I realize this has probably been done before, but I find that a lot of people are often intrigued by bartenders. We lead weird lives, and seem to have strange friends. First I’ll start off a bit by what kind of bartender I am exactly, and some opinions I have on the matter.
I got started in this gig as a means to make some money because I haven’t been able to get a real job with my degree in a foreign country. I’ve been working in English-speaking pubs in Denmark for about a year now. I had no prior experience in the service industry or bars before.
I have about the public perception of bartenders that I feel isn’t universal, especially in Europe. The first one would have to be that the only thing about being a barman that is difficult is knowing how to make drinks. That is probably one of the easiest things to learn. I realize that there are bars out there that are very laid back and do go to the point of making cocktails an art-form. This is definitely respectable, but it’s not the case in all places. I kind of get miffed at the fact that a lot of my American friends don’t really think there’s much more to it. I’ve learned several drinks, but the reality is that I rarely get asked to make them. Especially English-speaking pubs in Europe. Here the focus is on speed and efficiency. If you go into a pub you’ll find that the number of bartenders there is generally lower than that of a cocktail bar. Very little attention is paid to the fact that a good bartender working in a busy bar with which he is very familiar can serve multiple customers at once, do the math in his head, and give out change to multiple people at once. When I worked my first shift on a Saturday night, I thought the manager was on coke. He was just really busy! You can really feel the pressure and it certainly speeds you up. When you add another guy or two behind the bar it can almost be like a circus of people running around doing 5 things at once. It can be very satisfying for me to go into a busy bar and see things like this being done. No time for “flair” here, buddy! The best of the best will never wait for a single thing. Filling a beer? Take someone else’s order. Gotta run to one area of the bar? Make sure you grab that other guy’s money while you’re at it. Working in a bar that you know is like cooking in a kitchen you know well times ten. Ever get that feeling when you are in a new house? You don’t really know your way around. Working well in a busy place kind of has a zen-like feeling to it. Your actions become automated, and you can accomplish much more than before. In this way I imagine that it is probably very similar in some ways to working in a busy restaurant. I guess that’s why a lot of people who were on Hell’s Kitchen couldn’t deal with the stress based on the fact that they really hadn’t been exposed to it before.
On flair…I realize this is another thing that a lot of people appreciate, but I saw a video of some dude on the internet practicing his flair. Basically it seems like a glorified version of juggling. I don’t want you to freaking flip the bottle behind your back for a minute dude, I just want my drink! If there is any way that you can speed that up, then by all means do it, but this seems kind of stupid to me. Maybe it’s just that I have always worked in a culture based on speed and efficiency, but when I see 6 dudes in a bar doing that, I see it as slightly stupid. In my opinion, my job is to get my work done as quickly as possible.
Dealing with people, and by people I mean assholes, specifically. Alcohol can reveal all kinds of personalities that had been hidden and I’ve seen a lot of assholes. That, in my opinion, is the reason why experience is worth so much more than going to a bartending college. Until you have actually had to deal with countless assholes on a night, and coped with the pressure of a busy bar, then there’s no real way of knowing if you can cut it. Some people are good at it, and others aren’t. You have to learn to be firm on occasions when people try to push you around, which they will. I’ve worked in bars alone without a bouncer and you simply have to use your position to defuse situations. It can be very tense at times, so it’s quite a problem.
Finally, this is the good part at least, you get to take out aggressions on asshole customers with very little risk of reprisal. I remember one time when I was working in a bar alone it was so busy I could do nothing but serve as fast as possible for at least an hour. I couldn’t possibly serve faster, yet some people began to get rude. In these cases it’s simple to call people out on their behaviour. A lot of times you’ll get a bigger tip, and most often an apology.
But it’s not all that bad. I do enjoy my work most of the time, although it does sap my social energy for going out when I’m not working. You do get to meet a lot of nice people along with the few bad, and the nice ones are the ones you care about. I’ve also found an outlet for my seemingly useless talent to recognize people’s faces but not names. It’s eerie how good I am at recognizing faces. When I lived in New York, I began to notice familiar faces on the commute! Well for me I don’t have to remember someone’s name, just their drink, which is a lot easier, and usually surprises a lot of people.
Anyways, I figured I’d give a few tips of those with a need for bar etiquette:
This list is mainly for people ordering from busy bartenders, but these tips usually work regardless of the atmosphere.
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I can’t emphasize this enough…Say please and thank you. You have no idea how this can make a barman’s day. Surprisingly few customers order in this way, and it really will make you want to pay special attention to said customer. Respect in general will go so much further than a tip will. I like getting tips, don’t get me wrong, but someone who is polite and doesn’t tip is much more likely to get attention from me than someone who does tip and is a dick. Note this is in Europe, so no tip is expected. I imagine in America this could be construed as a big tipper over the minimum tipper.
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Please be aware of your surroundings! If you are in an bar and look at the menu, have a bit of common sense. If there are no cocktails, it’s likely because the bar isn’t equipped to make them. Asking for three different types of cocktails in a row is annoying when none of them can be made. Also, please don’t ask me to make up something for you. Chances are you won’t like it and complain. Especially don’t complain if you make up the drink yourself, because I’ll fix it for you thinking you have weird taste. A good customer will come in, look around (or at the menu) make a selection and order it with enough money ready. It’s totally okay to ask for a drink that’s not on the menu, and if I don’t know how to make it I’ll do it if you tell me how. But listen, you don’t want a pina colada with pineapple juice, Malibu, cream and ice cubes, trust me. There are other bars that make those. Try to figure out what kind of stuff the place has beforehand. I like cocktails, but I’ll never go into a pub asking for one.
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Don’t be an aggressive asshole. Nobody wants you around, you’re ruining everyone’s buzz (including mine!). Finally, don’t try to get some kind of discount. There are discounts available most of the time, but it’s not a damned used car lot. The prices are set a certain profit margin for a reason. No bartender should accept less payment because you don’t have enough money! This has to do with rule 2 as well. Make sure you have enough money to pay for what you want.
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Quit making so many damn music requests! Some bars have jukeboxes…whatever, but I’ve got other things to do! Not only that, I’m not going to put on some obscure shit that only you want to hear. I don’t listen to music that only I want to hear.
So fire away with the questions! I’m generally a really nice guy to customers. Especially if you say please or thank you! I just feel that maybe some of you guys would be interested in what life is like working in such (sometimes hostile!) environments…