Here’s how to get served quickly at any bar - by a psychologist

It’s a question every drinker has grappled with – ‘How do I get to the front of this bar – and why is the barman serving that idiot before me?’

Oxford University psychologist Dr Peter Collett spoke to British drinkers and barmen and found that many of the tactics we use are simply wrong.

For instance, waving money at the barman simply doesn’t work – although seven million of us admit to doing it, according to the survey conducted by lager brand Kozel.

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Dr Collett said, ‘“When you’re queueing up in a busy pub, there are several factors that will obviously affect how quickly you get served, like the number of people waiting to get a drink. However, it gets much more complex when subtle behavioural nuances come into play.

‘There are tactics that you can employ to get ahead in the queue, such as always going back to the same bartender or even pretending to work in the bar and walking through the crowd with a handful of empties.

‘But, if you are too obvious in your ploys then you could end up waiting longer, with bar staff getting fed up with your pushy tactics.’

Dr Collett suggests using a handul of tactics together to maximise your speed at being served.

He says, ‘The SERVE method is:
Slipstream – place yourself behind the customers moving towards the bar fastest
Echo – grab some glasses and a tray and channel your inner bartender
Return – go back to the same bartender every time
Vision – stay in the bartender’s eye line to maximise your chances of being next
Engage – make friends with your fellow queuers, they might just say you’re next