This article continues our exploration from “Bartending Pro Tips Part 1” focusing on strategies to maximize your earnings and elevate your bartending career.
**Prioritize Safety:** In situations involving conflict or violence, your safety is paramount. Avoid intervening physically. Instead, raise your voice to de-escalate the situation while simultaneously contacting emergency services. Remember, many establishments lack dedicated security. A cautionary tale: A bartender who intervened physically to defend a customer faced severe legal repercussions, highlighting the importance of prioritizing de-escalation and calling for help.
**Master the Tip Jar (or Transcend It):** Tip jars are optional, dependent on the bar’s atmosphere. Cultivate rapport with patrons. A personal interaction during checkout, a handshake, makes them more inclined to tip generously compared to anonymously dropping change into a jar. Separate tip and bar/service accounts, if possible, for transparency.
**Teamwork is Key:** Your ability to serve drinks quickly and consistently directly impacts the earnings of other staff, especially servers. Maintain a keen awareness of your bar customers’ needs, anticipating refills. When fulfilling table orders, acknowledge your bar patrons and assure them their drinks are on the way.
**Support Your Colleagues:** Even beyond your job description, assist table staff with tasks like cleaning and resetting tables. Offer support whenever possible. If intervention is necessary to protect staff, loudly call for someone to dial 911. Demonstrate your support, fostering a positive work environment. Unhappy staff can negatively impact the customer experience, regardless of your efforts.
**Engage with Your Customers:** Utilize downtime to connect with patrons. Avoid isolating yourself. Initiate conversations about news, local events, and, most importantly, topics of interest to them. Patrons are often seeking conversation and connection. Be attentive, but gauge their intoxication level as the evening progresses.
**Express Gratitude:** Thank each customer for their patronage, ideally with a handshake. This personal touch fosters loyalty and encourages repeat business. Make eye contact, particularly during checkout, reinforcing the connection.
**Acknowledge Departing Guests:** If a personal farewell isn’t possible, acknowledge their departure by saying something like, “Thanks, [Name]! Be careful and come back soon!”
**Continuous Learning:** Study bartending guides, but also observe experienced colleagues. Bartending is a craft honed through practice. Don’t hesitate to seek guidance from patrons if they request unfamiliar drinks. Ask them to teach you; they’ll usually appreciate the opportunity.
**Adapt to the Environment:** Some bars are consistently busy and demanding. Even in such environments, seize brief moments to implement these techniques. Customers will recognize and appreciate your efforts, seeking you out and inquiring about your schedule.
**Job Security:** Once you establish a loyal customer base, changing jobs becomes significantly easier.
**Embrace the Experience:** Bartending can be a fun, engaging, and lucrative career. Enjoy your work, the people, and the ambiance!
**Financial Potential:** I’ve personally earned up to $50,000 annually bartending as a side job. Choose a location and establishment you enjoy, and you’ll experience a positive work-life change.