Бармены рассказали о самых мерзких поступках посетителей, от рвоты в раковинах до дефекации на полу

Bartenders Have Seen The Worst Of Humanity — These Are The Gross Things They See People Do Every Day Most of us would like to believe that, on average, people are pretty clean, hygienic and well-behaved most of the time — at least in public. Think washing hands after using the bathroom, keeping hands to themselves and out of their noses, that sort of thing. But for hospitality workers, this is an illusion that’s hard to hold onto. Virtually everyone who has worked as a server, barista or other customer-facing position has horror stories about appalling behavior by full adult people. Bartenders in particular might see the worst of it — throw alcohol in the mix, and people can get downright feral. Must Read: The Best Frozen Meals You Can Buy, According To Dietitians “I think people genuinely forgot how to behave post-COVID,” said Daniel Yeom, a Los Angeles-based sommelier who has worked in high-end bars and restaurants in California and New York. Instead of holding onto the germaphobic energy that had us all sanitizing our groceries, that time apparently left us with a manners deficit. Rude, gross and unhygienic behavior isn’t limited to rowdy dive bars, either. Even Michelin-recognized businesses aren’t safe. “Diner behavior is not better at fancier spots,” Yeom said. Sometimes, in fact, “the entitlement is even worse at really expensive spots.” We spoke to bartenders around the country for an inside perspective on gross things that seemingly regular people — maybe even you — do at bars. Just be warned, you may find yourself keeping a suspicious eye on your fellow bar-goers next time you’re out. Must Read: You're Probably Throwing Away Food That's Perfectly Safe. Experts Explain The Date Label Myth. Sticking Fingers Where They Don’t Belong There was one behavior that several of the bartenders we spoke to all brought up: People sticking their fingers in the garnish bins. “I don’t know if people are not trained to go outside or something, but the cut slices of oranges and olives at the bar are NOT free snacks,” Yeom said. “Get your ******* fingers off my garnishes.” Reaching across the bar into a bartender’s work station isn’t just rude, it’s unsanitary — but touching the orange wedges isn’t as bad as actually touching the drinks while they’re being made. “While I was preparing various drinks, I had a guest stick their finger into one of the mixing glasses, assuming that was their cocktail, when I turned to prepare the garnishes,” said Bianca Declet Bauzó, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based bartender. “I only found out afterwards, when one of my waitresses mentioned it,” she said. The germs came with a side of audacity. Declet Bauzó said she confronted the guest when they tried to order a second round, and they flew off the handle. Must Read: People Reveal The Grossest Things Customers Do At Your Local Coffee Shop “The person went ballistic, saying, ‘YOU MEAN THE MARTINI I PAID FOR?’” Heed the reminder: Just because something is within your reach doesn’t mean it’s yours to touch. You risk contaminating other people’s drinks, and anyway, can’t you wait two minutes? Sticking Gum Where It Doesn’t Belong Collecting and cleaning dirty glassware is part of a bartender’s job, but sometimes patrons make it more unpleasant than it has to be. Improperly disposing of chewing gum is a common ick. “I’ve found gum in shot glasses, on the rim of rocks glasses, and even on the backrest of chairs,” Declet Bauzó said. Napkins tend to be abundant at bars; use one of those when you need to get rid of your gum. Same for Band-Aids and anything else that’s soaked with bodily fluids — wrap it up or, better yet, throw it in the trash yourself. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. When I was a baby bartender, they told me to watch out for The Pooper. Worse than spitting out gum, some guests will actually just spit. “I’ve seen a dude spit in a glass before leaving,” said Jesmarie Disdiel, a former bartender at one location of a national chain best known for its busty female servers. Style: The Rudest, Grossest Things Customers Do, According To Employees At Big Beauty Stores Advertisement “I guess he couldn’t hold it in to hock it up outside, or, I don’t know, the bathroom?” Not Managing Your Bodily Functions Properly Speaking of nausea, guests getting sick is more or less an inevitable part of running a drinking establishment. It happens, bartenders get it, and it’s no fun for the person throwing up, but it’s minimal harm done as long as you manage to get it in the toilet. Unfortunately, that’s not always what happens. “Let it be known, if you drink too much and want to puke,” Declet Bauzó begs, “DON’T VOMIT IN THE SINK.” As you may know, a sink is a receptacle that, unlike a toilet, does not flush and is not made for disposing of waste. So until the bartender or someone else on staff has a chance to break out the cleaning cart, everyone else who uses the bathroom is going to have to see (and smell) it. Must Read: Restaurant Servers Reveal The Rudest Ways Customers Have Sent Food Back “I know the toilet is disgusting, but over-drinking was your choice,” Declet Bauzó said. Besides, you’re already throwing up. You’re not really in a position to be picky about where. Being Downright Weird Misplaced vomit (or other bodily fluids) is bad enough, but it’s just one brand of gross customer behavior that bartenders have experienced. Sometimes guests do things that are ultimately harmless, but just … disturbing. Allison Wnuk bartends at a family-owned restaurant in central Connecticut. One guest in particular gave her and her co-workers the heebie-jeebies in more ways than one. “Apparently he just said to my co-worker, ‘I know your secret,’ out of the blue. She was caught so off-guard, she just responded, ‘Yeah, it’s our house spices’ or something. He was with his wife and mother.” This is not the weird part. About a week later, Wnuk was serving this same guest. He and his companions were drinking coffee, so there were fixings, including a pitcher of half-and-half, on the table. “When I dropped off their check, he was just drinking the rest of it,” Wnuk said. “He was just like, ‘Better not waste it.’” Declet Bauzó is also haunted by one particular incident. “The most mind-blowing bathroom story that remains a mystery ... someone once stole the entire toilet seat,” she said. To this day, she has questions. “Why? How? How did they sneak it past security? Does that mean they put the whole thing in their backpack?” “Also ... gross. It was towards the end of the night,” she said. “I wouldn’t touch that with my bare hands, let alone grab it and hold it close to my body.” Behavior that really nails the intersection of bizarre and disgusting, alarmingly, is not terribly uncommon. As a veteran bartender, Heather Rush, co-owner of the bar Pine Box Rock Shop in Brooklyn, has seen some dark stuff. “When I was a baby bartender,” working at a cramped bar in Manhattan’s East Village, Rush said, “they told me to watch out for The Pooper.” The Pooper was a mysterious figure who, for reasons we’ll never know, liked to poop pretty much anywhere but the toilet bowl (mainly, the floor). The really puzzling part was that the tiny bathroom didn’t have much room to move around — aiming outside the toilet actually would have been more challenging than just using it normally. “It was one side of a tenement building; you could hardly sit down,” Rush said. “In order for this person to do this, they had to shut the door and really maneuver to be able to poop on the floor.” The Pooper did strike once while she was working. Apart from the mess itself, what bothered Rush the most was realizing that the culprit was someone who blended in with the other patrons and was probably even someone she served. “I always have just thought about this: If you’re someone who is randomly pooping on the floor of a bar, and I can’t tell who you are …,” she trails off. “How can I not know?” The true horror is knowing that The Pooper could be anyone. The culprit walks among us.