Bars

[Pink_Tequila]

On 19/04/2016 at 11:14 AM, andyb66 said:

Maybe they could adopt the V fest approach and everyone buys tokens from dedicated areas. When you go to the bar to get a beverage it's 1 token 1 drink. The initial queue for tokens is a ball ache but The queues for drinks go very quickly and no faffing around with cards. 

No

[Twisted Melon]

1 hour ago, richy24 said:

The spike is also really cheap! Discovered this when we got bored waiting for James to come on stage. We were the only ones in there at that time, enjoyed it so much we missed James!

The Spike is brilliant. It might just be my favourite Glastonbury bar

[Pink_Tequila]

On 12/04/2016 at 4:22 PM, glasto-worker said:

its called The ' Workers Charter ' - last year there was big doubt it would even open due to a problem with the ground - I managed to get a lift down in a buggy on the Wednesday afternoon via the interstage area  and they dropped me in the back loading area and as I walked though there was nothing set up as they were working on the ground - I know they did complete the work - slipped my mind to ask what the problem was - I have lost count how many times my Team has worked there - its a very busy Bar and most years its either that or Dreamtime { the Bar next to the Other Stage } that makes the largest sales of all the WBC Bars.The WBC did have plans to set up a barrier system { for that and Dreamtime some years ago } but GFL rejected it due to lack of space - the barrier system does work as it stops people pushing in from the back and it gives Security time to check ID - worked great at Hyde park and although Customers were against it - once they tried it they were all for it as there is a exit only area so people can walk carrying their drink with no worry they will be pushed from behind.

I really don't like barrier systems. Learning to use a bar is a right of passage that shouldn't need barriers. 

[maclauk]

On 19/04/2016 at 4:26 PM, O'Doyle Rules said:

 

• The Flying Swan

   

  • £3 a pint for proper German lager

Great list mate missing a significant detail.

The Flying Swan.... where do we find it????  Please tell me its not a crew bar.

[benc]

4 minutes ago, maclauk said:

Great list mate missing a significant detail.

The Flying Swan.... where do we find it????  Please tell me its not a crew bar.

i suspect it is a crew bar

[glasto-worker]

1 hour ago, Pink_Tequila said:

I really don't like barrier systems. Learning to use a bar is a right of passage that shouldn't need barriers. 

Well most people who tried them ' were not in favour ' at the start but after using them there was loads of people who changed their mind - the more drinks they were buying the more benefit they found - sure they are not suitable for every bar but some of the High Volume ones would see far greater sales when people got used to them.

[Pink_Tequila]

13 minutes ago, glasto-worker said:

Well most people who tried them ' were not in favour ' at the start but after using them there was loads of people who changed their mind - the more drinks they were buying the more benefit they found - sure they are not suitable for every bar but some of the High Volume ones would see far greater sales when people got used to them.

Yes I know it makes sense but I have a gut feeling against them. I would rather train staff to work an area of the bar well which on the whole at glastonbury does happen. And I never find myself getting too frustrated. They had bar queues at Wychwood and for some reason it really annoyed me!

[Divein]

I can't remember ever having to queue longer than about 5 minutes for a beer at Glastonbury. 

As long as people spread out and use all the bar it's fine.

am I right in thinking that there's only queue barriers at the bar in Arcadia?

 

[Dukey]

I'll be working on Chameleon Bar this year so hope to see a few of you there 

[glasto-worker]

5 hours ago, Pink_Tequila said:

Yes I know it makes sense but I have a gut feeling against them. I would rather train staff to work an area of the bar well which on the whole at glastonbury does happen. And I never find myself getting too frustrated. They had bar queues at Wychwood and for some reason it really annoyed me!

its not a staff problem its a crowd problem - if you saw it in action such as 
Reading/Leeds where crowds can be 50 deep unless a Customer has help carrying X amount of drink many end up being trapped as the ones behind them are not willing to let the person out.At Reading/Leeds its common to get orders for 24 Pints.

You have to see it in use at a very busy bar to really appreciate the benefits.

sure its not for everyone.

[Pink_Tequila]

7 hours ago, glasto-worker said:

its not a staff problem its a crowd problem - if you saw it in action such as 
Reading/Leeds where crowds can be 50 deep unless a Customer has help carrying X amount of drink many end up being trapped as the ones behind them are not willing to let the person out.At Reading/Leeds its common to get orders for 24 Pints.

You have to see it in use at a very busy bar to really appreciate the benefits.

sure its not for everyone.

Yes I can imagine at some places it may be the best option. I do have the luxury of having access to backstage and crew bars so don't always see how bad it can get!

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

Somerset live up to their old tricks?

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife/glastonbury-festival-bar-crawl-take-52149

[cammie81]

1 hour ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Somerset live up to their old tricks?

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife/glastonbury-festival-bar-crawl-take-52149

Most likely. I do appreciate the pictures though.

[Mattty]

Other than Avalon (love it there), is there any specific bars we should not miss? Setting up a bar crawl with my camp. Been to Glasto 4 years now but was always a bit too skint and BMOB. 

[shoptildrop]

10 minutes ago, Mattty said:

Other than Avalon (love it there), is there any specific bars we should not miss? Setting up a bar crawl with my camp. Been to Glasto 4 years now but was always a bit too skint and BMOB. 

Theatre bar

[Midgery-doo-daa]

26 minutes ago, Mattty said:

Other than Avalon (love it there), is there any specific bars we should not miss? Setting up a bar crawl with my camp. Been to Glasto 4 years now but was always a bit too skint and BMOB. 

Tricketts Bar - Best views on site and a really good selection of local brews

[Bisque]

On 5/9/2017 at 4:19 PM, richy24 said:

The spike is also really cheap! Discovered this when we got bored waiting for James to come on stage. We were the only ones in there at that time, enjoyed it so much we missed James!

Got a free pint at The Spike for being their first alcoholic customer of the day. Doubt you'd get that at any other festival.

[glasto-worker]

On 10/05/2017 at 8:40 AM, Pink_Tequila said:

Yes I can imagine at some places it may be the best option. I do have the luxury of having access to backstage and crew bars so don't always see how bad it can get!

I know what you mean as I normally would never approach from the front.

every so often I get pulled in to the inspection team - we approach as if we were Customers { normally we would enter from the back } to see if we can spot problems

each bar is divided into stations - so lets say its a 20 station counter bar - bar staff are instructed to remain within their station { so they don't crash into each other } now of course if you don't know this ' it appears that staff are standing about doing nothing ' when in fact they are waiting for Customers to enter their station

in a well run bar there should be someone walking up and down and if they spot some stations are free they will direct the Customer to move up a few stations .

Customers will tend to approach the middle rather than the sides - with a barrier system in Operation they are directed to specific stations so spreading them out 

if Customers just hesitate and look most of the time they should be able to spot a free station but we know that some are reluctant to go to ' what appears to them is a empty station.' - the only reason it appears empty is there is no standing at it asking for a drink.

we experimented and ran a few that were not split up into stations but that did not work out as staff kept getting in each others way 
 

Edited May 12, 2017 by glasto-worker

[carrie2]

4 hours ago, Bisque said:

Got a free pint at The Spike for being their first alcoholic customer of the day. Doubt you'd get that at any other festival.

For some reason I thought they only sold spirits and cocktails but I may be thinking of somewhere else 

[stuartbert two hats]

2 hours ago, glasto-worker said:

I know what you mean as I normally would never approach from the front.

every so often I get pulled in to the inspection team - we approach as if we were Customers { normally we would enter from the back } to see if we can spot problems

each bar is divided into stations - so lets say its a 20 station counter bar - bar staff are instructed to remain within their station { so they don't crash into each other } now of course if you don't know this ' it appears that staff are standing about doing nothing ' when in fact they are waiting for Customers to enter their station

in a well run bar there should be someone walking up and down and if they spot some stations are free they will direct the Customer to move up a few stations .

Customers will tend to approach the middle rather than the sides - with a barrier system in Operation they are directed to specific stations so spreading them out 

if Customers just hesitate and look most of the time they should be able to spot a free station but we know that some are reluctant to go to ' what appears to them is a empty station.' - the only reason it appears empty is there is no standing at it asking for a drink.

we experimented and ran a few that were not split up into stations but that did not work out as staff kept getting in each others way 
 

Interesting. Is there any way of making the stations more obvious to the customers? I didn't know they existed and I've been going since the 90s!

[glasto-worker]

3 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Interesting. Is there any way of making the stations more obvious to the customers? I didn't know they existed and I've been going since the 90s!

its the actual tent support posts that divide things

As I don't work in public bars anymore I don't have many shots of the various types 

these two have 10 stations each { but at some events there can be as many as 50 stations }

The staff may look very random spread out but they are not { each station has the exact same number of staff }

each station will have one to four MDU's and all the drink will be on 10 tables and there will be 10 cash trays - it all may look chaotic but hang back and watch one or two of the servers - you will note they will remain within their station 

say you walk into station 3 and all the staff are busy but there is no customers  at station 4 ' the staff will call you over - they cant cross into station 3 hence why they will tell you to move .

just by you moving will encourage other Customers who walk up to go to that station

There is cameras in every bar so we know that where there is a empty station British people are very reluctant to enter a empty station - I know you would expect the complete opposite - I used to dive out and direct people to a empty station and within seconds that will be a busy station.

Now if Promoters would allow the WBC they would use fatter bars so giving more space for the servers to move about but the bar footprint is restricted. 

you hang back and have a look - sure there is some bars where you will not spot any gaps but at certain times there will be.

With say one hour to go before the bar closes you will spot that certain stations are closed down - as not all the staff stay on until the end - its clear when a station is closed as there will be no way to reach the counter.
 

Edited May 12, 2017 by glasto-worker

[Bisque]

8 hours ago, carrie2 said:

For some reason I thought they only sold spirits and cocktails but I may be thinking of somewhere else 

I definetly got a cider from there, hair of the dog

[___S_o_m_a__]

On 2017-5-11 at 2:15 PM, Midgery-doo-daa said:

Tricketts Bar - Best views on site and a really good selection of local brews

Where's Tricketts?

[duke88]

1 hour ago, ___S_o_m_a__ said:

Where's Tricketts?

Up the hill at the back of the Park

[Beerqueen]

On 11/05/2017 at 11:50 AM, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Somerset live up to their old tricks?

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife/glastonbury-festival-bar-crawl-take-52149

What are "their old tricks"?

On 11/05/2017 at 1:47 PM, Mattty said:

Other than Avalon (love it there), is there any specific bars we should not miss? Setting up a bar crawl with my camp. Been to Glasto 4 years now but was always a bit too skint and BMOB. 

Strummerville - not really for the bar as such but for the chilled area to sit in with the sofas and the big fire which never goes out.  Obviously best if it's not raining (which it's not going to).  It's a slog up the hill but my favourite place.

Bimble Inn late evening - great bands and good ale.  Though it was very quiet when I went there last year - I think maybe people couldn't be bothered to trudge through the mud.

Like others have said - The Spike - had great old music playing last year when I looked in mid-evening - loads of old soul and motown and it looks magical at night.