By Robert Plotkin
IT'S HARD TO
imagine someone excelling behind the bar without making mistakes along the way. Bartending a detail-oriented job and the clientele can be exceedingly demanding and unforgiving. Throw in the debilitating effects of working in a high-pressure environment and even the most stalwart of individuals are going to screw up. However, keeping the learning curve shallow and mistakes to a minimum will lessen the amount of collateral damage bartenders inflict on guests and the establishment.
To that end, we’ve compiled a list of the bartending mistakes that elevate their managers’ blood pressure.
BARTENDING MISTAKES
• MAINTAINING A “ME-FIRST” ATTITUDE — Success in the bar business requires looking out for the house’s best interests. That necessitates adopting a cooperative effort, people helping each other to accomplish the stated objective, even when there may be no direct financial compensation pending. Prima donnas should pick another trade.
• DISREGARDING SPECIFIED SERVING PORTIONS — The notion that great tips gratuities result from pouring “heavy” drinks is a costly one. Over-pouring liquor jacks up cost, increases liability and hurts the other bartenders on the staff who pour according to the rules. Their drinks will seemingly suffer by comparison.
• TRANSFERRING STRESS — Crank up the pressure and even common courtesy can quickly disappear. Nevertheless, bartenders must maintain their composure and control their emotions at all times. Stress and frustration must be internalized, not vented onto the clientele or co-workers.
• SERVING INFERIOR PRODUCT — Whatever the reason, if a drink isn’t up to quality standards, don’t serve it. Make sure that mixes are well prepared and juices fresh. Fruit garnishes should be cut daily and be used only in good condition. When it comes to the business’s product, don’t take short cuts.
• IMPAIRED SERVICE— It doesn’t take an advanced degree to spot a drunk at ten paces. The indications are fairly obvious — loss of coordination, articulation and the ability to think coherently. Disregarding a guest’s level of impairment places the business in jeopardy and puts innocent people at risk—including the safety of the individual in question. If a bartender has any question as to someone’s sobriety, he or she shouldn’t be served more alcohol. When in doubt, don’t serve.
• CASH HANDLING IMPROPRIETY — Handling a steady stream of cash has its temptations, but depositing all of the bar’s cash proceeds must be done without hesitation. Bartending is stressful enough without stealing and attempting to avoid detection. Theft undermines trust and staff morale. Running an honest till is a conscious commitment and the only financially and ethically sound course of action. Few, if any, are able to perform competently while advancing a hidden agenda.
• MINOR INFRACTIONS — It’s imperative the age of anyone ordering alcohol be established prior to service. And while carding guests may not be expedient or necessarily easy, serving alcohol to a minor is an inexcusable breach that can have disastrous ramifications. Like it or not, bartenders need to consider as inviolate that they need to card all guests who appear under the age of 30.
• UNJUST TREATMENT — The distinction between guests and customers is crucial. Guests are catered to and should be made to feel welcome and appreciated. Customers are warm bodies with money in their pockets. Treat the clientele like guests and they’ll return another night. Likewise, everyone deserves to be treated fairly. In this context, an honest break means equity in all transactions — no overcharging, under pouring or shortchanging. There’s no such thing as a second-class guest.
• BEING AN ORDER TAKER — Don’t be complacent just filling orders, make things happen. Energize the guests by suggesting new drinks and products. Recommend the daily specials or inquire whether guests would like to try an appetizer or two. There’s no more effective form of marketing than the enthusiastic efforts of servers at the point of sale.
• FIXATING ON GRATUITIES — Making a decent living behind a bar is best achieved by rendering prompt, competent service. Focusing on tips during a shift disrupts concentrating on the job at-hand. Take care of the guests and the tips will take care of themselves.
• MAINTAIN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS — From a pressed uniform to a positive attitude, professionalism matters. Appearance and demeanor need to reflect that every night’s a new performance. Establish personal standards and refuse to settle for anything less. Along the same lines, bartenders must develop the ability to recall customers’ names and what they’re drinking. While people are pleasantly surprised when bartenders remember their names, they fully expect them to remember what they’re drinking.
• IF THERE’S TIME TO LEAN, THERE’S TIME TO CLEAN — There is more at stake keeping the bar clean than just passing health code inspections. The bar’s cleanliness also reflects on the establishment’s overall sanitary condition — if the bar is dirty, imagine what the kitchen must be like.
• SCATTERED PRIORITIES — Working a high-volume bar requires the ability to take care of first things first, e.g. waiting on guests before washing a load of glasses or preparing drink orders for servers before chatting with a friend. Prioritizing tasks according to their highest and best use of time is a proven method of wrenching order out of chaos.
• MISSING PERSONS — When a guest sits down at the bar and the bartender is engaged, it’s rude and unprofessional to ignore the person’s presence until convenient to do so. Sure it’s busy, but all the bartender need do is make eye contact with the guest, smile and say, “I’ll be right with you.”
• NOT KNOWING WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT — Bartenders should be able to answer guests’ questions regarding the menu or a specific product quickly and knowledgably. Fumbling for answers or searching for someone else to deal with the situation diminishes credibility. People like to know that they’re in capable hands. It’s far easier to up-sell guests after articulating why particular brands are worth their elevated sales price.
• WE DON’T MAKE THOSE — Saying no to a drink request is bad form. Regardless of whether the guest orders a Mojito or Long Island Iced Tea, if the ingredients are available somewhere on property, make the drink. Saying no is not an option.
Finally, bartending should be fun—or at least appear that way. Even when they’re not totally thrilled about coming into work, great bartenders don their game faces and give the guests an Oscar-worthy performance.
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