products?
When you're put in charge of training servers worldwide, why don't you time the average length of the customer-server drink interaction when the server lists the best-selling beers first vs. the worst-selling beers first? And then see how long it takes your servers to quit/get you fired when you suggest they dramatically increase the average interaction time by taking longer than necessary to give the customer what he/she wants.
PS: That's why I love beer lists, but hate restaurants that keep them out of date. A few bars/restaurants in Chicago have started listing the "Next to be tapped" items and rubber stamping "sold out" over ones that are done. Keeps them from having to reprint the list frequently and reduces the amount of time a server has to spend taking drink orders.
They may be wasting your time, but the fact remains that Bud Lite is the top selling beer in the US, followed by Coors Lite, Bud, Miller Lite, Corona, Natural Lite, Busch Lite and Heineken. So apparently there are people who ask about beers and opt for a Bud Lite. Why don't you just ask the server what craft beers they have on top? Or ask them to skip the Bud, Miller, Coors and Busch products?
When you're put in charge of training servers worldwide, why don't you time the average length of the customer-server drink interaction when the server lists the best-selling beers first vs. the worst-selling beers first? And then see how long it takes your servers to quit/get you fired when you suggest they dramatically increase the average interaction time by taking longer than necessary to give the customer what he/she wants.
PS: That's why I love beer lists, but hate restaurants that keep them out of date. A few bars/restaurants in Chicago have started listing the "Next to be tapped" items and rubber stamping "sold out" over ones that are done. Keeps them from having to reprint the list frequently and reduces the amount of time a server has to spend taking drink orders.
-rant on-
Any server starting with the cheapest item on the list is just asking to sell less and make less money.
People remember the first and the last things mentioned, that is what you can sell the most of.
And people buy bud light, no need to waste time selling it.
-rant off-
Jun 25, 2014, 8:25 pm
#19
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Unfortunately, too many times the server's memory starts to falter after the top 6, everyone has them, selections.
The ideal solution is an updated-daily beer list. There are one or two places here like that, but I have to cater to Mrs BamaVol's tastes too and she's a wine drinker and wants a little more variety in where we eat. There are hundreds of restaurants within short driving distance of the house and I hate to exclude too many. If it was up to me, I'd eat here every time I went out.
Truly, everyone seems to have a bottle of Sam Adams or Fat Tire in the cooler so I'm never at a major loss. I just prefer a draft microbrew and so I ask what's on tap to find out if there is any. I will try asking what microbrews are on tap next time and see what answer I get. Occasionally I may get a seasoned server with some beer knowledge and I will try to be grateful for that (and will express it with my tip).
The ideal solution is an updated-daily beer list. There are one or two places here like that, but I have to cater to Mrs BamaVol's tastes too and she's a wine drinker and wants a little more variety in where we eat. There are hundreds of restaurants within short driving distance of the house and I hate to exclude too many. If it was up to me, I'd eat here every time I went out.
Truly, everyone seems to have a bottle of Sam Adams or Fat Tire in the cooler so I'm never at a major loss. I just prefer a draft microbrew and so I ask what's on tap to find out if there is any. I will try asking what microbrews are on tap next time and see what answer I get. Occasionally I may get a seasoned server with some beer knowledge and I will try to be grateful for that (and will express it with my tip).
Jun 26, 2014, 7:01 am
#20
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In the days before it became available in Alabama (and before I moved back to TN and then on to FL), a friend from FT would deliver some occasionally on his way between CA and SC.
Can you get Sweetwater 420? That's the 3rd member of my go-to fridge triumvirate. If there isn't a bottle of Sam Adams, Fat Tire or Sweetwaer 420 in my fridge, I'm not home. I'm at the store buying beer.
Jun 26, 2014, 7:56 am
#21
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This dilemma is one of the reasons I like the British style of serving beer in pubs. Patrons must go to the bar to order a pint thus enabling them to see what's on offer.
In the rest of the world I generally specify what darker beers are on tap and don't force the server to go through an endless list of beers that are all the same.
In the rest of the world I generally specify what darker beers are on tap and don't force the server to go through an endless list of beers that are all the same.
Jun 26, 2014, 3:57 pm
#22
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kipper, I am sooooo sorry.
In the days before it became available in Alabama (and before I moved back to TN and then on to FL), a friend from FT would deliver some occasionally on his way between CA and SC.
Can you get Sweetwater 420? That's the 3rd member of my go-to fridge triumvirate. If there isn't a bottle of Sam Adams, Fat Tire or Sweetwaer 420 in my fridge, I'm not home. I'm at the store buying beer.
In the days before it became available in Alabama (and before I moved back to TN and then on to FL), a friend from FT would deliver some occasionally on his way between CA and SC.
Can you get Sweetwater 420? That's the 3rd member of my go-to fridge triumvirate. If there isn't a bottle of Sam Adams, Fat Tire or Sweetwaer 420 in my fridge, I'm not home. I'm at the store buying beer.
We have some decent microbrews in the area. That said, I can neither confirm nor deny that a local shop about a mile across the MD border has New Belgium bottles for sale. 
Jun 26, 2014, 4:30 pm
#23
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If it was up to me, I'd eat here every time I went out.
I have to visit my in-laws in Sweden to consume it since it's not distributed west of the Mississippi.
Jun 27, 2014, 6:49 am
#24
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Since I am of Clan Gunn, and a member in good standing of the Clan Gunn Society of North America, I drink it regularly. I will raise one in your honor tonight.
Jun 27, 2014, 6:58 am
#25
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Jun 27, 2014, 3:43 pm
#26
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According to these guys there are 108 craft breweries in PA and it ranks 25th among the 50 states in breweries per 100,000 population. I can't imagine you'd have trouble finding one. Florida, on the other hand, ranks 46th so we have to rely a lot more on imports.
We have a few right near where I work, and a few really nice beer bars. I'm pondering grabbing a beer now--perhaps Ranger.
Jun 30, 2014, 11:44 am
#27
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I tried a different approach this weekend. I told 2 servers (Dave & Busters and Bennigan's) I was looking for a draft beer that wasn't Bud Light or one of its clones, so what have you got. The first server started with "Bud, Bud Light ..... sorry, force of habit. The second said Tee-hee, what do you like? I ended up with Sam Adams in a bottle in both places.
That leads to a new question ... Why do they take Boston Lager out and replace it with a seasonal? Is there not rooom for 2 Sam Adams products at the bar? The obvious answer is that there is insufficient demand for both. I'm not opposed to some of their seasonals, but my first choice is Boston Lager. SOL.
That leads to a new question ... Why do they take Boston Lager out and replace it with a seasonal? Is there not rooom for 2 Sam Adams products at the bar? The obvious answer is that there is insufficient demand for both. I'm not opposed to some of their seasonals, but my first choice is Boston Lager. SOL.
Jun 30, 2014, 5:04 pm
#28
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I tried a different approach this weekend. I told 2 servers (Dave & Busters and Bennigan's) I was looking for a draft beer that wasn't Bud Light or one of its clones, so what have you got. The first server started with "Bud, Bud Light ..... sorry, force of habit. The second said Tee-hee, what do you like? I ended up with Sam Adams in a bottle in both places.
That leads to a new question ... Why do they take Boston Lager out and replace it with a seasonal? Is there not rooom for 2 Sam Adams products at the bar? The obvious answer is that there is insufficient demand for both. I'm not opposed to some of their seasonals, but my first choice is Boston Lager. SOL.
That leads to a new question ... Why do they take Boston Lager out and replace it with a seasonal? Is there not rooom for 2 Sam Adams products at the bar? The obvious answer is that there is insufficient demand for both. I'm not opposed to some of their seasonals, but my first choice is Boston Lager. SOL.
Last edited by kipper; Jun 30, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Jun 30, 2014, 8:48 pm
#29
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You see yellow fizzy water on tap at chains because the big guys have the money (and will) to pay for the space.
Jun 30, 2014, 9:54 pm
#30
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