It's Football Season Again

It's college football season and that means, stadium work again. Oh Yeah!

Saturday, September 12 was the first home football game. I am working again this season as a bar cashier at the stadium in the premium seating area. Last year was fun and I loved seeing all the people. And I had my regulars that came to me all the time. And there was the flirtation with the guys. lol.

This year two other co-workers decided to be cashiers also and we were all to be on the same floor. When we checked in, we were told our assignments but they weren't right for two of us. I was still on the same floor but at the other bar. UH UH. And the other was assigned to a different floor than he was trained. When Chris, the manager for the registers, found out that I was at the other bar and Jamie was assigned to the 6th floor, she was very upset and told me that she would straighten it out. I had mixed feelings about moving to my spot from last year - 1. I was going to miss my regulars at Bar 2; and 2. One of the bartenders at Bar 1 was my favorite bartender, Alaina, who was so much fun last year and we got along and worked so well. Chris got me assigned back to Bar 2 and my other friend, Jeannie, was the other cashier at Bar 2.

At the training for the new cashiers, Jamie was told that only bartenders shared the tips and that cashiers did not get them. And if we received any, they were to go to the bartenders. That is not fair. They may be mixing the drinks, but we took all the orders and handle their complaints. We were not happy about all this.

The game started at 6 pm and we had to be at the stadium at 3 pm. That was a lot of waiting around. The fans were allowed to enter the stadium starting at 4:30. They started trickling in and finally after 5 o'clock, they started showing up. A portion of the Marching Illini performed. I love listening to them. This year, they did not play one song - William Tell Overture. And I missed hearing it, I love that song (I must since it's the ringtone on my cell - lol).



Sales were slow at our bar for a while. A few people bought drinks, but once it was kick off time, it got extremely busy.

My favorite regular finally showed up. He was very happy to see me and gave me a great big bear hug. He told me he would be back later for a drink. Which he did. He asked about who gets to share the tips and I told him that only the bartenders get them. He said that wasn't fair and that if I didn't get a share of them, he was not going to tip and he didn't. He said he was going to complain about it as he walked away.

There were a few other mixups (beside the assignments). The 4 beers on tap are Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Michelob Ultra and Blue Moon. They have it set up that two are on each end. The handles on our end were Bud Lite and Michelob Ultra. The bartenders were having problems with the Michelob Ultra and it being extremely foamy. The tap guy kept working with it but it wasn't getting any better. The bartender was complaining about the Blue Moon tap kept getting worse and the pressure was too low. A customer got a Michelob Ultra and said that it tasted like Blue Moon. Someone put the handles on the wrong tap. No wonder "Michelob Ultra" wasn't getting any better, it was actually Blue Moon. Then come to find out that Bud Lite and Miller Lite were also switched. OH GREAT! And then the Coca-Cola on the 'gun' at our end was not working right, it was mostly soda water and the Coca-Cola syrup was getting less-and-less. Something was wrong with the 'mixer' and they couldn't fix it at the time. Hopefully, it will be fixed by the next home game in 3 weeks.

Jeannie and I were not happy when one of the bartenders (he thinks he's the head bartender) started counting out the tip money and asked us to switch out the dollar bills for twenties. I don't know how much he asked Jeannie, but I was asked to switch out $80 worth. I believe between the three bartenders they each got at least $60, probably a lot more. And they didn't even share.

When the third quarter ends, there are no alcohol sales and the bars close down. My friend was not happy when he was wanting another beer. I gave him an apologetic look.

After we cashed out our drawers and grabbed our stuff, we headed to the kitchen to clock-out. When we got there, the dessert carts from the floors above were being returned and we were able to take whatever we wanted. I took a piece of a 4 layer chocolate torte that was so darn delicious.

On the way in to the stadium, I took a few pictures of the new Red Grange statue that was dedicated that day. It was just set up earlier in the week.

Next game in three weeks on October 3. Be expecting some more highlights. :)