fabulous, much appreciated post, thank you!
we are into chem-free scalps here, too. i was thinking about you and yours soaps, wondering if you will start selling them???? :)
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Thanks in advance for your cooperation with the above conditions. I hope you find it useful.It helped me with ocean of knowledge so I really believe you will do much better in the future I appreciate everything you have added to my knowledge base .I was at Cafe Des Amis in Cow Hollow the other night. As usual, I sat at my preferred spot to eat dinner: The bar. I was pleasantly surprised to see a bartender there that has served me in the past when he worked at Perbacco. His name is Scott Wolf and he's my kind of guy: friendly, a little saucy, always professional and on his game.
Regards,
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I've actually had a few drinks made by Scott Wolf. Pleasantly surprised to read about his skills making drinks. He was quite charming and anything but rude or unfriendly. I read the comments about him only serving or being friendly with women he's hitting on or the one about not cracking a smile. Sounds like Scott must be really good to have envious people take the time to find the article and leave negative comments. And let's say he actually did the things the negative comments accuse him of - something tells me they dseerved it. Works for me. I'm polite and courteous with people doing their jobs well.

Nice article Sara, good thread to all. I ran across thread while trying to find pricing etiquette for Bars in California. We have some favorite Bars in San Jose (because of the Bartenders). One place has a bartender whose personality is just crap, we only go there to meet, talk, and play bar video games, have one drink and leave, UNLESS any of the other bartenders are working we will stick around. A couple of nights my lady friend was waiting for me, during that time (2 ½ hours) she had ordered two well drinks over ice with coke back and played the game. She never got the coke back and when she asked after her second drink he charged her for it. Couldn't believe it, we always get the same drinks, and he decided he had to stir the pot up. Every time before I show up he try to be a dick. Anyway, we decided to change locations anytime he's working. Anyway, has anyone ever been charged for a soda back? I know if I order a screwdriver, I get charged the same as if I order a vodka shot.

For more news about booze, visit: http://www.boozenews.com/

Thanks for the interesting post...as always, contrarian opinions foster lively conversation. Reposted at: http://tinyurl.com/2cczdzj

I would hardly call this guy a "mixologist" He's a bartender and every drink is about his ego. I've been at the bars he's worked at. He's friendly but only to women he's hitting on. Not anywhere near worthy of mention in an article. So many other people you could have picked to write a really interesting article. Too bad.

Like everything related to Prohibition, these bars, with their attention to detail and devotion to process and flavor, have made a revival. But everyone knows the bars where aforementioned frou frou drinks are served, and everyone has a right not to visit these places. You wouldn't go to a high end store and then complain about the prices and how long it took someone to wrap your new purchase in tissue paper, would you?

If I want gold dust in my drink, I go to Alembic. If I want good wine, I go to a wine bar. If it don't really care, I got to almost any other bar in town. Personally I like to visit these speakeasy-style bars (and any bar, really) on the off hours so my drink comes faster and I don't have to fight the crowds. Granted, people in service roles should always be really nice, (hey, I was a great waitress) but bartenders are usually more friendly and relaxed when they don't have a full house.

As always: if you go to a popular place, expect it to be busy. That's why it's considered popular.

Thanks for making an excellent point--this froo-froo fanaticism over drinks that take 15 minutes and 15 ingredients to make is not only ridiculous, but some bar owners apparently view it as a valid excuse to understaff the bar.

Additionally, the negative comment about "Scot" sounds more like "Scotty" who's been floating around southern Marin for a decade or more--I sure hope it's not him, cause he's landed somewhere I don't drink and I sure don't miss his preference to polish bottles over serving customers....

OK, So I was at Amis the other night and this bartender who wouldn't crack a smile to save his life just looked right at me and turned his back without so much as a hello. I finely did get served from a nice woman working bar. When I asked her what that guys problem is, she just replied, " that's just Scott ". I found this guy to be one of the rudest bartenders I ever came across. My point is, it's not a complicated cocktail that makes for bad service, its attitude that can come from any bartender from the Ritz to the Bus Stop. For me the drinks at Beretta are so much better than Amis and the wait is the same. It's all about how busy they get.

First off, thank you for your article. To me, business is ALWAYS about customer service. Whether you consider yourself a bartender or a mixologist; whether you're pouring a scotch and soda or crafting a more complex drink. The problem I see here is not the type of cocktails being made. In fact, I feel a lot of positive things have come out of the push toward artisinal cocktails. For instance, I've found that bars are more likely to have fresh ingredients readily available - as well as an overall higher-quality alcohol selections. If anything, the popularity of places like Beretta, B&B, etc, shows that people DO enjoy a delicately crafted cocktail. However, this does not excuse slow service, nor a snobby attitude. If I owned an establishment that had a 30 minute wait for cocktails (and yes, I've had this same experience at Beretta as well as Smuggler's Cove) I'd try to remedy the problem by either hiring more bartenders, adjusting my menu, requiring reservations...so on and so forth.

Whatever the case may be, business IS customer service - and not simply in a strategic way. It's about serving and connecting with your community. It's about telling your story.. If you're in business to take advantage of people, or just to make a buck, you're misguided. And these days, with the internet being as powerful in the hands of the consumer as it is, you're in for some trouble.

Thanks again.

Sara, great article.
As a bar owner of multiple locations I have found that a bartender who cares about the customer will always outsell the mixologist in the long run. While I love some of the fantastic creations that are coming out of the "mixology" bars I have always subscribed to the belief that great service and a good drink will always lead to return business, while a great drink with lousy service will not.
While we serve some pretty far out drinks at our Tiki bar, the Bamboo Hut, and some fine cocktails are going over the bar at Mr. Smith's we are careful not to make them so complicated that we can't get them out in a reasonable amount of time.
So all I can say is my staff is on board!
Hope to see you out and about soon,
Max

If every bar in town had replaced their "bartenders" with "mixologists", then I would see your point. But they haven't. Want a fancy "mixologist" drink? Go to an appropriate bar.
Want a jack & coke? Go to any of the hundreds of bars in SF that still have regular "bartenders".

Leave those of us who like fancy drinks the few mixology establishments there are (I mean really, how many are there? 30? 50? out of over 5,000 bars in this town?) and stop your whining.

And Orbit Room has always been a fancy, custom-made, slow kind of place. This isn't new; it's been that way for 10 years or so, so don't act like you didn't expect it.

I agree completely here! I was at the Orbit Room (max offenders) and it took at least 8 minutes for a Margarita! Was it good? Yes - was it better than what Katie serves me at Kilowatt- NO. Please let's get back to drinking, getting drunk, and having fun!

I think the mixologist have become so caught up in their egos they have missed the key word in service industry- SERVICE! It used to be about what the customer wanted and now it is about what they want you to drink. If I order Grey Goose and soda, I am not looking for a lecture on why vodka is bad...I just want my drink. Please pour it and help the next person.

Beretta "mixologists"...hands down, the the biggest offenders. I ordered a scotch & soda from our server, and she came back 10 mins later and suggested I order wine, because a cocktail from the bar was going to take 20-30 minutes. Seriously? Even at the bar you have to practically light your hair on fire to get them to notice you.