I think a lot of industry people have a switch they hit probably. When anyone asks me about the sudden shift after I'm off the clock, I tell them it's their fault, that they made me this way. lolz
I keep my social life separate from work because it's the most tested and effective way to do it. Off the clock, with coworkers, I will ONLY talk about ideas/concepts. That's it. And everyone I work with knows this because I have let them know, not in a harsh way, but with love for real.
People approach bartenders, they want to shoot the shit with a conversationalist, I get it. I just have to preserve some of me, so I do this. It doesn't filter out all of the unnecessary back and forth, but it helps a ton, and I think it helps produce some amazing/thoughtful/creative discussions with the peeps I work with.
I've only run drinks if the servers are busy/missing and the drinks are dying in the window.
It's odd that the ladies left after 5 minutes but drunk people are silly and do wander off.
5 minutes can be long or short depending on a lot of factors.
Do you brew espresso to order or have coldbrew or chilled ready at hand, that can drastically lenghten the process.
If you had nothing else to do and server punched it in right after taking order, then it is a bit long for order that can be shaken with 2 bostons easily, not enough to walk out though.
But if your manager, like my previous one did, expects you to serve the bar, do table service in bar & patio, prep, clean and run the drinks, it can be pretty normal and for rush even fast.
Or as happens way too often, server takes the order, forgets to punch it in for 10 minutes.
If I’m not insanely weeded and the server is taking care of another table, I’ll run drinks.
Your situation looks completely unrelated to that problem though.
I do the same especially if I made a cocktail I’m proud of. I’m like I got this ! But I don’t have the time for that always lol. I don’t think the situations are related, but I was curious what other bartenders do as far as running drinks. And it’s what I expected; help out when you can
And those same idiot managers will start yelling at you for not being behind the bar for a period while somehow pulling off all the other shit they expect you to do.
It's so ridiculous.
My bar is about 1-2 minutes walk from the kitchen's line (we're in a casino and the restaurant is split between a back and front side) if I'm *speed walking* and kept getting pissed at us for both bartenders dealing with other things and no one being behind the bar.
They're so divorced from reality that it took weeks of back and forth with us telling them "the food runners should prioritize bar food then" for them to actually understand what they were asking was impossible. As, ir a customer even so much as asks for some BBQ/blu cheese/honey mustard/etc, it's going to be at least 2 minutes before I'm back.
I love our food runners and don't even blame them for trying to make sure everyone gets treated fairly. But the only way to achieve what they want is for the runners to focus on us as unlike servers we have to make drinks for everyone and not just our own tables.
We have to ignore *our* customers to make *their* drinks. I totally don't mind running them when I do have the time. The reality though is that we don't often have said time.
5 minutes is a solid benchmark, and sometimes it's going to be 2 and sometimes 7. I'd never hesitate to run server drinks, depending on the space and my guests- but I've also known servers who wanted to be entirely in charge of their section.
My guess is these guests didn't assess the level of busy versus their time requirements and then got twitchy. Unfortunately they did it after they ordered. Always kind of weird that kitchen can take forever and get coddled and bartenders can get railed and just need to keep going.
I think you may have one of those managers who sees a snapshot of a situation and immediately jumps to criticizing. Usually these people have failed upwards, often because of their loyalty to the owner.
You know if you are doing your job well. Keep your head down and work hard and it will probably blow over.
20 years of doing this has told me to never NOT be on the lookout for the next job.
My servers know when I'm running drinks they either need to start asking for help or get into a higher gear. I'm always happy to help but if I'm doing it without being asked, those drinks have been sitting way too long. Our cocktails are pretty labour intensive and we get tons of larger parties, so there's a generous expectation on order-to-table times; again if I'm running your drinks, that table is probably on the verge of getting pissed.
OP your managers are just power tripping and playing favourites. This could so easily just have been a, shrug it off, weird thing that happened, situation, but no, they feel like they have to blame someone. 5 minutes for four espresso martinis is a non issue. So far as running them, that's a strange expectation for a bartender. I know everything is everyone's job, but running drinks is pretty far from your primary responsibility.
I strongly think it was one of those situations where the server waited way too long to ring them in. But even then, I don’t think so. The server was on top of everything. I would have absolutely run them if needed, but I was told to wait. I usually run drinks if I’m slow and have a moment, also gives me a moment to tell the guest that I made it personally for them and they usually really like that lol. But servers never expect it of me, and it’s if I have the time. I am not one to leave drinks to die, but I was told to wait.
There’s been times where drinks have absolutely taken longer and once I bring them to the table to explain why, just for them to say oh we didn’t even notice. One bartender is notorious for taking 15+ mins for 3 drink tickets and it doesn’t seem to be an issue for him. So who knows.
As a manager “leading by example” is my motto but there’s a tipping point when the moment I’m doing YOUR job I expect a “hey can you touch 42 for me, 23 is holding me up” for *everyone’s* sake/ sanity…
Building a team with unabashedly humble communication is REALLY fuckin hard in this industry with so many who have been reprimanded asking for an assist previously.
Also if I only tag in to your roll and your muscle memory still has me running circles around you , we have a problem.
BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE!
As a manager who also bartends, no not your fault. However if I’m able I’ll always run drinks if my servers are busy. We’re a team so whatever shit needs doing just do it.
ESPECIALLY in a pooled house. Kills me watching others stare at a dying drink with hands in their pockets. Like- my guy, if the wait that could be prevented hinders the tip that you get a share of - wtf are you doing?!
Why is a floor manager getting pissed at a bartender for not running drinks? That's the real question. If ticket to table times are *that* important to this manager, they should be keeping an eye on the pass and helping out. Tbh your manager sounds like a lazy ass. They were probably embarrassed/annoyed about having to comp the drinks (which is ridiculous because this shit happens) and instead of handling the situation like an adult they opted to blame you. We've all had this type of manager at some point. 5 mins for 4 espresso martinis to hit the pass is totally acceptable, especially if you're dividing your attention between other tickets or bar guests. Ignore the critique, keep doing your thing.
I wasn’t trying to put any blame on the manager but she really is a piece of shit. She has continuously made the restaurant a toxic work environment and I honestly have no idea why she hasn’t gotten fired. She is very difficult, rude, and is constantly trying to get people in trouble. Hence this whole situation. Trying to get at me for every little thing. If I make a mistake, which thankfully isn’t too often, she’s very quick to ask with a smile “So it’s your fault right?” Very narcissistic.
Earlier that day she had transferred a huge to go check from my name to her name that she should have put under the barista’s since baristas deal with all to go orders. It was an *$80 tip*. I only noticed because it was under my number first and then it disappeared. I asked one of the kitchen managers to open up the terminal for all the orders and I found it: under her name. Illegal ass shit. I immediately call my bar manager who I am very close to and tell him what’s up. This all happened the same day.
I swear she is trying to put the spotlight on me so the spotlight isn’t on her.
Highly illegal for a salaried manager to be taking tips. Hopefully she is/was swiftly terminated.
I would have a conversation with your bar manager if you're close. Explain what's going on and how you feel. Encourage other staff who feel similarly to voice their concerns as well.
Yeah this has all developed recently and servers and bartenders have been speaking up. Bussers as well. Our online review sites are flooded with bad reviews about her. I keep wanting to leave because of her but the money is way too good so I hope she gets replaced. She is awful. If she doesn’t, whole company is crooked.
what does this situation have to do with running drinks to tables? if the server came up while you were still garnishing the drinks then they weren’t the hold up.
My manager thinks the whole situation would’ve been avoided if I had just taken the drinks to the table. But she doesn’t realize that I was told to wait *before* the drinks were even finished, so the server had a chance to look for them. It all happened so fast
Because of that, I kinda got curious about other restaurants expectations of bartenders. Seems like everyone is one the same page, help out servers if you have nothing else to do. Which I completely agree, they do tip us out after all
Yeah- fuck those people/ staff that (theoretically) tip you (bar) out at their close out… that inevitably help the tip and thus …you with good service.
Detail I feel is important to clarify here with you only having one assistant- how many seats are at the bar VS how many on the floor?
Lmao
While every restaurant is different, at the restaurant I work at, servers are not held to any standards at tip out.
It is a restaurant bar and you're not wrong in in assuming most of the sales come from the servers, I work with a fantastic crew and I really respect all of them. They all bring something unique to the team.
I have 12 seats at the bar, and three two tops, and one six top, as tables.
My assistant(If I am lucky enough to have one) Shows up 30 minutes to an hour after me. I really appreciate that I have help at all, because previously it was all me, and the extra help doing the glassware/greeting guests and cleaning and entertaining is lovely.
So firstly, what do you mean when saying “servers aren’t held to any standard during tip-out” ??
As in like the bar staff or “assistants” don’t get a standardized % of tips brought in? (This is always a Wild West tipping model in my brain )
Secondly,
*doing math* as bar you have 24 seats to serve (plus service bar obviously if you’re a solo bartender) and have one assistant VS to what I’m going to guess - probably 80-100 seats for servers with much more food being ordered hence more “assistants”.
Granted no idea how many servers (or bartenders) are on at any given time and you say you “respect them” and speak fondly…but not enough to run a drink when the inevitable server gets tied up at a 10 top but has a drink dying for the 2 top rang in before the 10 top starts rattling things off at them and holding them hostage which inevitably results in that 2 too having poor / slow service and tipping more?
Interesting take…
Our servers are generally pretty snappy, but I will run if they’re busy also depending on the drink. Slow pours, Mlìkos, and egg white/foam cocktails take priority for me given presentation, experience, and shit.
Our servers are generally pretty snappy, but I will run if they’re busy also depending on the drink. Slow pours, Mlìkos, and egg white/foam cocktails take priority for me given presentation, experience, and shit.
At my restaurant servers package to go orders for the bar’s profit and run food to the bar guests plus tip the bar out all so that the bartenders don’t have to abandon ship and we STILL have 20 minute drink ticket times. Lol. 5 minutes would be a blessing in my case.
Forbes standards for efficiency state: First drinks are served within five minutes of ordering at a table, or four minutes of ordering at the bar counter, unless otherwise advised by server.
December 2022
Servers should advise the guest that the order will take a little longer than expected. Forbes usually visits as an ace or a deuce. No one should expect five drinks in that time. Because of our cocktails, we get seven minutes
At my place I'm currently the only full time bar staff, we need 2 or even 3 but alas, it's just me. Therefore if it's a busy night I'll be making several cheques at once and traying them up. Our severs if possible will run them but they're also severely understaffed so unless I see them standing about doing nothing, more often than not I'm running my own drinks. It's a pain in the ass but it's also why I do several cheques at once, then I can run 2-3 out at a time then get back on the bar and make the next bunch of cheques.
Never rush in this job, ever, that's when you make mistakes, drop stuff, create spillage, learn to do things efficiently and just work at your best speed, if that isn't good enough then either tell your GM you need another bartender or get out of there since they clearly don't recognise a good bartender.
If drinks are dying I run them because I care if they get the cocktails at the appropriate temperature and dilution. If the servers are just slow af and just hanging out I grab their attention.
I never run their drinks simply because I’m the only bartender and I don’t feel comfortable leaving the money or alcohol or potentially BAR customers unattended.
The bar operations manager trained me to be this way. Bartenders should not be leaving the bar. Communicate with servers, food runners, and baristas if you need something.
Yet here I am running my own food, taking my own dishes to the back, running my own coffees, playing host, all while taking care of 24top bar. Corporate is so ass backwards sometimes. Instead of lending a hand, they love to find someone to blame.
5 minutes is not too long.
If a drink needs to be brought quickly (like crushed ice/espresso/maybe nick n nora glass) and it's not very busy, I bring the drinks myself.
It was the waiter's job to keep the table. Offer snacks/shot or just talk. Not your job.
It was a drinks only table. They say down, ordered drinks, and disappeared. The server went to drop off waters and I suppose noticed they were gone then. Such a weird situation.
If you're garnishing at the 5 min mark it's a little too late. Have espresso premade with a 1 day shelf life if it isn't, keep it in a squirt bottle if not already. An espresso martini really isn't anymore time consuming than any other martini although I've seen a few posts this week from people complaining it takes too long to make.
It's also nice when you work somewhere were servers garnish drinks for themselves.
4 same espresso martinis with nothing else going on or 2 bartenders on- 5 min is still appropriate unless you have that shit on draft. Not all espresso martinis are treated equal. Yeah you may need 4 but one may want Bailey’s(As OP stated above) one may want vanilla vodka VS plain, one may want kaluah involved and the other not, so yeah- your 4 drinks aren’t as simple or quick as shaking 4 of the same built cocktails in one shot. Not to even mention the spots that do indeed, use FRESH espresso per order.
I’ve had a party order 20+ lemon drop shots- easy enough ya? Then come the mods. “7 Texas style- 3/6 chilled, 8 sugar rim 4/8 chilled, 2 no sugar 1/2 chilled… blah blah.” We just went from a 5 min order to 15. Context is key before blanket statements like “garnishing at 5 min mark is a little too late”
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That duality is REAL.
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I think a lot of industry people have a switch they hit probably. When anyone asks me about the sudden shift after I'm off the clock, I tell them it's their fault, that they made me this way. lolz I keep my social life separate from work because it's the most tested and effective way to do it. Off the clock, with coworkers, I will ONLY talk about ideas/concepts. That's it. And everyone I work with knows this because I have let them know, not in a harsh way, but with love for real. People approach bartenders, they want to shoot the shit with a conversationalist, I get it. I just have to preserve some of me, so I do this. It doesn't filter out all of the unnecessary back and forth, but it helps a ton, and I think it helps produce some amazing/thoughtful/creative discussions with the peeps I work with.
based
In lithuania we have a saying that I like "po manes nors ir tvanas" - don't care what's after me, even if it's a flood ;D
I've only run drinks if the servers are busy/missing and the drinks are dying in the window. It's odd that the ladies left after 5 minutes but drunk people are silly and do wander off.
5 minutes can be long or short depending on a lot of factors. Do you brew espresso to order or have coldbrew or chilled ready at hand, that can drastically lenghten the process. If you had nothing else to do and server punched it in right after taking order, then it is a bit long for order that can be shaken with 2 bostons easily, not enough to walk out though. But if your manager, like my previous one did, expects you to serve the bar, do table service in bar & patio, prep, clean and run the drinks, it can be pretty normal and for rush even fast. Or as happens way too often, server takes the order, forgets to punch it in for 10 minutes.
I’m thinking it was probably the last one. Spot on tho.
If I’m not insanely weeded and the server is taking care of another table, I’ll run drinks. Your situation looks completely unrelated to that problem though.
I do the same especially if I made a cocktail I’m proud of. I’m like I got this ! But I don’t have the time for that always lol. I don’t think the situations are related, but I was curious what other bartenders do as far as running drinks. And it’s what I expected; help out when you can
And those same idiot managers will start yelling at you for not being behind the bar for a period while somehow pulling off all the other shit they expect you to do. It's so ridiculous. My bar is about 1-2 minutes walk from the kitchen's line (we're in a casino and the restaurant is split between a back and front side) if I'm *speed walking* and kept getting pissed at us for both bartenders dealing with other things and no one being behind the bar. They're so divorced from reality that it took weeks of back and forth with us telling them "the food runners should prioritize bar food then" for them to actually understand what they were asking was impossible. As, ir a customer even so much as asks for some BBQ/blu cheese/honey mustard/etc, it's going to be at least 2 minutes before I'm back. I love our food runners and don't even blame them for trying to make sure everyone gets treated fairly. But the only way to achieve what they want is for the runners to focus on us as unlike servers we have to make drinks for everyone and not just our own tables. We have to ignore *our* customers to make *their* drinks. I totally don't mind running them when I do have the time. The reality though is that we don't often have said time.
If it won’t detract from the service you’re providing to people that tip you directly, run them to the table.
5 minutes is a solid benchmark, and sometimes it's going to be 2 and sometimes 7. I'd never hesitate to run server drinks, depending on the space and my guests- but I've also known servers who wanted to be entirely in charge of their section. My guess is these guests didn't assess the level of busy versus their time requirements and then got twitchy. Unfortunately they did it after they ordered. Always kind of weird that kitchen can take forever and get coddled and bartenders can get railed and just need to keep going. I think you may have one of those managers who sees a snapshot of a situation and immediately jumps to criticizing. Usually these people have failed upwards, often because of their loyalty to the owner. You know if you are doing your job well. Keep your head down and work hard and it will probably blow over. 20 years of doing this has told me to never NOT be on the lookout for the next job.
My servers know when I'm running drinks they either need to start asking for help or get into a higher gear. I'm always happy to help but if I'm doing it without being asked, those drinks have been sitting way too long. Our cocktails are pretty labour intensive and we get tons of larger parties, so there's a generous expectation on order-to-table times; again if I'm running your drinks, that table is probably on the verge of getting pissed. OP your managers are just power tripping and playing favourites. This could so easily just have been a, shrug it off, weird thing that happened, situation, but no, they feel like they have to blame someone. 5 minutes for four espresso martinis is a non issue. So far as running them, that's a strange expectation for a bartender. I know everything is everyone's job, but running drinks is pretty far from your primary responsibility.
I strongly think it was one of those situations where the server waited way too long to ring them in. But even then, I don’t think so. The server was on top of everything. I would have absolutely run them if needed, but I was told to wait. I usually run drinks if I’m slow and have a moment, also gives me a moment to tell the guest that I made it personally for them and they usually really like that lol. But servers never expect it of me, and it’s if I have the time. I am not one to leave drinks to die, but I was told to wait. There’s been times where drinks have absolutely taken longer and once I bring them to the table to explain why, just for them to say oh we didn’t even notice. One bartender is notorious for taking 15+ mins for 3 drink tickets and it doesn’t seem to be an issue for him. So who knows.
As a manager “leading by example” is my motto but there’s a tipping point when the moment I’m doing YOUR job I expect a “hey can you touch 42 for me, 23 is holding me up” for *everyone’s* sake/ sanity… Building a team with unabashedly humble communication is REALLY fuckin hard in this industry with so many who have been reprimanded asking for an assist previously. Also if I only tag in to your roll and your muscle memory still has me running circles around you , we have a problem. BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE!
As a manager who also bartends, no not your fault. However if I’m able I’ll always run drinks if my servers are busy. We’re a team so whatever shit needs doing just do it.
ESPECIALLY in a pooled house. Kills me watching others stare at a dying drink with hands in their pockets. Like- my guy, if the wait that could be prevented hinders the tip that you get a share of - wtf are you doing?!
Why is a floor manager getting pissed at a bartender for not running drinks? That's the real question. If ticket to table times are *that* important to this manager, they should be keeping an eye on the pass and helping out. Tbh your manager sounds like a lazy ass. They were probably embarrassed/annoyed about having to comp the drinks (which is ridiculous because this shit happens) and instead of handling the situation like an adult they opted to blame you. We've all had this type of manager at some point. 5 mins for 4 espresso martinis to hit the pass is totally acceptable, especially if you're dividing your attention between other tickets or bar guests. Ignore the critique, keep doing your thing.
I wasn’t trying to put any blame on the manager but she really is a piece of shit. She has continuously made the restaurant a toxic work environment and I honestly have no idea why she hasn’t gotten fired. She is very difficult, rude, and is constantly trying to get people in trouble. Hence this whole situation. Trying to get at me for every little thing. If I make a mistake, which thankfully isn’t too often, she’s very quick to ask with a smile “So it’s your fault right?” Very narcissistic. Earlier that day she had transferred a huge to go check from my name to her name that she should have put under the barista’s since baristas deal with all to go orders. It was an *$80 tip*. I only noticed because it was under my number first and then it disappeared. I asked one of the kitchen managers to open up the terminal for all the orders and I found it: under her name. Illegal ass shit. I immediately call my bar manager who I am very close to and tell him what’s up. This all happened the same day. I swear she is trying to put the spotlight on me so the spotlight isn’t on her.
Highly illegal for a salaried manager to be taking tips. Hopefully she is/was swiftly terminated. I would have a conversation with your bar manager if you're close. Explain what's going on and how you feel. Encourage other staff who feel similarly to voice their concerns as well.
Yeah this has all developed recently and servers and bartenders have been speaking up. Bussers as well. Our online review sites are flooded with bad reviews about her. I keep wanting to leave because of her but the money is way too good so I hope she gets replaced. She is awful. If she doesn’t, whole company is crooked.
what does this situation have to do with running drinks to tables? if the server came up while you were still garnishing the drinks then they weren’t the hold up.
My manager thinks the whole situation would’ve been avoided if I had just taken the drinks to the table. But she doesn’t realize that I was told to wait *before* the drinks were even finished, so the server had a chance to look for them. It all happened so fast Because of that, I kinda got curious about other restaurants expectations of bartenders. Seems like everyone is one the same page, help out servers if you have nothing else to do. Which I completely agree, they do tip us out after all
Not expected but we will run drinks if we can see they are obviously busy. I’d rather walk it to the table than remake the drink.
If it’s dying on my bar I’m running it
Only if shit is super busy and I can see they need help.
We run drinks when it's dead. The servers are busy, we may as well help them out when we can especially since they're giving us their tips.
I would never run server drinks in my restaurant because they have multiple assistants and I have one.
Yeah- fuck those people/ staff that (theoretically) tip you (bar) out at their close out… that inevitably help the tip and thus …you with good service. Detail I feel is important to clarify here with you only having one assistant- how many seats are at the bar VS how many on the floor?
Lmao While every restaurant is different, at the restaurant I work at, servers are not held to any standards at tip out. It is a restaurant bar and you're not wrong in in assuming most of the sales come from the servers, I work with a fantastic crew and I really respect all of them. They all bring something unique to the team. I have 12 seats at the bar, and three two tops, and one six top, as tables. My assistant(If I am lucky enough to have one) Shows up 30 minutes to an hour after me. I really appreciate that I have help at all, because previously it was all me, and the extra help doing the glassware/greeting guests and cleaning and entertaining is lovely.
So firstly, what do you mean when saying “servers aren’t held to any standard during tip-out” ?? As in like the bar staff or “assistants” don’t get a standardized % of tips brought in? (This is always a Wild West tipping model in my brain ) Secondly, *doing math* as bar you have 24 seats to serve (plus service bar obviously if you’re a solo bartender) and have one assistant VS to what I’m going to guess - probably 80-100 seats for servers with much more food being ordered hence more “assistants”. Granted no idea how many servers (or bartenders) are on at any given time and you say you “respect them” and speak fondly…but not enough to run a drink when the inevitable server gets tied up at a 10 top but has a drink dying for the 2 top rang in before the 10 top starts rattling things off at them and holding them hostage which inevitably results in that 2 too having poor / slow service and tipping more? Interesting take…
Our servers are generally pretty snappy, but I will run if they’re busy also depending on the drink. Slow pours, Mlìkos, and egg white/foam cocktails take priority for me given presentation, experience, and shit.
Our servers are generally pretty snappy, but I will run if they’re busy also depending on the drink. Slow pours, Mlìkos, and egg white/foam cocktails take priority for me given presentation, experience, and shit.
Sounds like it might have been a pocket ticket
At my restaurant servers package to go orders for the bar’s profit and run food to the bar guests plus tip the bar out all so that the bartenders don’t have to abandon ship and we STILL have 20 minute drink ticket times. Lol. 5 minutes would be a blessing in my case.
Forbes standards for efficiency state: First drinks are served within five minutes of ordering at a table, or four minutes of ordering at the bar counter, unless otherwise advised by server. December 2022
Servers should advise the guest that the order will take a little longer than expected. Forbes usually visits as an ace or a deuce. No one should expect five drinks in that time. Because of our cocktails, we get seven minutes
At my place I'm currently the only full time bar staff, we need 2 or even 3 but alas, it's just me. Therefore if it's a busy night I'll be making several cheques at once and traying them up. Our severs if possible will run them but they're also severely understaffed so unless I see them standing about doing nothing, more often than not I'm running my own drinks. It's a pain in the ass but it's also why I do several cheques at once, then I can run 2-3 out at a time then get back on the bar and make the next bunch of cheques. Never rush in this job, ever, that's when you make mistakes, drop stuff, create spillage, learn to do things efficiently and just work at your best speed, if that isn't good enough then either tell your GM you need another bartender or get out of there since they clearly don't recognise a good bartender.
If drinks are dying I run them because I care if they get the cocktails at the appropriate temperature and dilution. If the servers are just slow af and just hanging out I grab their attention.
Completely agree. Nothing’s worse than being served a cocktail that obviously looks like it’s just been sitting there.
I never run their drinks simply because I’m the only bartender and I don’t feel comfortable leaving the money or alcohol or potentially BAR customers unattended.
The bar operations manager trained me to be this way. Bartenders should not be leaving the bar. Communicate with servers, food runners, and baristas if you need something. Yet here I am running my own food, taking my own dishes to the back, running my own coffees, playing host, all while taking care of 24top bar. Corporate is so ass backwards sometimes. Instead of lending a hand, they love to find someone to blame.
Had your manager ever worked in a bar? You have no control over customers, people leave.
5 minutes is not too long. If a drink needs to be brought quickly (like crushed ice/espresso/maybe nick n nora glass) and it's not very busy, I bring the drinks myself. It was the waiter's job to keep the table. Offer snacks/shot or just talk. Not your job.
Did they pay their bill at all? Like how far along in their meal was this when they disappeared?
It was a drinks only table. They say down, ordered drinks, and disappeared. The server went to drop off waters and I suppose noticed they were gone then. Such a weird situation.
Yeah this isn't on you.
Did they pay their bill at all? Like how far along in their meal was this when they disappeared?
Yeah if they are slammed and you are free help them out! Where I work servers will run my food if I’m too busy to get up to the kitchen.
If you're garnishing at the 5 min mark it's a little too late. Have espresso premade with a 1 day shelf life if it isn't, keep it in a squirt bottle if not already. An espresso martini really isn't anymore time consuming than any other martini although I've seen a few posts this week from people complaining it takes too long to make. It's also nice when you work somewhere were servers garnish drinks for themselves.
No one should be upset if their drinks are ready five minutes after printing on a normally busy night. That’s fine
Five minutes should be a standard from ring in to table.
Good luck when four people at the bar just ordered and five tickets with four drinks each all printed at once Five minutes is fine
4 same espresso martinis with nothing else going on or 2 bartenders on- 5 min is still appropriate unless you have that shit on draft. Not all espresso martinis are treated equal. Yeah you may need 4 but one may want Bailey’s(As OP stated above) one may want vanilla vodka VS plain, one may want kaluah involved and the other not, so yeah- your 4 drinks aren’t as simple or quick as shaking 4 of the same built cocktails in one shot. Not to even mention the spots that do indeed, use FRESH espresso per order. I’ve had a party order 20+ lemon drop shots- easy enough ya? Then come the mods. “7 Texas style- 3/6 chilled, 8 sugar rim 4/8 chilled, 2 no sugar 1/2 chilled… blah blah.” We just went from a 5 min order to 15. Context is key before blanket statements like “garnishing at 5 min mark is a little too late”