Saturday – you’re at the bar and you see a fine bartender.Flirts are exchanged, you might get their number and you’ll proceed to facebook stalk them for a good 20 minutes shoot them a flirty text.
When you show
your friends the “hot Lion bartender” your friends look at you with a confused
face. Apparently the bartender isn’t that hot, but you absolutely disagree. The science
of sex appeal has rules that apply differently to bartenders– it’s a job that
turns nickels into dimes.
I believe the appeal is broken down first by power. While it’s not like they can veto bills or fail you in a class, they absolutely control how your night is going to go. They can turn that $4 whiskey coke into a $1 shot of Patron, or even better yet **free** (with a good tip, that is). The power to control your level of sobriety is a huge factor. It makes you want to like them more so you benefit from them.
The second part of the appeal, is social skills. It may seem basic, but we’ve all had enough awkward conversations at the bar to know some people lack these basic skills. When we go to the bars and see someone cute, there’s a good chance you’ll need some courage to start flirting with them (or you might just ignore them entirely because you’re shy and awkward). Bartenders change that game – they are comfortable starting a conversation with you, granted they aren’t busy. They know that if they throw in a smile and lean in close, they’ll be your favorite tender for the night.
My favorite part of the appeal of a bartender is the confidence. What other stranger at the bar is going to call you out for your drink choices, wink at you, or incorporate blatant innuendo into their conversation within minutes of meeting you? It’s almost as if they’re playing with you. It might be a personal thing that I love overly confident, self assured people, but what guy or girl can resist the irrefutable charm that is the cocky smile when their bartender is pouring their drink.
At the end of the day, the exact dynamics of bartender sex appeal remains a mystery. Maybe it’s the power of slinging drinks, the cockiness, and the approachability that make them so wonderful to fawn after, or maybe it’s our primordial desire to have what everyone else is craving.
Regardless, go ahead and get flirty with your bartender. You’ll never know where the night may take you (and it could actually save your bank account).
