Customer Asks Bartender to Make a Mimosa Without Alcohol or Orange
Published July 17 2023, 12:58 p.m. ET
For some reason, bartenders have to be everything to everyone who steps up to their bar. Sometimes they are a friendly ear. On occasion, they are soothsayers or armchair therapists. Hopefully they don't have to be bouncers, but people plus alcohol can be tricky.
Tim, who goes by @_tvb11 on TikTok, has absolutely seen and heard it all. I'm sure every shift has at least one hilarious story and for Tim, it involved a woman who ordered a mimosa despite claiming she is allergic to both alcohol and oranges. Sounds like a stirring tale that might leave us shaken.
A customer's mimosa order was an experience for this bartender.
The concept of the customer always being right must have been birthed by someone who never worked in restaurants because that's bulls---. I stand with all service workers, who generally can't actually stand after a shift. It's hard work. It can also be confusing work.
When a woman ordered a mimosa from Tim, that should have been a pretty easy drink to make. After all, there are only two ingredients. Because Tim is clearly respectful and professional, he asked about allergies. Evidently the customer was allergic to logic.
The customer let Tim know she "can't eat oranges and I don't drink alcohol." It appears she ordered a mimosa and asked Tim to please hold the mimosa. In a perfect world, he would have handed her an empty champagne flute, but he stuck with this. "I said, 'OK, I mean the main ingredients of a mimosa are champagne, which is alcohol, and oranges. So is there something else I can get for you instead?'"
Flustered and annoyed but not ready to throw in the towel just yet, the customer replied, "No, make me a mimosa." We seem to have reached an impasse, but Tim is also still in the game.
Bartender concocts an original 'mimosa' for the customer.
Trying to save this woman from herself, Tim suggests an alternative. "Did you want to do grapefruit juice, or lemon juice with club soda?" Things turn slightly insulting as the woman snaps, "I don't know why this is so hard. Just make me a mimosa without those two ingredients." I think it's time for a new drink called the Timosa, which is when Tim calls her an Uber and instructs it to head to a 7-11 or similar. That place is filled with beverages.
Taking matters into his own hands, Tim "did a little grapefruit lemon thing, and club soda on top." Similar to a court jester and his king, Tim tasted the beverage to make sure it was delicious. "It tasted yummy," he said, so Tim made another for the world's most difficult customer. "What the f--- is this?" she asked. "It's your mimosa," said Tim. "Where's the mint?" she fired back. The mint???
"You want to add mint to that?" asked Tim with all the incredulity that comes with an experience like this. "Obviously," said the customer. To Tim's credit, he added mint and added his opinion about this drink. "It did not look tasty but you know what, we served it anyway because the customer is always right." He reaction was very similar to Tim's. "This is disgusting," she told him.
This woman proves that the customer isn't always right.
Finally a friend stepped in to clear things up. "Oh my God, Jenny," she exclaimed. "Don't you mean a mojito?" Jenny did in fact mean to order a mojito, and apologized profusely to Tim for causing all the drama.
Tim made her an alcohol-free mojito, operating under the assumption that Jenny was allergic to oranges and alcohol. She took a sip and asks Tim why there isn't any alcohol in it. He reminded her about the allergies. "Oh no no no," Jenny shouted, "It's not that I have an allergy, I just don't want to drink a bunch today. Can you make me a mojito correctly this time?" Tim did, and Jenny tipped him 4 percent. She should have left him $867,5309 for his troubles.
