Bartending Duties
In addition to serving drinks from behind the bar, bartenders take payments from customers, provide waiters and waitresses with drinks for their customers, and sometimes receive payments from wait staff as well. Additionally, bartenders:
- Maintain the liquor and beer supply
- Cut and stock garnishes
- Clean and stock glassware and other supplies
- Count liquor inventory
- Serve food to customers at the bar.
It might not sound that complicated, but when you're expected to know at least a couple hundred drinks and be able to make them with immediate recall when and you have a long line of customers waiting, and everyone wants something different, and they all want it right now – it might get confusing. If it's your first night working at a busy bar or restaurant, you're really in for a tough time. And, if you've never bartended before, you're dead meat. You'll want to quit before you ever begin. To alleviate that, someone came up with the smart idea for bartending schools.
What Bartending Schools Teach
Bartending schools teach you the basics of what you need to know as a bartender. You will learn hundreds of drinks – a good bartender might know thousands. They will explain the liquors used in them, and how they are different. They teach you the little things, like how to cut garnishes, and what glasses to use for certain drinks, and how to make the presentation of the drinks look better. They also cover basic bar opening and closing procedures, and free pouring and mixing techniques. As a bartender, the bar is your show, and since it often gives the first impression of an establishment, bartending schools try to help you in making it a good one by giving practical tips on how to provide better customer service and increase your tips.
Bartending schools also try to prepare its students for difficult situations they may deal with. Bartenders may have customers come in who are already drunk and may need to refrain from serving them more alcohol, a decision which is not always warmly accepted. Also, they may have to contend with unwelcome advances, and other inappropriate bar behavior. Bartending schools suggest ways to handle these issues professionally. They also try to make it clear how important legal issues can be, like confirming a patron is of drinking age, and a bartender's responsibility if a patron drives home drunk.
Bartending Certification
In some states, bartenders are required to have certification. Bartending schools train new bartenders in these states, but in other states they provide a way for someone to jump into the career. Certain schools offer help with job placement.
