Brainless About The Barman Basics

My sister and I went to a local pub around the corner from our house to have a couple of drinks. I saw what I wanted in the fridge behind the bar.

Me: “Can I have the [Irish Cider], cherry flavour, please?”

Sister: “And can I have a dry white wine, please?”

For those who don’t know much about wine, white wine generally gets kept chilled in the fridge, not just left on the shelf.

Barman: “Eh… what was that, sorry?”

Me: “An Irish cherry cider. Also a dry white wine for my sister, please?”

Barman: “We have cider, but not the kind you want!”

Me: “Yes, you do.” *Points to the fridge* “Over there.”

Barman: “Oh, we don’t have cherry flavour. Also, what colour is cherry, anyway?”

Me: “Cherry can depend on the season, but on this occasion, it’s the dark red on the third shelf up, four in!” *Points*

The barman checked the location for what seemed an eternity.

Barman: “Oh, I did not know we had that…”

He placed it on the bar and went to get the white wine.

Me: *To my sister* “That was interesting. Even [Six-Year-Old Niece] and [Six-Year-Old Nephew] would know the colour of cherry!”

The barman came back from taking a bottle of white wine, not from the fridge beside him, but from a shelf further up the bar, and started pouring.

Sister: “Ehm, pardon me? What are you doing? White wine gets served chilled, unlike red wine. I see you have a bottle of [White Wine]. I will have that, please.”

The barman gave her a confused look.

Sister: “I see you’re still pouring. I won’t be having that. Please get the wine I asked for.”

Grumpily, the barman went and got the wine from the fridge and poured the wine as per request. Then, he left the bottle of white wine, from the fridge, on the bar with the lid off, not closing it or even putting it in the fridge.

Sister: “Can I see your manager, please?”

Luckily for us, the manager just happened to come out of the office at that time and walked past the bar.

Manager: “Hello, I’m the manager. How can I help?”

My sister explained the situation, and the manager, dumbfounded by this, turned to the barman.

Manager: “They are not paying for these drinks. Also, what did we teach in training? Do you not remember the brands we sell or how to store wine? I specifically remember [Other Employee] telling you this. One more mistake and you’re out.”

The manager directed us to a table to enjoy our drinks.

As my sister picked up the wine glass to drink, she noticed a lipstick stain on the rim.The barman sheepishly changed the glass over. We did notice that the white wine got moved to the fridge eventually.

We’ve been there a couple of times since then over the years and have never seen or heard of that barman again.