Countless people want to work in the fun and profitable occupation of bartending. As a bartender, I frequently had people come to me to find out how they could get a job. They always think it will be fun. While having fun and making a lot of money is a definite possibility, the job is so much more than that. It would be in anyone’s best interest to learn the whole story and discover all the real meat of the job of bartending. After spending 15 years as a bartender, I had many experiences, some were fun and some were not at all. I could tell stories that would make your hair curl. With that said, there are plenty of tips and tricks to make it a fun and profitable career. Anyone thinking of becoming a bartender needs to learn what the job is really about.
The not-so-glamorous side of the business is doing things like prepping, cleaning, washing, serving, dealing with waiters, dealing with bad customers, dealing with drunk customers, and much more. There are ways to make the night quieter, things to make the job easier, how to get out of the woods, and much more you need to know to enjoy your work. Without those tips, you could end up thinking it’s the worst job in the world. Additionally, you’ll need to know the different types of spirits, liqueurs, and mixers, and how to upsell for a bigger check so your tip is bigger. You must learn special little things that make your customers happy, which makes them tip more. It will be amazing at first, but it is really possible to learn everything if you just pay attention and if you want to be a good bartender.
Anyone can mix drinks, but to be a great bartender, you’ll need to learn to be an actor, a psychologist, do manual labor, be a comedian, and most of all, be a people-pleaser. You must also learn to entertain during slow times and little tricks that will impress your customers.
I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble, but I think you deserve to know the whole truth before you jump into work. As you can see here, there’s a lot more to it than mixing drinks and flirting with your groupies. There are also a lot of good things like sometimes the bartenders really have groupies and sometimes you can really make tons of money. It takes a unique type of person to be a great bartender.