'I can't believe we're having this conversation': the states pushing for 14 yr olds to serve alcohol

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

48. Most pubs and nightclubs do not have hosts and expediters.

I was a cocktail waitress for a brief time back in the old days, and here's what I remember of the experience:

Nightclubs had someone at the door to check IDs. That is *not* a job for a 14 y/o, for obvious reasons. Which is why having 14 y/o servers asking people for IDs is also a bad idea at establishments which serve all ages, but also have alcohol available. Some of the tensest moments I ever had as a server were the alcohol ID checks, and I was an adult. I can't imagine a 14 y/o facing some of the people I had to refuse (or cut off).

At regular pubs without servers, bartenders did the ID checks.

I don't know about now, but back in the old days, we servers did the vast majority of the bussing, with some help from the barback when things got more hectic than usual. Only the biggest and busiest establishments had bussers.

Most pubs didn't have expediters, and they'd give you a strange look if you even said the word to them. The busiest pubs had the owner/manager keeping the orders straight and flowing smoothly on busier nights, but, most of the time, servers placed the orders with bartenders directly, first come, first serve.

Changes for the better: The last time I was in a fairly busy pub, the servers didn't have to leave the main floor to place the orders--just send it over a computer tucked in a cubby nearby, and the bartender would get to it when it came up. The pub must have had some kind of signal system to let servers know when orders were ready, because they somehow knew when to pick them up. No expediters necessary, and managers probably aren't as necessary at peak times, either.

I envy these modern servers the steps they're saving by not having to go to the bartender to place the order then going back to picking up orders, too. I bet their feet don't hurt nearly as much as mine did.