The Sting - Fallout

Because of our company’s failure in the most recent sting at Target Field, we’ve been told that the M.P.D. will be doing a follow-up sting this week.

I guess the rules of the game are that if a liquor establishment fails a compliance check, another compliance check must take place within 30 days. Well, with no guaranty of another game after Game 2 of the ALDS, it is almost a given that the sting will be on again at either Wednesday’s or Thursday’s game vs. the Yankees.

Last Thursday, the police checked 21 points of sale at Target Field and there were 8 failures. Frankly, that is an embarrassing percentage. We have to do better than that, and we will next time. My company has changed several policies and spends time discussing proper ID measures before each game.

The fallout from the sting has been interesting, to say the least. Because Wally The Beerman was one of 2 vendors failing the compliance check, the media has jumped all over the story. Everyone at Target Field seems to know what happened, and everyone also seems to have an opinion.

I did a blog back in 2009 about how popular Wally was (http://metrodomevendor.blogspot.com/2009/08/wally-beerman.html), but really don’t think it captured the whole story.

There is now a “Free Wally” Facebook page that has compiled over 7,000 fans in less than 72 hours. (Believe it or not, the page has actually gained 100 fans in the time it took me to write this article.)

Everyone seems to want to talk about it at the game too. I had a lawyer bend my ear for 3 batters on Friday about how compliance checks are entrapment. Today, a semi-inebriated customer chastised the police very loudly in the concourse about how unfair it was to keep Wally away from doing “the work that he loves”. He made it sound almost like Wally was Mother Theresa being kept from tending to the poor in India.

One of our 70+ year old vendors, Jerry Carlson was standing next to me in the concourse on Saturday before the game. He sold a guy a beer, and the guy tipped him and actually said…

“Give this dollar to Wally.”

Really…???

I think Wally is doing fine. Wally is probably making more money out of this than he ever was before. … and he is not climbing stairs to do it! He seems to be working every bar around the stadium these days handing out beers and bringing in customers for the bar.

(In case you wondered, Jerry said “Thank you, I will pass that along, kind sir.” … and then pocketed the dollar.)

It’s strange, but by failing the compliance check, I think Wally has become more popular than he ever was. …Almost like he has become a martyr.

He’s now the William Wallace of Vendors.

But my favorite story of the weekend involved 2 customers who I sold beers to on Saturday in Section 117. I carded them properly, and they had their ID’s ready to go even before I asked for them. They said, “We know all about the sting, and think it is very unfair.” Then they said, “Want to see what we did?”

The customer is always right, so I said, “Sure”.

The boys took off their shirts and had painted on their chest in huge blue capital letters…

FREE WALLY!!

I believe I could almost hear the voice of Wally The Beerman ringing out right at that moment

“FREEDOM!!!

The Sting

There are just nights, that you wished never happened… Tonight was one of those nights.

The “sting” was on. The Minneapolis Police Department decided that September 30, 2010 was a great night to perform an alcohol compliance check on the vending department at Target Field.

For those of you who don’t know, an alcohol sting usually involves a college student who looks to be of legal drinking age, but is about 19 or 20 years old. This kid is given a $10 bill and told to try to buy beer from as many people as he or she can at a sporting event. The vendors who pass are rewarded, and those who fail are disciplined and can even face criminal charges.

In my 22 years of vending, I had managed to avoid every police sting.

… until tonight.

99 times out of 100, beer vendors come through with flying colors. After all, we are the “Pro’s”. We are on our own every night and are taught how to handle all sorts of situations. There’s a reason we have to sit through 3-5 hours of training each year.

We should be able to pass a compliance check 100% of the time.

Not 99% of the time…

EVERY SINGLE TIME!

It’s not that hard. Company policy is to ID anyone under 30 years old. This makes it pretty straightforward, and should protect all beer vendors from serving someone under 21.

Tonight, I was “Stung”, for the first time ever.

I had barely sold my first 6 pack in the concourse prior to tonight’s game, when a “young kid” approached me and asked for a Grain Belt Premium. I popped the top, set it back in the ice, and told him that it would be $7.

He handed me a $10 bill and I asked for his ID. So he handed it to me.

06/17/1991

I did a double take, and then still had to look at it again. 1991?? Hey, that was the year the Twins last won the World Series… Wait a minute, that’s not right. Legal drinking age was 9-30-1989.

Could this kid really be trying to buy beer and he is not 21?

Is my math wrong?

Keep in mind that I had NEVER seen an underage ID before. Sure, I have had numerous customers over the past 20+ years who have “forgotten” their ID in the car, or “left it at home”. But this was my first customer - EVER - who had tried to buy beer and showed me his ID that said he was under 21.

After all that pondering, I handed this kid his $10 back, put his Wisconsin driver’s license in my pocket and told him that I couldn’t sell to him.

He just looked at me and said, “OK”, and walked away.

Really… “OK”… That’s all I get!!! You try to break the law and just walk away and say ‘OK”???!

Where are the fireworks and confetti from the ceiling?? I just kept a minor from buying a beer.

But, there should be no fireworks or celebration… I did nothing special.

I did my JOB!

That’s what I’m supposed to do. Serve beer to the adults, and protect my customers by making sure no one under 21 buys a beer.

Unfortunately, not everyone did their job tonight. Not everyone passed this compliance check.

I’m so irritated, embarrassed and depressed that two of my fellow vendors served beer to this kid.

These were vendors who have been doing this longer than I have… Guys who have 25+ years of experience. Vendors who are very close friends… Vendors who I might never see again.

Company police is very clear on failing a compliance check.

TERMINATION

It isn’t even something that is up for discussion. … and maybe it shouldn’t be. After all, isn’t a beer vendors’ #1 responsibility to make sure that no one under the age of 21 is able to drink?

It doesn’t help my feelings that we are still all a team, and these are my friends. These are/were good beer vendors.

… and it all can end just like that if you are not careful.

Tonight, I did my job, and am thankful I get the chance to work another day.

Jacket Weather is Back

What a difference a couple of days and 10 degrees make. Tonight was the first game since early May that I saw fans wearing jackets and bundling up for the game at Target Field. Two nights ago shorts and T-shirts were in fashion, and fans were hoping for a breeze to cool off. Tonight, I saw a few fans even covering up under blankets.

Hot Chocolate vendors returned to the seats. Strange… just last week, I sold water to help keep fans cool, and 10 days later we are working on keeping them warm.

I have worn shorts at every game since early May, but it might be time to consider going back to long pants in the next few days. It seems so long ago that I needed a long sleeve shirt under my bright yellow uniform shirt, but those days are about to return.

This can only mean the end of the season is near. There are only 16 more games to go in the regular season. Every vendor looks forward to the end of the season when we get our lives back and don’t have to work 8 hours at our regular jobs and then head downtown for another 4-5 hours at Target Field. It’s a crazy life when you actually look forward to Fall and Winter in Minnesota, but that’s what vending does to a person.

The Waterboy

After 20 years of selling nothing but Bud or Miller at Twins games, the summer outdoor atmosphere of Target Field has presented a couple of opportunities to vend a different product. On the warmest and sunniest of day games, nothing sells better than Ice Cold Water. Bottled Aquafina.

Beer just doesn’t sell well to fans sitting in the sun and 95 degree heat. Fans cannot actually continue drinking beer at a partying pace when it is that hot. Water outsells beer at those games.

I have passed on the beer ticket and sold H2O twice so far this year, and it has worked out better than selling beer. Besides, it is so easy to sell bottled water.

No ID’s needed.
No caps to remove.
No cutting people off if they have had too many.

I just break the seal on the cap and hand it out. I can sell to 7 year olds and 70 year olds. It’s almost as refreshing to sell, as it must be for fans to drink.

Vending is all about marketing. With beer, the chant from most vendors is, “Beer Here!” Simple and to the point. People want "beer", and “here” is where they get it.

With water, I have discovered a new phrase… I present this thought in fans’ minds that they “need” to drink water. The sun is heating them up, they are thirsty and slightly uncomfortable, and everyone knows that water is what you need to survive. I will walk down an aisle and almost make a plea for people to pay attention.

“Who NEEDS Water?? Who is thirsty??”

I add almost this desperate tone on the word “needs”. It puts this thought in fans minds, that I might be right and they may not survive 9 innings without the water I am selling. I never even mention Aquafina because it really isn’t important. I could be selling Minneapolis city water and it would make no difference, because... People NEED it.

I see hands go up, and it becomes infectious. People actually say to me when purchasing, “Yeah, we need water here”, sounding almost grateful for the opportunity to hand over $4 for a bottle.

Sure, I get grief from a lot of my regulars about selling water, but even they will buy one when they get too hot.

So don’t be surprised if you see me selling water at games on those hot days. After all, I am just trying to distribute the thirst quenching liquid that people need the most at that particular game. Some days it is beer, and some days it is water.

3-Game Homestand

This weekend has been odd at Target Field. Usually MLB likes to schedule more than 1 series for a team on the road or at home. Six or seven-game homestands are typical. Saves on travel expenses. This year we actually have six 9-game homestands. Those get long.

Spanning over a week, these can really disrupt a schedule. Most vendors have regular jobs, so it is usually 8 hours at that during the week & then come in to Target Field for another 3-5 hours. Then, you really don’t get a weekend to enjoy either. There is a game right in the middle of Sunday, and both Friday and Saturday evenings are shot.

Every once in a while, there is a 12+ game homestand where the Twins have 4 series with different teams before going on the road, but it is becoming more rare. We all were sitting around reminiscing (at the bar after a game, of course) about the longest homestand anyone can remember, and it was either a 14 or 15-game marathon back in the early 90’s at Metrodome. Over 2 weeks of games. There was a big party at the end of that one.

This weekend has been a breeze - a 3-game homestand.

Couldn’t happen at a better time. The Twins play 17 of 20 games on the road with this little series dotted right in the middle. During the best days of summer, too. A little bit of “freedom” to actually get to enjoy July and August.

Couldn’t happen to a better team, too. Seattle. Typically, the Mariners are not a great draw. Not like the Yankees, Red Sox, or any Central team. Seattle is probably in the bottom 3 or 4 teams in the AL for bringing in a good beer-drinking crowd.

At least some of the regular fans probably looked at the schedule and thought, “The Twins are out of town for 2 weeks except for these 3 games with Seattle… We better go.” Made for a surprisingly good little homestand this weekend.

Now for another 10 days off. I’ll take it.

Pitching Match-ups

Saturday, July 17, 2010 (Twins vs. White Sox)
Pavano vs. Buehrle
Time of game: 1 hour and 52 minutes
9 cases of beer sold

Monday, July 19, 2010 (Twins vs. Indians)
Baker vs. Laffey
Time of game: 3 hours and 54 minutes
10.25 cases of beer sold

So for the extra 2 hours and 2 minutes of work, I made an extra 30 bucks. $15 per hour is lousy money when it comes to climbing stairs. I think every beer vendor would prefer Saturday’s game over Monday’s even though we all made less money. We are about efficiency and not greed.

Sales per hour is key, or better yet… Sales per STEP.

As a beer vendor, I look at the pitching match-ups to see what I am in for that evening. This year, Pavano and Liriano have potential for a fast game. Baker and Slowey mean... settle in for a long evening. Blackburn has been OK at home, but he has "turtle potential".

Beer vendors like the strikout guys and despise contact pitchers. Santana was awesome, Radke just made me work harder.

Then it is always nice to see an Ace pitching for the other team. David Price and Josh Beckett are always better to see in the lineup than Wade Davis and Tim Wakefield.

Bring on a pitchers' dual and maximize my "beer per stair" ratio.

Warm Beer HERE!

There is nothing worse for a beer vendor than bottles that come out of the “cooler” at about 60 degrees. Unfortunately that is what happened tonight at Target Field.

Last I checked, beer was best served ICE COLD… especially on a hot summer night.

It was a perfect night for baseball… 83 degrees at game time, and the beer, as it was handed to me out of the fridge was only about 25 degrees cooler than the air temperature.

NOT very refreshing!

This makes a beer vendor’s job 10 times harder. Sure, we carry ice 90% of the time on the beer, but usually it is only necessary to carry a small layer to drop the beer a little closer to the freezing point.

Tonight we had to pile on the ice. 10-20 pounds extra per tray. Usually a fully loaded tray before ice is about 50-60 pounds, tonight is was closer to 70 lbs. But, this does lower the temp of the beer about 20 degrees in about 10 minutes.

Proper product rotation was also important tonight. Grab the coldest ones, move the other beers over and hopefully by the time it got to the customer, it had reached a “pleasant” temp of about 40 degrees.

Tolerable on a warm day, but not providing that “aaaah” feeling that most casual beer drinkers are looking for. That temp where my customer takes their first sip, and says, “Oh yeah, that hits the spot”, and cannot wait to order the next one.

I want to sell beer that is as refreshing as that Coke was to Mean Joe Greene in the 70’s commercial where he threw his shirt to the kid (“Hey kid… Catch!)

We all did our best tonight. Everyone from management to vendors to stand managers and preps were icing the beer as early as possible to get it to cool down by the time it got to the customer. …and we succeeded, sort of.

Tomorrow, the forecast is for 91 degrees with a 70 degree dewpoint. Let’s hope the beer starts out colder so it can be ultra-refreshing in the heat of the day.