I’m asking this question here because I figure that there’ll be a lot more knowledgable folks on this site than there’d be on some other message boards I frequent.
Can career bartenders pull in six figure incomes?
I’m asking this question because the other day in one of my JC classes a fellow student explained to me how her younger brother (who completed bartending school) recently found a job & that on his FIRST NIGHT he brought in over $500 in tips. This got me thinking: if he were to work the average work week (at five to six days per week) and pull in a similar amount of $$$ per day, then this guy could potentially earn over $100k a year as a bartender.
I’m not trying to discount the legitimacy of that profession at all, so don’t think that I’m scoffing at bartenders or anything like that. I just genuinely curious about it, and ironically enough I’ve actually in the past considered going to bartender school and Hell, I still might do it.
I just know very little about that industry. How secure is it? How likely is it that a careerist bartender could pull in a six figure income?
Didn’t we have a recent thread where people were advised NOT to go to bartending school, that it was a waste of time and money because supposedly bars don’t care if you’ve been there or not?
The $$$ made is going to vary wildly on a night to night and season to season basis. I’ve been involved in the nightlife industry for a number of years, and each establishment and town is different.
Technically you’re supposed to get paid minimum wage if you’re not making that in tips, but I’ve never seen it happen. Some nights (usually Friday & Saturday during the peak season(s)) the bartenders walk with hundreds or even a thousand dollars. A Wednesday night on the other hand may generate $40 for an eight hour shift. Some places will have college nights, trivia or other during the week promotions, but for the most part bartenders only make money on Friday, Saturday and perhaps Sunday during the NFL season.
A big factor is the seasonal nature of the business. Summer in Ocean City Maryland = Big Money Maker. Winter, not so much. Summer in Baltimore City = Generally slow. Fall and Spring = Big Money Maker.
If you are an attractive female, and are willing to work long hours with an uncertain income, it can be a money maker. If not, I’d stay away or look for a steady income stream and supplement it at the bar.
Yogurt nailed it. Extrapolation from a single night’s income doesn’t work. A friend of mine pulled down $1,000 in tips in a single night pouring drinks during the Harley rally in town this summer. On the flip side, a typical Monday night might be $20-$25 in tips.
This being Montana, bartenders and waiters need must be paid minimum wage PLUS tips, so you’re guaranteed at least that much.
Neither you nor your friend’s brother have much of a chance of making 6 figures bartending. It’s still a good job for the right person though. Lots of bartenders have other jobs or are students. At the right place it can be fun and profitable, and a great learning experience.
ETA: It often doesn’t provide security. Most bars have to change frequently to stay fresh and maintain a crowd, and often bartenders are moved out with the old bar stools. There usually aren’t benefits at the one of kind bars, but I understand it’s becoming the norm for chains, hotels, etc.
I didn’t see that thread, but I have known bartenders back stateside – my old roommate was one – who laughed at the notion of bartender school. Said two weeks as a barback (bartender’s assistant) teaches you everything you need to know.
I’ll just add – most bartenders don’t get 5-day / 40-hour work weeks. It’s part-time, as bars aren’t open 9-5 hours and they need to hire enough bartenders to at least have reasonable emergency coverage if someone calls out sick for a shift. So half the time you’re “back-up” but not actually working/getting paid. And every bartender in the place will be vying for the big-money shifts (Friday, Saturday nights) so it’s unlikely for one bartender to get those every week, too.
Posers and people with guests they are trying to impress go to bars with flashy bartenders. Drinkers want people to give them the drink they order, now with a minimum of fuss. Bars with flash tend to charge more per drink as well. Give me a quiet table where I can have a nice chat with someone while drinking, whether or not we are waiting for a table to clear for dinner or just drinking with or without snacks.
I “know” a bartender at one of the lounges at Disney World - he’s been there for a LONG time and does pretty well. But Disney really doesn’t have a down time, and the lounge he works in gets a lot of Disney wedding traffic. Basically, he tends a full bar five nights a week year round for people who are on vacation at a high end resort. Disney also has a “discount card” that if you use it, you get 20% off your bill, but they auto add a tip to it (I think 18%) - which he says is a boon since you don’t get stiffed by people using that card.
Maybe at a Chili’s or TGI Fridays, but I’d suspect that being a real bartender would take quite a lot of on the job experience, and even a certain level of creativity.
I’ll admit that most people don’t order sidecars, or Zombies, but a real bartender ought to be able to do something other than sling beers and make the occasional rum & coke.
I’ve been to plenty of upscate bars but have never seen any sort of “flashy” bartender like Tom Cruise in Cocktail.
One thing to also keep in mind is that tips don’t necessarily scale for drinks like they do for a sit down dinner. Even if you are buying $14 G&Ts at the Gansevoort, people tend to only tip a couple of bucks per drink. By my back of the napkin calculations, a bartender would need to work every Thurs, Fri and Sat night, every week of the year and earn an average of over $100 an hour in tips over a 6 hour shift (assuming peak hours from 10pm to 4am). Given people tip $1 - $2 per drink on average, that’s at least one drink per minute, every minute.
I’ve often wondered why bartenders don’t learn card tricks, jokes, and funny stories. I’d have a card that I quietly slip a customer that says “Card trick $1; Joke 50c; Story $2”. Don’t want to participate? Just stick to the drinks. Want to be entertained? Pay up.
My youngest sister has been tending bar in Fells Point (Baltimore) for over 25 years. She’s had other jobs also - waitress, office work (very briefly) - but she’s been at one bar all that time. She works 3 days a week, and occasionally on really busy weekends, plus she does extras for the owner as required. (Get your minds out of the gutter - she and her boss have been friends for most of those years, and she’ll fill in when the boss goes on vacation, do banking, stuff like that.)
Anyway, I’ve watched from a stool in the corner behind the bar as my sister worked. She’s pretty amazing. Not only does she have all the technical stuff down pat, she’s also really good at reading people. She know who she can joke around with, who she can insult, who she needs to serve a beer and back off. When they have a band, she’s been known to jump up on stage and sing with them, or hop up on the bar and dance. She knows her usuals, she keeps track of who may need a refill, and she just looks like she’s having a good time, which she usually is.
She gets pretty good tips for a neighborhood joint, and it’s all about her personality and knowing her stuff. But the days when she rakes in $400 or more in tips are few and far between - those are usually when something is going on in the area. Still, she makes enough that she’s got a house, a car, 2 dogs, and 2 cats, and she can occasionally afford to go on a cruise. She’ll never be rich, but I don’t think she’ll ever be hungry, so there that…
My dad was a bartender at a busy airport bar and didn’t make squat. That was in the 60s, of course. Basically, he was pulling in leftover change, which he kept in a coffee can in his closet. Wish I had all that silver now.