Let's just say you've found a new watering hole and decide to pop in for a drink. The bartender is so adorable you're salivating. It seems like you have two options:
A) Brazenly ask him/her out in front of God and every other drunk asshole in the place or B) quietly leave a note with your phone number on the credit card receipt and make sure it is placed squarely in the bartender's hand rather than the bar top where any of the aforementioned drunk assholes could get hold of it.
But according to Prophet Bar and Palladium Ballroom bartender Korin, the right answer is C): none of the above.
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Option A, Korin says, puts everyone in a rough situation.
"Don't come into someone's work and try and pick up on them even if, to you, it's just asking for a phone number," she says bluntly. Although a bartender might not be dressed in a suit or even "business casual" she's still a professional. Hitting on your bartender puts him or her in a tricky situation as well since a rejection -- even an honest one because, say, the bartender's in a relationship -- can cause your aching heart to stiff on the tip. Everyone loses here.
Option B may seem safer up front, and Korin says it's the lesser of two evils, but that's only because you're not around for the result, more likely winding up as entertainment for tired bar staff who need a good laugh after 8-to-10 hours on their feet.
"Everybody kinda laughs when someone does that," she confesses. "If you feel like you have to do one or the other, go with this one, but you won't be getting a phone call."
You end up looking desperate, and the bartender looks like the asshole, and the bar ends up losing a customer because you're too embarrassed to return. And that's just tragic, because it cuts you off from the one remote chance you have at true drink-slinger love: Get to know your bartender at work and hope to run into him or her in a different setting.
"If I see you outside the bar, and we've gotten to know each other ... maybe," Korin says.
She suggests building a rapport by frequenting their establishment often, being friendly and following social protocol. If you happen to run into him/her at an event or different establishment, then and only then are you allowed asking for a phone number or date. Until that happens, tip accordingly. But always remember: Casual, coincidental encounters are good. Stalking is -- and we can't stress this enough -- bad.