Bar Etiquette

I met Petr, the DP for my short film project (and also my wife's uncle) at the bar to walk through the visuals of the film. Things were going great until we reached the point where the bartender puts baby bottles in the dishwasher to sanitize them. Petr thought it might be nice to shoot that behind the bar counter. I agreed and we proceeded to walk behind the bar to take a closer look. That was our first mistake. The real bartender was actually behind the bar counting the till before the bar opened. The bartender seemed annoyed but let Petr pass, and then we heard "Guys.. this is not good. You can't go behind the bar".

After saying "I'm sorry.. I didn't know.. Sorry bout that" many times, we discovered that no one is allowed behind the bar. An unwritten rule. Not even if you work at the bar do you go behind the bar. Not even if the bar is not open do you go behind the bar. I guess we both presumed that the bartender knew what we were doing and did not mind, until we broke the first rule of a bar. NEVER GO BEHIND THE BAR.

I look back at my wilder days before I was having a baby, even before I met my wife, and like to think that I was a good bar customer.. I respected the rules and did not abuse them too often. I always knew the bar counter represented a border that was never meant to be breached, but only today do I know how serious that line really is.

I guess I really have to tip the next time I see the bartender.