while in new orleans on business, i was enjoying all the fantastic live music on frenchman street.
i spent hours going in and out of nearly every establishment. my experience at the three muses deserves mention. i travel for work and i am in sales. i speak with strangers easily and make friends everywhere i go. which i why this story is so amazing to me.
upon entering this place i noted the amount of people in the three muses was very low, maybe 15 people total on a very busy night. being alone, i walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. when i receiving the drink, i took a sip and remarked to the bartender that the drink was great, she said “why wouldn’t it be?” hmm, i thought. odd response.
i turned to the music, as the band was very good. when the person next to me ordered a drink, i noted some ingredients that i like and asked this same bartender what the drink was called, she glared at me saying nothing. i thought she could not hear me, so i asked again. she reached down, grabbed a drink menu and tossed it at me. i was shocked. i was trying to imagine what i could have done to make this woman so unkind towards me. i looked at the younger bartender, that miss happy was clearly training and she rolled her eyes at me. as if to say, “i don’t know why this manager/bartender is being so mean to you but i am sorry” we all know the look. the young bartender even went so far as to let me try some of the new drinks she was learning, when miss happy walked away. when the mean employee returned however, she quickly moved away from me and stopped speaking. the straw that broke the camel’s back was this- as i was quickly drinking my one and only drink, i asked very nicely “sweet heart, could you please give me a glass of water, when it is convenient” to which she said “did you just call me sweetie?” i responded, i was simply trying to be nice, i am from texas. i was being sincere. the water never came. i paid my bill and began to leave. when i asked about the water she stated with a stern look in her eyes. “you said ‘when it was convenient“ and then sneered at me.
upon leaving, i could not find one single employee who would tell me miss happy’s name. i have never been in a restaurant or bar in my life where every employee was in fear of revealing a person’s name. they all said things like “why not ask her?” “why do you need to know?” clearly, this happens all the time and they cover for her. therefore, i will kindly describe the bartender who is scaring all your customers away. she is a heavyset blonde-haired woman, with pale skin and tattoos up and down both arms. if you own the three muses and you are wondering why your sales numbers do not compare to the other bars on frenchman, she is working at your bar. i will never come back here and will recommend people avoid this place. your entire staff knows this is occurring, regularly, and they are enabling this person. it is clear she needs therapy and should not be customer facing. as a christian, i will pray for her, she needs it.