Just got job at gay bar. Anything to expect?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

The fact that this is an upscale metro place probably means the tip will be decent. Especially if people are trying to impress other customers.

Remember, personality and service will get you better tips than good looks.

I don’t see why the customers being gay should be an issue. You’re serving drinks not soliciting lap dances. Gay people presumably drink just like straight people. Being a bartender with gay customers is no different than being a barber or a car mechanic or a tax accountant with gay customers.

22

The advice I’d give would be to learn the common cocktails, and how to mix them with your eyes closed.

Be friendly, and have fun.

23

I see what you did there :wink:

Congrats on the new job OP - I’m sure it’ll be fabulous!

24

OP, you are better looking than you think or they probably wouldn’t have hired you.

25

I bartended some years ago (at a private club, not a gay bar). The above advice plus the advice about dealing with messy clothes and wearing comfortable shoes (there’s a lot of standing and walking back and forth involved) are key. It can be a grubby job but with the right attitude and a minimum of asshole customers it can be enjoyable.

26

Yeah - given that he has no experience I would second that notion.

27

My youngest sis has been a bartender for more than 25 years. She’s not a supermodel, nor is she a toothless hag. But she’s got a real gift for reading people. I’ve watched her at work - she can figure out pretty fast who she can joke around with, who she can “abuse” and who just wants quick service and to be left alone. She’ll dance on the bar or sing along with the band, she’ll “insult” customers, and she flat-out rakes in tips. I figured that was the secret - knowing how to relate to people one-on-one. And I expect that applies no matter what kind of bar you tend.

I don’t know how or if one could develop such skills, but I thought I’d add my 2¢. Hope you enjoy you new gig!

28

Wow, thank you, you kind people . By parents I meant parents of students I teach.

29

You need to learn what the following two words mean and do it: Gay pour.

30

Would you look at that, a thing that makes no sense.

31

Yes, I was thinking gay pour might be a term that had some meaning but I hadn’t heard of, so I did a google search. Nothing.

32

Gay pour means making a drink twice as strong. One stereotype of gay bars is that they are heavy on the liquor.

33

I always understood that to be a ‘double’, regardless of who the customer chose to have sex with.

34

Interesting. I always thought one of the aspects of gay bars was that gay men and gay women favored separate bars and did not mix together all that much barwise.

35

I am not gay*, but I think that’s generally the case that they’re separate. But, locally we had:

  1. Dance clubby mostly men and straight girls at night, quieter in the daytime.
  2. Gay men, drag queens, and creepy swingers. Either quiet and divey, or there were parties, but I’ve only seen the former.
    3 and 4) are near each other and I think have the same owner. Mostly guys, but there were some lesbians there. These places were pretty chill when I went.

ETA: *heh, the first line should really have, “but not that there’s anything wrong with that!”

36

Rumors can spread.

37

Both ways even, if one is so inclined.

38

A WAG but I can see lesbians choosing to go to a gay bar because they want to go someplace where they won’t have people hitting on them.

39

I can see that, but I’ve also been under the impression gay man and lesbians generally do not always get along all that well in mixed social interaction environments for a variety of complex reasons. I guess that impression is incorrrect.

40

Well, it may depend on the bar but if I order a drink and specify double, I expect a drink that’s twice as strong. If I order a gay pour, I expect a drink that’s at least twice as strong. It’s a less finicky but more alcoholic order, as I understand it.