'One morning I found a customer asleep by the toilet': my life as a pub manager in ill-mannered Britain
This is my first job outside of college. I had no interest in working in hospitality; I needed to pay off my student loans while I looked for a more relevant job for my degree. But I found I really enjoyed it.
I work in what you might describe as an old fashioned pub. It hasn't really changed for years. We serve reasonably inexpensive food and drink and have lots of regulars who like to sit at the same tables. Many of them come to karaoke every Friday night and some are extremely competitive.
Once after a woman sings Adele's Hello, another is came immediately and also sang Hello by Adèle. They really didn't get along and, fueled by the sambuca, continued to copy each other's songs until each group of friends ended up yelling at the other. One group picked up each other's coats and bags and started throwing them outside. Eventually, as one of them was singing Amy Winehouse's Rehab, another tried to grab the microphone, which slammed into the floor. The guy running the karaoke was going crazy, because his equipment was being destroyed. I have never seen a karaoke war like this.
On another occasion, three friends arrived just before the last orders. The next time I looked there were only two. I offered them plastic cups to take away and asked if their friend wanted one too. "Oh, he's already been shot," they said. The next day I went in to open up, went down to the bathroom and found him sleeping in a small gap under the stairs. He crawled, said, "Thank you!" and left in a hurry. It was quite a surprise.
The pandemic changed everything. I remember the last night we were open before the first lockdown - we were packed with people until closing time. No one wanted to go home, because they didn't know what would happen next in the world. We had to stay closed for a good few months before the government relaxed the rules.
Everyone is still much more hygiene conscious. Some patrons are still wearing masks to walk around the pub and many people are sanitizing their hands. Once all the toilets were occupied and a customer came upstairs arguing that pubs should have a minimum of three toilets, due to the need for social distancing. I explained that I didn't think that was how it worked - at least not now - but he stormed off.
We had to increase our price. Many of our regulars are retirees and they are always the ones who have the hardest time accepting when prices change. They will say, "No, it's £3.60 for a pint", and refuse to acknowledge that it has gone up.
This is my first job outside of college. I had no interest in working in hospitality; I needed to pay off my student loans while I looked for a more relevant job for my degree. But I found I really enjoyed it.
I work in what you might describe as an old fashioned pub. It hasn't really changed for years. We serve reasonably inexpensive food and drink and have lots of regulars who like to sit at the same tables. Many of them come to karaoke every Friday night and some are extremely competitive.
Once after a woman sings Adele's Hello, another is came immediately and also sang Hello by Adèle. They really didn't get along and, fueled by the sambuca, continued to copy each other's songs until each group of friends ended up yelling at the other. One group picked up each other's coats and bags and started throwing them outside. Eventually, as one of them was singing Amy Winehouse's Rehab, another tried to grab the microphone, which slammed into the floor. The guy running the karaoke was going crazy, because his equipment was being destroyed. I have never seen a karaoke war like this.
On another occasion, three friends arrived just before the last orders. The next time I looked there were only two. I offered them plastic cups to take away and asked if their friend wanted one too. "Oh, he's already been shot," they said. The next day I went in to open up, went down to the bathroom and found him sleeping in a small gap under the stairs. He crawled, said, "Thank you!" and left in a hurry. It was quite a surprise.
The pandemic changed everything. I remember the last night we were open before the first lockdown - we were packed with people until closing time. No one wanted to go home, because they didn't know what would happen next in the world. We had to stay closed for a good few months before the government relaxed the rules.
Everyone is still much more hygiene conscious. Some patrons are still wearing masks to walk around the pub and many people are sanitizing their hands. Once all the toilets were occupied and a customer came upstairs arguing that pubs should have a minimum of three toilets, due to the need for social distancing. I explained that I didn't think that was how it worked - at least not now - but he stormed off.
We had to increase our price. Many of our regulars are retirees and they are always the ones who have the hardest time accepting when prices change. They will say, "No, it's £3.60 for a pint", and refuse to acknowledge that it has gone up.
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