Me and my co-worker friend stayed in Viisi Penniä for a couple of drinks after a hard 16-hour day of work. There were like three (3) bar workers at the booth, two of them were very welcoming and talkative and the third was silent.
At first the evening was very nice, and me and my friend were able to relax a bit. Anyhow, after our thirds of cold beers, two of the three bartenders left (probably because their shift was over.) and one (the silent one.) was left to serve the remaining customers and close the bar eventually. We decided to order more beer as the evening was getting nicer and I was getting my happy and relaxed mood right on so I went to ask for the silent bartender if he could pour me another one and put on a favorite song. The answer of that bartender was "Yeeeah I could, but I won't." and he had a little smile on his face. I smiled back and thought "ok, no problem." and went back to our table with my new beer.
Then, time moves forward just a little so that we were done with the beers and we decided to get one more beers before we leave and go back to our hotel for a good night o' sleep. So we walked once again to the bartender and ordered the last beers This time we stayed at the counter instead of going back to our table. So I asked one more time if the bartender could take on the song wish. This time he was very tense and seemed to get a little angry about the question. He answered "No means, no!".
I was a bit dazzled by the strict response of the bartender and thought about the first thing he said at the first time I asked for the song, "Yeeeah I could, but I won't.". ; If he COULD, why he won't? With a thousand question marks on my mind: -Does he want to be mean to us on purpose? -Who would it hurt if it's really just one song that me and my co-worker both wanted to hear? -etc. Without thinking any longer, I asked him politely: "But why..?" This is where things escalated quicker than I could ever imagine and the silent bartender was not so silent anymore. He started screaming at us "WHAT DON'T YOU GET?? NO MUSIC, NO SONGS, NO WISHES! I said "Alright! Alright! Calm down, I just wanted to know why?" *Jeez!* And all that did, was that he ignited even more.
He then continued to scream in rage that he didn't have to explain himself to anyone, better yet, to us. (Which is true, he doesn't have to. It would be polite to tell people why, but not a must/have to.)
Then I (The customer) had to explain that I am sorry that I managed to anger him with my questions, and I didn't mean anything bad/harm to him, with them. He still kept screaming that he doesn't care or give a s***. Then he started yelling: "GET OUT!" we weren't even finished with our beers, in fact they were nearly full since this all happened so quickly that we didn't get much chance to drink it from our confusion. Then I gave up on the thought that the bartender would calm down, so I asked him in the midst of his yelling "GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!" That can't we even finish our beers first? Then he screamed that we can finish our beers NOW but we can't stay to enjoy them in peace as we have to get out. We finished our full 0,5l beers with one gulp and marched away from the bar.
I know drunken people and customers can be annoying sometimes, (but trust me, this is was not the case. I really can hold my liqueurs.) I should know, I am a former bartender myself. But this is NOT how you behave as a bartender or in any other job that requires customer service skills, not at least where I come from.
Imagine how it feels to be a tourist in Helsinki and you get screamed up in a bar by a bartender for just a couple of simple and NORMAL everyday questions? What ever happened to the shine in "Good/Great customer service" or so-to-speak "Customer is always right." -principle?
Well I ain't going back to Viisi Penniä ever again when I visit Helsinki. And I feel bad for the owner of the bar (hopefully this raging bartender wasn't the owner, or if he was, in which scenario then I don't feel bad.) for writing this review because it wasn't everybody's, who work there, fault. Just one rotten apple.. I guess the two other bartenders could have been much nicer and more customer service -spirited and we got the wrong one.
PS. When I walked out of the Viisi Penniä -Bar, I promised to the bartender that I would write a Yelp -review based on this case, In which he replied laughing and yelling as we walked away: "Ahaha! So they all say, and they never do!"
GUESS WHAT?!
I just did.. ;) read more
