Bartending School: The trick to bartending is raking in the tips.

Bartending: Tips on Tips

Bartending is only a money maker because of the tips. The trick while bartending is to make the most amount of tips in the least amount of time. But there’s a little more to it then that.

Volume Bartending

There are two kinds of bartending. The first is volume bartending. Volume bartending is simply cranking out as much product as possible. Typically this kind of bartending is found in most night clubs. It is also a reliable way to rake in the tips.

Imagine a club rammed full of a couple thousand people all looking to the bartender to get at least one drink. That’s volume bartending. While bartending for the masses is pretty much a head long dash to last call, there are simple things that one can do to make the odds of getting a bigger tip better. The lesson here? Volume bartending equals volume tips.

Smile. Always smile, no matter how much it hurts. Remember, the customers are at your bar to have fun. They want to see you having fun while you are bartending. Besides, everybody looks better when they smile. The more fun they think you are having, the better the tips will be.

Be polite. Bartending is heavily dependant on building lasting personal relationships with total strangers in less then five minutes. Think of bartending as whole series of first impressions. Pull out all the stops. Your manners while you are bartending will give you at least a 5% edge in tips over the sour puss bartending next to you.

Personal Bartending

The second kind of bartending is personal bartending. This kind of bartending is typical of pubs and local watering holes. With this kind of bartending, the customer is meant to leave feeling that they have been the center of attention all night. In this scenario, tips come from really fostering a long term and honest relationships with your regulars.

Personal bartending is a little more demanding then volume bartending. That’s not to say that you can’t get slammed in a local watering hole – think ‘Coyote Ugly’ (bad example but you know what I’m talking about). Anyway, personal bartending requires you to be attentive to the needs of your customers all night, not just per bartending transaction.

To maximize the tips, start with smiling and manners and move into listening. Listening is an crucial skill for successful bartending. Being able to understand your customer means you can ask questions. Asking questions that mean something to your customer means you are interested in them and their life, bartending or otherwise. This creates a bond that breeds loyalty and longevity. And finally all of this put together equals greater tips for you. Being able to do this on the fly, while bartending, is the skill. Get comfortable with making drinks first, then move into the social aspects of bartending.

So What Does It All Mean?

Anybody can sling drinks, a rum and coke is not hard to make. Anybody can throw a rum and coke together and make 10%-15% tips. However, bartending is more than that. Bartending is the art making the same rum and coke and using a whole host social skills to make a minimum of 15%-20% in tips time and time again.

For more information on maximizing your tips click the link below.

Click here to learn how maximize your tips

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