Bartender blasts customers who say ‘surprise me’ when asked what they want at bar

A barman has shown the reason why he seriously dislikes people telling him to ‘surprise’ them when buying a drink, and – after you’ve seen the video – you’ll probably agree.

Before you even watch the video, we can probably all agree that bartenders have it tough.

They have to deal with a large group of people who are all having fun and drinking the evening away while they – for the most part – remain sober and are kept busy all evening serving out the drinks.

All the while, their clientele are getting more drunk, more annoying, and – broadly speaking – more badly behaved.

What’s more, it’s not exactly the most lucrative gig in the world for most, is it?

Many bartenders will get a decent amount of tips at the end of the night, but it’s never a guarantee.

It only makes matters worse when your customers do things that are needlessly confusing and unnecessary, like – in this example – saying ‘surprise me’ instead of just choosing a drink off the menu.

Bartender Ben Smith - @benjispears on TikTok – has built up a huge following sharing his experiences behind the bar, from making cocktails to dealing with idiot customers.

TikTok/@benjispears

Not too long ago, he shared a video in which someone could be heard asking for a surprise drink.

Benji started out by pouring them a cocktail, before the customer asked him: “Is that pineapple?”

She then added: “I’m definitely allergic to pineapple.”

Obviously a bit annoyed – as that information would have been great before he started pouring a drink – he then reaches down, suggests that he has the ‘perfect’ drink for the customer, before uncapping a beer and handing it to her, curtly telling her: “There you go babe, next.”

Now, this situation is most likely staged, but if you’ve ever done a shift behind a bar you’ll know that things like this – and worse – are a regular occurrence.

Unsurprisingly, loads of people in the comments agree with Benji’s approach.

TikTok/@benjispears

One comment said: “Half of y’all clearly haven’t been a bartender, ‘surprising’ people is what gets drinks wasted and p***es people off when it’s not what they want.”

“My friend asked the bartender to surprise him and he was given a vitamin water and told come back in an hour after he sobered up a bit,” said another.

Not a bad idea, really.

A third wrote: “When I bartended and someone said ‘surprise me’ they instantly got a Bud Light.”

However, not everyone was so impressed.

One person said: “Literally the reason I’m anxious to order at bars.”

“Fr tho [sic] just give them a surprise what’s the big deal maybe they just wanna try new drinks,” another comment read.

Just remember, if you want to have any drink at all, you need to be on the right side of the bar staff.