Top Shelf Margarita

You're not in Kansas anymore, honey. In a tourist town like Vail, how can service people who rely on tips afford to be rude? Not all of them are, of course, but when I asked the Tap Room's bartender to add a shot to my drink (because the original pour...

By Nancy Levine

September 14, 2006

Audio By Carbonatix

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You're not in Kansas anymore, honey. In a tourist town like Vail, how can service people who rely on tips afford to be rude? Not all of them are, of course, but when I asked the Tap Room's bartender to add a shot to my drink (because the original pour was so light), he treated me like gum he'd just scraped off his shoe. When I asked how much a double would cost, he told me, "Twice as much as a single." "Huh," I replied. "That's kind of a ripoff." To which he replied, "You're in Vail, honey." Does the altitude produce that attitude? In Denver, many bars will discount a second shot by fifty cents to a dollar. True, the actual value of the alcohol itself doesn't change, but the bar doesn't incur the cost of cleaning an additional glass, adding mixers, etc., so hey, give a drinker a break. In my other life, I work in a service industry, and I understand that the customer -- however idiotic, annoying, impatient, erroneous or smart-ass -- is always right, and is paying me to respond in a way that I might not respond to a friend, enemy, date or stranger in a bar. Although this bartender certainly didn't do anything to double my pleasure, I skipped the rest of the lecture and just ordered another Top Shelf Margarita ($13), made with Patrón Añejo, Grand Marnier and lime juice, then clicked my heels and reminded myself that there's no place like home.

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