The New York Post e-Edition

BARMAN KEPT TAB ON CREEP

Receipt ruse saves gals

By JOSHUA RHETT MILLER

A quick-thinking Florida bartender has become the toast of Twitter after saving two women from a creepy customer by slipping them a note disguised as a receipt — but the humble drink slinger says that picking up on the “very weird vibes” of pervs is just part of the job.

Max Gutierrez, who works at No Vacancy in St. Petersburg, was hailed as a hero after one of the women, Trinity Allen, recounted on Twitter how the barkeep intervened and confronted a man who had been aggressively harassing her and her friend.

In a now-viral tweet, Allen praised Gutierrez as “the type of bartender everyone needs” and shared a photo (right) of the Hawaiian-shirt-clad barman holding the note he handed to her.

“If this guy is bothering you, put your pony tail on your other shoulder, and I will have him removed. He’s giving me the creeps,” the note reads.

Gutierrez later detailed the encounter on Reddit, explaining that he has gotten accustomed to identifying problematic patrons.

“It’s something you just pick up from mentor bartenders,” he wrote when asked on the site if barkeeps were taught these types of tricks.

“Eventually you become pretty good at reading people, body language, etc. This guy was giving off very weird vibes for quite a while, kept an eye on him, try to give him a chance, try to let the girls tell him no and leave it at that, but he didn’t take no for an answer and kept pestering them so eventually I kind of yelled at him and made him leave lol.”

“I honestly don’t like yelling at customers or embarrassing people, but I find it’s one of the best ways to handle creeps. Calling them out in front of people is usually enough to get them to turn tail and walk away.”

Gutierrez, who did not respond to a Post message seeking comment on Monday, said keeping customers from “feeling uncomfortable” is merely part of the job.

As of Monday, more than 214,000 people had liked Allen’s tweet, posted on June 13.

Allen also did not respond to a message seeking comment on Monday but she tweeted that she tipped Gutierrez more than 25 percent.

“I’m in the service industry too so I took care of him,” she wrote.

Gutierrez, meanwhile, was also praised by other customers.

“I went there a few weeks ago and pretty sure he was my bartender,” another woman tweeted. “Super good vibes from him.”

Others suggested Gutierrez’s response may have stopped an uncomfortable situation from turning into something much worse.

“This literally could save a life/ lives,” another tweet read.

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2021-06-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://nypost.pressreader.com/article/281522229050626

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