I’m a bartender and we have secret codes to talk about customers – there’s a number we use for attractive punters
EVER wondered how bartenders can understand each other over the hustle and bustle of a busy night?
Well, according to one former worker most of them use secret codes to get information across, but not all of them are strictly professional.
For example, if something behind the bar needs restocking, the code is 86, or if there’s a customer waiting to be served the code is 200, at least in some bars.
As well as the important stuff, some of the workers admitted they have codes to let colleagues know there’s someone attractive at the bar too.
Taking to Reddit, many different bartenders revealed the codes they use for importnat message – but not all of them use the same ones, meaning it can be hard for customers to decipher.
This comes after one former worked explained: “A while ago I was told of a ‘bartenders code’ which consisted of various numbers that were used to represent things on the bar either secretly or quickly between staff.
“Things like ’86’, meaning to be a ran out of product, ‘200’ meaning a customer waiting, ’50’ meaning to catch, and ‘700’ to refer to an attractive customer.
“It seems like a pretty fun and useful thing to get my staff doing, and I was wondering if anyone knew any more or had a different/more comprehensive list of expressions?”
After sharing their experience other bartenders chimed in to share the secret codes they use, with one noting that the code for attractive punters was always ‘699’.
Meanwhile, if someone was more than just attractive, the code was ‘700’ – which indicated they were “probably hottest girl in the building is at the bar”.
And a worker from another bar explained the code of an “attractive lady” in the bar they worked at was ‘300’, but if they had a large chest they’d say ‘300 high’ instead.
Another worker explained that they would also use a code to point out someone attractive, but it would vary from customer to customer.
They explained: “First number is face on a scale of 0-9, second number is either 0 or 1 (would or wouldn’t) and last number is body.
“So 719 is pretty damn good and a 303 looks like your grandfather.”
Not all the bartenders were familiar with the secret number codes to discuss customers though, and instead used code words for other things.
One explained their bar manager would let the staff know it was time for some shots but asking for ‘a quick word’ so customers didn’t know they were drinking on shift.
“Actually, ‘staff meeting’ behind the bar means shots,” someone else noted, “I’m the general manager at a sports bar and nightclub and I call for staff meetings on busy nights when it looks like my staff is about to lose it.
“Everyone normally pours themselves a quick shot or I pour all the shots and we air cheers and keep on plugging away at the crowd of drunken idiots.”
And someone else said: “We used to say ‘staff meeting’ too, but somewhere along the line it changed to ‘family counselling'”.
But it turns out it’s not just bars that use secret codes, one former McDonald’s worker shared a code they’d use on the job too.
“When I worked at McDonalds, you could only cook eight burgers at a time, so if an attractive person walked in, staff would should ‘cheese on nine’,” they explained.
“Then you’d just see five or six heads pop up from behind the fryer,” they added.
The harms of binge drinking
The NHS defines binge drinking as ‘drinking heavily over a short space of time’.
More than 8 units of alcohol in a single session for males, or more than 6 units in a single session for females is the technical definition, according to Drinkaware.
That’s equivalent to about four pints of normal strength beer for a man or three pints for a woman.
When you binge drink, other than getting drunk, your heart rate and blood pressure will rise. It can cause irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias.
Alcohol increases stomach acid production – queue the nausea and potentially vomiting.
You’re also likely to experience impaired judgement, coordination, memory blackouts and poor decision making.
This could lead to accidents, falls, drownings and other mistakes.
Long term, binge drinking can cause acute liver damage and increase the risk of chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Cardiovascular problems include cardiomyopathy – which is when the heart loses the ability to pump blood efficiently – and an increased risk of stroke.
Over time, binge drinking can contribute to permanent brain damage. This may present as a mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression.
Binge drinking can also lead to alcohol dependence, or “addiction”.