Don’t Over Pour – Don’t “Freeload”
A lot of bars use speed pourers with a little steel ball in the base which is supposed to measure each shot (until they get stuck “open” and you find yourself overpouring anyway because you’ve been “untrained” to use the professional counting method).
I learned to pour a sixteenth, eighth, quarter of an ounce, half an ounce, three quarters of an ounce, an ounce, ounce and a half etc using the old school counting method. Every bartender would practice with a bottle of water daily, and at least once a week we’d have competitions with the manager as the judge to see who could pour most accurately.
Later on when the little steel ball pourers were introduced they were regarded as an absolute joke. Learn to pour with a speed pourer the right way and practice using it, even if it’s just to know how to use it, then later when you’re working in a bar, club, or banquet with a lot of clients and all you have are those plastic things with no balls in them, and no shot glasses around you’ll be able to pour accurately and consistently – and a lot faster with less waste. There are times when those balls become stuck and the booze has just keeps flowing. So who’s liable then according to Dram Shop Laws if it was that last drink that got someone drunk? The bartender? The bar owner? The manufacturer of the faulty speed pourer?
Pouring Consistency
Each drink needs to taste exactly the same and needs to be the same for everyone.
There are ways to make this work even for those who want stronger drinks, and rules for how to deal with those who don’t get the message that if they want a double they’ll have to pay for a double.
If you know which clients like more alcohol then instead of adding it first (as is usual before pouring in any soda or juice) pour in the juice or soda first, then add the alcohol on top because it’s lighter in density and will float, give it a single stir or two before setting it in front of the client.
If the client says it’s not strong enough and says “Just make it a little stronger” (especially if your establishment uses speed pourers to measure – with or without the little ball) then smile and apologize very kindly, and ask if they’d like a double. Most (heck, every single one of them in my experience!) will say “No, just add a little more on top”. Do it once and they’ve got you! The proper technique is to say “I’ll make it again, hold on” and quickly remove the drink, throw the drink in the sink (GASP! You’ll actually see them gasp when you do this with the words rambling out of them “…no! no! Just pour a little more…” but too late!!) and THIS time pick up a shot glass and actually measure the shot according to exact house specifications.
At this point the client’s ego or whatever it is will be totally deflated. Most will pout and drink it and leave. Some will try again and when you offer them that double they really want, they’ll refuse and sulk and drink it. But in any case, they’ll leave after that drink and look for another bar. On a few rare occasions will someone actually insist a second time that they want “just a little more on top” – which is where you have two choices: politely explain to them that that’s the house shot and a double is in order, or you can use the opportunity as a teaching experience to the other four people deep waiting for a drink and toss it down the sink again. I promise you that your regulars will get a big kick out of seeing it happen. You’re also doing something else. You’re letting everyone know you’re responsible, that you play fair, and that you’re in charge behind the bar.
So What Can You Do? (and remember, according to at least one interpretation of Dram Shop Laws, anything put in front of the customer has got to be paid for by them)
By The Rules
a) No Overpouring: – use the house rules to help you keep your steady long time customers happy with a secret recipe for success. You’ve got a lot of regular customers. They come almost every night and they have been good to you. They’re never a problem, and they have lots of friends at the bar. They spend quite a bit of money and they always tip you well.
“Big Drinks”
When I was at the Hilton they implemented a control system whereby “Drink Guns” were installed for the well brands formerly in the speed rack that had lines going down to the liquor room a few thousand feet away. You inserted the guest’s check, pressed the liquor (Vodka or Vodka Martini, Scotch or Rob Roy, Whiskey or Manhattan, Rum or Rumtini, etc, etc, – each well brand had a larger cocktail sized version, usually around 50% larger, which rang up at about sixty cents extra per drink. There was no getting around progress. The skilled pour was still needed for the middle and top shelf drinks, but the days of well brand pouring were over at the NY Hilton’s main front bar… but it wasn’t all bad because it gave me an insight into something which connected to other little known business cost information about the bar/restaurant industry few people think about involving how much it costs to wash a glass.
Hey Bartender! Manhattan Size That Drink!
When bar prices are high then it’s inevitable that one night one of the long time steady regulars will say: “I don’t know if I can keep coming here. These drinks are getting too expensive.” and he means it.
Bigger Drinks, Lower Prices
Well, if you’ve been tending bar a while then you know a few things that almost nobody else realizes. First – besides the fact that it’s cheaper to keep an existing client happy than to advertise to get new ones – drinks aren’t all the same price per ounce of liquor.
What do I mean by that? Well – how much liquor is in a single shot of whiskey and soda as compared to a one and a half shot of whiskey Manhattan? Well, as I explained above, a Manhattan has about 50% more liquor in it than a whiskey and soda, but the price is usually far less than half again the price of the single shot drink.
When a client orders a Manhattan it requires some Sweet Vermouth too – and a cherry, and every bar in the world serves a soda on the side if the client wants one, and the soda is free because it goes with the drink, free.
Besides knowing that, you also know that virtually every liquor behind the bar can be made into a cocktail: Gin or Vodka = Martini; Scotch = Rob Roy; Whiskey = Manhattan; Rum = Rumtini (Years ago William Shatner made a promotional movie for Bacardi demonstrating how light and dark Bacardi could be used to make any and every drink at a party).
Ok, so you CAN NOT TEACH THIS TO EVERYONE – Just the really popular, good regulars who have half a brain to keep a secret – you don’t want everyone ordering this way. Now you teach your customer to order the bigger drink without the “extra ingredients” like the cherry and the vermouth – which all cost the bar owner money – and here you have two options: give the soda on the side. and then the client can pour the martini or Manhattan etc into the soda and stir it himself, in which case there’s an extra glass to wash (which costs the owner ten cents!), or you can save the owner a dime on top of the vermouth and cherry, and mix it into a taller glass yourself.
Isn’t that cheating? Maybe. Depends. The Hilton makes a billion dollars a year and in spite of having thousands of clients only two or three got that deal believe it or not. At a smaller place serving fewer people probably won’t ever even need it, but you poured a Manhattan sized shot and rang up a Manhattan sized shot, so if that sounds dishonest then ask the owner or manager: “How much should I ring up for a Manhattan with a soda on the side if the guy wants to pour the Manhattan into the soda?” (They’ll probably look at you like you’re nuts for wasting their time – Just ring up a Manhattan, why ask such a stupid question?)
NO FREELOADING
b) No Freeloading: – What’s freeloading? Well, there are actually two definitions, the first being “loading up” a client’s drink for free (making it extra strong). While my above “Big Drink” Manhattan method does provide more alcohol, it’s not for free but according to house size and price rules.
The second meaning for Freeloading is giving away free drinks without authorization. Some establishments have a buy-back policy and others don’t, and if they don’t, then don’t give it away and that’s all.
The only way to buy a customer a drink in cases like that is to pull the money out of your own wallet and pay for it yourself but even that would have to be checked out for approval first to see if it’s allowed.
Buybacks Allowed
If there’s a buyback policy here’s how it works (or can read this buyback article from the NY Times which is far more entertaining, but doesn’t really explain much how it works): In bars where there is a buy back policy you may have the option to give every fourth or fifth drink away as a buyback to the customer for free.
What you essentially have is a 20% to 25% discretionary fund (or in some cases more if the bar and land it sits on are fully paid off) , the purpose of which is to build the establishment’s client base, attract and keep new loyal business, or just plain get the bar pre-packed for the evening.
After checking with the boss on this a few common sense rules established by the owner or manager may include: i) if someone stops in who’s just passing through and will never return, hold their free drink as a credit behind the bar so you can give it to someone influential, like a company foreman, who always comes in and brings with him 10 or 20 other guys. Another possibility is if the bar is on the beach and a gorgeous woman walks in, the place is empty, and over the past hour several guys have opened the door, seen no business and walked away again, invite her in and give her the first drink free, maybe even the second and the third – then watch what happens the next time or two some guy pokes his head in. Building bar business is what a good bartender does to make money for the bar. The tips will take care of themselves.
Be Ambidextrous
Use both hands for everything. Learn to open two bottles of twist off beer caps at the same time. If your bar still allows smokers keep a book of matches by each napkin station. Who uses matches any more, you ask? High end places usually do because they brand and advertise out the wazoo. Books of Hilton “H” brand matches were everywhere. If your bar hasn’t got it’s own matches, bring a few lighters to work with you.
Learn to light a match using either hand, and both at the same time to light two. Use just one hand by bending out a match, closing the cover, and striking it on the striker. As a matter of fact, to make that match book trick work faster, prep each book of matches ahead of time to save even more seconds. I’ve lit two women’s cigarettes simultaneously using two books of matches, one in each hand, using this trick (and never set myself or anyone else on fire doing it). Making sure the cover is shut is the secret.
Keep it Clean, and Clean it With a Clean Bar Towel!
Have plenty of clean dry bar towels behind the bar before you start your shift. Ten or twenty should last a few days unless it’s the worst spill and accident prone shift of your life. Keep your bar spotless and make sure your customers’ ash trays are emptied after the third or fourth cigarette. What you do is take a clean ashtray and hold it upside down to cap the existing one, then speed away the dirty one (the cap keeps the ashes and butts from flying out and getting in the ice, on the bar, in drinks or on the floor) toss the butts fast and quickly place the clean ashtray that acted as the cap exactly where the other ashtray was. Now use a bar napkin to polish out the inside of the dirty ashtray so it’s ready to use for the next swap out. Wash your hands.
I can’t emphasize enough that a totally smooth and clean bar surface will attract more guests to sit down at it than one with spills or a sticky surface. Don’t use old gray dingy bar rags even if they’re “clean” but take the very best and cleanest rags from storage prior to your shift and use those. Also, whether you’re a guy or a gal, get a manicure. This is particularly important if you’re applying for a job. Your hands are going to be what’s placing the drinks in front of the guests, so make sure they’re presentable.
For the guys, you don’t have to have polish applied, just get the manicure by clipping, having your cuticles pushed back, using an emery board to smooth out any ridges on the top flat portion of your nails, and then use the buffer side of the emery board to buff your nails to a high polish.
Washing, Lime Squeezing, BAD FOR THE SKIN ON YOUR HANDS!
Known variously as Bartender’s hand, bar rot (Paronychia), “Lime Disease” (not Lyme Disease), is caused by citric acid in limes and lemons, but also by being constantly wet from washing glasses and cleaning off the bar. Bartender’s Hand is a form of Occupational Cumulative Trauma – and it can be avoided if you take precautions early in your career.
Glycerin Saves the Day
Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream to the rescue! I learned about Neutrogena early on and used it faithfully for two decades. I saw other bartenders develop bar rot, and I never refused a fellow bartender who came to me and asked for a squirt of Neutrogena. It washes off, so you’ll have to re-apply a little from time to time throughout the night, but it’ll save you from having to apply for Workman’s Compensation. The main ingredient in Neutrogena Hand Cream after Purified Water is Glycerin. It’s the second best thing there is to Vaseline, and you obviously can’t use Vaseline on your hands when working behind the bar.
Site Author, David J. Curtis: David Curtis, a seasoned professional with decades of bartending and bar management experience began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife club scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in iconic Midtown clubs and tended bar briefly in the Wall Street area, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa in Exclusive Platinum Service Awards Clubs, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.
