What are the pros and cons of being a bartender?!
Answers: I was thinking of becoming a bartender for a second job just a couple nights a week. Just wondering if anybody had any insite on the matter?
I've tended virtually every type of bar set up and taught bar tending school as well.
you need people skills to bar tend before you need anything else.
You'll not make a lot of extra money at first without some experience. Once you have some experience you can make quite good money. Depends on your age, the place, the prices of drinks and those people skills I mentioned.
Pro: You meet a lot of people and make friends as a bartender
Con: they can be very false friends so don't get too attached to most
Pro: there are little perks in terms of service and the like from other bartender and people in the business
Con: there are a lot of legal ramifications for bartenders today you can go to jail for overserving or even being the unlucky guy who didn't notice he served even ONE drink to a guy who's wasted and then drives over someon on the way home.
Con: exposed to lost of smoke, often times drugs, if you drink yourself it's easy to start drinking more (weight gain, alcoholism, liver disease issues etc.)
Pro: good way to network and transition to other work
Pro: a certain degree of prestige when you whip up something nice at a private party simply because you can - chicks dig that.
Con: if tips are good, having lots of ready money around makes it easy to spend & again... you may end up putting it into stocking your fridge with beer.
Pro: its easy to claim less than you make on t axes
Con: it pushes you toward a late-night schedule and if you work days it can interfere with job performance. In some instances (say teacher) the part-time job doesn't look good on your career.
Pro: flexible hours depending on the establishment, easy to pick up spare shifts
Con: it blows your weekends a lot when everyone else is out having fun you've "gotta work".
Pro: working during some events (superbowl) if fun and great tips!
Pro: you can develop a true depth of appreciation for wines and high-end spirits such as Scotch
Pro: free promo items from the distributors (bud shirts etc.) and you get to meet promotional models (bug girls!)
enough for you?
pros - good tips
cons - no tips
I heard there is scope for good money in bartending...and it needs special skills ... things like juggling, knowledge of cocktails, mixing the drinks etc.
Pros - great money on the weekends and night hours, meet new people constantly
Cons - rude customers can ruin your mood, late hours, don't get holidays off, sometimes even Christmas
The pros are it's an awesome skill to have, but you do have to learn the skill and take classes to get the certificate, so it takes a little bit of time to get there. But once you have it, you will earn quite a bit more money than a standard retail job -- there's good cash involved in drunk people!
PROS=TIPS,TALKING,DRINKS!! CONS= LATE NIGHTS, NO TIPS, GROSS DRUNK PEOPLE!!
the positive things of being a bartender is you will make a lot of money off tips but if you have a family its a bad choice because they are very long shifts to work and you would not see your girlfriend and your kids if you choose that path.
I have a friend who does this and loves it. Some nights tips are 100+!
Caitlyn said it well. Rude people: You are working in a bar with people that are drinking. Regulars are usually not people you would want around you all the time.
Pro: Nice people. They do come into the bar.
Good Money - not always!
Working on weekends and holidays? You bet
A bartender is awesome for getting yourself through college, or for supplementing your income, but a career? You will regret it.
You can make great money, it's not a tough job, and sometimes it's really fun to interact with customers.
On the other hand, some people turn into Dr. Jekyll after a few drinks and you have to deal with some real d-bags. Also, you can't count on having certain days off that most others take for granted.
Don't drink when you're working.
Don't give away drinks for Ex,tips.
Be professional.
Be honest.
Sleep well.
Be on time.
Take a F*****n bath every two minutes :-D
Pros are being in the spots to hangout, learning what people like to drink, you meet lots of people and quick money.
Cons are working late nights to the next morning, you learn that each place you work might serve drinks different from the next or how you learned in school and some nights might be slow.
There are almost no Cons. In Vegas, I get paid (150+ a night) and I get laid. I also get to drink on the job and eat. The only cons are jealous girlfriends so just keep them off the relationship and you're golden!
Pros: Meet and talk with interesting people from all over the world without having to travel. Good money. Free coffee and food (at most places). Not a job you take home with you (unless you are getting lucky). Laughs. A good bartender is appreciated by waiters and customers and owners.
Cons: Tired feet, long hours. Weekend work.Dealing with drunks. Having a pain in the neck owner or manager. Rude customers.
I've worked as a casino bartender for 22 years. We have a pension and severance plan. Our health benefits include major medical, eye, dental and life insurance and are paid for by the company.. Our uniforms are provided and maintained by the company. We have a free employee cafeteria. We are paid a union scale and seniority prevents favoritism regarding outlets and hours. It is fun.
I, too, have worked at a myriad of bars.
Pro - If you work at the right bar, you will make a decent amount of money.
Con - If you work at the wrong bar, or just work a crappy shift (which you will when you first start), you will spend all your time setting up the bar, doing inventory, cutting lemons and limes, and not make a lot of money.
Pro - It feels good to be "everyone's favorite bartender"
Con - It takes a long time to get there. A lot of time customers resent the "new guy / girl" and there is a period of hesitation. People don't like change or to see new faces.
Pro - You're making money while everyone around you is spending it.
Con - It's a LOT more fun on the other side of the bar.
Side note - Being a bartender does not necessarily require going to bartending school. Most people I never worked with never did. We all started as servers (or worked in some other capacity within a restaurant) and worked our way up. That way, we were familiar with liquor and the industry in general. Plus, it's just a lot of multi-tasking and common sense.
Side-side note: The bar industry just might EAT YOUR SOUL :)