Starting Out

Hi there I am starting this because I have been a bartender for over 8 years now and I constantly get asked about what it is like. The pros the cons. The "wild things you have seen or done". I can tell you one thing as an absolute truth. 


IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!


 It takes a certain type of person. Usually one with some serious issues but we will get into those issues later. It takes a person that is willing to work when everyone else is partying. So forget weekends and Holidays. Unless you would like to be a broke bartender. And lets not forget that it is a job, and money helps pretty much everything. 
 But I  digress, a good bartender also must not love mornings. If you do you can kiss those suckers goodbye. Cause I dare anyone to tell me that after working a packed house shift in a loud sweaty bar with blaring music and everybody and there mother asking you for your attention that by the time you get off at 3 or 4 in the morning you really are going to be perky and feel like going for a fucking run at 6am. Two words. FUCK OFF. Let the 9to5ers have there mornings and overcrowded starbucks. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it is just not my cup of tea. (sorry for the pun) If you want to work behind a bar get used to the idea you have a different schedule then the rest of the world.

 One other important quality that a bartender must have is patience. And I  mean a fuckload of it. I am sure that people are really sweet lovely individuals most of the time you get a couple of cocktails in some people and the become raving fucking lunatics. God forbid you don't get to their cocktail in a timely manner while you are serving the other twenty people in front of you you will get yelled, cursed, or even punched. (speaking from experience) My main point is alcohol has way of making people do funny things and be prepared to work through them with your patrons.
 And last and probably most importantly if you want to work behind a bar you have to be cool under pressure. This means that you have to roll with punches. You mess something up, forget a drink, break a glass in the ice. Just move on act like nothing happened. Fix it as fast as you can and move on. In the middle of a rush there is no escape. Just more people that need a drink and you are there to give it to them. It sure as helps to be organized, properly stocked, and work with kick ass barback. But those elements we will have to get into later.


It really is an awesome job. It is just not for everyone. It takes a rare fucked up patient night owl to do this job and kick ass at it. Oh and it helps if you have a personality.


That is all for now. Cheers!

By the way this is what can happen when you hang out with too many bartenders.This photo was taking out in front of my job at 3am and his friends let him sleep there while they were looking for there car. They had some how lost it. All six of them. Like I  said alcohol can make normal people do crazy things. It is funny though.