Recently someone posed a question asking for some advice on a bar management position they were offered that also oversees nightclub operations in a place that’s half restaurant, half nightclub on the weekends.
He had concerns about staffing and a lot of the usual “management” things that surround the title. He received a lot of answers about inventory lists, and making sure everything in the agreement he makes is on paper etc. All fine and good and as it should be. But I didn’t answer him that way. I’m a NYC nightclub bartender – speed pouring and high volume drink sales with zero focus on food – ever. I’ve tried other kinds of bars that serve food and are looking for a waiter who also makes drinks – but that’s not professional bartending any more than selling popcorn in the stands in between each punch is professional boxing. That said, I’ll try anything new if that’s what it takes today.
Here was my full answer to him though:
“Three or four things on the mechanics and secret shopping. You can paperwork it to death but a honed, well tuned assembly line will make a world of difference to profits. Hold free-pour competitions to get everyone gaged on how accurately they can pour various measures. It doesn’t mean they WON’T over-pour, but it’ll mean they have pouring skills, know how much they’re pouring, and have control. Take the fastest most accurate pouring bartenders and put them in the busiest shifts at the most crowded stations. Have an extra thousand in fives, singles, quarters etc for bank change. Nothing fucks up rhythm like “sorry, we’re waiting for change” (even using tip dollars doesn’t always cover it, and it’s still consuming time better spent pouring). Make sure every station is well iced and fully set up. Make sure there are enough shakers, bar spoons, napkin caddies, napkins, fruit picks, condiment trays, spill mats, etc. so that an ambidextrous bartender can reach for picks or stirrers or napkins with the left hand or the right and finish building a drink to get it finished and served faster. Put bar-backs on if not already there, and don’t put sales people (bartenders) on cleaning, hauling ice, doing dishes, bussing or anything else. Make sure every POS is being used behind the bar. Three bartenders and three POSs? Cash in each drawer and everyone swiped in. No wasting time closing checks. No lines. Make sure your bar liquor cabinet pars are set 1.5x your busiest night behind the bars, and your liquor room is similarly set to the busiest ordering period times 1.5.
Now you’ve got the assembly line fully supplied, prepped, manned right, and production bottlenecks minimized with all stations, POSs, and banks in play. The sales people (bartenders) are dedicated to assembling and selling 100%, not mopping, bussing, cutting fruit, hauling ice… Just bringing in money. (A drink costs what? $8, $9, $10? One or two drink’s price will pay a barback for an hour saving the bartenders time to sell 20 drinks or more every hour. That’s an extra $400.)
NEXT – MEETINGS:
Problem Identification and Solution Finding / Solution Implementation Meetings. All staff. You just facilitate and write on the giant pad on the easel.
3 meetings to get it started.
Let everyone know they need to write down what’s fucked up/fucking things up behind the bar that slows shit down and pisses them off most. Everyone should write the stuff down on 3×5 cards or something handy because everyone’s going to need to come up with what’s wrong.
Meeting #1 is Problem Identification. Everyone get the problems out there that needs to be identified and labeled
You write it all down, remain neutral and supportive, no interference or judgments or they’ll clam up and won’t trust you. After it’s over type it up and print it out and everyone gets a copy later that day or the next day (do it in under 24 hours or they’ll forget) for step #2
Meeting #2 is Solution Generation. Now that they’ve IDd and labeled what the problems are the staff now comes up with their own solutions they think will work. They OWN the solutions so they want them to work. They’ll be happier and more motivated to make them work. They’ll feel in control (they are), will be happier, and may even want to stay.
Meeting #3 Solution Choosing and Implementing. Now everyone votes on which best solution(s) they want to try. Because they own them they will do their best to make them work.
All future related problem id/solution/fine tuning meetings will be quicker mini version tweaks or try a different solution meetings.
If you don’t do the meetings that way, and you try to ID and solve everything yourself from your own perspective you’ll mean well but meet with resentment and nobody will have any interest to do anything your way when you’re not there. Plus you’ll miss a bunch of things you had no idea were even problems.
Kitchen is the same story for meetings, but “meh” reviews means a lot more IDing what’s wrong with the food that can be improved. But, like you said, you’re there to manage the bar, not the kitchen.
Now your machine is tuned and well oiled. From there you can bet bringing in more customers will result in more satisfied customers met with faster, better, more focused, happier staff self motivated to making things work.
Last but not least, clean up the mess called the POS that’s way full of old buttons left in there from 16 managers ago that make zero sense. Stuff you don’t sell, buttons for drinks nobody has ever ordered… And fix where you have to scroll down to the next screen to see 6 buttons that EASILY would have fit in the “scroll up” window above it if it had been programmed right to begin with.
Your POS menu needs to be laid out like a vending machine or website menu. The fewer clicks to get the job finished the better.
The more buttons that have to be clicked the slower the service will be and the more it will suffer and the less the bar will make. Kiss that $400 you made selling 20 extra $10 drinks per hour if your bartenders need to spend 5 minutes extra an hour navigating through a Pac Man maze to ring in drinks like Bulleit Rye Old Fashioneds, Titos Moscow Mules etc. Make a “Bump” (up the price) button modifier for crazy busy times so the bartender hits “Titos, Bump” then “Bulleit Rye, Bump” to super-speed sales when the drinking frenzies hit. Fix that and you’ll win the love, respect, and gold star of undying loyalty from every bartender in the place.”
I’m not going to say I’m a great bartender or make the very highest quality drinks, or even know the most cocktails – though when I’m working a very busy place I like to know at least 200 named drinks (Gin tonic, rum coke, those aren’t named, they’re just basic mixed drinks). I will say that mixing and serving over a million dollars worth of drinks a year in night clubs isn’t impossible if you never waste a second waiting for someone to deliver something you need to work, and if you have no roadblocks in your way. It is managements job to remove roadblocks from production areas, or management is part of the problem. Since management often has no idea what the production bottlenecks and roadblocks are, management has to rely on the manufacturers (the bartenders) to point out what those problem bottlenecks are, allow them to come up with workable solutions, and support the bartenders as they attempt to refine the system and make things run more smoothly. After explaining what I learned from my lifetime of experiences he told me “Thank you so much for all of this!”
I’m glad I could help him, and I hope this article helps you too!
PS – If you’re of the opinion (because you have a restaurant with a bar and never ran or worked in a full blown flat out top speed drinking nightclub) that bartenders who don’t serve food too are just pouring shots of Jack Daniels then you won’t get this, and this article wasn’t meant for you. But thanks for reading, and file it away in your brain somewhere anyway, it may just come in handy some day.
Site Author, David Jonathan Curtis: David Jonathan Curtis, a seasoned professional in his fifth decade of bartending and bar management, began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in both iconic Midtown clubs and Wall Street bars, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa, 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.
