Bartending is an evolving art that has no limits, and that means that you can never say you know it all but you can strive to always be up to date.
Planning
• Plan your shift
Have a strong plan for your shift. Do not just come to work and think it will work out. Know what is coming up so you can be prepared. Who are you working with and what are their expertises?
• Have goals
Set your daily goals e.g. during today’s shift you want to sell this amount of the new cocktail in the menu. This will help you feel like you do reach goals and accomplish things.
• Have action-plan
You need to know what to do when situations occur to be able to serve smoothly. Take a guest who asks for a cocktail you do not know how to make as an example. What is your action-plan for a situation like this? You need to know these kinds of things to solve situations immediately when they occur.
• Following protocol
To keep a product or service consistent you have to follow the house rules. When you have a big team of staff that all come from different venues and have different experience you have to set the house standards and have every one do the same action the same way. If a guest comes to your venue for a Mojito a few times every week and orders from different bartenders, that Mojito should always taste the same no matter who makes it.
– House standards
• Cocktail menus
• Service standards
• Opening and closing procedures
• Settling bills and solving problems
Every one should follow the set standards and work as a team to have consistent service and products.
– Follow recipes
Follow the methodologies and make sure that the cocktails always are made the same way.