customer service
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Money can’t buy me love, and a great class can’t teach you personality. BUT - what we can teach you are some tangible tricks of the trade that will help you manage your time, attention, and environment. Let’s start with a few rules…
A (Good) Bartender’s Rules:
• Every time you approach a guest, give service.
• Repeat to guests what they are drinking when you place their drinks in front of them.
• When speaking with a coworker, face the bar.
• Don’t point. Gesture with an open hand.
• Don’t say you’re sorry; say, “thank you for waiting”
BUSY vs. NOT BUSY
Let’s talk about the flow of a bar. What is a good bartender doing when it’s busy? And how about when the bar is not busy? We don’t want to have to use the old adage ‘if you got time to lean, you got time to clean!’ but it most likely originated at a bar! The best bartenders usually have a little experience bar-backing, because they are able to keep inventory in their head as they go, and stock, organize, clean, and shuffle through orders all at once. This way, when the rush hits, you are prepared and able to focus on making drinks - that’s how you make your money!
MAINTAINING A CONSISTENT LEVEL of SERVICE
It’s important to let the bar be your stage, your sanctuary, a place where you can check whatever emotional or personal baggage you have at the door and focus on serving drinks; not to get too high or too low. We all have good days and bad days, but patrons will come to expect whatever version of yourself you present them - so make sure it’s the best version you can be.
STAY CALM
People get crazy. They yell, they cuss, they forget their manners and can be outright mean. At the end of the day, you’re just serving drinks. You’re not operating on a patient’s brain nor calculating the landing point of a comet steaming towards planet Earth, so … breath. You can only move so quickly, and rushing won’t save you any time. Keep calm and carry on.
EYE CONTACT
It’s important not just for bartenders, but for anyone wanting to live their best life. Eye contact is the best way to show recognition to someone. In many cases, a lack of eye contact from a patron can signal that they are too drunk to be served, too young to be inside the bar, or possibly just looking to sneak straight to the bathroom without being hassled. Attempt to make eye contact with each and every person who steps through your door.
CHECKING ID’s
ID cards vary in sophistication from state-to-state, so make sure to check for the essentials and not be fooled by anything other than a legitimate state-issued ID or passport.
NAPKINS / COASTERS
Each time you approach a guest, you should be giving some kind of service. This will usually mean starting by placing a napkin or coaster in front of your patron along with a friendly greeting. This simple little gesture goes a long way, and it will also help keep your bar clean.
LISTEN AND REPEAT
It’d be a shame if you were to go through the trouble of making a Daquiri only to serve it up and have the customer say, “OH, I ordered a Martini.” To avoid this scenario, simply be sure to repeat the drink order as soon as the guest orders it.
ONLY TAKE WHAT YOU CAN HANDLE
We each have our own threshold - meaning the number of orders we can work on at one time. Know your threshold and stick to it. Don’t take new drink orders until you’re ready.
CORN ON THE COBB
Have you ever been at a bar where the keeper has dared to ask ‘WHO’S NEXT?’
That question begs the worst of human nature to show itself, as everyone would likely assume themselves to be next and therefore chaos ensues. Instead, work your way from one end of the bar to the other, serving those who are seated or waiting. Then repeat. The eager ones following you around with cash in their raised hands will eventually figure it out and wait at one spot for you to come to them.
TWO or THREE OF A KIND
Any time you get an order for two or more of the same cocktail, double up the portions in the tin or mixing glass and shake or stir together. You will save massive amounts of time (again, time = $) if you are in the habit of mixing drinks this way.
Now, some tips on
CASH HANDLING
Announce the denomination
Doube-count change
Count your bank
Know the cost of drinks
Whenever picking up a cash tip, always knock on the bar and say “Thank You!” - even if the patron who left it is long gone. This will let people know you’re not just grabbing money, and it’s also a subtle reminder that everyone should be tipping.
DISPERSING TIPS
This works differently at every bar, but the industry standard tip-out from bartenders to barbacks is 20%. That gets cut back sometimes if the bartender also tips out 5% to a busser, or a percentage to a cocktail server. The bottom line is: if you like the job they are doing for you, make sure you tip them above the minimum to keep them.
COMP DRINKS
Again, this works differently at every bar. Some bar owners like to hang around and drink with the staff at the end of a successful shift. Others are very strict and forbid any employee from drinking on duty. Most are somewhere in between, so it’s good to know where the management stands on a comp drink policy before offering a free drink to a regular on their birthday or taking part in a tasting of your fellow bartenders’ new creation.
ABC
Alcohol is a controlled substance and a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide, so there is great incentive upon local, regional, and state governments to regulate the service of it. In many states, you have to be licensed to be able to serve alcohol. In others, such as California, there is no license required - but bartenders are still liable if any patron beneath the legal drinking age or above a Blood-Alcohol Content is served at their establishment. The Alcohol Beverage Coalition is a government agency that is not funded from traditional means of taxation, but rather makes its bread off the fines that result from their busts of drinking establishments. They can shut down a bar for good, and can fine you big $ personally as a bartender. We don’t mention this to scare you, but it’s important to take this seriously. Make sure you know the laws of your locality and, if possible, take advantage of ABC’s free 2-hour course.
KICK OUT THE JAMS
How do you kick someone out of your bar? The best way to put it is: deflate, don’t escalate. The last thing a drunk person wants to hear is that they’re too drunk to be served another round. Kill them with kindness.
CLOSING TIME
Every establishment has a right to set their own hours, as long as those comply with the local liquor laws. Whatever the case, make sure you call ‘Last Call!’ well before you want everyone out of your bar. Typically, most bartenders will sound the warning 45 minutes to a full hour beforehand. This gives you enough time to fill drink orders, and the patrons enough time to enjoy them safely.