Comment by ryandrake

Comment by ryandrake 21 hours ago

7 replies

> “Maybe there’s something I’ve missed, but we’ve tried everything.”

Even after reading the article, I'm not sure I understand why they care so much. You've got a queue of people wanting to give you money. Just take it and serve them drinks. Why do these pubs care how people queue up?

To me, it seems like a good step forward. I never liked the mode most bars/pubs operate in, where you need to push and muscle your way up to the bar, squeezed in sideways next to everyone else, trying to get the bartender's attention. A queue seems much more orderly and civilized.

Imagine if fast food restaurants worked the way bars worked: Instead of waiting in line, everyone just mashes themselves up to the counter waving cash around and shouting their burger orders to whoever's attention they can capture...

wiedelphine 21 hours ago

The article says its hurting business. Its also an inefficent use of space and blocks throughfares. The space is designed with the lateral queues in mind.

  • cge 17 hours ago

    The traditional arrangement is not a ‘lateral queue’, however, but, as the article points out, everyone standing and letting the bartender choose the order. And as someone who is read as queer and undesirable in Ireland (as far as I can tell), and read as desirable in London, in my experience that arrangement is very different than a queue.

metanonsense 21 hours ago

I think the issue it the (literal) "head-of-line blocking". Some requests can be processed either "concurrently" like tapping a beer from a keg or in parallel by having multiple bartenders, but having all people standing strictly in line makes this difficult.

  • trunc8 18 hours ago

    Certainly in Irish pubs you wouldn't want the queue blocked while waiting a few minutes for a Guinness to "settle" before it can be served.

TurdF3rguson 18 hours ago

I think fast food workers might finally start getting tips in that system.

  • lvturner 17 hours ago

    We shouldn't be tipping anyone, I don't understand the fascination with perpetuating a system that encourages employers not to pay a living wage.