Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Basics To Becoming A Bartender

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

The definition of a professional bartender is someone who is behind a licensed bar serving beverages to customers. Bartenders can be found in many places, some examples of where you might find a bartender at are taverns or pubs, clubs, private parties, restaurants, basically anywhere that there is a bar and alcohol.

The majority of the drinks that a bartender will be serving contain alcohol in them. They also serve beer and wine, along with other types of alcohol. Not only do they serve alcohol they also have to serve juice, soda, water, and non alcoholic beverages to those who do not drink alcohol.

Serving and making drinks are not the only responsibility of a professional bartender now. They are also in charge of making sure that there are plenty of clean glasses and mugs, plenty of ice in the cooler, and switching out kegs on the beer that is on draft. They can also be responsible for serving food if food is offered at the bar, which in most cases it usually is.

Almost anywhere you go the bartender will be expected to dress appropriate, this makes the whole atmosphere of the bar better. There are even some places where the bartender will be expected to be the main entertainment of the bar.

Bartenders are expected to be able to make hundreds of types of drinks to please any paying customer in a quick, accurate and non-wasteful fashion. In some establishments, such as a busy nightclub, the bartender is only expected to serve the customer a drink and nothing else. In a smaller place such as a tavern however, the bartender might be expected to be a good listener, and allow the customers to have a shoulder to cry on.

All bartenders should be friendly and enjoy having contact and communication with customers. Good bartenders have a way of attracting regular customers. Good bartenders like this will remember the favored drink of regular customers; have drink recommendations on hand or recommendations for other bars, as well as several other unofficial duties.

There are some places where minors are allowed into the bar, so it is crucial that the bartender checks identification cards to ensure they are at the legal drinking age if someone tries to order a drink. If you think there is any chance that the person may be underage, it is always recommended to check for proper identification.

So as you can see there are many responsibilities when it comes to being a bartender. You are in charge of a great amount of alcohol. Some places of course will pay better than others, but since you are working for tips your people skills will get you further than your drink mixing skills in the long run.

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