The top points to consider before being a bartender
The greatest accomplishment of a bartender lies in
his ability to exactly suit his customer.
-Harry Gordon Johnson
Being a bartender asks for something more than just mixing cocktails and serving drinks. It is a job which is just like any other job that needs lots of hard work and patience. Bartending is not just about tossing bottles and glasses like how we see on the wallpapers of nightclubs. It beckons for the 'X-factor' that is present only beneath the passionate bartenders who make it big in their careers. What does it take to be a winning bartender? Being a bartender requires a mandatory RSA. With that did you know that there are many other criteria that collectively evolve a bar staff like a pro bartender? Here are the 15 important things you need to know before you choose this career as an option:
1. Not being an Introvert:
Constant smiling with elevated mood, ever-oozing enthusiasm, positive approach with strangers and being thankful to the patrons for choosing their place to chill is very important things.
Reasons Why Bartending is a great job
2. Rewind and recollect:
It is also very important to have a very good memory as a bartender for various reasons. Keeping a tab on the number of drinks had by a patron is actually a serious thing to follow as this may help in serving them based on their level of intoxication. A good recollecting ability is also very vital to greet the usual customers with the same level of warmth and joy.
3. Understanding the risks:
It is an important duty of any bartender to understand that not abiding by the laws and the rules of alcohol serving can put him/her at risk. This includes having a fake RSA certificate or a falsely added experience. Having a fake ID is nothing worse than a crime. Being genuine is the best calibre among the numerous ones for this passionate profession.
Requirements for a bartender certificate
4. Change is constant:
Either changes in the rules or changes with the menu, a capable bartender must be able to work under the volatility of the job and must get accustomed to adhering to everything with the utmost ease. Leaving traces of laziness or seldom showing interest in adapting to new formats is a big turn-off for a well-established leisure joint.
5. Hygiene and cleanliness:
Keeping the counter clean, and pouring clean glasses with dry and shiny hands... are some of the immediately visible criteria for a bartender. An untidy bar with uncleaned tables or counters can bring in no patrons further. Minimal hygiene like keeping ice buckets away from soiled plates and used glasses, serving the drink in a clean glass over a dry counter and keeping those hands clean with which those wonderful drinks would be served comes nothing under impossible.
Bartending Tips and Tricks for beginners
6. Irregular work shifts:
It is a known fact that the night becomes young only post the happy hours. A bartender who loves to make big in his career should have an inclination towards not being compulsive about strict work timings. The time may or may not extend to the wee hours of the day. It is always advisable for any wannabe bartender to stay away from creating a time-bound career life as that may usually be impossible.
7. Constantly creative:
A bartender is no less than a creative artist who creates masterpieces with innovation, presentation skills and the right proportions as his brushes which include varieties of paints like rum, whiskey, brandy, champagne and wine in his palette. Turning up with something new with a tinge of personal twist will definitely boost anybody’s bartending career. This requires continuous research and adaptability to changes that give birth to something marvellous, something unique.
8. Personal versus Professionalism:
Having friends who can give you moral support is a very cool thing. But expecting the same to be returned as favours is not so cool. Keeping friendship aside while serving drinks and not offering free drinks is the most difficult task for any bartender. Once this habit gets cultivated then there is no further looking back. Favouritism can kill professionalism.
The responsible beverage training program
9. Hard work is hard:
Being a bartender does not just mean staying behind the counter and providing people with cocktails and then relaxing until the next customer arrives. The duty also includes checking the stock, and loading and unloading the drinks based on necessity. Only an able bartender understands the needs and necessities of a patron as it is only a bartender that interacts personally with the customers or regular patrons.
10. Going low on personal life:
A bartending career could keep you away from your family and friends as the job demands most of your quality time of the day. Plunge into this dream career only if do not dream to spend a relaxed time with your mates for a long time.
11. Beware of bad behaviours:
Drinking by oneself while serving others, verbally abusing while rejecting an intoxicated patron, being non-responsive towards the customers or serving a wrong drink to a customer – all these are punishable according to the bartending bible. Stay close to the rules and regulations of the RSA, and being polite and sane are the minimalistic traits expected by the bar staff.
Refusing alcohol service to an intoxicated patron
12. Not bound to boundaries:
A bartending profession is not always set in a bar joint or a pub. It can even be in a restaurant, casino or nightclub. Being place-specific cannot fetch you the good amount of experience which you require to come out victorious when allotted any kind of a place to show your amazing skills off.
13. No emotional connects advised:
A bartender is a professional drink mixer who excels in the art of Mixology which includes alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. This definition shouldn’t deviate from being personally connected with a customer or a patron. Getting close to a customer or being flirty with a patron is an alarm for a dooming career.
14. What you get versus what you earn:
In the field of bartending it is not always sure that you would be rewarded the same way throughout the year. There must be a good money management technique as the tips and the paychecks can fluctuate on a regular basis. The wages may be hourly, monthly or weekly with added or no bonus at all. Staying true to your work and excelling in what you do is the only trick that can give you a boom in your career graph.
15. Team player with a cool temper:
The place where you work could be filled with hot-headed people who start a conversation by swearing. It might also be surrounded by people who get physically and verbally abusive with co-workers. A bartender is always expected to stay calm and be neutral towards such behaviour by having an impeccable level of self-control. This attitude will help them to pass the rocky road of dealing with difficult patrons, in a swift and smooth way.