Why do you love bartending?
Jan 1st, 2008 by Sean
Connect. You can never predict what new faces you’ll meet on a daily basis. Between those who frequent you bar and those you may randomly meet, you’re going to meet a lot of people who are involved in all sorts of different activities. Whether it’s the one cop of your neighbor that’s never given you a ticket, or the drug dealer that’s been avoiding the cop for the last few years, you’re going to have some pretty interesting stories to hear.
This is your chance to talk to the silent guy at the end of the bar away from everyone else. By law, you can’t serve someone who appears visibly intoxicated. If they won’t speak to you, who’s not to say they’re not afraid of showing their intoxication level? Get a story out of them. Find out what they do, but don’t pry into their private life. Chances are, if they come back next time, they’re going to open up without you having to work on them. Just be friendly. You’ll make friends, bring in more regulars, and all-in-all make more tips for yourself.
Maybe you’re handy with cars, computers, or electronics. Chances are, there are more than one of your customers in need of assistance with one of these areas. I’ve offered my services time and time again, and I always come through with the help I offer. I’ve repaired computers, given electronics advice, and even design websites for some of the people who have come to my bar. It’s a little extra cash under the table, and you’ve just made yourself another contact. Cheers to you.
Multi-Tasking. Whether busy or not, you will learn to multi-task behind a bar. You’re going to be pouring a beer while talking to the person closest to the tap, mixing a drink while listening to a story to a customer, or handing out some food while taking a drink order for someone else. There are endless possibilities to what you may be doing behind the bar, but you’re almost always going to be doing more than one thing at any one given point.
The busiest times are some of my favorites. You’re taking care of 4-5 large groups sitting at tables near the bar, and you’ve also got a full compliment of seats around the bar, plus people coming up to the bar for drinks. What are you going to do? Take a few drink orders and starting pouring the beers, popping off the bottle caps, and whatever else, then take a few more orders while ringing the previous ones up on the computer. It’s busy, but it can feel invigorating if the atmosphere is right. What better atmosphere for a bar than sports?
Knowledge Gained. Liquor, Beer, Alcohol, and whatever else you’d like to categorize into the bar category all runs in phases, especially in areas where you get crowds mixed of folks young and old. Your beers are going to change, your specialty drinks are going to change. Regulars come and go.
People will, eventually, come and ask for a drink you’ve never heard of. You may improvise it, they may have an idea of what’s in it, or you may just flat out tell them you can’t make it. How many times do people ask for a beer you simply don’t have on tap or have never heard of? Micro-brews are so popular now-a-days that you’re never sure what’s popular.
As a bartender, you’ve got to stay on top of what the latest fads are. 2007 has ushered in an age of Mojitos, Mexican-style lime beers, and a few non-western flavors into our drinks. Drinks such as pomegranate martinis and mojitos may have caught on in certain areas, but 2007 has brought them nationwide attention in just about every state. Did you know what they were last year? Miller’s introduction of Miller Chill has shown the popularity of salt and lime in beers as well, or atleast their intention of stealing some market away from Corona and Tona.
Do you have the time? Who won yesterday’s game? What’re the football team’s current rankings? Aside from staying on top of drinks, you’ve got to stay on top of current news, local and world. I can’t pay attention to just the computer, game, and electronics-related headlines anymore. I’ve caught myself stopping at Starbucks around the corner from my bar just to buy a paper in the morning so I know what’s been going on in the world. You’re just going to have to stay on top of things in this world if you’re planning to be a successful bartender.
I think that sums up what I love most about bartending: connecting with people, multi-tasking, and gaining new knowledge (as irrelevant as it may be). You might run in to the unexpected, or just have an average day of the doldrums. Regardless of what it is, it can always be made exciting.
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