A Note To Bar Owners

Lately, I have been seeing more and more bars in my area posting a picture of the person who is bartending with a caption, "Come see _____!"

This is a very bad tactic t0 use. Let's go back a moment. Will you get likes? Yes. Will you get shares? Probably. Are you potentially putting your bartender(s) safety in jeopardy? Yes.

Stalking

There is a reason many people leave their personal Facebook and Instagram pages private. They don't want certain people to see the ins-and-outs of their lives. When your business is openly posting about 'Michelle's hours anyone can look her up via search and find your posts. It isn't hard to scroll back a week or two and begin to see a pattern. "Oh, Michelle has worked Tuesday and Wednesday nights for the past few weeks." This gives plenty of people the opportunity to find Michelle-whether she wants them to or not.

*1 in every 6 women, and 1 in every 19 men reported being stalked in their lifetime.

Harassment

Tagging your bartender on your business page can lead abusers to their personal profile. People can click through to the person's page and begin to write comments on their posts and pictures, or even write to their family and friends. This can put your employee at risk and make them feel unsafe at work and home.

*78% of servers and bartenders in this survey had reported being sexually harrassed by a customer.

Favoritism/Inappropriate Workplace Behavior?

You only post Sophie's picture onto the company Facebook page. Meghan has never been on your Facebook page. Is this because Meghan has requested not to be posted, or is Sophie a better 'look' for the company? It doesn't matter. Rumors will arise among the staff.

Letting an employee post a picture of themselves to share on the company page is still not a great idea when all the above topics are brought to light. So much information can be found with a once a week, (even once a month), work selfie. How many people do you have on your business page. 1,000? 10,000? Then ask yourself, would you want your weekly schedule posted to 1-10,000 people publicly? Probably not. The bartender's regulars will know when they come in, we do not need to invite people who aren't trusted by the employees to stop by.

There's a reason some people want to be walked to their cars at night. It can be a dangerous world. Keep your employee's safety in mind before you post.