What Goes Into the Bartender Job
Bartending takes a lot of hard work. Whether you run a fancy restaurant or a bar and lounge, the person making drinks is crucial to the smooth flow of operations. The better management understands what goes into being a bartender, the more effectively you can find suitable candidates to fill those positions.
Becoming a Bartender
It takes a lot to join the profession, although not every applicant will have the same background nevertheless. Some will go to bartending school, but not all. It’s not required in many states, and regardless a lot of establishments want to train new hires how to do things their way.
Photo by Adam Jaime on Unsplash
Then, the work itself is often tough; bartending involves high pressure, busy situations, often late at night on weekends. It’s also physically demanding, from lifting ice and kegs to running throughout the bar collecting empties. That doesn’t even account for the emotional labor inherent in any customer-facing job, and particularly one whose patrons are more prone to spilling their guts.
Learning the culture of a new workplace takes a while, too. From how to talk to the typical customer, to remembering all the BOH lingo, there’s a lot to recall in the midst of a rush. Training new bartenders already involves teaching them the ins and outs of your particular restaurant systems and devices. Take some of the stress out with advanced Point of Sale systems like the ones powered by eatOS.
Bartender Duties and Qualifications
A lot goes into bartending. For example…
Giving out and answering questions about menus.
Taking orders and pouring drinks.
Chatting with guests and recommending drinks, or even cutting them off.
Cleaning the bar and monitoring stock.
Handling transactions with all types of payment methods.
Possibly even creating new cocktails!
When it comes to becoming a bartender, states have different laws around what certificates and courses they have to take. For example, in some places they might have to be eighteen to serve liquor; in others, only twenty-one. A business’s personal feelings may differ from state rules, though. Check your liquor control board for specifics and take that into account when deciding the right fit for your business.
Although applicants may not need to have certain qualifications or experience, you might still prefer it. However, you have to consider that that affects how much they expect in pay. The median reported salary for bartenders is $22,550 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of course, they can also get hundreds of dollars in tips per night depending on their clientele. Bartenders good at upselling make more, too.
Smart Point of Sale systems can help with that. eatOS POS has automatic upselling capabilities that prompt bartenders to push daily specials or ask customers if they’d like to increase their sizes. Unlike people, technology never forgets a chance to push more sales, and can prompt your workers to take those chances.
