I am a bartender and I love my job. One thing I have noticed about my job is how many things it has taught me, and that I regularly apply in the real world- even in school.
Here are the ten life skills I have learned from bartending
1.Demanding respect
Working in a bar, as in any customer service job, you deal with people…all kinds of people. The problem is that, at a bar, a lot of these people are intoxicated. People can be particularly nasty, rude, impatient and downright disrespectful. I’m lucky enough to work at a place where I’m allowed to tell people off. Bartending taught me that life is too short to take sh*t from anyone. It’s a very freeing skill to have.
2. Math
It seems silly, but trust me…bartenders are beasts at mental calculations. The bar pace is fast, so when the bill is $16.50 and a client hands you $50 and says they want $20 back, in a split second, you should know exactly what gets put in your tip jar, or you look incompetent.
3. Working fast
It’s not so much about multi-tasking, but about keeping a lot of things in mind. You learn to make people seem like they’ve been waiting two minutes for their cocktail, when really they’ve been waiting ten minutes because of all the people. Make eye contact with the clients, look at them and smile to let them know you’ve seen them. Take five orders at once. Even if you have to go back and check with them, they will be happy to know their order is in.
4. Patience
Drunk adults are basically children who need everything to be repeated 15 times. You learn to chill, laugh stuff off, and not sweat the small stuff.
5. Tipping well
Tips aren’t for nothing. Waitresses and bartenders make much less than minimum wage. We live off our tips, and clients should respect that. Keep in mind that whatever tip you give to your bartender, a percentage of that goes to taxes, to busboys and to bar backs. The poor student excuse doesn’t sit right with me. If you don’t have money to tip, you don’t have enough money to go out. It’s a full package.
6. Listening
Just like the chair at the hairdresser’s, the stool at a bar can act as a great therapy couch. As a bartender, if you’re one of the good ones, you like chatting and meeting new people. You are confined behind a wooden counter, so if someone starts talking to you, it’s fun to listen. You get really good at giving advice and actively listening
7. Napping
The second you’re simultaneously a bartender and a university student, sleep can get tricky. It is incredibly hard on the body to have a night schedule half the week, and a regular 9 to 5 schedule the rest of the week. You need to train your body to nap if you don’t want to get sleep deprived. Some of you might be reading this and thinking: “Napping is no hard task for me”, but it actually took some time to get my body used to it. Just make sure you nap smart! Google it!
8. Work ethic
A lot of people want to bartend- it’s kind of an ideal job if you’re a Uni student. You get to listen to good music, dance, money is better than a minimum wage job in Quebec. You learn to not take the job for granted, because a lot of people line up to take your place. You have to stand out, whether it be through crazy energy, a very flexible schedule, or really good mixology skills.
9. Tough skin
In the same breath as the last point, bartending gives you tough skin. You don’t get babied in the bar world. Everything is fast, and if you can’t keep up, you’re out. Where I work, we’re like a big family now. But I had to prove myself at first- I had to gain people’s trust. That’s just how the real world works. It’s a challenge, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
10. Networking
You never know who can turn up at your bar and order a G and T from you. It might be your new best friend, like it might be a potential employer or important contact. Always be cordial, professional and with your best foot forward. (Unless they’re an asshole of course. If that’s the case, they deserve your sass.)