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I once spent many years working in the service industry, mainly as a bar worker before I had the privilege of working my way up to the point of writing about the service instead. I think it gives me an upper hand in the criticism stakes having served my time as it were. I still vividly remember the trials and tribulations of working in busy city pubs, sophisticated fish restaurants and a local boozer that was full of ‘characters’. What sticks in my mind more than most, is that some things just cannot be avoided and sometimes we should not be so harsh to judge what we perceive as shoddy service. A lot of the time, it is failing equipment, or inadequate equipment that lets a bar person down, not their ability to do their job.

One of the greatest nightmares that can happen in any establishment, big or small, local or corporate chain, is for the glasswasher to break. This is a vital piece of bar equipment and is absolutely essential to the smooth running of a bar. Time to clean glasses by hand is in no way taken into consideration when employing an appropriate number of staff. Glasswashing just isn’t part of the job, loading and unloading the machine is. When a washer breaks, it is pretty much game over. Having a pub full of thirsty drunks wanting a drink suddenly translates as being in a real life zombie movie; moaning, wailing bleary eyed staggering deadbeats all trying to get to you, disregarding any obstacle in their way!

There is no way any reasonable customer, or critic, should go blaming the bar maid for bad service on a shift like that. The only place for criticism on that front is the management of the establishment. What they should make sure of is that the equipment is of a good enough quality for the catering demands of the bar, and that it is regularly serviced. Too often it is the management that causes the service to be inadequate by placing unreasonable expectations on its workers. Provisions should be made for when these inevitable glitches happen and gremlins somehow get in the works.

When it comes down to it, those glasswashers are pretty much the bane of a barmaid’s existence. It seems that it’s the only place for those damn gremlins to hide; that and the ice machine. Granted, the occasional optic might leak, maybe the gas in the cellar will be temperamental, but with these hitches, there are always alternatives to offer people. Even with a green feller in the ice machine, punters can opt to not have ice. You just can’t pour drinks if you’ve got no glasses. Poor cleaning of the washer or attempting to wash anything other than glass in it can have pretty dire consequences on the quality of service offered to a customer. A spot of general maintenance goes a long way.

One time, I recall witnessing a customer return a drink… there was something quite gross and unidentifiable in the glass. It transpired that someone had been washing the lunch plates in the glasswasher and it was a rehydrated mushroom. Now that is a reason to criticise the staff, unless it was management that clumsily stepped in. I believe that it is the duty of the critic to understand the background of the trade and understand or empathise with conditions the staff have to work under. Without this there can be a terrible mistake of blaming the barmaid and not the bar steward behind her.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the catering industry.
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