Bartending Hacks: Moving Up

Bartending Hacks: Moving Up

by | Dec 23, 2015 | Career

Whether it’s a convenient part-time job or a transition gig, the majority of bartenders don’t necessarily plan on it being a life-long career. However, with the flexible work schedule, unique culture, and long-term career opportunities, for many this is what bartending leads to. Here are some of the career options available to bartenders who need a change and tips on successfully moving up the ladder.

Management

The path to becoming a manager at a restaurant is an easy one if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, but it’s a hefty job as they are responsible for the day-to-day success of the restaurant. As such, managers must be familiar with every role they’re overseeing because if one needs to be covered, it’s the manager who will step in.

The basic steps to becoming a manager begin with success in whatever position you currently hold.

The basic steps to becoming a manager begin with success in whatever position you currently hold. As a bartender, you must be active, hard-working, and go above and beyond your job responsibilities. Showing your dedication to the job and the restaurant proves that you are willing to do whatever is in your power to ensure the success of your business.

Once you’ve proven yourself as a loyal and responsible employee, the next step is to make your presence known. When your effort is recognized, your attitude is positive and your work is consistent, managers will notice and at this point, it is up to you to inquire about moving up. A good manager makes their presence known, so don’t be shy.

While tenure and seniority play a huge role in this move, it is never too early to let your superiors know your interest. Taking this initiative will easily help you elevate to bigger and better things.

General Management

Typically, being a General Manager requires management experience and expertise, so you don’t jump straight from bartending into a GM position.

That comes from proving yourself as a manager and depends on your work ethic, management style, and ability to solve problems. Anyone can make a schedule or comp a drink that a guest didn’t like, but the keys to GM-worthy managers lie beyond the basics.

A manager looking to move up to GM doesn’t play favorites or get flustered on the floor. They are constantly working hard and, most importantly, they get their hands dirty. A bar manager who steps behind the bar to help and support their staff is the ideal candidate for General Management.

A bar manager who steps behind the bar to help and support their staff is the ideal candidate for General Management.

As the GM is essentially the manager of managers, they must be beyond competent in all facets of a restaurant (front and back of house). So, if you’re coming from a strictly bartending background, be ready to broaden your skill set to cooking, serving, and maintenance.

Again, tenure and seniority are crucial to locking in a GM position, however, without the aforementioned qualities, experience means nothing.

Liquor/Beer/Wine Representative

As you progress in your bartending career, not only will you thoroughly learn about alcohol itself, but also how the alcohol and restaurant industries work together and conduct business. If you’re interested and enjoy talking to people, especially about alcohol, this can be a great segway into alcohol sales, but you’ll have to work your way up just like you did behind the bar.

To begin a career as a sales representative for either liquor, beer, or wine, you must start from the bottom as a merchandiser. A merchandiser is responsible for setting up and delivering their brand’s beverages to stores and restaurants, setting up displays and filling orders. It’s not the most glamorous position by any means, but it is a necessary stepping stone in most cases.

Once you’ve paid your dues as a merchandiser (usually about 6-18 months), the next step is sales, as either an inside or outside sales rep. An inside rep conducts sales by phone while outside reps go to liquor stores and restaurants to sell their product.

Just like the food and beverage industry, alcohol sales is heavily influenced by seniority.

Just like the food and beverage industry, alcohol sales is heavily influenced by seniority. This means you may not get prime sales locations right from the get-go, but they’ll come in time. The more time you spend as a sales rep, the more likely you are to move up to higher positions in which the biggest deals are closed.

Sommelier

Many bartenders love the job because of the customers; they get the chance to provide guests with a unique and tailored experience. If this is the case for you, management or sales may not be your next step.

However, that doesn’t mean you don’t have options because you do, and becoming a sommelier is one of them. That is, of course, only if you have a love for wine. If you are, becoming a sommelier is a rigorous yet rewarding next move.

If you’re unfamiliar, a sommelier is a trained expert who specializes in wine service at fine dining restaurants and is responsible for its wine offerings, wine and food pairings, and, providing guests with customized wine recommendations based on preference and budget. As such, the position requires working closely with the culinary team as well as service staff and guests.

A sommelier must have a profound knowledge of how food and alcohol work in harmony and have both front and back of house skills.

Becoming a sommelier is no easy task. Before even starting the transition from bartender to sommelier, it would be smart to begin studying wine and tasting as much as you can. Become familiar with wine varietals (grape types), vintages (year produced) and vineyard (where the wine was produced) while also developing your pallet. Taking tasting notes is essential in order to learn how to decipher the different fruits and spices in a given wine. Once you feel competent in your wine knowledge, you’ll be in good shape to start working toward your first certification.

A sommelier certification requires the completion of a wine training course, which consist of in-depth classes on wine tastings, varietals, pairings and service. Then, at the end of the course is the test, which involves six wines (three white, three red) and requires you to blindly taste each wine and decipher the varietal, vintage and where the wine was made.

After passing the exam, you can call yourself a professional certified sommelier, making you a hot commodity! And, if you want to take it to the next level, you can go for the remaining two certifications, the last of which is Master Sommelier, one of the most prestigious titles a person in the restaurant industry can hold.

Cicerone

A cicerone is similar to a sommelier in terms of responsibilities, such as pairings and service, as well as training, but instead of wine, it’s beer.

A cicerone is required to have expertise in five areas: keeping and serving beer, beer styles, beer flavor, beer ingredients and brew processes, and food- beer pairing.

To be a legitimate cicerone, a certification is needed, of which there are four levels, that require extensive study of beer varieties, history, tasting notes and brewing. The four certifications for Cicerone include:

1. Certified Beer Server
2. Certified Cicerone
3. Advanced Cicerone
4. Master Cicerone

Depending on which level of Cicerone you choose, you will be tested through a written examination, a tasting portion and beer service. The written exam covers service, draft systems, beer styles, brewing and pairing while the tasting portion examines your knowledge of beer styles (by taste), flaws, and service with beer. Although the certification for a Cicerone is grueling and requires intense studying, if you are seriously passionate about beer and want to make this into a career, this is your ticket.

No matter what your interests are as a bartender, if you want something different (but kind of the same) there are many careers out there. After all, it’s understandable to want to grow and shift focus. Hopefully, some of these options open your eyes to the many opportunities available to you in the service industry!

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Why Confidence Is Key To A Successful Job Search

Why Confidence Is Key To A Successful Job Search

by | Dec 21, 2015 | Career

Confidence plays a huge role in the success of your job search – don’t underestimate its value. You could be sabotaging your success because of the way you feel about yourself.

Something to consider:

If you don’t believe in yourself or at least believe that you have something to offer, how can you expect someone else to believe in you during a job interview?

I just gave a presentation about the importance of trying to remain confident during the oftentimes unpleasant task of finding a job. The audience was interested in part because I’m so fascinating (that’s an example of crossing the line from confidence to arrogance, by the way – and something you DON’T want to do).

But I think the main reasons for audience interest were because most of us have felt shaky during our job search plus the research that’s now been done around the importance of confidence is compelling.

Olivia Fox Cabane is an executive coach who has written about and given presentations on the effects of negative thinking.

Research has shown that when you’re not feeling good about yourself your sympathetic nervous system is directly affected.

For those of us who’ve forgotten what this part of the body does (like me): that’s the system that’s in charge of “fight or flight.” In other words, your reaction could be “I’ll stay” versus “Get-me-out-of-here NOW.”

Self-doubt and self-criticism kill confidence.

And even more significantly, these feelings lead to a collapse of our sympathetic nervous system.  By collapse I mean you’re in the get-me-out-of-here mode. When this happens you can’t think straight, respond well, or listen well.

Imagine the effect that has on how you present yourself in a job interview. Not so great.

This is powerful information and shows the importance of doing whatever you can to feel good about yourself and avoid negative self-talk – especially just before a job interview.

If you don’t get this under control, you are sabotaging yourself. So here are three things you can work on to boost your confidence.

  1. Know your material backwards and forwards. For job seekers, be clear about the value you offer an employer. Then tailor your conversation during your interview to highlight the skills/experience you have that are most relevant to that employer. Practice what you will say during your interview. The more you practice, the more confident you will be, leading to a stronger interview.
  1. Don’t always believe what you think – it’s not necessarily right, and worse, if it’s a negative thought, you’rethe one who will suffer the consequences. Have you heard the expression about one’s mind being a bad neighborhood? Well, if it is, stay out of that neighborhood. It’s a powerful reminder that what you thinkothers think about you is not necessarily true.
  1. Practice your responses to dreaded topics. We all have dreaded topics – questions you hope won’t be asked in a job interview.  They can kill your confidence. These topics might be gaps in employment, the perception you’re over-qualified, too young or too old. Tackle these topics head-on in an interview. They must be addressed, not avoided. And the clearer you are about what you’re going to say (practice), the better you will feel and the more confident you will be.

In your next job search, as a part of your preparation, take stock of how you feel about yourself. Get clear about your value in the work world, practice presenting yourself, and ask yourself: “Do I deserve a good job?”

If you have the slightest hesitation, do what it takes to change this mindset. As a confident person, you will present yourself in a markedly different way, leading to a much greater chance of getting the job you want.

Source: ColoradoBiz

Bartending Hacks: Pro-Tips

Bartending Hacks: Pro-Tips

by | Dec 16, 2015 | Career

Being a good bartender takes hard work, practice, and patience. Here are some tips that will help you develop these skills so you can take your craft to the next level.

Keep your eye on the prize

Yeah, it’s obvious, but bartending has been and will always be a hospitality position in which satisfying the customer is the top priority. And Brian Julsen, bar manager at Boulder’s Zolo Grill, couldn’t have said it better:

“What makes a good bartender; being a gracious host, hasn’t changed since the dawn of antiquity.”

Brian’s way of accomplishing this is by being courteous and making people feel special. To him, it’s simple; “make people feel like you valued your experience with them and they will value their experience with you more.”

Of course, this is easier said than done, especially when dealing with difficult guests. By simply reminding yourself that you are there to make guests happy, you will be more attentive and accommodating, which will yield way bigger tips in the end. Like it or not, it’s work, so make the best out of it.

Practice good organization and sanitation

Being organized behind your bar will save you a lot of time and stress. Knowing where everything is and keeping it in the same place will increase your speed and efficiency. Along the same lines, practicing good sanitation habits will impress your managers, make your guests feel comfortable and will help you develop into a top-notch bartender.

Here are some sanitation basics:

  • Wash your hands
  • Don’t touch your face or hair
  • Wash glasses and bar equipment throughout the shift
  • At the end of your shift, clean everything from bar top to bottles

Sure, this will require some extra time on your part, but it’s not something you can compromise on. Once you get yourself in the habit of being organized in your service and responsibilities, keeping it up will come naturally.

Be open to interaction

Many people go to bars for the company and it often ends up that the bartender fills that role. That’s why it’s important for a bartender to be a good listener. It’s not in the job description, but it’s a significant part of the daily grind. However, it’s not only for the guests’ benefit; getting to know your customers will make them more likely to tip generously and, even better, become regulars, which is one of Brian’s keys to success.

“Developing regulars is one thing that every bartender needs to do to survive, yet we rarely share what it takes to make the human connection.”

To connect with people, Brian uses ‘FORD‘: family, occupation, recreation, dreams. “One of those topics is destined to open the floodgates eventually and the stone wall becomes the rushing river because now they have someone to talk to that they feel genuinely cares about their problems,” Brian explains.

For Brian, kindness and camaraderie are what mark a successful bartender. It’s not just about the drinks you put in front of them, but the entire experience your guest has.

Know your product

Knowing what you are serving is a must because to really thrive as a bartender, you have to be able to use your knowledge to go above and beyond, and make a lasting impression. This means not only knowing everything you can about what you’re serving (spirits, beer, wine, etc.), but also making an effort to continue learning more about your craft.

Taking the time to learn just one new thing a week will guarantee your long-term success as a bartender.

Even if you don’t currently serve a particular type of liquor or don’t use a certain ingredient, that doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. The more anecdotes and details, the better. Not only will you be more comfortable behind the bar and better equipped to answer questions, but you’ll be able to re-write the rules, and who doesn’t love that!

Create your own cocktails and specials

Speaking of knowledge, the number of combinations and mixes for making cocktails is endless. So, take advantage and start putting that knowledge to work by making your own drinks to offer as specials.

This is not only a great move to impress your team and move up the ladder, but also a way to overcome the job’s monotony and stay excited about work. Not to mention, it’s your chance to add your personality and style to the menu. If you need some inspiration, get some ideas here.

Don’t let your emotions get the best of you

Being a bartender means dealing with people nonstop, some of whom can be real pricks that just get under your skin.

The perfect example is of a customer who leaves a bad tip. When you’ve given a guest your best and bent over backward to take care of their needs and they respond with a cheap, insulting tip, you see red. Who wouldn’t? But it’s not like you can just close your office door to get away. So, what can you do?

As hard at as it may seem at the time, you just have to shake it off. Bartending is a marathon, not a race.

There will be those bad tippers and rude guests, but at the same time there are the wonderful guests and big tippers. Keep your head and get’em next time.

Ask for help when you need it

You’re going to get overwhelmed. There is no way around it. But the common misconception here is that you have to handle it alone. It seems natural to not want to ask for help, especially when you are really good at your job, but we all get “in the weeds” sometimes.

When you do, asking for help will not only be easier on you but also get business back on track more quickly, for which good managers will applaud you.

Co-workers are there to be your teammates, so utilize them by asking them to complete specific and reasonable tasks. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness but rather a display of responsibility and foresight.

Simple as these pro-tips may be, developing these skills and turning them into habits will get you noticed by your managers, raise your tip average and make your job more enjoyable. 

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So You Want To Be a Bartender?

So You Want To Be a Bartender?

by | Dec 7, 2015 | Career

While being a bartender may sound like the perfect job, it definitely has its challenges that are more often than not left unconsidered, making for a truly rude awakening for the unsuspecting suckers that don’t do their research before jumping into a job.

To save a few from learning the hard way, here are a few misconceptions about bartending that tend to get overlooked:

1. It’s not as easy as it looks.

On average, bartenders probably do 10-12hr shifts, sometimes with no break. There are hours of prep work, hours of clean-up, and hours of catering to the demands of people who have no concept of a bartender’s actual hours.

2. Their lives are not an endless party.

The bartender is like the parent at a slumber party: they are working to make sure everybody else is having fun, while trying to keep them from getting in too much trouble. And once the kids go to bed, they’re up late cleaning the mess.

3. When you’re in an environment that’s extremely high volume, everything goes out the window.

A skilled bartender always wants to make the best drink possible, but in a busy bar there’s a balance between meticulous craftsmanship and breakneck efficiency. This is particularly true of inexperienced bartenders who don’t have their recipes memorized. If they’re slammed with Negroni, Manhattan, and Old Fashioned orders back-to-back, they’re immediately in the weeds and will be much less excited to discuss the intricacies of their tiki menu.

4. Bartending is largely about multi-tasking and quick memory recall.

Bartenders do everything at once. A home-cocktail-enthusiast might be able to make a good Manhattan, but it’s an entirely different thing to make three at once while taking a beer order, running a credit card, and being eye-pulled by 10 strangers. Most decent bartenders can multi-task like maniacs, good ones can do it while keeping their drinks to a high standard, and only the best can pull it off while maintaining a hospitable smile.

5. Some bartenders drink during their shift, but not all of them.

Some bars don’t allow it. Some bartenders don’t care about that rule. It’s not uncommon for a bartender to do a few shots during a shift to take the edge off and as hospitality lubrication. But many have a general policy of not drinking with customers, and will go so far as to pour water in their own shot glass instead of vodka to maintain the illusion that they are fun party dudes.

6. Bartenders pay taxes too.

The overwhelming majority of bartenders pay extensive Federal, State, and local taxes. Almost all bar/lounge/club/restaurant owners these days are under extreme scrutiny, and as a result, many owners will report their bartenders’ individual incomes as a percentage of sales – whether you’ve been tipped or not. That goes for every single check. Practically everyone, from the smallest pub to the largest multi-bar hotel chain, makes use of Point of Sale systems to track every single aspect of cash flow. So, yes, you’ll still have to pay up come April 15th.

7. Girls, and guys, don’t actually want to sleep with bartenders.

Ok, well, some do. But the reality is that most aren’t patient enough to wait until 4:30am for their bartender-crush to close up shop, return home, down a pair of cheap beers, and catch up on their /r/cocktails Reddit feed.

Source: Thrillist

Monkey Shoulder’s Ultimate Bartender Championship

Monkey Shoulder’s Ultimate Bartender Championship

by | Nov 18, 2015 | IndiNews

Skilled bartending has become an intriguing, flashy trend, inspiring a plethora of competitions all over the world. From dazzling bar flare to unique cocktail recipes and speed bartending, these events are catching people’s eye and developing a strong following. But in this world of colorful drinks and innovative mixology, the art of basic service technique and bar knowledge falls by the wayside.

Together, Monkey Shoulder and the United States Bartender’s Guild (USBG) have created an innovative international competition that refocuses the art of bartending by challenging competitors to demonstrate their knowledge and service rather than just their flare. Labeled a “no b.s.” competition by the members of the Monkey Shoulder team, the event aimed to focus on “skills that pay the bills,” a no-nonsense, practical take on being a good bartender.

Lead by Dean Callan, Brand Ambassador at Monkey Shoulder, the event has traveled to four other U.S. cities including Milwaukee, Charleston (SC), Chicago and Philadelphia and internationally, in Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Poland, France, Germany, and Singapore. Bartenders from each city took part in the same 7-round competition and the overall point leader at the end of this year’s competition will be crowned the Ultimate Bartending Champion.

On Monday, November 18th, 2015, the Ultimate Bartender Championship came to Denver. Hosted by Punch Bowl, the competition featured 12 local bartenders, competing in 7 different rounds that tested their technique, insight, speed and skill behind the bar.

The Rounds

1. Quiz:
In the quiz round, contenders were read 100 multiple choice questions ranging from an array of bartending topics. From identifying recipe ingredients to naming various countries’ national beverage, Callan rapidly quizzed the opponents to test both their knowledge of beverages and their ability to think quickly on their feet.

2. Mixiodic Table:
For the competition, Callan and the Monkey Shoulder team created an ingenious bartender version of the periodic table. The table consists of various components to cocktail recipes, featuring ‘elements’ like sugars, juices, mixers, bitters, ices, liquors, glassware and garnishes. The goal for this round was to solve ‘equations’ by naming the cocktail. For instance, if Vm=vermouth and V=vodka, Ol=olive juice, Sh=shaken, Up=martini glass then V+Vm+Ol+Sh+Up = A vodka martini. Competitors had 10 minutes to solve 20 equations.

V+Vm+Ol+Sh+Up = A vodka martini

IMG_4851

3. Nosing:
In this round, opponents had two minutes to identify ten different spirits in a blind nosing test correctly. 1/2 a point was awarded for knowing the spirit (i.e., vodka, bourbon, scotch, Irish whiskey) and a full point for naming the brand (42 Below vodka, Glenmorangie scotch, etc.).

4. Pouring:
This task included glasses listing specific pour quantities (1/3 oz, 1 oz) and the bartenders needed to measure out the exact pour for each. The goal here was to pour the right amount into each glass and be exact on as many as possible while being as quick and efficient as possible.

5. Tray Service:
This round required competitors to take drink orders for ten people, get the drinks from the bar and, in the correct order, serve the right drinks to each corresponding person. To do this, Callan printed off ten pictures of celebrities and recognizable people to serve as the ten places at the table. By doing this, it required the bartenders to remember who ordered which drink and place each drink down in the correct order (women first, than men). Each opponent had a different arrangement of pictures and needed to adapt to the right order. Again, this pushes the importance of service technique, efficiency and drink knowledge.

6. Stock Take:
A crucial part of being a bartender is inventory. This round featured the skills of taking stock of various liquors as if they were doing inventory. Competitors needed to eyeball measure the amount of liquor in 10 different bottles and output an accurate inventory sheet.

7. Building Challenge:
The final round required the competitors to produce eight cocktails in 5 minutes. These cocktails were taste-tested by the audience. If the audience decided that a cocktail was not adequate, they could send the drink back, therefore, docking points from the bartender. This last round was in place to showcase the skills and mixing techniques of the competitors and tested how they managed their time while optimizing taste and technique.

The competition was a captivating, enjoyable experience that drew a great deal of interest due to its uncommon, practical nature. While the notion of a service knowledge and recipe knowledge-based event may seem pedestrian, Callan and Monkey Shoulder did a phenomenal job with their innovative challenges, unique creations (like the Mixiodic Table) and focused on bartending functionalism and skill. Both competitors and spectators enjoyed this new format, and all benefited from the showcasing of no-nonsense bar knowledge and service technique.

As a member of the food and beverage community, I believe that this innovative, practical-knowledge-based event is exactly what the industry needs. Yes, bar flare is fun and captivating, but the importance of service is what keeps the industry alive. Callan did an extraordinary job of incorporating functional, pragmatic bartending skills into a competitive, unique event. His focus on “skills that pay the bills,” I believe, will inspire more bartenders to pay closer attention to the importance of the basics; knowledge, efficiency, preciseness and good service. I admire Callan’s ingenuity and creativeness in bringing service into the forefront through useful yet fun skill challenges.

While this is the first year of this competition, Callan and Monkey Shoulder look to expand the event throughout the globe, creating new innovative challenges along the way and spreading the focus of service and technique. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year and the years to come.