Dan surveyed the spreadsheet inventorying the bar. It amazed him how many different kinds of alcohol they stocked. Now he could monitor the stock on a daily basis. Mr. Rickson had intorduced him the the bar staff only as preforming and audit. Now he decided to get better acquanted with the employees. The bartender was middle aged, going grey, bald and bottom heavy. He'd probably been a looker 15 years ago but now he seemed to ideal barman. The kind of man you wouldn't hesitate to unburden your problems on. Pudgy, friendly and non-threatening was how Dan saw Roger. But while Roger seemed not too bright, underneath that bland facade, the wheels were turning. Roger had figured out that he's been hired because of some shady dealings by his predecessor. Now seeing Dan carefully counting the stock, Roger wanted to know what was up.
"Does old Rick always keep such a close eye on the stock?" Roger bantered.
Dan was surprised at the question. Were Roger and Mr. Rickson friends? He eyed the bartender and when smiled. No reason to share his task with the help.
"Mr. Rickson likes to run a tight ship." he answered.
Roger grinned. "He does seem a bit anal. He installed a new system to monitor sales. Kind of a pain at first but you get used to it. Makes it hard for the barkeep to provide hospitality to the patrons."
Dan waited.
"Not that I like to give away free drinks." Roger continued. "It's just that once in a while it helps to sooth a rough situation "
Roger continued to wash glasses and stack them.
"Like the other night." he continued. "It was almost closing time. There were these two guys- business men from the look of them- enjoying a brandy after some social event. They were friends - or at least acquantences- but as they talked longer, clearly not so close. There was some rivelry over a woman, I think. One claimed that the other was interfering with his attempt to get close to the lady and the other answered that she didn't like him at all and over time the discussion became more heated. They had another round and the men more hostile. It was likely that I might have a fight on my hands without some intervention.
"Parden me," I interrupted the argument. "perhaps you two gentelmen can help me." I continued.
They looked up annoyed to have their focus distracted but still maintaining civility.
"You see," I said. "I'm having a problem with stocking the bar. The boss says we carry too many kinds of brandy and I don't know which one to drop. Tell me which of these brandies is best and which one to drop. I presented two glasses for each and paused expectantly.
Suddenly the two men dropped their petty argument. I had complemented their judgement and they were focused on living up to that judgement. They got busy swirling the brandy, smelling the araomas and making justments. It took two rounds before they conculded the best brandy and they left arm in arm."
"Interesting story." Dan said. "So you think that a bar man should have some ability to stand patrons for free drinks?"
"I don't say that this should be under the table. Keep track of it but give the staff some tools to keep the ship running."
"Let me buy you a drink." Roger said. "It's almost closing time and it's nice to have some company while I'm closing."
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