I worked at a bar long ago. There was this regular who would come in multiple times a week. He was a dead ringer for George Hamilton; an older guy, way too tan, with silver hair.

The other bartenders and a few customers warned me he had this one disgustingly cringe pickup line he always used and at some point, he’d corner me too. When he did, I was ready:

Regular: “What would you say if I told you I wanted to lick you from your toes to your nose?”

Me: “I’d say that was a really awful pick-up line.”

With that, I walked away. Not totally devastating but he left me alone after that!

I’m a bartender in a restaurant. A guy came in and immediately ordered a 300-dollar bottle of wine. I started presenting it.

Customer: “I’m easy; you don’t have to do all of that.”

Then, he ordered $250 worth of food.

Customer: “Don’t course it out; just let it come whenever. I don’t care.”

Then, in an hour, this person ate about ten different menu items and two bottles of top-shelf wine. He poured the wine himself, and he stacked the dishes he was done with, making it as easy as possible for me.

The bill was around $700. He just dropped $2,000 worth of 100-dollar bills and strutted out the door.

Il still in shock at what happened. I’ve never made anywhere close to a tip like that. Is this normal in fine-dining restaurants?

I work at the bar at a relatively fancy hotel. I’m also eight months pregnant and look it. I have a regular who is always in town on business. He’s Japanese, and since we stock some good high-end Japanese whiskey at the bar, he usually comes down for some on his trips, complimenting our selection.

As he’s in town every month, he’s seen my pregnancy bump in various stages of development.

Bar Regular: “Wow, [My Name]. You’re ready to pop!”

Me: “Yeah, one month to go!”

Bar Regular: “Why are you still at work? You must be exhausted.”

Me: “Well, I’ll be working until the week before my due date.”

Bar Regular: “But what about your maternity leave?”

Me: “We don’t really… uh… do that, in the USA? It depends on the employer.”

Bar Regular: “That’s crazy! Japan has a reputation for always making our people work, but even in Japan, mothers go on maternity leave six weeks before they’re due.”

Me: “It’s okay! I have a seat at the bar, and it’s not like pouring you your favorite whiskey is hard!”

I laugh it off, and we chat a bit more. When he’s done, he hands me his bill (charged to his room), and he’s left a tip in there. It feels quite heavy.

Bar Regular: “You were always going to be a great mother, but this should make it a little easier.”

He smiled and left before I could say anything. He tipped me $1,000! That came in so handy when my boy was born — you have no idea!

Now, every month, he comes by and asks to see baby pictures, and he always brings my son little toys from Japan. By far my favorite customer!

In the UK, eighteen is the legal drinking age. However, there are some bars and clubs that require patrons to be over twenty-one for a more grown-up vibe or whatever.

When I was nineteen, there was a 21+ bar I often went to because the bouncers weren’t too strict. However, one night, a new bouncer was asking for everyone’s ID. Relevant: my year of birth is 1988.

Me: “Oh… I don’t have it on me.”

Bouncer: “Okay, then. What’s your date of birth?”

Me. *Panicking and needing to make myself two years older* “[Date], [Month], 19… 90? S****. You know what? I’ll just get going.”

I didn’t go back to that bar for a WHILE.

I’m a bartender, and a customer comes up to me with a picture of a drink from another place.

Customer: “Can you make it?”

Me: “Uh… no. I have no idea what’s in that.”

Customer: “Oh, it was with gin… I think!”

Me: “Great, here’s a gin and tonic; have fun.”