A Note From an Anonymous Bartender

• your a moron. the 9-5 that you slave @ all day suckling @ the mans tit isn't a career either once you like the rest of america get laid off for no reason. there's no loyalty. @ least bartenders are social have fun and clearly get way more ass than your tight ass. then open your own bar. bartending is a means to an end douche. typically there is a bigger goal at the end. but you...your just happy as a pig in shit getting coffee scurrying around the office with your thumb up your ass.

• Very funny. This guy must be a newbie bartender and the old timers are jerking his chain because I’ve been a bartender for longer than I want to admit, and you may rest assured, I don’t pick cigarette butts out of urinals. I be the whole staff is texting their friends … “you won’t believe what we made the new bartender do ….

• See.... Jim here finally got the point. Just try to focus on what the message was all about, bartender was just trying to scare people a bit by saying that phrase for them not make a mess back in the toilet.

• Boy I'm glad I don't hang out in bars too much. Now I'll be sure to use the ashtrays! ;)

• Very amusing sign. As for the commentary: 1. Many bartenders can and do make a good living. 2. I haven't known a lot of bartenders, but those I have have been pretty intelligent. It also doesn't hurt to have a good memory and to have heard of *many* different mixed drinks and shots. It's not all pouring beer and wine. 3. Many people who have proven IQs at the genius level still misspell words from time to time. 4. To the person "barely scraping by" on $52k a year, either there is a pretty high cost of living where you live, or you don't know what "barely scraping by" means.

• All of those talking smack about bartenders...say those things to a bartender in person when they're serving you your drink next time, ingrates.

• To all, It does not matter how much education you have right now with the economy the way it is; would rather have any kind of job even if it is a Bar tending job! To those with all these degrees, imagine yourself getting layed off without any notice or having the company go belly up and you're out of work tomarrow? Would you take any job that you can get until you can get a better job or take state assistance until you find that job that pays 50+ grand a year? So why don't all of you settle down and have a nice conversation? By the way, I do not have all kinds of degrees and work on Wall Street and able to spell correctly without using spell check. All I have is a high school diploma and hate taking english in any kind of school setting.

• Learn to comprehend what someone writes, Idiot!

• Look, just don't throw butts in the urinal because it makes them soggy and hard to light.

• That's awesome.

• All I can tell you is that I tried to be a bartender once. I sucked at it. I'm not exactly stupid (I'm sure some of you will disagree, just on principle). It's hard work and difficult to do well. Good speling was not a requirement, but speed, precision, patience, a good memory, good sense of humor, ability to work with all types of people... all of those were requirements. (Yes, I know I misspelled "spelling")

• I can picture you people going all red-eye insane, fingers stabbing away at your keyboards, wishing it was someone's throat- while typing something argumentative and stupid. Don't know where or what Riverfront is, but please, fucking stay there.

• * Pennies, idiot.

• someone with brains, I really hope the name you used was meant to be ironic. They paid her way through their education by working as a bartender, and isn't claiming to have a PHD in bartending. Please, consider using the brains you claim to have. Open mouth, insert foot.

• @Tyler, so true. Scary.

• LMX what are you talking about? It's hard to make mistakes when using grade school grammar? Um what? My comment was referring to all the retards that can't form a sentence that makes sense. MEANING that people who can't speak correctly should go back to gradeschool, where those things are learned, and actually learn them this time. Clearly LMX you are one of these people that I speak of if you couldn't make sense of my very simple remark. It's ok. Don't feel bad. You can join the likes of Billy Madison and Spicoli and have a grand ol' time relearning your abc's.

• WHO CARES?! it was a funny sign. A good laugh...that's it. all of you are fags for going so far as to argue about bartending. P.S. "someone with brains" is a moron.

• My lead Bartender made $44,000 last year on the books working 4 nights a week. I would estimate he cleared another $15,000 under the table. I make all bartenders declare 10% of their total sales in tips to protect myself and them from IRS scrutiny.

• A bartender: I agree that bar tending is not just a bunch of idiots and that there are many intelligent people working as bar tenders. But what separates the wheat from the chaff is that these intelligent people usually don't take bar tending too seriously as for them it's just a transitional occupation for say, current or newly graduated students, or just quick work for anyone thats down in this economy (literally anybody can be a bartender with a few weeks certification training which I have heard from a bar tending friend a good portion of that can be summed up simply as "don't serve minors"). The people that take it very seriously as their entire career on the other hand, either have a very sweet spot and make very exceptional tips nightly, or else they simply lack any other life skills and are just incapable of a job that requires much more out of a person. It also varies state by state how much in tips you can expect. Some states are much more frugal in general than others - a bartender on Wall Street is likely getting higher tips than one in North Dakota. It may be a good idea in some places to be a bar tender, but there are many places where it just doesn't pay to be.

• WEAR A GLOVE!!! Yeeeoooowww

• For me, it doesn't mean he doesn't wash his hands. It means that the man who is serving our drinks and helping us to have a good time is the same that will have to clean if we make a mess, so, be polite and be clean!

• re: Tax-free income I'm not saying that you waitstaff don't pay any income taxes, I'm simply stating a fact that not reporting all of your income is against the law. Now, maybe some people don't have an issue with that, but I know that a lot of people would like half (or more) of their income to be untraceable. I am just questioning the legitimacy of a profession that relies on the lack of a paper trail. @Mad H - I never said I was "so incensed" with tax-free income - I accept that it is part of the world we live in. And as a matter of fact, I am a very generous tipper as I spent a number of years living off of tips (which I did my best to report accurately).

• Lakawak, nice do know peeps like you exist to make those like me seem even more awesome! Thanks dope.

• Wildcard - I'm not saying that hospitality workers (bartenders/servers) don't pay income tax... they are taxed upon their hourly wage just like everyone else. I was trying to explain to 'Bob' that the tips collected are mostly untraceable and therefore tax-free (as hand-to-hand cash transactions cannot be traced). All Hospitality workers claim a percent of their gross yearly total... which is usually based on credit card tips, due to the paper trail.

• Silly, silly bartender. That's what buffet tongs are for!

• @Wildcard Haha, try not tipping any of your waitresses ever then if you're so incensed by tax-free income (you didn't say it straight out but it was pretty obvious). See the kind of service you get if you ever go back. If we did not operate on a tip system then our gratuity workers would simply earn an hourly wage equivalent to their abilities -- good luck convincing EVERYONE to stop tipping them right away though. As it is, they're always paid less than minimum wage because they're expected to work hard and earn tips - more tips equals the mark of a better bartender/waitress/bellhop/etc. Being shitty at your job nets you peanuts, being great at your job gets you an amazing income. Now, if you're just getting upset that they have the potential to earn more than you because they're "just bartenders" well, go do the job...and see how easy or not it is. Seriously, if the job is "so easy" and the tip potential is so large, why don't you pouty-faces go for it? Also -- supporting two people on less than $30K isn't hard, but America has shown itself to have serious problems with not buying frivolous shit all the time and getting into debt because of it.

• I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the sign served as a reminder that people have to clean up after you -- so please don't make a mess. NOT, bahahaha...I'm going to wipe down the inside of the urinal with my fingertips and then make you a cheap $3 special well drink.

• Why do humans insist on arguing with each other in comment boxes on the internet?

• I make about 150-200 a night bartending, and 250+ on Friday and Saturday's. Its pretty nice. I pour a few drinks and get to talk to people of all walks of life. You can really sharpen your social skills and network with many different people when bartending. It sounds there there are a lot of trolls on here trying to get a reaction, or spoiled d!ckhe@ds who have never had to work hard in life and have no respect for people who are "lower" on the affluence scale. By the way bartending is my side job and I make almost as much as my day job as an accountant. Go stick your head back up your a$$.

• I'm sorry that you missed my point, friend. I was merely stating that bartending isn't a low-income "bottom of the employment barrel" job that is "one notch above McDonalds". My post-secondary education is irrelevant. I only brought it up to prove two points. Primarily, I was attempting to illustrate that bartenders and other service industry workers aren't as 'dumb' as you might think (regardless of the misspelling above). Secondly, I was trying to speak from experience - considering it payed for 14 years of post-secondary education - that the perceptions posted on this thread are completely uninformed and ignorant. Clearly the subtlety of the joke is lost on you 'shit for brains'... oops, I meant 'someone with brains'... nahhh, who am I kidding??

• Someone with brains - if you had actually read A bartender's statement you would have realized that he was not claiming to have advanced degrees in bartending, but that the money he earned as a bartender paid for the cost of his higher education. The ability to read is enhanced greatly when coupled with ability to comprehend. You should give it a shot.

• So according to "A bartender" the way that you can make a good living is by not paying income taxes? Are you trying to prove or disprove that bartending is a legitimate job?

• @Someone with brains, YOU ARE AN IDIOT. I am a college student and a bartender, and guess what pays for my tuition my books, my car payment, my rent.... Bar tending. Oh and just so you know I didn't go to bar tending school, you are stupid and do not think before you speak. I will bring in about 75K this year bar tending... what is it that you do again besides make absurd comments on a forum?

• Oh yes, B.A. M.A. PH.D., yes yes, you can really get that for pouring drinks... oh wait http://www.reference.com/motif/Education/how-much-does-bartending-school-cost Hmm, $200 bucks for a bar tending education it seems. Sorry your made up bullshit is not appreciated bartender person. They don't hand out degrees for pouring shit into a cup. They hand out degrees for endless hours of studying, weekends spent on big projects, and months of work on your thesis over the course of 4+ years. 2 weeks at a community college for serving drinks just doesn't measure up to that (you must be fairly delusional to think it does). You learn how to pour your own drinks when you stopped using diapers. "A bartender", your self worth is ill conceived. But I guess you wouldn't know being incapable of handling a more complex task such as ... well anything is more complex than pouring a liquid.

• Bob's right, bartenders do make less than the poverty line... on the books. Those stats don't take into account any of the tips earned, as they are 'cash-in-hand' transactions, completely off the books, and tax-free. You don't have to work in a ritzy place to make ends meet. Most bartenders I know and have worked with, make anywhere between $50-65K working 3-4 days a week. Hmmm... doesn't sound so bad, does it??

• Wow. It's really sad to read these comments. Some of you have not only missed the entire point (and subtle joke), but are too pompous and obtuse to realize it. I payed for my entire university career (B.A., M.A., & PH.D.) bartending... and trust me when I say that the money can potentially be good enough to purchase a house and raise a family. Furthermore, bartending and other service industry jobs aren't 'lower class'. Lakawak, your ignorance is truly staggering... shmuck.

• When ur making 700-850 a week I think that's a pretty damn good job. Its very real and its very much a teaching tool for social skills and learning how to talk with the public on every level.... Among many other skills.

• Bartending - you pour drinks. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), they are among the lowest income workers in America - well below the poverty line. Unless your one of the lucky bar tenders working at a really high end place where non-stingy rich people go, your scraping the bottom of the employment barrel. For example on BLS: in North Dakota, typical jobs range from 30k - 70k a year, while bar tending is typically only 17k. I make 52k a year and I barely scrape by. I can only imagine making anything less would NOT be making a good living by any measure.

• If this bartender doesn't actually wash his hands out of spite after that part of his JOB, he is a bigger asshole than the people who put stuff in the urinals. Just because a few assholes put stuff in the urinals doesn't mean those that don't should have pissy chips. That's like nuking Iraq because of a few terrorists.

• Jen, it's hard to make spelling and grammar mistakes when you're using grade school english. I don't think your comment made any more sense than the other comments you were referring too.

• I've heard bartenders can make crazy cash in tips. Also, I like turtles.

• These comments suck.

• My god. You all are so pathetic. Not one of you managed to leave a comment that made any sense. All of you need to go back to grade school and seriously study your spelling and grammar. It's hard for me to imagine any of you functioning in the real world.

• I'm so glad that the customers who visit my bar appreciate good artisanry and respect the job with its multiple responsibilities. But, uhm.. yeah keep telling me that Dale DeGroeff, Harry Craddock, Hidetsugu Ueno, Angus Winchester, Simon Difford, Gary Regan, Peter Dorelli, J�Meyer, Jamie Bodreau, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Robert Hess and all the other great ones aren't doing a "real" job...

• You guys all need to quit bitching, or at least be more intelligent with your statements. I swear to god I see the the media and the intwerwebs degrading to just like that movie Ideocracy daily and it scares the shit out of me.

• Lakawak sound like an arrogant bastard to me. I'm glad that bartending is a real job; would be pretty inconvenient to get a drink withot anyone attending to the bar.

• Anyone who thinks bartenders don't make a good living is too poor to go to anything other than a trashy dive bar.

• Well, it certainly gets the point across.

• ur a moron brenda. hes talkin about part time jobs at mcdonalds not managers u fool.

• I don't know, I make pretty good money as a bartender. And when I have to pick stuff out of the urinals from jerks like Lakawak, I just wash my hands with that stuff called soap. And by the way, my sister is a manager at McDonalds and she makes a damn good living.

• Maybe John as a bartender don't have a career like the guys up on Wall Street who steal from everybody including you Lakamak...those guys should be in jail or picking up butts on the side of the roads.

• It is easy to be a bad bartender but hard to be a good one. Don't lump all bartenders together.

• John...if you are a bartender..realize you don't have an actual job. You will nt be bartending for a career and sure as hell will not be making engouh money to live on your entire life. It is one notch above McDonalds. One.

• Anthony, bar tending is a serious job. Anyone that belittles it has obviously never been a bartender. And probably doesn't tip either. Cheap ass.

• Obviously bar tending is the only job this person could obtain, can't even spell "Penny" correctly, lol.

• I'm staying away from there. Who knows how much crap that person picks out of the urinals before you even get there.

• That's about the nastiest thing I've seen all day.

TotalComments: 57