When your job revolves around people, you get a taste of habits that will test every ounce of your patience. Bartenders especially deal with a mix of characters, but according to one Texas bartender, there’s one specific thing you should never say if you want to stay on your bartender’s good side.
In a recent TikTok that got over 62,100 views, creator and bartender Taylor (@tayloreyelash) shares bluntly what that is.
The One Phrase Bartenders Can’t Stand
“I think the single worst thing to say to a bartender,” she says at the start of her video, “especially … if you’re a regular—the worst thing to say to them is, ‘What’s new?’”
She delivers it exactly the way a burned-out bartender would hear it at the end of a slammed shift.
“‘Nothing’s f—— new, John. I’ve been working every f—— day that you’ve been here. Like, literally nothing is new. All I do is I sleep and I work and I sleep and I work,’” she says.
She keeps going, explaining she’s tired of the performance of small talk. “No, I don’t want to small talk anymore,” she says. “Noooo.”
In the caption, she adds the perfect closer: “Shut up and drink your beer.”
Other Bartenders Online Seem To Agree
Over on Reddit’s r/bartenders, one new bartender asked for tips on how to escape small-talk traps with regulars. The responses were basically a collective sigh from workers who’ve been there a thousand times.
Fellow bartenders offered survival strategies.
One bartender says the best move is to make a joke and slip away while the customer laughs. “Otherwise,” they write, “I pretend another table is beckoning and say ‘one sec, I’ll be right back.’”
Another recommended carrying a bar towel as a prop. Nothing gets you out of a conversation faster than suddenly having a “counter to wipe.”
A third shared the classic line: “Hold that thought,” before darting off to do anything else behind the bar.
Why Small Talk Exhausts So Many People
Psychology Today breaks down why small talk drains certain people more than others. For many, especially neurodivergent folks or people who grew up in more direct communication cultures, small talk feels like a confusing ritual with unwritten rules.
Cultural background also shapes expectations. Some cultures value deep, direct conversation over chit-chat; others treat small talk like a necessary cue of friendliness. Even within the U.S., norms differ. In some regions, small talk is hospitality. In others, efficiency is the culture.
Gender roles play a part too. Women are often expected to carry the emotional labor of keeping a conversation going, even when they’re exhausted. As the writer notes, when a woman stays quiet, people assume something is wrong. When a man does, no one notices.
Bartenders In The Comments Also Agree
One bartender felt the same, writing, “Seriously I work 5 days a week at my bar same shifts always! And same regulars! Like there’s nothing to talk about leave me alone lol.”
Another joked about how often they see the same people, saying, “My regulars will be there when I walk in for my shift—leave for a bit then come back and close the bar… I always say ‘good morning’… act like I didn’t see them 5 hours ago.”
@tayloreyelash Shut up and drink your beer #bartending #bartenderlife
Someone else chimed in, “SO over small talk I can’t even pretend anymore.”
Another regular-shocked worker wrote, “I told a regular my truck’s name (Beverly) so everyday he says ‘how’s Beverly’? FINE SHE WAS FINE YESTERDAY, THE DAY BEFORE THAT, LAST WEEK AND WHEN YOU ASKED ME AND THE 800x before that!!!”
BroBible has reached out to Taylor via TikTok messages.