Unskilled labour

Our discourse in a familiar pub might often revolve around why we like (or don't like) this and other pubs.

So it was on Sunday, in the Half Moon.

We're regularly irked by the people who cling around a bar obscuring the pumps and making it hard to get served.  At the Half Moon, it's actually less of a problem than in other places since the bar staff are very good at serving through people and we're confident enough in the pub to inveigle our way to the bar in order to get a view at the pumps (oh, and there's also a handy board on the wall with an up to date list of beers and ciders).
There was one chap on a stool with a small dog on a long lead, and this was a bit more annoying than the usual run of bar clingers...mostly because I wasn't sure I could deliver beer from the bar without tripping over the diminutive mutt...and the chap was making absolutely no effort to get his dog out of my way.

So, I was rolling my eyes and gritting my teeth by the time I got to the table S was sitting at and he nodded in silent understanding.

But, that did at least prompt conversation about how the very busy pubs we like deal with the vast numbers of people, including bar clingers.

A little bit of it is organizational - bar not too big, or too small, bar kept uncluttered, etc...

But for the most part the real thing is bar staff.  Those who pay attention to the queue and know who is where in it.  Those who make eye contact and let you know they'll be with you in a second when they're finishing dealing with another customer.  Then there are those who have almost super-human powers of lip-reading, simultaneous-multiple-pint-pouring and other skills not apparently available in other walks of life.

So, please don't think of bar-keeping as unskilled labour - and make sure you appreciate those who do it well.