Depending on the task at hand, every damned one of them – but the most essential tool for removing headaches from my life is the wad of tips I gladly stick into the hands of my food runner(s) every night. Without a reliable runner I’d go nuts.
One more tool…
My countdown timer watch! Every 120 seconds it beeps, signaling me to lift my head away from what I’m doing at the moment and give a quick visual sweep of the bar: Who’s empty? Who’s low? Who’s staring at me (what do they want now? It’s only been 2 minutes!)? Who wants to pay? Who just showed up? What’s dirty and needs to be bussed and wiped down? etc, etc… That 2 minute countdown timer is a total life saver and works like a charm to increase quantity of sales and improve my quality of service.
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.
