1983_10 Insight October 1983

              Features,
October 19,1983      Insight
Susie Shirk. 37. and Mary Kelley. "39
and holding," are among the estimated 100
women bartenders in Fresno and Clovis who
have taken advantage of a liberalized
change in the California law which permits
women to tend bar.
Shirk splits her work days between
CSUF's Vintage Room and tending bar at
Rep's House of Ribs in Fresno. She sat in the
Vintage Room in the morning before her
scheduled shift, sipping her coffee as she
reminisced about earlier days in the bar
"I served cocktails for many years and I
got tired of it," said Shirk. "It's more interesting working behind the bar and it's a
lot easier. As a waitress, I had so many people to deal with, it was very impersonal." A
smile of self-confidence flashed across her
face as she added, "As a bartender I get to
know everybody."
Mary Kelley works days and the night-
relief at the Nashville West, a country-and-
western bar on the outskirts of northern
Fresno. She glided back and forth between
customers and exchanged friendly banter
with the eight customers seated at her
20-stool bar; most of them she called by
their first names and everyone received a
smile.
"I was told one night by the owner of a
restaurant where I worked as a cocktail
waitress to get behind the bar and mix
drinks," Kelley said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"That's exactly what I've been doing f6r the
last 17 years. Any seasoned cocktail waitress
is capable of mixing drinks," she added with
a chuckle.
The opportunity for higher wages, better
working conditions and a chance to improve
their image were some of the reasons cited
by women bartenders for moving behind the
bar. Most bartenders make $50 a shift, plus
tips; in contrast to the $3.25 an hour, plus
tips, made by a waitress.
"And," added Shirk sarcastically, "it
was a chance to get rid of the degrading
costumes that some establishments required
their waitresses to wear. ©
"As a bartender, I can wear my own
clothes." said Shirk. "No low-cut blouses: it
isn't necessary. I'm beginning to see a trend
where cocktail waitresses are allowed to
wear their own clothes as well." she added.
Aggressive or obnoxious patrons appear
not to be a problem for women bartenders.
Any problem customer they could not control
would be squelched by the ••regulars" (frequent patrons) before any real trouble
started..the women said.
"The regular customers never cause
problems," said Shirk. "We're usually on a
first-name basis and they are more like
friends than just customers."
Most of the women bartenders in Fresno
work the day shift and a male bartender
relieves them for the night shift.
"I just prefer days/" said Kelley.
"Another woman regularly works the night
shift here. There's no problem for women
working nights.'.'
Shirk, on the other hand, doesn't like the
night shift for fear for her personal safety.
"I don't like closing up the place alone."
she said. "It's dark out in that parking lot
and a woman alone is pretty vulnerable."
Both women are married but said their
husbands never patronize their bars while
they are on duty.
"My husband has no objection to my
working as a bartender." said Shirk, "but he
goes somewhere else when he wants a drink.
I guess it's kind of an unwritten rule for
bartenders, male or female. He never came
in while I worked as a cocktail waitress
either," she added with a laugh.
Kelley introduced one of her regulars '
seated at the end of her bar.
"Here's the man to talk to about
bartender's husbands," she said, flashing
that perpetual smile. "His wife, Suzy, tends
bar at Jimbo's in Clovis."
The man in the tall cowboy hat and full
beard turned toward this reporter slowly. In
a quiet, polite voice, he introduced himself.
"My name's Easy — E-a-s-y," he said
in a slow drawl. "It's the only name I'm
known by in this town. It's a job like any
other job for Suzy. ma'am," he said
thoughtfully, "but I might look at it differently if I hadn't tended bar all over town
myself. I don't go there to drink because I
don't trust myself not to punch si
if they bother my lady. Nobody likes the idea
of some drunk -putting the make' on their
lady." he added with firmness.
It takes patience and a special like for
people to be a good bartender, according to
Shirk and Kelley.
"You've got to like people." said Shirk,
"and be very open-minded. You encounter a
lot of lonely people and you listen to a lot of
problems. I make it a point to never give a
direct answer when someone asks for my advice. I just listen patiently."
Kelley nodded her agreement. "You just
listen and when you leave the job. you forget
everyone you saw and everything you
heard." she said. "I'm like the three
monkeys." she put her hands over her ears,
eyes and mouth. "I hear no evil, see no evil,
speak no evil."
Customer privacy is sacred to a good
bartender, the women both emphasized.
"But I won't lie for a customer." said
Kelley. "If someone telephones for them. I
just call out the na,me. If they don't answer,
that's what I tell the caller - 'They don't
answer.' "
Kelley gave a burst of laughter as she
recounted an incident involving another
bartender that underscored the wisdom of
her policy concerning calls to customers.
"A wife had called for her husband from
a telephone booth just outside the building."
she said. "When the bartender, acting on the
husband's hand signals, said her husband
wasn't there, the woman came storming in
and created a big scene. It was embarrassing for everybody."
Kelley said she is not a threat to her
women customers.
"I don't date my customers and I try to
remain professional at all times. As a matter
of fact," she said softly, "I cater to the
women first."
Shirk has also tended bar in CSUF's
Bucket, which serves only beer and wine to
students of legal age.
(See Bartenders page X)
Expanding video market hitsJDig time
\s
By Maureen Cabral
• Insight Reporter
McVideo's rental shop, which celebrated its
first anniversary wiUi a "Blockbuster Party"
last month, attributes its success to the continuing rise in the popularity of videos.
"Eventually, we want to expand McVideo's
so that it'll be a convenience market," said
owner Randy Cohlan. "People will come in
whenever and take out a movie." Located in the
McLane High School area, McVideo's is the
largest showcase dealer for videodiscs in
Fresno.
The video industry is a growing business
that continues to rise in popularity as well as in
profits. McVideo's, Home Channel Movies, and
Movies To Go are a few of the video rental shops
in Fresno that say the video age has arrived.
Cohlan himself owns two VHS machines
drama, comedy, horror, classics, musicals,
westerns, war, biblical, concerts, science fiction, television, adult, children, Walt Disney
and new releases. Three movies are bilingual.
Though McVideo's Is one year old. the video
industry is five years old. Cohlan says that
though videos have been around since 1975, renting movies has been going on for ages — particularly renting adult movies.
"Let's face it. this business owes a lot to
pornography," says Cohlan. who says people in
the past would rent a porno film and that's it —
today the range of films isn't limited to pornography.
Cohlan says Atari and other video games
will never be sold at McVideo's because they
are a fad. ^
"Movies will never go out of business,"
says Cohlan.
The main distributor of the rental shops is
*'Let's face it, this business owes a lot to
pornography.* *
and one videodisc machine. Although cassette
tapes are in abundance. Cohlan feels that discs
are becoming better rentals and sellers.
"Discs are cheaper," says Cohlan. "People
don't want to spend $5 for one movie (in tape)
when they can get two (in disc) for the same
.cassette and $2.50 for a disc. Video machines
are also rented out at $7.95 for videodisc
machine; $10 for videocassette machine; and
higher rates on weekends: $10 for disc machine,
$15 for cassette machine. This shop was also the
first to introduce the "vid-a-card" which is
given to customers^ After renting a movie, the
card is stamped and with every 10th stamp the
customer receives a free rental.
McVideo's disc showcase is a smorgasbord
of movies. Categorizing by the type of the movie
makes finding the film of your choice easier,
says Cohlan. Such categories are suspense.
Video I in Washington. Cohlan says they maintain an independent distributor. Sometimes
McVideo's will get calls from the studios directly, who will then inform them of new releases.
Ordering is done on a weekly basis and the
average order is 30 movies a week. Cohlan said
that McVideo's will also offer every major
classic some day.
Heavy buying months are December,
January, March and April.
"Summer is the slowest." said Cohlan,
because of the rush of summer movies at the
theaters.
McVideo's also
does not offer a membership as do most of the
other Fresno rentals.
"People don't realize that a lifetime
membership is no deal at all for them," said
Cohlan, who went on to describe the mem5er-
ship process and his philosophy of it. ^
He said the customer is cheated out of a
membership if the business they're dealing with
undergoes new management. In turn, the
business that offers memberships are bound by
them; the extra amount of bookkeeping is indescribable, and the profit is little, according to
Cohlan.
During the "Blockbuster Party" free
movie posters, buttons, pamphlets and other
memorabilia were given away along with the
cake and punch. Distributor representatives
were in to speak about the new releases and
other video news. Right now, "Flashdance"
is the best rental and best seller. "Raiders of
the Lost Ark" will be released Dec. 3 for the
Christmas rush.
Said Arlene Sabbatini, a sales clerk at
McVideo's:     . --
"It s TOn working here. I enjoy the work."
Sabbatini owns a videodisc machine and rents
movies from McVideo's free — an advantage
she said she enjoys most.
For anyone interested in investing in a
video machine Cohlan advises:
"Shop around, balance the pricing and compare — you will get what you pay for."
Home Channel Movies has done well for
itself with three locations in Fresno, all owned
by Gary and Renae Bentley.
Unlike McVideo's, Home Channel Movies
does offer lifetime memberships for $50 and
$100 fees. Atari 2600 games are also available.
"This is definitely a growing business,"
said Molly-. Miller, manager of the Cedar
Avenue location. '
Miller said they stock over 1.000 tapes alone
hospitals, and even Yosemite Park Cohlan said
they also chart the number of austomers they
get in a day. The amounts vary"Trom week to
week.
Cohlan talked about memberships and
described them "suicidal" for both the business
and the customer, and that Is why McVideo's
nursing homes.   iand receive 5-10 new films a week.
'"Movies have always been popular; it's the
norm." says Miller. "The entertainment offered is a wide range to choose from and the
value of them (movies) goes without saying."
Although pay-TV has become the principal
non-theatrical market for feature films, studio
pay-TV is expected to suffer from the newer
home-video business, according to industry
analysts.
The total .^umber-of videocassette
recorders in thcjUnited States is expected to
reach eight "ffliflion by the end of tbe year; 24
million by the end of the decade. On a
worldwide level, the U.S. represents about 20
percent of the video market.
Movies To Go Is another local rental shop
that boasts good business at two locations, one
in Clovis.
Owned by William Flaherty since 1980,
Movies To Go offers a lifetime membership for
$65, which reduces everything to half the
original price for members.
Rick Von Flue, manager of the West
Avenue shop, said the number of customers has
grown tremendously in the year and a half he's
been working there. Movies To Go only offers
cassette tapes, no discs, and one set pricing
standard: $10 to rent VHS or Beta machine;
$3.50 for cassette tapes; and $1.50 for low-
budget, unpopular movies (some 200). Movies
To Go is strictly a rontaT~Shop. No sales are
made on new tapes, equipment, etc., though used tapes can be purchased there for $15.
Employee Dean Zelzny said they have
around 2.000 tapes on hand, that "Ghandi" is
the current best rental for them. With every 8th
rental the customer receives a free movie ren-
Ptm/laal*M
The video phenomenon is not just a fad. II is
becoming the fastest growing market of the 80s.
The public can expect to see more sophisticated
equipment in the future - after all. the video industry may have reached a peak in its life, butit
really has only just begun
TOP TEN TAPES FOR SEPTEMBER
1. 48Hrs.
2. The Verdict
3. Porky's
4. Mad Max
5. Sophie's Choice
6. First Blood
7. High Road To China
8. Frances »
9. Jane Fonda's Workout
10. The Road Warrior
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TOP TEN DISCS FOR SEPTEMBER
1. 48Hrs
2. Superman II
3. The Verdict
4. Reds
5. Jaws •**
6. Duran Duran
7. Jane Fonda's Workout
8. Rocky III
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
10. Jaws II
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Phone (209) 237-3615
Take Freeway 41