Every once in a while there's a sense of joy and pride that shines through in being a bartender. Two things happened over the weekend, A couple exchanged vows and a customer expressed real friendship throgh a commitment to me and causes I believe in.

The couple that was married met through me via a conversation and pool game while I worked at a bar. Then I was invited to the wedding of that same couple.

The customer I spoke with this weekend is just a believer in my causes and is going to try to help me promote my causes as a favor to me. The nice thing about it is, the customer suggested the assistants on his own.

 

Most of the time, if I have a minute or two to discuss various topics with someone, I'll find commom ground with the customer and before you know it a friendship is created.

 

 

 

 

Who are you behind the bar, are you an actor or are you "you"?

I releazed, after to talking to a customer about another bartender that was training a new person to be a bartender, that new bartenders can take on the traits or persona of the person training them. New to the world of bartending, they have no other refence to go on. Bartender ( A ) seasoned pro, worked at many locations and has a following. Bartender ( B ) New from bartending school, no following, but good looking enough to get hired.  Bartender A can call or text out a message and people will show up and drink and tip. (B) nothing and no so much.

 

(A) has a rhythm and rhyme  so to speak and can speak to his / her customers a certain way even insult them to a point, as his or her way of interacting with his or her customers. When the new bartender (B) sees this he  or she picks up on this as a way to interact with her customers. (B) doesn't understand the relationship that bartender (A) has built and developed over a long period of time, to speak to these customers she /he has called in.

Poor (B) working his/ her shift alone see a new and unknown customer walk in to be served and insults them shortly after sitting down. (B) thinks this is how he / she is supposed to treat people to earn a living behind the bar.

 

This sort of interaction is almost like something from the Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino, between Eastwood's charater and the Barber. Eastwood's character is trying to teach a young man how to speak to another man, in a macho or manly(sp)  manner.

 

So when you decide to work behind the bar, a fact is  people will like you and people will not like you. You can not please everyone all the time. Try to be your best always but, the things that one bartender does to create a connection between himself and the customer IS the reason the customer comes back and it may not work for you.

 

If you have a bar persona and you act a certain way behind the bar and you make money then go for it. You just always have to be "on" and in a moment of be surprised or started, the real you shows through, customers my catch on and change their ideas about you.

 

The individual, YOU is what will shine through as the reason people will come back and drink and tip.

Well, as time has past and in this business you wonder what is your staying power? Can you call on a solid group of people and friends to come in on  an off night ( Sunday or Monday Night ) and prove your worth? While those two days have football, there are real sports bars bigger and have former NFL players that appear and  sign autographs. I promote other TV shows on those days like, Walking Dead and OCC. Other biker type bars do this with SOA. While the draw is small I still connect with fans of the show and perhaps they'll com in to the bar on those days, this works because I really like the shows and can speak about them as a fan too!

 

As I've endured in this business bartending, I realizeTruly  what comes around goes around. BE FRIENDLY WITH ALL THE BARTENDERS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AS YOU MAYBE WORKING WITH THEM AGAIN. We are a small community within a community of people that drink, as a lifestyle it's very different from 9 to 5 ( unless you work the day shift) then it's just that you party after or while they ( your customers) drinks.Don't burn your bridges!  Once a bar closes (due to sale, fire or whatever) your old bartender friend at the very least will not talk bad about you and the best push you to the boss / owner of the bar to gat a job.

two local bars, both beer and wine, have close their doors. One owner though is looking into buying another bar, full liquor this time. The sad part about the closings are a realization that those customers and staff may no longer connect or be in touch with each other any more. Once you've worked in a bar for a while the people do become your friends and you will miss them if you don't have any more interaction with them. Staying in contact can be easy if both parties are "connected" online in some way. Facebook, Twiitter, e-mail, texting and cell phones are all the latest ways to see "what's up". So getting some contact info is important, one way to do this is to know them well enough to ask for their contact info. Two other ways are to have your camera ready to capture the "kodak" moments and send off the photo to their e-mailer or social media accounts. The second way is to have a drawing and ask for contact info - using this to win a prize and also getting the info for a friend request on social media sites, lets your bar (you) share info on specials and like (you) the bar in the top pages. One last thing, keep the contact info private and never sell the info, you are building trust and friendship.

Things to do as a bar owner and Bartender to increase the customer count and increase the amount spent per visit.

Bar games poker/ black Jack, pool teams, dart teams, beer pong, triva nights, wii/playstation/xbox - gaming  competitions, karaoke, open mic night, guest bartender, screw and nut night, corn hole, food and drink specials, tournaments for all games.

 

 

Getting customers into your bar is one thing and making them want to come back is another.

 

Sometimes it's all about the crowd or the lack of one. I know most people want a "jumping" place to go to and have a lot of people around. But I also hear when it's slow and there are only a couple of  people in that THAT'S what they like, it's quiet. It doesn't help the tip bucket or me but I realize this is also a time to connect with the the person there at that moment. Making the conection is what brings them back, and before you know it you have a bar filled with friends that you know and care about.