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August 23, 2011
Sharpen Your Bartending Skills
By Donna Hood Crecca - Nightclub and Bar Magazine
Bartender Training Moves from Nice-to-have to Must-have Status
At bar after bar I’ve visited lately, I’ve observed a frightening trend: Patrons often know more about drinks, drink-making and ingredients than the bartenders and wait staff serving them. Knowing that your customer now embraces all things drink is a good thing — they’re more willing to explore and, as the economy improves, spend — but the fact that they may possess more knowledge than your staff doesn’t bode well for your business.Let’s face facts: The days of on-the-job training for bartenders are over. No more “just shadow Charlie over there, and he’ll show you what to do.” No matter how good Charlie is, he’ll likely pass along bad habits and ....Read More
Posted by RedStagg at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2011
Bartender Salary: A Bartender Career Profile
Name: Craig Hysell
Job Title: Bartender
Where: Hilton Head Island, SC
Employer: Riders Lounge
Years of Experience: 12
Education: BA in Communications from Bowling Green State University
Salary: See the PayScale Research Center for the median bartender salary.
Bartender Salary: A Bartender Career Profile
Recently Britney Spears made the news, again, by inquiring about bartender jobs at a California hotel. Britney, or anyone who is interested in becoming a bartender, should read this Salary Story. We spoke to bartender Craig Hysell about bartender jobs, a bartender salary, bartending school and more. Many people wonder if they need to attend school to become a bartender. This interview provides the answer, plus insider info on what it takes to succeed as a career bartender. So pour yourself a cold one and keep reading!
Bartender Job Description:
If you want to be a good bartender, you have to know how to pour all kinds of drinks with all kinds of names. If you want to be a better than average bartender, you have to do the same thing and understand people; twelve years in a bar and I still see something new every week. Reading people, knowing how to get them to loosen up, calm down or put certain situations in perspective, is paramount to being a career bartender. Read More
Posted by RedStagg at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
VFW bartenders could help struggling vets, study finds
Researchers note that through close relationships built at posts, servers could steer veterans to mental health treatment
By Steven Ross Johnson, Special to the Tribune
July 27, 2011
In his more than 25 years behind the bar at the Chicago Bridgeport Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5079 on the South Side, Michael Pryor has heard and seen plenty, including from vets unburdening their troubles.
"We're like a family here," Pryor said. "I don't like to put any pressure on them (to talk). I just listen to what they're telling me."
And he considers the conversations to be confidential.
"It's like a doctor-patient kind of relationship," Pryor said.
That aspect of bartending has been captured in movies and television shows over the years. It also is what prompted researchers from Ohio State University to zero in on VFW bartenders in a recent six-month study. Their findings, published in the Journal of Military Veterans Health, suggested that bartenders could play a role in helping to identify veterans who exhibit signs of mental distress. Read More
Posted by RedStagg at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)