Are you considering bar man and waiting jobs and wondering what it takes to make it? Here are some great tips.
Learning the Bar Man
You need to know the bar man. There is nothing that can remove confidence from customers than their bartender not knowing his/her own bar man. Get to the bar earlier before you start your shift so you can have a good grasp of where everything is.
There is a good chance you will be working with a senior bartender when you are on your first shift, you don’t have to stress yourself when you have a hard time remembering every spirit, ale, or wine. They will help you out, all you have to do is ask. When you show your interest in learning and ask questions, you leave a positive impression.
Being resilient
This is one of the qualities you need if you want to succeed at being a bartender. When working as a bartender, you are going to meet different types of people from all walks of life each of them with a different personality. Some of them are good some of them are bad. You should never take anything that is said to you personally or stress too much about it – most of the time it was caused by their intoxication.
You need to know the difference between outright harassment and being a little silly. If you feel like a customer is harassing you, then make sure you let your manager know.
Avoid Excessive Conversation
If you are having a conversation with a customer and then you spot a new customer waiting to be served, excuse yourself politely so you can serve them and then come back to the conversation – this is if there is nothing else that requires your attention.
Your customers are going to appreciate your quick service and the person you are having the conversation with is going to feel valued when you return.
Collecting orders and then serving
You will have a hard time if you try to serve drinks one by one. It slows down things and the work can easily start to build up.
This is especially important for those working in family bars. Take the entire order for a table before going back to the bar. You will have a list to work with and you avoid the issue of one person getting their drink served earlier than the others.
If you are finding it hard or you aren’t confident enough to take multiple orders for an entire table, then consider asking a colleague for help. You will be able to take multiple orders as your confidence grows.
If you take a round of drinks to the customers and it gets complicated and they can’t remember it themselves, then it is a good idea to stop, slow it down, and then run through the entire order. Smile then let the customers know that you are still new.
Customers like it when they see you are making sure their order is right. This is better than getting the wrong order and having to correct the mistakes.
Keeping busy
There are a couple of reasons why this is important from avoiding unnecessary conversation at the bar, to making the best first impression on your boss. During your first couple of shifts, it is normal to feel out of place because you don’t have experience. Don’t make things complicated, bartering is all about serving drinks to customers – it can also include restocking, cleaning the bar, and inventory checks.
‘Quiet’ time is good because you get to prepare for the next rush and remain organized, which will help minimize errors.
Remember to clean
The bar can be very quiet one minute and very busy the next, you should take advantage of the quiet time to do some cleaning. Make sure you have clean glasses available and remove any dirty ones from the bar. There are a lot of health and safety hazards in the bar areas e.g., slippery floors and broken glass. You should clean up this area and remove dangerous hazards.
Remaining calm
If you are getting started, keep in mind it is impossible to be a pro overnight. Many people will be understanding when they realize that you are new. They will not expect to be served fast. All your focus should be on getting the orders correct. Your customers are going to like your attentiveness. The above tips will go a long way in helping you with bartending.
