Day 55 - Worst Best Day Ever!

I wish I could tell you that I make half of this crap up...but it's all true...it's honestly way to crazy to make up....the reason I titled this blog "Worst Best Day Ever!" is because of the events that took place. I had an amazing day in sales, but felt awful for an incident that occurred...read on and you'll understand what I mean.

Yesterday's day game was by far one of the most eventful games I've had in a long time.

I was running late...Since it was a day game, parking was going to be more expensive in the garage I normally park in...have to pay the "day rate" of $10 instead of the $4 for the night price during games....So after trying to figure out where I was going to park and make it into the stadium in time...I parked in the "special" parking lot that employees of Sports Services can park in for a discounted price of something around $6. It is the lot to the southwest of the stadium. We have been told before that if we park there, we can enter the stadium on that street side entrance for employees near gate 3 and walk through the stadium to change/clock-in in the Sports Services lobby.

I walk up to the entrance way and the Busch Stadium employee tells me I can't enter through this door. I explain that I was told at the beginning of the year that we were able to and he just replied back with saying, "yeah, well there's been a problem with that, you need to walk up to that green awning area past gate 3."

So I walk to that entrance he pointed to and the older gentleman behind the door that was shut just looked at me. I showed him my badge and he just motioned for me to keep walking. I tried to tell him through the glass door that I was an employee, showing him my badge again and he just shook his head 'no' and told me to keep walking.

I finally make it around to the other side of the stadium where we I normally enter the stadium...I was a bit ticked at the fact that I was told one thing and was now being told another thing by a different person...it was my own fault for running late...but it wouldn't have been my fault if I wasn't able to clock in because I was late when I was at an entrance I was told I could enter through...frustrating way to start my day off..... I still made it there in time...just a bit frustrated...

With it being a day game, my commissary was closed due to our supervisor having to work at her other job as a school teacher. So the guys that did show up from commissary 240 were split up between commissary 168 & 134. I was assigned to 134 with 2 other guys from 240. We had discussed that since our commissary (240) was closed, there wouldn't be any beer men up on that level in the sections we normally sell in. So we decided that the 3 of us would go up there and rake in the sales!

Before I even got out of the commissary, some of the regular beer men down there were harassing us (240 beer men) as if they were superior beer men for working down there. They were telling us that if we were going to stick around in their sections they would cut down into our sections and take as many sales away from us as possible...most of those guys were just a bunch of barbaric fools if you ask me...I'll explain more later...

Thank God for escalators...this made the trip up to the second level of the stadium much easier...going down, well, we had to take the steps since the escalators closest to us don't go down till the 7th inning.

I had already sold about half of my first case before the game started...I told myself that this was going to be a great day of making some sales since there were only a few of us guys working 25 sections compared to nearly 20 guys working in the 25 sections...

***Before I share this next story...do this: yell the word "peanuts" really loud! If you can't do that right now, do it in your head. Do you hear what that sounded like?***

I was making my way down into a section as people were still coming into the stadium...trying to make a few more sales before the games started...I was yelling out my beer man hawk, "ICE COLD BEER! ICE COLD BUD, BUD LIGHT, BUD SELECT! ICE COLD BEER! PEANUTS!" I had a guy motion for me to come down to him and his buddies...all of them wearing business attire...I thought the guy was asked me for peanuts. He kept looking at me and back to the guy sitting next to him, then back at me with a childish grin...He said, "penis! this guys a penis. you said you have penis? this guy needs one.... I didn't want to buy anything, just wanted to share that with you." I shook my head and walked away. I realized that I need to be sure I enunciate a bit more...or else full grown business men will act like a jr. highers...

*I really struggled with deciding if I was going to share this next story...but here it goes...
Have you ever been so thirsty that you choke when you take a drink of something? Have you had your throat so dry, you want to chug any liquid as fast as you can and as soon as that liquid comes into contact with your throat, you instantly choke or cough?

I was busting my butt off during the heat of the day game when I sat my tub down behind section 251 to quench my thirst. My throat and mouth was so dry from being so hot as well as yelling out my beer call. I twisted off the cap of my Gatorade bottle filled with ice cold water. I noticed that Holliday was up to bat. I paused to watch him hit. I then lifted my Gatorade bottle to my lips and got a huge mouthful of water when at the exact same moment as Holliday hit his homerun, I choked on that ice cold water the moment it came into contact with my throat. I tried to turn my head towards my arm to cover the cough that was coming on. That big gulp of water just became a projectile.

The sold out crowd was on their feet cheering for the solo shot out into left field while I gave the couple sitting in the last row of section 251 a shower. I can only describe it as what it would be like to take a ride on the Maid of The Mist at Niagara Falls. I have never in my entire life felt so bad for what had just happened. I just spit water onto these 2 fans. I immediately apologized. The could see that I was embarrassed, but I don't think they knew how bad I truly felt. The fans were still on their feet and this couple who just had a quick cool-down were still half unsure of what to do. I apologized again and they just said it was okay and then the guy walked off...I didn't know what was gonna happen, I didn't know where he went to...I saw that he came back with some napkins to clean him and his wife off a bit. I apologized again and the lady said it was okay.

Again, I have never felt so bad in my entire life. I could have just caused this couple to never want to come back to a baseball game at Busch Stadium their entire life in fear of getting spit on! I had already made my way into a few sections over, still feeling awful when I decided that I would go back and give them a free beer (even though, I'd be paying for it, it was the least I could do in hopes of kindling our relationship). They were gone. I don't know if they left, if they moved into another section or what, but they weren't back there for the remainder of the game...

*While walking through the amazing air-conditioned Red Bird Club to get to the next section over, I hear someone yell my name. Not just my first name, cause it's not like I don't share a common name or anything...but first and last name. A girl I graduated high school, Jane, with was there with a few of her coworkers. She came over and gave me what was like a semi-side hug...which I personally was thinking to myself, 'I'm fricken drenched in sweat and smelly and she's huggin me?...who wants to hug a beer man?' Then it hit me...'WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO HUG THE BEER MAN!??!?!'

*I was in a section making a few sales when I had a guy in a business suite motion for one beer. He was sitting on the end of the row. He asked for a Bud and then leaned forward to get his wallet out of his pocket. Then there was a loud 'snap'! It sounded like a gun went off right under his seat.... Nope...not a gun, but the sound did come from his seat. He broke his seat. The bottom of the seat catches on the back so it wont' fold down any farther...well this guy (yeah he was an easy 300+ lbs.) snapped the chair past the part that keeps the seat level. He couldn't sit back, cause the bottom of the seat was sloped down and I did everything inside of me from not bursting into laughter from this site. He stood up and snapped the seat back down. He sat back down and looked at me and said, 'let's make that a Bud Light'. I wonder if him switching from Bud to Bud Light will create a flow of events that will inevitably lead him to become the "Jared" of Budweiser?

I've witnessed some amazing things in my days while working at Busch Stadium, but this day game really just topped it off. Sales were amazing! The crowd of business folk were amazing...and some were childish.

As I was going through check-out in 134, the other beer men were acting a bit more childish than that businessman did while asking for a penis for his friend. The beer men were cutting ahead of each other in line, yelling at each other, complaining about how hot it was, trying to cut in front of each other again in the line...they were acting barbaric in the ways they were treating each other. Myself and the other 2 beer men from 240 just kept to ourselves and ended up at the end of the line...I didn't care where I ended up, I had a crazy day.

After waiting in the long line to check-out and after clocking out, I was able to make my way back to my car and head home (hopefully before rush hour traffic hit). Then about half-way back towards the usual parking garage I park in, I realize I parked next to the stadium. Awesome! Well, it wasn't awesome till sitting in traffic for nearly 45 minutes just to get onto the interstate, which took another 45 minutes just to get home...who cares...I witnessed a man break a seat and accidentally gave a couple a shower (which even as I type this, I still feel bad).

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
135 Bottles of Water
227 Bags of Peanuts
3365 Bottles of Beer

Day 53 & 54 - Double Vision?

Double Vision...not just a hit song by Foreigner, but it's what I felt like I had between Tuesday's & Wednesday's games.

Sold nearly the same both nights...actually, I sold the same number of bottles of beer both nights...commission was the same (ok, so there was an $0.08 difference between the 2 nights)....and I only have a few stories from each night...so there ya go...

Tuesday night:

-Thanks to a few people in section 254, I didn't put my knee down into a pile of puke on the end of a row. I guess someone had a bit too much fun and puked. I didn't realize it and noticed people were missing from a row...and when the people in the row behind them asked for a few beers, I started to go into the row with puke and about a half step later and I would have had to buy knee pads...

-It felt like all of the weirdos decided to show up to the game on Tuesday night. I've never seen so many odd people at a ball game before. I had a few groups of people that would fit in the 'goth' category, a large number of elderly people who I found to be sleeping during most of the game (not that a lot happened other than in the first inning), I had a group of kids that decided to have their face be used as a pin-cushion and had more facial piercings than anyone I've ever seen in my life, there was a group of college aged people that kept getting ticked for being carded (if you're just turning 21 or 22 what the hell do you expect?!?!?! i card for anyone 39-1/2 and under suckas!!) Just lots of odd groups of people in my sections tonight.

Wednesday night:

-I busted a knuckle open tonight. At the top row of section 250, there is a counter-top with bar stools that people sit in...with about 4 ft between them and the brick wall. Well, when people stand up, their chair goes back, thus the smaller walk-way to get around them...well, as I was walking through there, I had to squeeze around someone and busted my knuckle open as the brick wall acted like a cheese grater on my skin. AWESOME! I was hoping my gloves would have covered the first knuckle up on my ring finger enough, but it was just at the right spot to catch it...oh the price I pay to get people their beer.

-Ironically enough, in that same section I busted my knuckle...before the game even started, I sold a bag of peanuts to a couple and they started to carry on a conversation with me. They asked if I was ever tired of working there or got tired of baseball...I replied with a "no" I don't think I could ever get tired of it...The more I thought about it, I don't ever see that happening....I mean, I'm getting paid to be at the fricken ballgame! The lady asked if I was exhausted from carrying my beer tub around...I responded with just saying that some games it feels heavier than others and the heat doesn't help some nights. She responded with, "well, you are more of a man than I am." I thought to myself, God I hope so...or you and your husband need to talk!

Day game tomorrow (Thursday). Looking forward to plenty of business men in their business suits and business socks (you know when i'm down to just my socks it's business time that's why they call them business socks...(yeah, i have to say it...(if you don't understand, go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j94V5u53bLA ) but not that kind of business, cause i ain't gay) buy business beer tomorrow. ...lots of business mena and women at the day games...that's mostly the day game crowd since school has started back up.

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
135 Bottles of Water
224 Bags of Peanuts
3269 Bottles of Beer

The end is near!?!?!....

I've had a few friends ask me recently if I was ready for the season to be over?...If I was prepared for the end of being a beer man.

This took me by surprise.

Am I a beer man for the Cubs or something? If so, I would know my job as a beer man would be over the last day of the regular season...but last time I checked, I work at Busch Stadium! We're in 1st place in the NLCD and that means playoffs. Not to get ahead of myself...but we just pulled ahead of the Cubs by 7 games last night. Playoffs? Me thinks so!

I mean, I guess it is already nearing the end of September and there is just a little over a month left of the regular season...but we are sitting in an amazing spot to be in the PLAYOFFS!!!!

When I first started this season, I knew that the All-Star Game was well worth working at the stadium. Shortly after the All-Star break, I felt like something wasn't the same...I didn't feel as excited to go to work at the stadium...I lost my passion...

Wait...a beer man who has passion for his job?

You better believe it. There's something about going to the stadium and being surrounded by the smells and the sounds of the game. You know what I'm talking about. Seeing a team in a city with deep roots in the American tradition of baseball. I love it! I LOVE MY JOB!

As for being finished after this season...HA! I mean, hopefully I'll have a full-time job by the beginning of the 2010 season and have no need to work as a beer man...BUT...as long as my job schedule would allow for it, I have full intentions of at least working Friday and Saturday games through next season. Why not?!?!? It'd be easy extra money. I use the term "easy" lightly...because of the actual physical labor that is involved with the job. As long as I live in the STL area, I have full intentions of continuing this job...I love it!

The only problem I currently have is not knowing what days we'll be playing in October. Yes, they have the general dates of each playoff round, but not sure when those games will be at Busch...

Tips - "To Flirt, or Not To Flirt?"

This topic has been on my mind for quite some time now...I have asked my girlfriend to help throw in her 2 cents on the topic...I wrote my thoughts and she commented and shared her thoughts in here....I have in no way edited the sections she has written....the text that is pink-ish/purple-ish is her thoughts...

I used to wait tables while in college. It wasn't that fancy of a restaurant...just a small place at a tourist attraction back home. Seeing as how most of my tables were tourists groups of families/old woman/retired couples...it wasn't common for a group of young women that I could flirt with to try my chances... I would occasionally get a table where I would flirt to try and get a better tip.

I, personally, have never waited tables or held any job that I received tips for. I have heard friends tell many stories though. I have one female friend that would always flirt with tables of men, and said that it seemed to help her tips, especially with older men. Is this ok? My very first reaction was no. But the more I think about it, the more I realize there is so much more to it. If it is all innocent, then why not? Why not do what you can to get a larger tip? Is there a set of rules for flirting with customers somewhere out there? Like do not flirt with a male customer who looks old enough to be your grandpa. Or do not flirt with a male customer who is in the company of any female, mom or not. That would make things a bit easier…probably for bother genders.

As a beer man, although it is a different atmosphere, I'm still serving customers and will occasionally get a tip. Numerous times I've been stiffed by fans. I've had a few people that make small talk ask how much beer men get paid. That's the only time I'll share with a fan that I am paid through commission and if they ask about tips, I share that there is the occasional tip here or there.... (Since it is in our handbook that we are not to advertise in any way or try to coax fans into giving us tips.)

As a waiter, you can milk the people sitting at your tables with something that is known as 'sucking up'....no other way to put it...There are numerous things that can be done to accomplish this...always making sure their glass is full, double checking on the quality of their food, being very prompt, friendly...you get the picture...

While being a beer man, you can only do so much....I mean, the beer can only be so cold...it comes out of the fridge, into my tub and covered with ice. It's not like I can give out frosted mugs with each beer....I can't control the way the Cardinals play (not that I need to worry about that recently anyways...since they won 5 of 6 in their last homestand) I can only do so much to make sure their experience is the best ever...Yes, I can stand there and talk to them, but most of them want to watch the game and want me to serve them their ice cold beer and get out of their way.

However...there are the groups of college girls, young woman and the cougars....only way to make their night a bit better is to show them special attention...oh, they call that flirting don't they.... Fact: women like attention. Fact: most single women enjoy flirting. Fact: cougars are out for young blood...and it's scary.

Fact: Women like attention, yes…most of the time. But not necessarily from their waiter/beer man just trying to get a better tip. Personally, I don’t think being hit on by a strange man would affect the tip that I give. Unless, I reduce it due to the overly creepy vibe that some men tend to give off. Fact: Cougars are a different breed and I don’t think I have enough time to address this sort. Scary? Indeed.

You can go ahead and call me shallow, but when I've been single, I wouldn't think twice about flirting with an attractive woman. Where you at men? Let me hear you... what guy doesn't mind flirting with an attractive female?

Yeah, where are you men? Step up and admit that you shamelessly flirt with every attractive female you come in contact with just to get a better tip with no other intentions other than that! Ha! Ok, ok, all sarcasm aside, I think this is a prime example of how much the male and female minds differ. Most males probably don’t see any problem with a little flirting to increase a potential tip and fattening up their wallet a bit. However, the female customer may interpret that differently. This is where the possible problem lies. In all honesty, women look way deeper into things than what may be intended and an innocent flirtation from a man can seem like way more to the women on the receiving end. Yes, women do flirt with male customers as well, and I actually think are probably more prone to do so. Does it help their tips? In most cases, probably so.

Have I flirted in hopes of getting a better tip? Yes, but ONLY when I've been single...Now there is a minor detail I would like to mention. Smiling back at a woman and/or making eye contact with a customer is part of my job...so when I make eye contact and smile back to a woman who smiles at me with her flirtatious tactics, I'm only doing my job and have no intentions of my relationship with this female going past the sale of a beer while I'm working at the stadium.

I agree with smiling and being friendly with your customers. This is an important aspect of any job. It is something that most people should understand, and for me would impact a tip way more than the amount of flirting that is taking place. This could be because I am not an overly flirtatious person, even in the least bit. I would much rather rely on a friendly demeanor than flirting with someone to receive a good tip.

The number one group of women who flirt and initiate the flirt are the cougars.

Not surprised. However, I originally wouldn’t picture many cougars hanging out at a baseball game. I guess I imagine the Real Housewives of Orange County, Atlanta, and any other city this ridiculous show resides in that I have left out, drinking cocktails on a yacht. Yet, this baseball game idea is brilliant. What better place to prowl on young single men than a baseball game? We gotta give these cougars some credit! Well done!

Now I know I have a baby face and young looks...which is why I think that woman my age don't think that I'm old enough for them to flirt with...or not to mention, even look old enough to sell them a beer....so the cougars lay low in the grassy outfield and then attack when the little beer man doesn't expect it coming.

As a guy who has been dating an amazing girlfriend, I don't think about flirting. Do I have the occasional female initiate a flirty smile or initiate a flirty conversation with me? Yes. Do I return that flirt? No. Only way I would ever return that flirt is if my girlfriend gave me the thumbs up to flirt with other women...and in turn who am I to say she couldn't then flirt with other men? We have the upmost trust in each other. So what would be the harm in me flirting with a lady to try and get a bigger tip? The Bible doesn't cover the area of flirting. Now if I was married, I wouldn't even consider asking the question: if flirting is even okay? even if it was to bring in more money...

The ultimate question here, is whether or not it is ok to flirt in order to potentially get a larger tip. Probably so. I don’t see it as a huge issue for someone to initiate or even return flirting in hopes of increasing their tip. As long as it is truly innocent and the intention does not go beyond the sale/service, it really is harmless. I do, however, think that the situation changes if you are in a relationship/engaged/married. I think in this case, it is probably a good idea to choose not to flirt, even if it is strictly for a bigger tip. This doesn’t mean it is necessarily wrong, I just think the best choice would be to avoid it.

So in closing, I appreciate my girlfriend's thoughts and opinions on this topic and hopefully we've stirred up some thoughts in people's heads... What would you do? I want to hear your thoughts. I have opened the poll back up for a few more days and want to know why you voted the way you did.

Day 51 & 52 - Vomit, Locusts & Leather Chaps

On my way out of the stadium on Friday night, I was in a hurry to get around to the other side of the stadium to meet up with a few friends. The sidewalks were crowded and it was tough to maneuver through everyone...then I nearly stepped into a puddle of puke. Vomit was all over the ground...someone must have done a great job of projecting that...cause it had splattered around in a radius of 6-7 feet. Thank God I was looking down...I did see a few people walk right through it...which nearly made me gag. The site/sound/thought of puke makes me gag. It was tough to even write this paragraph...

The heat was harsh on Friday and Saturday night's games. I haven't felt the effects of the heat as bad as I did this weekend. I had to stop every section just about to take a drink and wipe the sweat from my face.

As I was walking out of the parking garage on Saturday, I had a sudden thought in my mind that we were about to be facing plagues of locusts.


I've lived in the country before, but I've never seen a locust as big as this one! It was still there when I got back to the garage Saturday night. I think it waved to me.

After thinking through how having plagues would effect the world today in my head...I was walking through the parking lot next to the stadium where the old stadium used to be...that's when I saw over half of the parking lot full of Harleys. I guess there was some big promotion/sponsor by Harley Davidson for the game. Usually I'll see plenty of fans bring gloves to the games, but I've never seen so much leather in the stands as I did on Saturday night.

I saw so many leather chaps & biker chicks (not the hot ones either...the kind that could beat me up and). There were numerous women supportn' the dike spike...women that had hair much shorter than me. I saw a few dudes with pony tails that were a few feet long. It was insane.

I know I posted a new poll recently...I encourage you to vote...and be sure to check back here on Tuesday for a special blog where I'll be sharing this area with a guest blogger. Together we will tackle the topic of "Flirting: is it okay if it gets you a bigger tip?" This has been a topic that has been on my mind for awhile and with the upcoming away series for the Cards, I want to still give you something to read and ponder.

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
130 Bottles of Water
213 Bags of Peanuts
3139 Bottles of Beer

Day 50 - I believe it

No time to waste...straight to the stories.

I had an older guy motion over at me for needing a beer. I walked up the steps to his row and he was sitting next to a younger woman. He asked me if it was okay if the girl next to him still tipped me because she just recently became unemployed...I said it was up to her if she wanted to. You could tell that he was out to embarrass her. She kept trying to keep him quiet as he kept on talking. He then went on to tell me that she was going to tip me anyways because she thought I was the best looking beer man that has come around tonight. Without even thinking, I replied back with the witty comment, "I believe it."

While I was waiting for the game to start, I stood behind section 252 surveying the stands to see where other beer men where at and where I was going to go to next. That is when I had a guy wave me over to him. He was sitting in the top row of section 250 which has a "bar" type fixture and bar stools as seats. I walked over to him and he started to ask around who wanted a beer. He was with a group of about 12 people. JACKPOT! Through the course of the night, I had sold an entire case of beer to that group of people. One guy was paying the whole night for all of them. I wasn't complaining...he was a generous tipper too.

That's it for now. Tonight is Friday...should be a sold out crowd and look for a blog full of stories tomorrow!

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
115 Bottles of Water
207 Bags of Peanuts
2973 Bottles of Beer

Day 49 - Shaq-attack & Green Day

Yeah, the big goof on the the mound...that's Shaq. If you haven't watched any SportsCenter...then you don't know about how Shaq challenged Pujols to a homerun derby. Pujols just replied with, "good luck." I always thought Pujols was a big dude...but Shaq...well, he towered over Pujols standing next to him.

I need to say a quick thank you to Green Day. They were in concert last night at the Scott Trade Center and several of the beer men were working there instead of the Cards game. This allowed for much higher than normal sales with the few of us guys that were in our commissary. Green Day, thank you!

I honestly don't have any stories from last night. I could complain about the heat...but I'm not gonna. It's summer. It's supposed to be hot. Not to mention, we are in the mid-west...it's supposed to be humid. Ah, the joys of sweating off 5 lbs a game...(i'm not joking).

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
114 Bottles of Water
205 Bags of Peanuts
2901 Bottles of Beer

Day 48 - Randomocity

Take a look at this photo.



Do you see why I took a quick photo with my phone? Take a second look at it. Yeah, that guy in the center of the photo has his laptop at the game. This was about 5 minutes before the game started. He was working away on it and every time I walked by this section throughout the game he was still on his laptop.

Just one of the many random things that took place at last night's game (Monday 8/10).

So I didn't blog at all last week...sorry...there is something about taking a break from this that feels good while I'm not working at the stadium.

The way this night went, I'm not going to waste any time and get right to the stories.

"What Not To Wear" - Sometimes I wonder what goes through people's minds when they are getting dressed before a baseball game. Is there even anything going on in their head? Too many girls wearing too little clothing... Usually I don't comment about this, but there were these two girls who must have thought it was a good idea to wear see-through tank-tops, shorts that were so short that the pockets stuck out past the shorts and knee-high socks...now most guys would like to see that on a girl or their wife...however, these girls weren't attractive by a long shot, it was just flat out disgusting... People, we are facing an epidemic...too many girls think it's a great idea to wear clothes 13-sizes too small! Stop the madness!

"Obama Happens" - During the 7th inning, I had a guy ask for 2 bottles of water. I looked in my tub to only see the one bottle and I didn't see another beer man in sight to possibly get this man both of the bottles of water he requested. So I let him know that I only had one bottle left, but could go find someone that had more. He looked at me and said, "no, that's okay. we'll take the one bottle." I apologized to him that I didn't have another bottle of water for him. He looked back at me and said, "well, Obama happens." I don't really know what he meant...I have interpreted it as him saying Obama (beerman) says he has things (water bottles) people (fans in the stands) want...but only gives half. I dunno...what do you think he meant by that statement?

Knee Pads - On my way downstairs to clock out, I was walking through the crowds of people when a guy yelled over to me. I looked his direction and he was just looking down at my knee pads. (I usually wear knee pads because we have to take a knee when selling during game play and concrete hurts the knees...after i'm done working, i usually pull the knee pads down and they rest around my ankles till I get home.) He said, "hey, are those knee pads?" I said, "yeah." He looked at me with the most serious face and said, "give me one of those knee pads. I need one of those." I just shook my head telling him i needed them for work and kept on walking. I think he might have had a few too many. I have been asked for many things while working at the stadium, but my knee pad is a first.

Hot & Humid - I have worked during several near 100 degree games...but tonight's humidity might have been the worst yet. The 83 degree air felt warm, but that humidity is what destroyed me and the other beer men. One veteran beer man from my commissary went home because he got sick from the heat. There were a few times I felt really dizzy walking down the steps of a section. I would take a quick break and drink some water before going down every few sections.

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
110 Bottles of Water
198 Bags of Peanuts
2823 Bottles of Beer

Day 46 & 47 - Stupid People

I didn't blog last night because I was too pissed off to blog.

I'm not going to go into it that much and I'll start it off with one simple statement:

-I hate stupid people and wonder why we allow some people to reproduce.

I was at a stop light downtown trying to get to the parking garage when a ticket scalper started to buy tickets from a car that was at the red light in front of me. The light turned green and they continued to bargain back and forth. I laid on the horn. That didn't help. Finally the guy got the money/tickets for what he was wanting and just stood in the middle of the road...my night was starting off great.

My tickets were messed up while vending. Was it a simple mistake/simple fix...yes...I should have caught that my tickets were all under someone else name...was it frustrating to deal with when the error was caught...yes.

Sales were also very awful for me on Friday night. The worst night of the week so far...the whole week was backwards...I did better on Monday and Thursday's games than I did on Friday....oh well...Saturday night has got to be better...right?

now that I have that out of the way...Onto tonight's game...

I just kept telling myself to stay positive, last night is over and tonight's game is a new/different day.

Tonight did go well! best night of the week in commission! I was finished with my first case before the first inning was over. I probably could have got a full 5 cases sold if I didn't hit a bit of a roadblock in the commissary when the printer for our tickets ran out of paper....overall a great night!

Tonight's stories-

-I was standing at the top of a section near the Bank of America club when I kept hearing a loud snapping sound. I took a second to get a drink and wipe my face from the sweat that was running down it. I saw a policeman standing a few feet from me and he kept looking around as we kept hearing that snapping sound. I saw him look behind us and then he did a double-take. I looked back to see what he saw. It was an usher. He had a set of finger-nail clippers in his hands. He was cutting his fingernails during the middle of the game. I fully believe in keeping great hygiene habits, but to cut your fingernails while at work? His fingernails must have been made of metal...it was the loudest snapping sound I've ever heard while someone was cutting their fingernails. I just looked back at the cop and we both had the same look on our faces...the look of, "what the hell?!?! Is this guy really cutting his fingernails while working?!?!?!"

-During last call tonight, I gave a guy the wrong change. He asked for one beer and handed me a $20. I was ready to head down the steps to the rest of the section when I quickly handed him the change as if he ordered 2 beers....($4.50) He caught me as I made my way down the section and told me about it. I quickly apologized and gave him the correct change of $12.25 I had thought he looked confused when I gave him his change back, but I thought it was because he was just buzzing a bit and was in mid-conversation with the lady sitting next to him.

-I had always known about the idea of "suggestive selling" and tonight I decided to use it a bit more than usual...meaning I would suggest a bag of peanuts every time someone ordered a beer in the first 3 innings. Well, I sold 5 bags of peanuts just from suggesting it when someone bought a beer. What I don't understand is when people just ask for a bag of peanuts and don't have anything to drink and don't want to buy anything to drink...

-I had a guy complain to me about the price of the beer. He still purchased 4 beers for him and the people he was sitting with...but asked me if they were helping pay my house payment? my college tuition? and my fancy sports car?....i told him I didn't have a house, I've already graduated, and I own an '06 Toyota Matrix...I also told him that I didn't set the prices, I just sold the beer. We then got into a conversation about when I graduated from college, what I've been doing since graduating...blah blah blah, basically told him how I was laid off...temp jobs as graphic/web designer...beer man job...blah blah blah...he ended the conversation by saying..."well, the economy is turning around. best of luck to ya." he didn't tip me. It's not like I was trying to put a guilt trip on him about my sad-sob story...I mean, he kept asking me questions and I just kept on having a conversation with him...

-I had about 9 or 10 different people/groups stiff me on the tip tonight...and every time, people around them noticed this and made comments to them and/or to me about it. When they would comment to me about it, I really didn't have anything to say...I just told them that that happens and I just keep rolling with the punches. I thought to myself how I usually try not visit a section if I know people are buying and not tipping. I'd much rather go to sections that I know are buying and tipping...even if it's just a little bit...that adds up! Again, people don't realize that beer man aren't on an hourly wage...

-With the NFL season quickly approaching, I have been contemplating on working at the dome to sell beer during Rams games. Sports Services are not only at Busch Stadium, but also at the dome...so I'd already have a foot in the door over there. I'm just not sure if I want to work there...I mean, the Rams have really sucked over the past several years...not to mention, I've never been to an NFL game...if the Cowboys were scheduled to come to STL this year, then that would be a no-brainer...GO COWBOYS!

-I'm looking forward to not working tomorrow. Sunday's have never been that great for beer sales...not to mention, Rock the River is going on during the day...downtown seems to just attract people who are incompetent of driving/walking through downtown...I heard if you follow the traffic signals, they help! Green light means go, red light means stop...white walking person means walk, red hand means not a good time to cross...yellow light and blinking red hand means hurry the hell up! I have seen it so many times - people almost get hit by cars because they don't pay attention to traffic signals...yes, if there aren't any cars coming EITHER WAY cross the street...but i've seen all kinds of people nearly get hit cause they only look one way and start to cross and when traffic flies by from the other direction, they nearly get hit.

Well, be sure to check back this next week, while I'm enjoying a week off from work, for a few new blogs...I'm not quite sure what I'll write about...but just be sure to check back throughout next week!

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
98 Bottles of Water
193 Bags of Peanuts
2759 Bottles of Beer