‘Shut up and drink your beer’: Bartender reveals the one phrase regulars say that makes her want to scream

People who work in bars and restaurants need a lot of patience to deal with customers every day. But there are some things that customers do or say that can really push bartenders to their breaking point. A bartender from Texas recently made a TikTok video that went viral because she talked about the one question that annoys her the most, especially when regular customers ask it.

According to Bro Bible, the bartender’s name is Taylor, and her TikTok username is @tayloreyelash. Her video got more than 62,100 views. In the video, she talks about what she thinks is the absolute worst thing you can say to a bartender. That question is “What’s new?”

Taylor sounds exactly like someone who is completely burned out from working too many shifts in a row. She says in the video, “Nothing’s new, John. I’ve been working every day that you’ve been here. Like, literally nothing is new. All I do is I sleep and I work and I sleep and I work.” She explains that she’s done with having to make small talk all the time. “No, I don’t want to small talk anymore. Noooo,” she says. The caption on her TikTok says it all: “Shut up and drink your beer.”

A lot of other bartenders agree with her

Taylor is definitely not the only bartender who feels this way. On a Reddit page called r/bartenders, someone who just started working as a bartender asked others for tips on how to get out of awkward small talk with customers who come in all the time. Almost everyone who replied seemed tired of dealing with the same problem over and over again.

People shared different ways they try to handle situations like this. One person advised her to smile more. A fellow bartender wrote: “This made me feel so validated. Literally nothings new besides my mood stabilizer prescription to add onto my antidepressants.”

Another bartender uses a simple phrase that works every time: “Hold that thought,” and then they walk off to do something else. Bartenders deal with all kinds of situations, including unusual customer requests that go beyond the ordinary.

“I bartend at a golf course, and I work the exact same schedule all summer, so I’m usually like we have seen each other every day for the past 5 days, what do you think I’m up to,” another bartender expressed her frustration. 

All of these stories show that bartenders often get worn out from having the same pointless conversations day after day. While some bartenders face challenges with small talk, others witness incredible moments like massive tips given to waitstaff that make working in the industry memorable.