To expect barman to know what a lemon and lime is.

[girlfriend44]

Couldn't believe it today. Had this drink loads with no problem.

Barman had no clue what a lemon and lime was. Gave up and ordered something else, a coffee instead.

No idea what you're on about bbs. Glad I wasn't serving you though.

I worked in bars for 18 years and never heard of a lemon and lime.

if someone asked me for a lemon and lime I’d put a slice of each fruit in a glass.

we call it a glass or pint of lemonade and lime.

I’ve worked in lots of pubs but never heard of this. I would understand when you explained though!

A henry sounds a bit like a St Clements although that’s with bitter lemon or lemon tonic.

I worked on a bar for years and I've never heard of it, so YABU I reckon.

I get this sometimes if I order a St Clements (orange juice and lemonade) Not every bar person is a trained mixoligist and I'm happy to educate them and pass it forward, cheers 🧋

I’ve never heard of a lemon and lime.
Lime and soda - yes.
Lemon and lime - no

its definitely not a usual order round here

What, together? In the same glass?! I never heard of that before! I never heard of that…”
That sounds like me when I worked in a night club
We sometimes had day events for muslim students so obviously no alcohol. One lad asked for a pineapple and coke.
I gave him a glass of pineapple and a glass of coke. I got that wrong, he wanted them as one drink. He told me it was a nice drink and to try it. I gave it a miss! I'm not a fan of coke at the best of times!

I think it also comes down to the fact that staff in pubs (not the managers) tend to be very young.

To many (I was one once) it’s the first job you get while on a gap year or at university. And, as several have highlighted already, the training bar staff get is often minimal. You generally have a trial shift at which you are shown where everything is, told what the general duties are (which generally includes food service, clearing tables, tills and such as well as drinks) and probably will be given a quick chance to pull a pint. These are kids really trying to just about cope.

Not only have they had minimal training - they certainly are not professional mixologists or sommeliers (both of which takes years of training and experience and is the drinks equivalent to being a high end chef) - but many are about 18 and haven’t had very much experience of drinking themselves.

So they’ve neither the experience professionally or socially. And that’s before people start throwing in their own particular names for certain drinks!

I learned far more from the customers at the bars and pubs I worked at than from the managerial staff.

Now it can be very irritating, but at the same time it’s been this way for decades now and it’s only going to get worse in an industry under such strain. Certainly, as often in these sorts of situations, while these things can be incredibly frustrating, the fault, if any, sits far further up the chain of command than the poor sods at the coalface, on the floor, on minimum wage, poorly trained and having to deal with irritated customers and a very fast paced environment.

I think what you and your husband did was absolutely right, explaining it and being nice about it. She’ll (hopefully) remember what a shandy is now and has learned something. The real issue is when customers come into these places and treat staff like badly behaved servants who should somehow have an encyclopaedic knowledge both of every possible drink anyone might ever order and of the regional and particular names people use for them.

Never heard of it but I order a soda water and lime.

I told my sister and she said, young people don't drink shandy, that's probably why.
Blimey shandy is a blast from the past!
I dont know anyone, young or old that drinks it these days.

When I ask for a lime and soda, meaning lime cordial, I often get a soda with a slice of lime.

You're right the training isn't great.

I used to work in hospitality when I was a student, so I get it. I hate customers being rude, so I'd never be.

She was about the age of my kids, so I'd hope someone would be kind to my girls to in that situation.

Tbh, if my husband didn't order shandy a lot, I'm not sure my daughters would know what it was.

What for? I explained what it was. A barkeep should know this. Altogether too judgemental round here. 🤐

I thought we did this for fun?

I do know there is a difference, thanks. Don't assume you can teach your great-grandmamma to suck limes.😀

Wouldn’t a lemonade have been a closer replacement than coffee?

What makes you think people are not taught how to be barkeeps? Hope this particular one isn't asked to pour a Guiness.

My point is that you are calling these bar staff ignorant and at the same time not actually getting it right yourself. Trying to be clever by being rather nasty is generally a poor way to behave, but when you also get it wrong it just makes you look even more of an arse.

Oh, and also calling them ‘bar keep’. You probably call waiters in France ‘garcon’ and then speak to them in rather loud and slow English because you assume that if they can’t speak English they must be rather backwards.

My goodness but I’ve served many people like you in my time. Bar staff are generally rather good at smiling and being polite to those rather patronising slightly bullying ‘it’s only a laugh’ sorts that so often like to come into bars, they will smile a fixed grin and serve you with appropriate politeness and often even laugh at your poor jokes, but it doesn’t mean they don’t hope you won’t choke on your drink when you get back to your table.

If you read responses you might learn something. If all you ever do is read an OP and blurt your response, you never will.
Even if you had been right, what do you think is the point of you saying something that has already been said a hundred times?

Never mind - that's clearly your idea of fun. Just talking, whether you have anything to say or not, or whether anyone is listening or not. If everyone follows your plan, nobody will read your posts anyway.

Or spell it.

I do on holiday sometimes, very refreshing

You're the judgmental one by the sounds of it.

Before kids, I used to drink 'alf a lager top, which is lager and lemonade and also 'alf a lager and lime, which is lager with lime cordial on the top. Not sure I could drink either of those now! My mum has always loved a Port and lemon, which is Port plus lemonade.

So I said juice instead of cordial. Ffs it's a minor error after all. I do know what the drink is, I drink it myself and have frequently watched barkeeps make it using lime cordial - I mad a slight class error. Not to have a clue what the drink is when working behind a bar is really odd.