Bartenders out there?
- Thread starter JMAC
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If you ask 20 different bartenders, at different bars, of different ages/genders, in different cities, you'll get 20 wildly different answers.JMAC said:I;m supposed to take a bartending course in April, after I turn 18. I'm wondering what I could expect to get as a bartender at bars/clubs? I;m mainly talking about what kind of tips is normal in a night or bartending?
Any info would be great thanks
Just say that if you work in a tourist town or metropolitan area you'll do just fine. The problem with tending bar is not becoming a lush yourself. If you can manage that, you'll make good cash and have fun social life...
LOL thats exactly it I was hoping by some small chance ppl on the monkey would be able to come up with an avg. OH well I guess if it's some small local bar I'd probly not make much. However, whenever I;m at clubs I see the tenders pocketing 20$ bill tips, which would be very nice.binary visions said:
I have worked as a bartender and as a weeknight manager at the Pier Bar in Honolulu. I have a couple tips.
Don't work in a bar that caters to women. Chicks are lousy tippers as a group. Your best bet is to work in a place that has 3-4 waitresses to each bartender. Make sure they are pretty, but not too hot. women will tip a pretty girl, but not one that is a lot prettier than themselves and women will almost always make their husband/date tip a pretty waitress but not one that is a lot prettier than themselves. I prefer not to have waitresses because then I am the person responsible for the service that determines how well I am tipped.
Work somplace where couples go, not groups of single people.
Groups of singles will order six drinks and tip you a buck. Couples will usually tip a buck or more per order. Which works out better by the number of drinks you'll make.
Don't drink behind the bar. It's unprofessional and you'll make mistakes that will cost you money. Your customers will respect you for it if you hold to this 100%. That group of screaming 22 year old guys will want to buy you shots all night, you'll get more tips out of them (if any at all) and other customers if you are sober and your service is good than if you are high fiveing them and neglecting other customers.
Don't smoke or eat behind the bar for obdvious reasons. It's gross to watch your server chewing his food.
Don't date fellow bartenders or waitresses. Flirt with female customers, but don't hit on them. Attentive service and a quick smile will make you a lot of money. It works for hooters girls right? Women are no different than men. Don't give up your digits to or date customers. Trust me.
That said, don't pay any more attention to female customers then men. Women are notoriously bad tippers of male bartenders. Don't spend your time working for one extra buck from a female while neglecting the five individual guys at the other end of the bar who are much more likely to be buck-a-beer tippers.
If you get into the bar-workers scene there will be a social circle that develops with people that work at other bars. Don't even date in that group, bar workers are transient.
You can make a lot of money behind a bar if you work it well. I suggest you spend some time in a number of bars (drinking coke) and watch what good bartenders (and bad) do and how it effects their tips.
Don't work in a bar that caters to women. Chicks are lousy tippers as a group. Your best bet is to work in a place that has 3-4 waitresses to each bartender. Make sure they are pretty, but not too hot. women will tip a pretty girl, but not one that is a lot prettier than themselves and women will almost always make their husband/date tip a pretty waitress but not one that is a lot prettier than themselves. I prefer not to have waitresses because then I am the person responsible for the service that determines how well I am tipped.
Work somplace where couples go, not groups of single people.
Groups of singles will order six drinks and tip you a buck. Couples will usually tip a buck or more per order. Which works out better by the number of drinks you'll make.
Don't drink behind the bar. It's unprofessional and you'll make mistakes that will cost you money. Your customers will respect you for it if you hold to this 100%. That group of screaming 22 year old guys will want to buy you shots all night, you'll get more tips out of them (if any at all) and other customers if you are sober and your service is good than if you are high fiveing them and neglecting other customers.
Don't smoke or eat behind the bar for obdvious reasons. It's gross to watch your server chewing his food.
Don't date fellow bartenders or waitresses. Flirt with female customers, but don't hit on them. Attentive service and a quick smile will make you a lot of money. It works for hooters girls right? Women are no different than men. Don't give up your digits to or date customers. Trust me.
That said, don't pay any more attention to female customers then men. Women are notoriously bad tippers of male bartenders. Don't spend your time working for one extra buck from a female while neglecting the five individual guys at the other end of the bar who are much more likely to be buck-a-beer tippers.
If you get into the bar-workers scene there will be a social circle that develops with people that work at other bars. Don't even date in that group, bar workers are transient.
You can make a lot of money behind a bar if you work it well. I suggest you spend some time in a number of bars (drinking coke) and watch what good bartenders (and bad) do and how it effects their tips.
If you're in it to make money, Damn True's got the good advice.
Also, when you wanna tie one on, more than likely you can drink for free on nights when you aren't working. Side benefit
Also, when you wanna tie one on, more than likely you can drink for free on nights when you aren't working. Side benefit
Werd to True's advice, every bit of it is deadly accurate.
Move to California or New York, no smoking in bars
yes butthen he would haveto wait 3 more years till he is 21.Echo said:Move to California or New York, no smoking in bars
I'm neither a bar tender or a gay, but I heard quite often that the tip you can get in gay bars can be quite interesting. Whether you're interested or not in the job is another story...JMAC said:Why do you say that?
A lot of gay people are epicurians with good income and without kids...so they have a lot of booze money to spend. Now compare this situation with that of straight peoples: when they get richer (in their 30s for example), they often have a couple of kids which cuts a lot of the booze money as well as the drinking/partying time.
You're totally right. Plus montreal must have a few.FlipSide said:I'm neither a bar tender or a gay, but I heard quite often that the tip you can get in gay bars can be quite interesting. Whether you're interested or not in the job is another story...
A lot of gay people are epicurians with good income and without kids...so they have a lot of booze money to spend. Now compare this situation with that of straight peoples: when they get richer (in their 30s for example), they often have a couple of kids which cuts a lot of the booze money as well as the drinking/partying time.
Having spent a few years bartending myself, here's what I have to say..
Its better to work in a Nice resterante as opposed to a bar. Go someplace where couples go. As a rule of thumb, guys tip big to impress either a woman server, or a woman he's out on a date with. Women try to flirt to get things for free, which = horrible tips.
Working in an upscale establishment works because in additon to the tips you make serving drinks at the bar, you also get tipped from all the servers as well whcih = more tips.
At one bar I worked in, we (bartenders, and usually 2 of us) would throw all of the tips we received in a big bucket under the counter. AT the end of the night we would split up the earnings 50%/50%. When I worked with our only girl bartenderess, I would literally make 25-35% more then if I worked with another guy, so try to get into a situation like this.
If you plan to drink behind the bar never drink more then 1-2 drinks, and make them something that does not look like an adult beverage. (for example rum and coke, because it looks like your just drinking a coke.) I would suggest sticking to coke or redbull, or some sort of caffinated beverage, because bartending is very fast paced, and you need to be on your toes. Getting a buzz while you work just makes things a lot more difficult.
If you have a group of young guys come up to the bar, give them some attention, make them a few exotic shots (on the house if you can swing it) and you'll get tipped nicely. Flirt with women in their mid 30's to 40's especially if you think they have kids, because they don't get it like they used to, and usually reward the flirting with decent tips. When you get very attractive young women at the bar treat them politely, and attentively, but don't really try to flirt because they will either try to get their drinks for free, (if they like you) or be annoyed, (if they are indifferent) and not tip well.
Remember eventually the customers have to leave, and you are going to have to clean up the bar, to close it down. This will provide the perfect oppertunity to reward yourself with the drinks you've been craving all night.
Be nice to all your servers, and go out of your way to help them, they will tip you well.
Good luck!
Its better to work in a Nice resterante as opposed to a bar. Go someplace where couples go. As a rule of thumb, guys tip big to impress either a woman server, or a woman he's out on a date with. Women try to flirt to get things for free, which = horrible tips.
Working in an upscale establishment works because in additon to the tips you make serving drinks at the bar, you also get tipped from all the servers as well whcih = more tips.
At one bar I worked in, we (bartenders, and usually 2 of us) would throw all of the tips we received in a big bucket under the counter. AT the end of the night we would split up the earnings 50%/50%. When I worked with our only girl bartenderess, I would literally make 25-35% more then if I worked with another guy, so try to get into a situation like this.
If you plan to drink behind the bar never drink more then 1-2 drinks, and make them something that does not look like an adult beverage. (for example rum and coke, because it looks like your just drinking a coke.) I would suggest sticking to coke or redbull, or some sort of caffinated beverage, because bartending is very fast paced, and you need to be on your toes. Getting a buzz while you work just makes things a lot more difficult.
If you have a group of young guys come up to the bar, give them some attention, make them a few exotic shots (on the house if you can swing it) and you'll get tipped nicely. Flirt with women in their mid 30's to 40's especially if you think they have kids, because they don't get it like they used to, and usually reward the flirting with decent tips. When you get very attractive young women at the bar treat them politely, and attentively, but don't really try to flirt because they will either try to get their drinks for free, (if they like you) or be annoyed, (if they are indifferent) and not tip well.
Remember eventually the customers have to leave, and you are going to have to clean up the bar, to close it down. This will provide the perfect oppertunity to reward yourself with the drinks you've been craving all night.
Be nice to all your servers, and go out of your way to help them, they will tip you well.
Good luck!
good word, i'd never seen it before. i think you're missing an 'e' unless it's a regional spelling thing tho.FlipSide said:
my comment to JMAC: remember that no one likes a whiny bartender
. all these comments about men/women tipping differences are interesting. i know i tend to over tip myself, because getting change takes a few minutes and i bolt
i has a bartender in new orleans for a few months, not like DT but i´ll chip in the little i collected. according my little experience as a bartender, and long experience as a club patron, there are 4 kinds of bars and bartenders. college joints, general middle aged joints, trendy joints and gay joints.
girls are BAD tippers. specially when in groups. single white males aged 25-35 are the best. i can go into a non-PC detailed description of tipping habits but i wont cuz i dont want to get flamed.
the college joints, which i didnt work at, but attended a lot. usually are not good places for tips. trendy bars are awesome for tips, but the bartenders were usually pretty good looking guys, that has a lot to do with the wages on a tipped employee.
i worked in a middle aged joint in NOLA, 80% male, 20% female. tips were 95% male, 5% female. dont waste time trying to squeeze a buck out of girls. concentrate on single white 25-35yo males. they were like half my tips, and 90% of the more than 20buck tips came from them.
gay bars, i dunno much, but from my waiter months, i remember gay folks are as good or better tippers as the 25-35yo SWM.
your average per weekend night can be very variable. from 80 bucks to 400 bucks (weekends around mardi gras in my case) depending on the night.
girls are BAD tippers. specially when in groups. single white males aged 25-35 are the best. i can go into a non-PC detailed description of tipping habits but i wont cuz i dont want to get flamed.
the college joints, which i didnt work at, but attended a lot. usually are not good places for tips. trendy bars are awesome for tips, but the bartenders were usually pretty good looking guys, that has a lot to do with the wages on a tipped employee.
i worked in a middle aged joint in NOLA, 80% male, 20% female. tips were 95% male, 5% female. dont waste time trying to squeeze a buck out of girls. concentrate on single white 25-35yo males. they were like half my tips, and 90% of the more than 20buck tips came from them.
gay bars, i dunno much, but from my waiter months, i remember gay folks are as good or better tippers as the 25-35yo SWM.
your average per weekend night can be very variable. from 80 bucks to 400 bucks (weekends around mardi gras in my case) depending on the night.