We went out for some food and drink last night and ended up, after some tapas, in The White Hart in Crystal Palace.
Since the birth of A I don’t go into pubs as often as I used to, but I’m not a complete irregular and I was struck by how reliant many pubs have become on their computerised tills.
I ordered two drinks last night – one bitter, one lager. The barman pulled the pints and set them down in front of me.
Now, ordinarily, I’d expect the person behind the bar to then say something along the lines of, “That’s £5.20, please.”
But not last night. After giving me my drinks, he then had to go halfway back up the bar to ‘log in’ to his till and put in the drinks, before returning with the price.
How tough is it to remember the price of different types of beer and to add them up?
We’re not talking rocket science here. As it turned out, I discovered later that they were both the same price, so he wasn’t even having to add together two different figures.
How ridiculous is it that bar staff now need their till to tell them how much a couple of pints will cost.
I’ve worked a few (non-computerised) bars in my time and you’re reliant on your basic numeracy, otherwise there would be seriously pissed-off punters waiting far too long for a drink to slake their thirst.
Whoever said that computers made our lives easier never worked behind a bar, clearly!
