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.

Hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass.

Managing and running a bar are a science and an art. A science because there are known triggers to make people buy more and stay longer at the location Ex. Bar, Lounge, Casino.

That being said the Art part is knowing what the next big thing is to do in the bar and the newest drink to make that customers want.Order enough product to not run out but, also not keep money tied up in inventory sitting on the shelves or freezer.

The owner or manager of the business, needs to be WELL ROUNDED, business sense is great but not if the person doesn't have any customer srvice or social skills. Vice-Versa being liked as an owner for always having people around  but no business sense to his employees or bottom line and  gives away drinks and comps. (On comping the bar staff knows better who to give comp/drinks to sometimes more than the owner/manager)

 

At the very least an owner should really listen to the input of the all the people working the bar. People working have knowledge of the deicate balance of customer interaction, being on the front line, so to speak.



Sometimes, the problem is the person trying fix a situation that doesn't need to be fixed.

Just because they are the owner doesn't make them right, it just makes them the owner of the wrong decsion.

Any time you want more money from a customer - you need to justify the increase with an upgrade, new feature or benifit.

Having to work at a bar on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, is very iffy. Some smaller local, neighborhood bars may fair well, because some of the customers have no family around and of course you know the local bar is a family of sorts. You can do okay, some times the regulars are out of town or have family IN town and can't get away for a drink.

 

Two things to help you foster a holiday tip are :

 

#1 Hang stockings behind the bar with each stocking having the name of the bartenders that work there on them. Customers will leave a holiday tip for the bartender in their stocking.

 

#2 You as the bartender give scratch off lotto tickets to customers as a gift. These are the perfect size to carry around and you are able to write the customers name on them off to the side, so it's personalized.

 

 

 

 

Once you've made a connection with a customer and are in the middle of a converstaion  with them, you notice another customer needs attention . ..  excuse yourself, take care of the second customer AND return to the first. You are building rapport "building rapport with a customer IS  the #1 reason most customers will tip." Building a rapport is the best way to get repeat business for you and your bar.

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.

Rememder, that while you work alone behind a bar, others like karaoke,dj's and poker dealers can help bring in business for you. It's not easy sometimes to promote yourself, so use some of the others people that cross paths at your job. Let's say you work on Thursday but the band is always scheduled to play on Fridays, it's not your night but just building a relationship with the band members, sometimes can lead to increase traffic on your nights. This occurs with good things being said about you or you are remebered to be working on that night. These relationships can transend to other bartenders also. you promote them and they promote you. Facebook and twitter are ways to keep connected.

Looks like this works -  just seeing if this will post and if a smart phone ca read the screen.

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.

Halloween and the small neighborhood bar, is a good time, but just remember to use caution. This time of the year almost everyone is in costume and some are wearing mask. Around this time of year be careful of a Bad Guy coming in wearing a mask to rob your bar. Most of your regulars might be out at another location in a Halloween contest or Party, so your security is gone. Put a sign at the front boor "Please remove mask BEFORE entering the bar" or lock your front if you are alone and leave a sign stating to knock on the door to enter. Good Luck and be safe

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.