More tips on bar etiquette (a.k.a how not to get on your bartender’s bad side)

By BartenderOne | Published: August 30, 2013

Continuing our series about proper manners at the bar, here go a few more tips on how to get your bartender’s heart by not driving him crazy by D. Jennings, one of the top bartenders you will find in TO

… I’ve been bartending for over 10 years now, working at numerous venues and  different concepts along the way. During this time, I’ve been trained in many different steps of service to offer my  guests great service, in a timely fashion.

However, the skill and speed of a bartender is only half of the equation when it comes to getting served promptly at any bar.  The actions of the guests have as much to do with the speed of service as the bartender does.

Much like bartending schools teach people how to be a bartender, I think there should be schools on how to be a proper guest.

For example, lesson number 1 would be bring cash to the bar, not plastic.  The average cash transaction takes roughly 7 seconds to complete, whereas a credit card or debit transactions takes an average of 45 seconds from start to finish.  This extra time can really cause a backlog of guests trying to flag the bartender down wondering why it takes so long to get served a cocktail.

Lesson number 2 would be to make sure you have your drink order ready.  If you are at a busy bar, when the bartender comes over to you, you should be ready to order. This is not the opportunity to ask everyone what they want.

A side note would be to give the ENTIRE order all at once.  Don’t place an order, then when the bartender comes back with your drinks, you say, “oh and I need one more of these…”.  All this does is cause a line up of unhappy guests who are still waiting.  If  you were waiting in line for a while, it’s probably because someone in front of you has broken rules 1 and or 2.

There are many other rules that I will get into next time, but the one that will help you get faster service, is to be polite to your bartender.  If they greet you by saying “hi how are you today?”, “rum and Coke” is not the correct response.

Maybe I’m old school, please and thank you goes a long way.

Remember, the bartender controls the alcohol.

Until next time,

DJ

david j

Cheers!For example, lesson number 1 would be bring cash to the bar, not plastic.  The
average cash transaction takes roughly 7 seconds to complete, whereas a credit
card or debit transactions takes an average of 45 seconds from start to finish.  This
extra time can really cause a backlog of guests trying to flag the bartender down
wondering why it takes so long to get served a cocktail.
Lesson number 2 would be to make sure you have your drink order ready.  If you
are at a busy bar, when the bartender comes over to you, you should be ready to
order. This is not the opportunity to ask everyone what they want.
A side note would be to give the ENTIRE order all at once.  Don’t place an order, then
when the bartender comes back with your drinks, you say, “oh and I need one more
of these…”.  All this does is cause a line up of unhappy guests who are still waiting.  If
you were waiting in line for a while, it’s probably because someone in front of you
has broken rules 1 and or 2.
There are many other rules that I will get into next time, but the one that will help
you get faster service, is to be polite to your bartender.  If they greet you by saying
“hi how are you today?”, “rum and Coke” is not the correct response.
Maybe I’m old school, please and thank you goes a long way.
Remember, the bartender controls the alcohol.
Until next time,
CheersFor example, lesson number 1 would be bring cash to the bar, not plastic.  The
average cash transaction takes roughly 7 seconds to complete, whereas a credit
card or debit transactions takes an average of 45 seconds from start to finish.  This
extra time can really cause a backlog of guests trying to flag the bartender down
wondering why it takes so long to get served a cocktail.
Lesson number 2 would be to make sure you have your drink order ready.  If you
are at a busy bar, when the bartender comes over to you, you should be ready to
order. This is not the opportunity to ask everyone what they want.
A side note would be to give the ENTIRE order all at once.  Don’t place an order, then
when the bartender comes back with your drinks, you say, “oh and I need one more
of these…”.  All this does is cause a line up of unhappy guests who are still waiting.  If
you were waiting in line for a while, it’s probably because someone in front of you
has broken rules 1 and or 2.
There are many other rules that I will get into next time, but the one that will help
you get faster service, is to be polite to your bartender.  If they greet you by saying
“hi how are you today?”, “rum and Coke” is not the correct response.
Maybe I’m old school, please and thank you goes a long way.
Remember, the bartender controls the alcohol.
Until next time,
Cheers!
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