Working on holidays can be one of the most taxing aspects of a career in the service industry. After all, what would St. Paddy’s Day be without a pub crawl, and Valentine’s Day without a place to wine and dine your significant other? That means on these special days. bartenders and servers will end up facing a flood of extra food and drink tickets until closing. The silver lining: holidays are often when business is at its most booming, and the tip jar may start spilling over.
Still, some holiday shifts are more draining to work than others. To find out which ones are the lousiest to grab a shift for, we consulted Reddit’s popular r/bartending subreddit. There, bartenders far and wide weighed in on which holidays are the worst to work on, whether that be due to notoriously skimpy tips, extra-entitled customers, or hordes of sloppy drunks creating an atmosphere of mayhem.
Here are the worst holidays to bartend, according to Reddit.
Christmas Eve
Though a Christmas Eve bar visit while everyone is back in town sounds good on paper, some bartenders in the subreddit say the occasion can also bring a heavy dose of loneliness and volatile moods.
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Valentine’s Day
There’s no doubt that Valentine’s Day essentially promises a full book of reservations, but it also brings an influx of entitled customers. Everyone in service is well-aware that it’s many couple’s “special day,” so don’t bark at your waiter if it takes an extra minute or two to fetch your Clover Club from the bar.
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Memorial Day and Fourth of July
Even though many people get the day off work on these uniquely American holidays, many bartenders don’t. Both Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are built for backyard BBQs with your loved ones, but if you live anywhere remotely close to a good fireworks display, the crowds will likely swarm the nearest bar for a few rounds before the show kicks off. Chances are your local watering hole will either be a ghost town or a packed sardine can of drunken 20-somethings.
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Thanksgiving Eve
Thanksgiving Eve (also known in some circles as Blackout Wednesday) has been a tradition for decades. Newly-21 college students flood back into town and want to catch up with their high school buddies before being tethered to family affairs the following day. Unfortunately for bartenders, most of these fresh bar-goers have yet to get a handle on proper tipping etiquette.
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St. Patrick’s Day
Ah, St. Paddy’s Day. It’s the holiday when everyone’s Irish for the day — and also stumbling through the streets with clover leaf temporary tattoos on their cheeks and hurling half-digested pints of Guinness into the nearest receptacle. Though bartenders may earn an extra buck or two every March 17, most feel it isn’t worth the chaos.
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Oktoberfest
At least St. Patrick’s Day is just a 24-hour affair. Oktoberfest technically runs for a whopping 16 days, and sometimes there’s barely enough beer in Bavaria to provide the world with an ample supply of Märzen. Trying to cram dozens of boot-shaped glasses into the dishwasher is a hassle most beer garden bartenders would give anything to dodge.
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Mother’s Day
The bane of many brunch spot-employees is apparently Mother’s Day. The floor is sticky with Prosecco and OJ, and pleasing wafts of eggs Benedict are overshadowed by families bonding at top volume. If you really want to do something special for Mom, consider brunch and Mimosas in the comfort and quiet of your home.
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Packers Game Days
Sure, Packers Game Days aren’t actual holidays, but they damn sure are if you live in Wisconsin. One would think that customers hanging around the bar for three-plus hours would equal big tips, but allegedly, that’s not the case.
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