I stopped off at a place for a drink after work the other day, an old haunt I have been known to frequent from time to time. Now, remember, I work nights, so when I say ‘after work’, I am talking about 10:00 P.M., not 5:00 P.M

I make my way in to the bar and plop my bottom on to a bar stool. The bartender, recognizes me, and makes his way over to see what I am in the mood for this time. Unfortunately, I have difficulty hearing him over the loud music coming out of the kitchen. We figure it out eventually…

But it prompted me to write this post (most of my experiences in bars and restaurants prompt some kind of blog post out of this little brain of mine).

There are people in here spending money

I have always been sensitive to the kitchen and their needs. I started out in the kitchen. I know they are getting to the end of another long, hard day in a hot kitchen. I know they would like to let their hair down a little bit and celebrate the fact that they have successfully made it through another night, but…

I have been known to go grab them a beer at the end of the night, and I have also been the manager who has given them the thumbs up to crank the music —when it was appropriate.

It is not appropriate when there are still a lot of paying customers in the place, and suddenly those customers have to sift through the music being played in the bar, and the music being played in the kitchen, just to be able to decipher what the bartender is saying as he recites the specials.

Turn it down a bit?

I am not saying turn the music off, but keeping it at a reasonable level seems fair. And considerate. And appropriate.

I understand it is not necessarily the responsibility of the folks in the kitchen to be sensitive to that sort of thing–but someone should have that responsibility. Or is the manager already upstairs doing the books, and forgetting where the real work is–that work still going on in the restaurant? Who’s in charge, then? Remember, employees need constant reminders of acceptable behavior.

You’ve seen it before

Whether it showed up with blaring music, or with the night porters starting the night’s cleaning by cranking on the vacuum, or my personal favorite: The ‘get the hell out of here’ stacking of chairs on top of the tables around me.

Mr./Ms. Manager

Don’t forget that the money being spent after 10:00 is as green as the money being spent before 10:00, and deserves the very same value and experience, as those who dined earlier in the evening.