Anyone here work/own a Bar? I was kicking around the idea of taking a Bartender class and maybe doing this on the side or possibly full-time. I'm looking for thoughts/experiences on doing this. Other than late hours at times, what drawbacks come to mind? Does your favorite bartender like his/her job? Do you tip well? :thumb: Tell me your stories!
I am a certified bar tender... the course (at least the one i took) was pretty fun...it wasnt cheap...but it was fun... they actually teach girls to show off their boobs for tips...seriously...does it get better than that? hahaha
My girl's a bartender.... It's a good business. Long hours and no "pay" to speak-of. But the tips are generally better than a server's tips. The service industry is a tough business. It takes a special kind of person to put up with people everyday like bartenders do. But, there is a lot of camaraderie in the business. Service Industry folks are generally a rowdy group themselves! :drunk::beer::flipout: It's a different life-style, for sure. Good luck! :smart:
lets put it this way... they teach you that when your about to cut someone off...to remove anything on the bar within their reach that they can throw at you... like he said...gotta be willing to put up with alot of oop:
i put myself through college bartending. i was written up in the san diego reader about my bloody marys and white margaritas. if i were you i would skip bartending schools. they teach a lot of bad things there such as measuring rules and what certain drinks contain and how to make them. a lot of bars will actually toss your app in the garbage if they see you attended one. the best thing i can tell you is love to drink. taste your own concoctions and learn what people like and how strong to make a drink for what kind of person. by the time i stopped bartending professionally (i still do at friends parties and my own), i had 5 or 6 drinks that i named steve special number 1, 2, 3, etc.... bartending is 90 percent about people. the rest is about showmanship and the making of drinks. remember, at the end of the day, all people want to do who drink at a bar is get drunk. :tip: here is a tip: most bartenders will tell you that they bring their own tools to work. they also bring only the freshest fruit, mix, juice, and spice.
Thanks guys for the tips and info. I'm surprised by the advice DRKNESS gave about Bars not liking people taught at schools, it seems like they would teach some worthwhile things...IDK :huh: Congrats DRKNESS on your accompishments, you musta been a great Barkeep! So, I should probably try to get trained by an experienced bartender? This will be a new career move for me, I just want to make it smooth as possible. Lol, maybe I'll take a class and not tell the employer. :fear:
That and a good wine key (which takes the most practice to open a bottle CORRECTLY, btw).... and you're ready to work! :salut:
haha, i wouldnt really call it an accomplishment, only that i liked doing it for a time. do you drink? if so, do you go out to fancy bars or clubs? next time youre out, look at what the bartender goes through to get a drink out. the majority of places you go have a woman with big tits making the drinks. guys dont care about how bad the drink is or how wrong she made it, only that she shook it up and her tube top at the same time. if you happen to go to a real bar with a real bartender, you will see how much care he takes in making his drinks, each and every one of them. i really didnt get trained my at my first job. it was more of a thrown into the fire type thing and i sucked....really bad. i was so worried about looking through the damn book to see what alcohol went with what drink that i stressed about everything. bottom line here is ask questions. if someone asks you for a drink and you dont know whats in it, ask the patron! he or she will feel good about themselves and tell you without question 99 percent of the time. there are so many damn drinks out there that all have their different names, i could never keep up even after i was there for years. just say this "hey sorry about this, but im new and dont know whats in that drink. could you give me a quick lesson?" it doesnt matter if you tell the employer you took the class or not. you learn bad things at those schools that hinder your performance as a bartender. measuring is one of them. only a noob bartender measures their ounces. the good ones time out the bottles. i throw everything into the shaker...ice, mix, alcohol, etc without measuring. you test the drink and it will be almost exactly what the recipe calls for.
its also def not a career. its fun for a bit and if youre good, the money is great. after awhile however, you get tired of talking to drunks all day. it really is the bottom of society in those places. i was working part time around 20 hours a week and making more than 200 a day in tips. thats a 4 hour shift dude. i had more money than i knew what to do with. each day i left there with a money clip packed with 20s. lol, i started buying paintings...what 20 something kid buys oil paintings? i was so scared the irs was going to seize the tips if i deposited it in the bank....so i didnt. i just spent it.
