Basics To Becoming A Bartender
Sunday, March 29th, 2009A bartender is somebody who serves beverages behind a licensed bar to paying customers. A bartender can also be called a barkeep or a barmaid. Bartenders are found in bars, pubs, taverns, nightclubs and other similar places.
The bartenders main duty is to mix and serves drinks, and the majority of drinks a bartender is making contain alcohol, such as beer, wine, liquor, liqueur, coolers and cocktails. They also serve water, juice, soda and other non-alcoholic beverages for customers who do not wish to drink alcohol such as a designated driver or a non drinker.
Not only do bartenders have the responsibility of making and serving drinks, they are also responsible for the over cleanliness of the bar area. They must make sure they have enough clean shot glasses, wine glasses, mugs, and drink glasses at their disposal, so there is a light amount of dish washing that is involved.
In most scenarios, the bartender is expected to dress appropriately to add to the atmosphere of the bar. In some establishments, the bar tender might participate in flair bar tending, which contributes to the entertainment in the bar.
What makes a professional bartender is the ability to be able to make hundreds of shots and drinks right off the bat. A customer should not have to wait while you are searching in a recipe book for the ingredients on how to make a long island iced tea, you will lose customers that way and also lose your tip more than likely .
Another must from a bartender, especially you are working in a pub or tavern, will be your people skills. It is very important to interact with your customers. The better you try and serve your customers and interact with them, the more likely they are to return, and not only that the more money you will make overall.
In the United States, mostly all bartenders are payed minimum wage. So their main source of income will be coming from tips, which is a custom in almost every country. Bartenders must also be strict when it comes to checking if that person is old enough to drink alcohol or not.
So as you can see there are many responsibilities when it comes to being a bartender. You are in charge of a great amount of alcohol. Some places of course will pay better than others, but since you are working for tips your people skills will get you further than your drink mixing skills in the long run.