Comment: A tribute to the Edinburgh bartender as coronavirus curfew kicks in

I worked in pubs for almost 10 years, writes Rachel Mackie, and it was the toughest job I will ever have

With the new pub curfew joining a long list of regulations and restrictions in pubs and restaurants, I want to take a minute to deeply and truly thank hospitality workers for everything they are doing.

I worked in pubs for almost 10 years in Edinburgh, a mixture of part time work, full time work and, at one point, a tentative move into management.

Honestly? It was the toughest job I will ever do.

That is nearly a decade of being subject to aggression, drunken leering and furious customers who “definitely said that I didn’t want cheese on my burger you IDIOT”.

I was the 19-year-old facing an irate 20-something lawyer who threatened to sexually assault me if I didn’t let him drink his own Martini Asti in the pub.

I was the 23-year-old stood next to a chef as he kicked the door of a men's toilet down to prevent three lads doing an industrial amount of cocaine.

A tribute to the Edinburgh bartender.

And I was the 27-year-old pointed at by a woman while loudly shouting to her child: “That’s where you end up if you don’t work hard in school.”

It didn’t stop there.

On one particularly frustrating night, with the punters refusing to heed the ‘drink up, pub’s closed’ calls, I grabbed the last orders bell and started ringing it to make my point.

A blurry eyed lad placed his empty glass on the bar asking, “Oh, is that the pub closed then,” to which my colleague - desperate to go home - snapped: “Well what did you think it was, the live music act? Get out.”

Picture : John Devlin.

I would’ve killed for wit that quick.

Once, a man, comfortably in his 50’s tried to launch himself over the bar to wrap his hands around my throat after I asked him to stop punching the wall whenever Scotland missed a shot at goal.

I am a proud Scot, but you have to admit, that happened quite a lot. He had punched almost all the way through to the shop next door by half time.

His friends dragged him out before he reached me; I plastered a casual smile on my face and served the next customer.

A special group

Though they may seem extreme to those outside the world of hospitality, but they were not isolated. They happened every day.

Hospitality staff work for minimum wage and even as a salaried manager I was expected to do so many hours that one week my hourly rate dropped to a depressing £3.20.

But the industry has given me friends for life, my very own band of brothers.

They are the people who knew what it was like, who I worked long, hot and horrible hours with, who I saw at their best and their worst, shedding tears in the staff room after one person too many complained or kicked off.

And although this is a testament to the work people in hospitality do on minimum wage with zero hour contracts, it’s more of a message to the rest of you.

To you who are going to the pubs and tutting loudly when you need to wear a mask, or complaining that there is a reduced menu while there’s only one chef working.

Please, stop.

Right to feel safe

Take a minute, put your mask on and walk to the toilets. Take a long look in the mirror. Decide whether you want to be the person who shouts at a server because you don’t like the government restrictions, or your soup was too hot, or too cold, or had too much salt in it.

Hospitality workers are trying to keep you safe during trying circumstances, and let’s face it, their job wasn’t the easiest in the first place.

But they are also trying to keep themselves safe.

That pub or restaurant is their workplace, and they have a right to feel safe and respected.

So, whether you are frustrated with the 10pm curfew, or don’t like wearing a mask inside, remember that is not the server’s fault.

Be kind.

And to all the hospitality staff reading this - you happy few...thank you.

Rachel Mackie is a reporter with The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News live team.

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