We asked students for their best stories about working behind a bar

Having a part time job whilst studying is one of the key experiences of uni life. That, and the lifelong debt, exam stress, and just general all round stress.

Bartending jobs in pubs and bars offer evening hours and flexible shifts, meaning they can be worked around lectures, revision and daytime TV. However, working behind a bar isn't all fun and free alcohol, what with the ordeal that comes with dealing with drunk people, rude people, and just people in general.

So we asked students to share their funniest, most interesting, most shocking stories about working behind a bar.

Hannah, 3rd Year, Marine Biology

"I used to work in a club in Hull and I watched someone get fingered on the dance floor.

I also saw an OAP grind on someone between the age of 20 and 25. He was buying her drinks all night, she was grinding on him, and then fell over and smashed her head open."

Georgia, 1st Year, Geography

"So I was fairly new, and this guy came in and was straight up weird, asking management if it was odd to feel slightly dizzy after a few pints. He took a liking to me, the only girl in the bar, and asked me loads of questions like where I live, how often I work and would I have a drink with him.

I told him no because I'm gay and I have a girlfriend. He started asking me how that works, if my girlfriend was gay, and if she's pretty. I moved around the bar to get away from him, before he came up to me and asked if my girlfriend was bi and whether I'd mind if he asked her out."

"We also had a bunch of rich people accuse a waitress of stealing £1.66 when they underpaid on a £96.66 bill. They said she was a disgusting thief and that they 'knew people in parliament'."

Hannah, 3rd Year, French and Politics

"Once I was working and a regular customer came in and stood next to my boyfriend. I went over and asked what he'd like and he said 'a tall blonde, please', jokingly as he always got a San Miguel.

As I walked off he told my boyfriend 'I'd have asked for a short blonde with no tits but then she'd think I was talking about her'. It's safe to say, he didn't realise that the man he was making crude, sexist jokes to about the girl behind the bar was the girl behind the bar's boyfriend."

Lewie, Graduate, English Literature

"I was serving on a busy Saturday night and there were so many people in completely off their faces. There was this one bloke who was absolutely trollied, so we weren’t going to serve him again and he kicked off.

Eventually we said we weren’t going to serve anybody until this bloke left, so people were shouting until one other guy tried to pull him away. A full on fight erupted and all you could here was a massive crack. Next minute he’s face down on the floor with a puddle of blood forming under him. Cleaning up was a nightmare but we got to shut the pub early."

Alex, Graduate, Geography

"It was on my final shift at work and I was helping train the new guy. Watched him pour a pint for a customer before realising there was a black dot floating in the head of the beer. Cue some scrambling behind the bar to sprint over to the bloke's table and switch his pint for a fresh one. We poured the old pint away, and at the bottom of the sink was a slug."

A bar staff's nightmare

Student Who Wishes to Remain Anonymous for the Sake of Their Job

"We once found a bag of coke at the end of a shift and handed it in to one of the managers. Instead of throwing it away, he just had it."

Katie, 2nd Year, Architecture

“Last summer we were working on a busy Saturday with lots of people sat outside the front of the pub. A guy sprinted up towards the pub and out round the side. 10 minutes later the police were in the pub asking for the CCTV footage, apparently the guy had stolen someone’s laptop from their car around the corner and we were all classed as witnesses.”

Naomi, Graduate, English Literature and Film

“I used to work at Plug when they did a club night called Planet Zog, which as essentially an all night rave from 9pm until 6am. Most of the people there were around 60 or 70 and dressed in lots of neon and long black coats, some with dreadlocks.

After I finished work I didn’t bother going home because I had to go to uni in a couple of hours. I ended up falling asleep in my lecture and getting bollocked by my lecturer.”