Anyone would think that being a bartender is an easy task. That it is only about mixing liquors and smiling. The truth is that the Bartender is much more than that. You need to know and know a myriad of skills and abilities, both personal and professional.
Some kills take time while others are natural and depend on each personality. This is the reason why we are going to be talking about the 10 most important rules.
On the other hand, attitude is also important, and perhaps the most relevant. Ultimately, it is up to the bartender to develop them or not. Which in the end will determine how to a large extent they do their job.
Being a bartender isn’t as easy as it seems, you not only need to master the art of mixing and creating cocktails. You also need to provide your customers with excellent service. You need to keep a good attitude and also and you need to take care of a lot of details like learning how to prepare every single drink.
This also includes having your bar area clean and organized. Also, you need to know how to deal with all types of customers and how to behave properly. There are a lot of bartenders to hire out there. So you need to stand out from the crowd and learn these important rules.
Also, there are a lot of reasons why people want to be a bartender. The money (tips are most of the time great), you will acquire a lot of social skills that you probably didn’t have before. It’s definitely not a boring desk job and you can do it anywhere. From a Bar or restaurant to a mobile bar, there are no limits.
The work of a bartender requires those skills and this is not something that can be postponed of neglected. Like all work, not only does it represent performing the job itself well. Also certain rules must be followed.
But as good as it sounds, there are also some guidelines and that are the “Golden Rules” that any bartenders for hire, licensed bartenders, or any other needs to follow:
- Always make eye contact with the customers: Remember to greet your customers with a smile. Also try to make eye contact as soon as they arrived at the bar, they will feel special and welcomed, just don’t.
This is as important as preparing a good drink. Direct contact with the customer, serving them well and making eye contact. This is perhaps just as relevant as knowing how to make a cocktail. As a Bartender you have to always practice cordiality, courtesy, respect and above all, make them feel special.
2. Be efficient: Efficiency is the key and you need to prove it in every aspect. Doesn’t matter if you are serving a drink or interacting with a customer. You always need to get your priorities straight and be as efficient as you can.
Sometimes, in the case of Bartenders, it is not enough just to do the job well. Efficiency and effectiveness are decisive when it comes to doing a good job. The efficiency itself allows the bartender not only to be fast and do his job well. But to do it taking care of time and resources.
The Bartender has to work agilely; he must also be fast, taking care of the bar’s resources. When we refer to the resources of the bar, we talk about the ingredients for cocktails, work tools, among others.
3. Keep your work area clean all the time: You need to keep your bar clean, check every detail. Especially for dirty ashtrays, empty bottles, straws, coasters, or any spillages. Clean everything and check on the inventory before you start your shift.
It should not be necessary to explain why cleanliness is essential, especially in a bar area. The bartender must take care of all the details, from the simplest to the most complex. When handling ingredients, to make cocktails, it is necessary that everything is clean around,
In addition, by keeping the work area clean, it will make the client notice and feel at ease. There is nothing worse than going to a bar and meeting a careless bartender, who does not care to keep his workspace in order.
4. Knowledge is important: You need to know everything, especially every product that you have in your stock, also you need to know the difference between them and what you can do with each one of them as much as the different techniques.
Today there are several possibilities for bartenders to receive online or face-to-face courses. All related to the profession. In these courses they can learn elementary things and some more complex ones. If you come, it’s true to be a bartender you don’t need to study. If you want to take a course, it will certainly be of benefit to you.
Today the COVID pandemic is present in all areas of our lives. There are countless opportunities for online courses that any bartender can take from the comfort of their home.
5. Cocktail Menu: As soon as your customers arrived, after greeting them, offer a cocktail menu.
Bartenders must be prepared to prepare any cocktail or drink. However, beyond that, they must also know how to offer the cocktails that are on the menu. Many times customers come to ask for something specific, as it is what they always drink, but that can change.
6. Stay organized: Even when is impossible to remember 4, 5, or 10 orders, at least you need to be prepared to remember 2 or 3 at the same time, so being organized is the key.
This is very important in the development of the Bartender’s work. make sure to organize your approach to provide the best service. The bartender must have a good memory. Not only because he has to remember a lot of cocktail and drink recipes, but also because of the number of orders.
7. Personal presentation is important: Always look your best and remember to clean your fingernails- Also your clothes also have to look impeccable, so don’t forget to pay attention to yourself.
The bartender is the face of the bar. Almost everyone who arrives at the place circulates around the bar and the bartender, since they will ask for even just water. The Bartender always has to look his best. Not only in his personal presentation and grooming, but in his attitude and availability.
8. Pay attention to drunk and underage people: Do not ever serve alcohol to people who are under the legal age or to someone that is highly drunk, if the person insists, talk to your manager about it before serving more drinks.
Never for any reason let underage people enter the bar and do not sell them liquor. On the other hand, pay special attention to drunk or spoiled customers, those can be super harmful.
9. Offer food as well: Is important that you also know what’s included in the food menu because even when people visit a bar to have some drinks if they eat something, they will be able to drink more. Use the menu.
Never forget that food is also part of the products that the bar offers and if the customer asks for drinks but also food, more income is generated for the business where you work.
10. Just enjoy what you do: Make delicious drinks, make new friends, have fun serving your customers, and try to always have a good time when you are working.
Be passionate about what you do, and enjoy your work. This clearly reflects with serving customers and this means you need to work on this aspect.
Questions and Answers
The Bartender in addition to being an excellent creator of cocktails and drinks and having excellent communication with the client, taking care of their personal presentation, must be charismatic, empathetic, responsible, and an example to follow in every way.
Very important since the Bartender is usually the center of attention in any bar, and is in some way the image of the bar, so taking care of his personal presentation as well as his attitude and others is super important.
They are the basis of good customer service, since if the bartender not only offers a good attitude and prepares delicious cocktails but is also well presented, the image of the bar will look better to customers.
The personal presentation is only part of a number of things that the Bartender must take care of, the cleanliness of his work space, utensils and others is always important.
If you follow these 10 Golden Rules and if bartending is your true passion, you can be sure that you will be a great and successful in this business.
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