Why People Tend To Overshare With Bartenders

Confident bartender standing in restaurant

Photo: Digital Vision

People overshare with bartenders. It’s not just a sitcom trope.

People really do love to spill their guts to bartenders. According to one study, about 16% of customers tell bartenders about personal issues. Here’s why mixologists are trusted with TMI:

  • Not A Stranger.If you go to a bar enough, your brain will start thinking of these bartenders as friends. Despite never seeing them outside of the bar or out of their uniform.
  • They Listen.There’s something about someone being paid to listen that really makes us want to take advantage. Even if they’re only taking our side because they’re trying to get a good tip out of us.
  • Booze.According to researchers, many people head to a bar because they’re upset and begin to divulge personal issues once “fueled to disinhibition.” But it’s not like dishing the dirt on your life is limited to people that are hammered. The study found bartenders working afternoon shifts were presented with twice as many personal problems than those working at night.

Psychology Today

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