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The 3 Biggest Lies Of Bartending By: Jeremy Sherk In my time as a bartender, I’ve come across what I like to call the “3 Biggest Lies of Bartending”. A long time ago before I set foot into this industry, I was convinced by others that the following were “requirements” in order to become a successful bartender.
So here they are… Bartending Lie #1 – You need to know hundreds of drink recipes to be a great bartender. Nothing could be further from the truth! I make the same twenty drinks every night at the nightclub I currently work. Sure, there are drinks other than those twenty that get requested once in awhile… but it’s nothing you can’t handle. …if I get “stumped”, I’ll ask the bartender I’m working with, look it up in the recipe guide, or ask the customer. Yeah, that’s right, if all else fails, ASK THE CUSTOMER how to make it. There’s no need to have an ego around this. If the customer doesn’t know, I’ll try and narrow down a color/flavor and make them one of my specialties. (which they end up liking better anyway) No matter what type of establishment you work or want to work at, they’ll have a base of twenty or so drinks that are asked for, not hundreds. Sure, it’s nice to have a some killer drink recipes up your sleeve when someone asks “make me something good”. But you don’t have to know hundreds of drinks before you step behind the wood. There’s no need to numb your brain studying recipe books in order to become a money-making bartender. Bartending Lie #2 – You need a Bartending “Certificate” or “License” to bartend. I’m not sure where this concept came into existence (although it sure benefits bartending schools). But there is absolutely, positively NO LAW that requires you to have a license or certificate to bartend. Now, many states and provinces require an alcohol awareness certification to ensure responsible service. But this is required by all service staff in the industry and is issued by the government for a fraction of the cost of a bartending school tuition. I’ve got nothing against bartending schools, they are a great way to get your foot in the door and get confident behind the bar… but their “certificates” aren’t mandatory in order to bartend. Bartending Lie #3 – You need to “pay your dues” and work as a bar back for years in order to bartend at a hot spot raking in the big bucks. This is absolute bull! I know so many bartenders that got behind the bar faster than you can imagine… including myself. If you think it takes years, it will take you years. If you believe there’s a better and faster way, you’ll find one. Either way, you’ll prove yourself right. If you’re looking for proven strategies for landing your dream job as fast and easy as possible, then check out my highly acclaimed Bartending Secrets Exposed program. If you’ve been sitting on the fence, saying you’d like to become a bartender “someday”. Then I hope the truth revealed here will inspire you to get up and get going to make it happen. ~~~ thousands of bartenders land their dream job and explode their level of cash tips. Rather than hitting your head against a brick wall trying to succeed on your own, let him take you by the hand and show you exactly how to land the bartending job of your dreams making hundreds in cash per night! 100% Guaranteed! Click here now for all the details!  July 2nd, 2009 |  bar tender, Bartender, bartending, help, lies, money, skill |  Bartender | 
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Author: Victor Epand The issue of tipping can cause a lot of problems, usually as a direct result of a lack of understanding or clear communication. This is not helped by the fact that policies and expectations on tipping vary widely depending on which cruise line company you are traveling with and even, in some cases, which ship you are going on. Often it used to be the case that passengers would tip each waiter, waitress or steward a small amount each time they did some kind of service, but then found out later that 15% had been added to the bill anyway for gratuities. In this way, the passengers ended up paying twice, and it can certainly add up to a considerable sum of money, especially since many cruises are ten to fourteen days.
Having said all that, it is still the case that you are likely to expect a slightly higher level of service, and a slightly more prompt one, if you are known as someone who tips. Word will spread, and it is important for you to bear in mind whether the additional cost is worth it for a very slightly sharpened service. An alternative way of managing this which a few companies have started doing is to have a single pot of tips that are automatically included in the overall cost, but that passengers have the chance to vote for their favourite steward or waiter. In this way, you can still reward those staff you feel have provided an exceptional service, but not directly from your pocket. Those staff who receive the most votes win a proportion, or greater proportion of the overall funds available for tipping. As you can see, the schemes and rules are very varied, and it is not easy to tell in advance what the advice will be. If in doubt, it is always best to contact the cruise line and ask. Often, you’ll find that you will be given literature which will offer you specific advice regarding this, usually to be found in a section of ‘frequently asked questions’ Make sure you look at this in advance and query anything you’re not sure of. If this is your first cruise you are likely to be somewhat flummoxed by the varied expectations, and if this is not your first cruise, you may be unsure as to the expectations since it will have varied so much in the past. Don’t assume, ask, if in any doubt at all. About the Author: Victor Epand is an expert consultant about luggage, cruises, hotels, and shopping. You will find the best marketplace for luggage, cruises, hotels, and shopping at these sites for bags, luggage, cruises, etiquette, tipping, and shopping. Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – To Tip Or Not – Cruise Etiquette June 26th, 2009 | tip on a ship, Tipping, tipping on a cruise, tips, Travel, vacation tipping | Consumer |
Leave a commentBecoming An Extraordinarily Fast Bartender – Part 2 By: Jeremy Sherk ef·fi·cien·cy [i-fish-uhn-see] 1. accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. As a bartender, if you can churn out drinks with minimum expenditure of time and effort… you will make ridiculous amounts of cash and have the option to work at virtually any establishment you like. In Part 1, we spoke of ways you can increase you speed. All speed requires is the decision to… well… move fast. However, increasing efficiency requires more time and preparation than simply deciding to turn it up a notch… and that’s exactly why many bartenders collapse under the pressure of being thick in the weeds… because they fail to take the time to prepare their bar for maximum efficiency.
 Be Organized and Efficient So how do you become more efficient? 1) Contemplation Look at your bar surroundings: Is there anything that can be improved? Is there a certain action you hate doing, because it eats up so much time? Now, while you may not be in a position to start reconstructing shelf and fridge space to suit your needs, such a minor change, like the location of your shot glasses, can make a drastic difference to the amount of effort you expend in during a shift. And if you are in a position to influence bar reconstruction, do it if it will increase your bar’s efficiency! The bottom line is, become aware of your bar’s environment and make changes if necessary. 2) Preparation Showing up 30 minutes earlier to prepare for your shift can make a world of difference to your night. Extra preparation time BEFORE your shift will result much less time and effort expended DURING your shift. 3) Systems Systems allow you to execute without thinking, and that’s exactly what you want as a bartender. You shouldn’t have to “think” about where to reach for your grapefruit juice when someone orders a Seabreeze. It should be automatic. It should be second nature. Have you ever seen a bartender buckle under the pressure of a mob of customers all screaming for a drink? Well, it’s not a pretty sight. When every action is second nature, you can keep your cool easily, even when it gets crazy. Systems mean you follow the same procedure each time. You don’t do things randomly and sporadically, you do them the same, everytime! Everything from the way you set up your bar, to the sequential order you make drinks, etc. 4) Organization While organization is a requirement of a good system. It’s important to stay organized throughout the night. Especially if your work alongside other bartenders. Put things back in their place. Make sure you’re on the same page as your co-workers. It drove me nuts when I used to work with bartenders who didn’t put things back, or worse, because of their lack of preparation, have to come to my well/work area and grab a bottle. As an efficient bartender, you will pull in the highest sales, and create the most enjoyable experience for your customers. Instead of dreading “the weeds”, you will welcome the craziness of working in a busy establishment because you know you can handle it. ~~~ Rather than hitting your head against a brick wall trying to succeed on your own, let him take you by the hand and show you exactly how to land the bartending job of your dreams making hundreds in cash per night! 100% Guaranteed! Click here now for all the details! June 22nd, 2009 | bar tender, Bartender, efficiency, fast, money making, speed, techniques | Bartender |
Leave a commentNation’s Restaurant News , Feb 18, 2008 by Dina Berta, Reproduced with permission.
Tampa, Fla.-based OSI, whose brands include Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Roy’s and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, had implemented the policy in January in Illinois and Arkansas. But when employees and customers complained, OSI dropped the deductions and promised to refund credit card processing fees already withheld from servers. The practice is prohibited in some states, such as California and Colorado, but it is legal under federal labor laws. Where permissible, some operators continue to make servers pay the proportion of the fees related to tip amounts, despite controversies and the risk of losing disgruntled employees. Restaurants typically pay credit card companies fees that can range from 1.5 percent to 3 percent of a transaction. The fees apply to the total tab, including tip, though some operators pass on to servers the percentage of the fee not related to the meal portion of the ticket. For example, if a meal tab is $100 and the tip is $20, an employer whose 3-percent fee would be $3.60 may withhold 60 cents–3 percent of the tip–from the server on that one transaction. One Outback Steakhouse server told local media in Arkansas that the policy would cost her an estimated $800 a year if she worked five shifts a week. Customers who were made aware of the new policy were said to have jotted pointed objections to it on their credit card slips and then left their tips in cash. OSI’s chief legal officer, Joseph Kadow, said the company first considered making the deductions because of escalating costs. “It is no secret that all casual-dining restaurant companies are facing unprecedented cost increases and substantial declines on profitability,” Kadow said. “It is our responsibility to adjust to this environment and take appropriate action to protect the business.” Kadow said the decision was not made lightly; company officials at first considered the deduction to be fair because of what it considers the competitive and generous slate of benefits it offers to employees, such as health insurance, vacation pay and meal discounts. “However, upon reflection, we realized this decision is inconsistent with our principles and beliefs,” Kadow said. “We will take care of our people and our customers, and the institution of OSI will take care of itself.” Other operators continue to make the deductions, regardless of controversy or fears of employee turnover. Servers and bartenders at Gandy Dancer, a fine-dining restaurant in Ann Arbor, Mich., complained when its Houston-based parent company, Landry’s Restaurants Inc., in January began charging them 1.5 percent of their tips to cover the proportion of credit card processing fees related to gratuities. Servers were surprised when they received tips at the end of a shift and learned a couple of dollars had been deducted, said waiter James Andrews, who has worked at the Gandy Dancer for two and a half years. “What burned me up about it was there was no warning or disclosure about the policy,” Andrews said. Restaurants that make servers pay for credit card processing fees run the risk of alienating employees, said service consultant Paul Paz, founder of WaitersWorld.com and a career server at a Stanford’s Restaurant & Bar in Portland, Ore. Although the processing fees may be a small part of each transaction, the deductions can add up, Paz said. “With the withering labor pool, we have to ask if this is a practice that enhances our image or will it be another deal-breaker that deters good job candidates,” he said. Despite the controversy, Landry’s, which operates about 200 restaurants in 29 states and the two Golden Nugget hotel-casinos in Nevada, has not changed its policy. “Federal law expressly allows for the practice of deducting the credit card charge from tips left on a credit card. Where allowed by state law, this is our practice,” Landry’s executive vice president Steven Scheinthal said in a statement. He declined to comment further. Landry’s policy was upheld in a Houston federal court a few years ago in a class-action suit filed against the chain on behalf of six servers at a Joe’s Crab Shack in Chicago. The Fair Labor Standards Act permits an employer to deduct the processing fee from an employee’s tip as long as the deduction does not put the employee’s pay below the minimum wage. In Colorado, the practice invalidates the state’s tip credit, which makes it impractical for employers, said Pete Meersman, chief executive of the Colorado Restaurant Association. California’s Legislature banned the practice in 2001 after a state superior court decided in favor of the deduction. The state judge had ruled it permissible for Specialty Restaurants Corp. of Anaheim to assess the fee from servers’ tips. Specialty, which now has 23 restaurants in about a dozen states, no longer deducts the fees from servers tips in California or Colorado but continues the practice in other states, said Nikki Hickman, controller for the company, which owns such restaurants as the Castaway, the Reef and 94th Aero Squadron. The practice, however, has not become controversial in other states, she said. The deductions have been a long-standing policy at Specialty’s concepts, so employees have grown to accept the charge, Hickman said. The restaurants pay out tips nightly rather than including them in paychecks, so the deductions have a less obvious impact. “Most servers look at themselves as being self-employed and [see the deductions as their cost of doing business,” Hickman said. June 20th, 2009 | credit card fees come out of tips, credit card tips, garnishment | Bartender, Consumer, Front of House, Manager |
Leave a commentAuthor: Josh Stone Well, if you’re determined to pursue a waitress career, I’m certainly not going to stop you. So, just to make things easier, here’s a combined assortment of tips for coming through the experience in one piece. Some skills To survive in the waitressing game you need many skills that will help you during your time working on the food chain. These include, but are not limited to: Lying: You take an order from customers and spend the next half hour serving other people in your section. Then you realize – whoops, you forgot to give the order to the kitchen! What do you do? First, tell the customers there was a slip-up in the kitchen. Make vague references to the hassled chef – they’re always so busy, you know! Promise it will be out soon. Give the order to the kitchen with the express direction to make the meal ASAP because it’s for two heart surgeons on their lunch break. Situation averted, and you’re cool.
Suggest Sir or Madam tries the bread or a salad with their meal: If practiced often in a clear and ringing tone, your boss will notice that you’re up-selling the product. Good for you, you might get a raise or promotion. Plus the customers will be impressed by your superior menu knowledge and great ideas and you may get a tip as a result. Nothing wrong with tips, are there? Get the bill to the table as soon as possible: The reason being that you want a tip included. Instead of letting the customer make their way to the register before getting the bill, take it to them. There are three things which may occur: Either they will leave an amount of money with the bill which is a little over the requested price, but they don’t bother waiting for the change so you can pocket it. Or they put some money with the bill then wait for their change at the table, giving them ample time to think about telling you how much of the change is yours to keep. And some will take the bill to the counter anyway. This is the worst choice as people will often forget they’re in a restaurant and think they’re just in a normal shop. Oh, well, you can’t win them all, and some people wouldn’t tip if their life depended on it. No matter what, be polite: This will make you look like a saint and everyone who barks at you will appear mean-hearted and crazy. General advice In the United States, count on a minimum wage everywhere where there isn’t an exception to that law – such as so-called ‘right-to-work’ states where your wage will be well under minimum. This is true precisely because of tips – in other countries tips are considered a gratuity on top of your salary, something extra. In the United States, tips are used as an excuse to not pay you a living salary. Sadly, many customers don’t realize the fact that when they don’t tip you, you’re working virtually for free. Weekends and evenings are the best times. Always try to find someplace which gets a lot of business at least at certain times – collage areas, conventions and travel destinations, in a hotel or casino, near a sports stadium, and so on. Never skip working on a Holiday if your restaurant’s open that day – Holidays are your most profitable time. Your shift is likely to consist of lingering periods of inactivity punctuated by rushed times when you can barely keep up. The ideal schedule for a table is five visits at minimum. First you greet and perhaps seat them if there isn’t a hostess. Next, immediately bring menus, and ask initially if they’d like a beverage or would perhaps order right now. If they’re regular customers they may already have an idea what they want. Next return to take their order. Then of course bring their food. Check once about five to ten minutes into the meal to see if they need anything else. Then at last bring them their bill and close your interaction. Add more visits depending on whether you have to refill a beverage or check every ten minutes to see if they’re ready to order. Tailor your service to the customer. The only way you’ll get good at this is by learning body language. When you recognize a business person rushing in at lunchtime who is obviously in a hurry, cut out as many steps and be as efficient as possible. When you recognize a couple on a date, give them some time alone and intrude at the minimum; possibly suggest a single dessert to share. Stay and chat an extra minute with a lone diner who’s not in a hurry if you have the time. When a lone diner arrives with a book, however, give them time to themselves; nobody who brings a book to dinner is ever in a hurry. Jump to serve a large party or family, and be extra warm and personal; large parties tip the best since they’re likely to be having a festive time with all the company. Good luck with your job. Whether you’re waitressing to support yourself through school, just trying to work off your credit bills or you’ve got nowhere else to go, it’s a career move which is interesting. Like cab driving, it will teach you about people, and you’ll meet the most interesting varieties of them. About the Author: Waitress Aprons Restaurant Uniforms Medical Uniforms Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – So You Want to Be a Waitress June 18th, 2009 | how to be a waitress, job description, waiter, waitress | Consumer, Front of House |
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Well, I’ve had great success in this industry as a bartender, and let me tell you, I got there without any of the so called “requirements”listed below, and you can too.
Some companies make it clear that no tips are expected, but that instead there is a 15% gratuity charge on each bought service. Of course, this does mean that if your steward provides you with an excellent service you are quite free to tip him or her at the end of the cruise. As a usually guide, tipping is considered to be in the region of 1.50 pounds per person per day. There are some cruise line companies that don’t include gratuities but also don’t expect tips. Instead, they add a 5 pounds charge per person per day to the cruise, and this is then divided between the restaurant staff, the stewards and waiters. Again, you are more than free to add your own tip, but this reduces the expectation and helps clear up the matter so that people know where they are.
Amid a swirl of controversy, some restaurants have scuttled plans to deduct portions of credit card processing fees from servers’ tips as a way to offset wage hikes and other increased operational costs that are squeezing profit margins. After a public outcry earlier this month, Outback Steakhouse parent OSI Restaurant Partners, whose multibrand system includes 1,200 restaurants in 26 states, backed down from a plan to require servers to cover the proportion of charge card fees related to their gratuities.
