Emotional intelligence and emotional control are very popular these days. Especially when you consider the degree of stress we find ourselves involved in every day of our lives. Mainly because of the crazy and fast way how the world moves.
Emotional intelligence is the key to growth and to longevity in the bartending profession. ย This is going to be very important.
In most professions and jobs in which people work. It is important to maintain a developed emotional intelligence since in professions of this type. We have to face a lot of stressful and difficult situations that in some way drain the energy and the desire to continue move forward with our day without feeling angry and frustrated.
One of these professions where emotional intelligence plays a fundamental role is that of bartender. Since in this job, due to the way it is developed and due to the fundamental differences that it has with other professions. It is very common to find situations of great stress. That can be uncomfortable and difficult to handle without proper control and emotional intelligence.
The bartender emotional intelligence
Bartending is an art that requires many skills. However, perhaps the most overlooked of those skills is the emotional intelligence of the bartender. This is extremely important due to the nature of the job, and the constant interactions with people.
Those interactions are mostly positive. Notably, there will come a time when a bartender for hire will face a person with a bad attitude. This could happen in a number of ways, and may cause by many different factors.
What is emotional intelligence in essence?
To know how to manage and develop emotional intelligence. It is of the utmost importance to know what exactly it is. Emotional intelligence or also known as EQ, is basically the ability that people have to use and also manage their own emotions. But doing it under a positive approach in order to relieve stress. To be empathetic with other people, overcome challenges and problems and communicate effectively.
In theory it seems like something easy to do. The truth is that having a balanced and optimal emotional intelligence is something that is not easy to achieve and that to achieve it will require a lot of patience and control.
A bad day is all it takes
A person could simply have a bad day. Therefore, they are more likely to be rude and impatient to others. Sometimes we have arguments at home or at work that can ruin our mood for the rest of the day. In fact, this is something that we have all experienced.
Itโs easy to stay angry all day long and itโs even easier to treat people with a rude attitude. This is one of the main reasons why bartenders are likely to encounter someone rude during the day.
In reality, this is one of the situations that is more difficult to control. Since if one has had a bad day since waking up, it is very likely that the rest of the day will be spent with a negative attitude. Uncomfortable with everything and everyone else around you. If you are a bartender and that night you have to work and you arrive at work bringing with you the weight of the frustrating day you had. Without a doubt that will have a negative impact on your clients and all your co-workers.
Bartenders are a common target of frustration
The stress of the day can be huge and this is the main reason for people to go to bars. Moreover, they will have little patience or simply act rudely when ordering their drinks. When a bartender makes use of his emotional intelligence, he is more likely to handle this situation without taking things personally.
Emotional intelligence is extremely difficult to nurture and strengthen. That may be true, due to our egos and our pride. We often give ourselves into anger when someone is rude to us. Because we feel that they do not have the right to treat us badly. However, confronting someone with the same attitude they are giving us is only making things more difficult.
When someone is emotionally intelligent, they can see the benefit of remaining cool and trying to help the person snap out of their bad mood. The best thing about doing this is that most people who are angry will immediately react to the cool and calm behavior that you are displaying.
Now, we must not lose sight of the fact that frustration is a human feeling which is sometimes impossible to avoid. Many of these negative feelings and situations will appear at some point in our life. Perhaps even have a negative impact on your work. The key is to know how to handle them.
Any bartenders that stay calm are successful bartenders
There are some bartenders who have walked out of very heated situations with huge tips by rude people. This is powerful proof that the right kind of attitude can turn the tables on any situation that seems hostile.
There is nothing more powerful than helping someone calm down. The assertive approach is essential in this process. This will make that aggressive person respect you, and that is the ultimate goal.
- Meeting rude, annoying, angry and frustrated people is common in the bartending profession. Especially because when these people enter the bar and start drinking, they mix their frustrations with alcohol. Which logically in the end is undoubtedly a very Bad match. The bartender, who manages an appropriate emotional intelligence, will understand how bad this combination can be in the client’s brain and body and, therefore, will do everything possible to make him feel better and start an assertive and reassuring conversation with the client.
- Tips for putting bartender emotional intelligence into practice in bartending work:
- – Self-knowledge is extremely important when applying emotional intelligence at work since by listening to your inner self and learning to interpret your own feelings, you identify your concerns and that allows you to do the same with your clients, and from this form, you serve them in the best way.
- – Self-control is very important, since it helps you not only to be happy in what you do but also to have confidence in your skills, knowledge and experience in your profession and in some way it will also help you to be more flexible and adaptable to the changes.
- – Self-motivation is also part of learning to handle emotional intelligence. Since every day we face personal and work challenges and many times we expect others to motivate us. However the key is in personal self-motivation. Since this will allow you to achieve your work with a positive attitude and a good disposition.
Questions and Answers about bartender emotional intelligence
How important is bartender emotional intelligence?
It is extremely important because it allows us to maintain a good attitude in our work. Especially when it comes to relationships with clients, emotional intelligence makes us more receptive and empathetic. Both with clients and also with our peers. It also helps us understand ourselves better to and also to be able to control our emotions and feelings especially while we are working.
Why should every bartender manage and develop bartender emotional intelligence?
Because it is essential in a job as stressful and complicated as bartending, having adequate emotional intelligence the bartender is able to overcome any difficult situation that arises at work, which will facilitate maintaining composure and control no matter how difficult the situation you are going through at the bar is.
Not having appropriate bartender emotional intelligence have a negative impact on your work?
Of course, in this type of job (bartending) it is very important to learn to control emotions, to have emotional intelligence and also emotional control. The bartender sometimes works under a lot of stress, pressure and faces various problems and situations that arise in the bar and that can undoubtedly eventually negatively affect their performance and therefore can put all their work at risk.
Strengthening emotional intelligence
There are some exercises and activities that can be carried out to develop emotional intelligence, some choose to take a course where they are given tools to start controlling emotional intelligence, there are also a good number of books that explain the theory and practice of emotional intelligence and how we can learn to obtain it.
Final thoughts when you hire bartenders
Emotional intelligence is not just great for the bartending profession, but also for every and any other aspect of our lives. The more we learn to control our tempers, the more likely we can handle things. Especially, when we are in any situation that puts our emotional intelligence to the test.
Every bartender must know how to deal with customers, how to be empathetic and friendly, and even be able to listen without judging, all this is learned more easily if the bartender has emotional intelligence and puts into practice all the tools that emotional intelligence has to offer.
Read about how a bartender handles drunk guests.
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