Hey bar fam,
Let’s have a little heart-to-heart, shall we?
You ever look around your bar and realize it feels more like a waiting room at Verizon than the electric, noisy, “anything-can-happen” watering hole it’s supposed to be?
Yeah, me too.
Cell phones are absolutely murdering customer service—and we’ve all been accomplices.
Remember when bars were fun?
Not just "fun" in the sense that you caught your reflection looking decent in the bathroom mirror. I mean fun—as in conversations with strangers, spontaneous dance moves, bar games, and actual human interaction.
Now? It’s become a parade of blue-lit foreheads, doomscrolling like the Wi-Fi password is more important than your bartender's name. (Spoiler: it’s not.)
It used to be “What are you drinking?”
Now it’s “What’s your screen time today?”
Smart phones = dumb social skills
Let me paint the picture. You walk into a bar. You sit down. Bartender greets you. And what do you do?
Bam—phone out. Scrolling. Texting. Filming. Swiping. You’ve got your back to the room like you're in a hostage negotiation with Instagram.
We’re talking about full-on eye contact extinction here. Bartenders aren’t just slinging drinks—we’re reading vibes, catching cues, giving you an experience. And it’s kinda hard to do that when you’re mid-selfie with your espresso martini like it’s prom night.
Clare Coffey nailed it when she said, “The silences and pauses that become opportunities to chat with your neighbor… these are all casualties.”
Oof. That one hits harder than well tequila.
Some bars are taking action—and I’m here for it
Over in the UK, The Gin Tub built a freakin’ Faraday cage—yeah, like superhero movie stuff—to block all cell service. You walk in, your phone dies, and suddenly… people are laughing, talking, living. Wild, right?
There’s a club in NYC now banning phones completely. They lock ‘em in a pouch when you walk in so the dance floor becomes what it’s supposed to be: sweaty, chaotic, beautiful, real.
And my personal favorite: a bar in Brazil designed a glass that only stands upright if your phone is underneath it.
No phone = no drink.
Now that’s innovation.
The real problem? Customer service is getting sucker punched
You can’t give good service if the customer won’t even look up. Bartenders are like emotional DJs—we need your attention to keep the vibe right. But it’s tough when you’re busy watching raccoons play piano on TikTok or texting your group chat about the bartender who’s actively waiting on you.
Real talk: if you’re FaceTiming while ordering a cocktail, I promise your drink is going to taste like regret and side-eye.
So what’s the fix?
Simple. Put your damn phone down.
Say hi to your bartender. Talk to the human next to you. Be present.
It’s not a TED Talk—it’s common decency with a lime wedge.
And while we’re at it, let me hit you with a plug so obvious it should come with a garnish:
If we’re gonna talk about elevating the bar experience, let’s talk about Pure Pour.
It’s the company I proudly own, and yeah—we’re single-handedly changing the game behind the bar.
Pure Pour makes high-quality, precision-engineered pour spouts that actually work. No leaks. No mess. No “what the hell is this sticky nonsense all over the bottles?” It’s clean. It’s fast. It makes bartenders’ lives easier, customers happier, and owners more profitable.
We’re not just selling spouts—we’re upgrading the entire experience.
One pure pour at a time.
Check us out: www.thepurepour.com
Bottom line: Phones down. Glasses up. Tips higher.
And if you really love your bartenders,
Get them Pure Pour.
Cheers,
—Dan "Barstool Sage" Andrews
Veteran bartender. Co-founder of Pure Pour. Still waiting for someone to order without looking at their phone.