As a bartender you have two options. Firstly, you can stand behind the bar doing the bare minimum such as cleaning a little here and there, serving when you have to, and agonizing with your work colleagues about how long to go until you clock out. Or secondly, you can talk to and entertain your customer, use salesmanship and show professionalism. We recommend you try the second option as it will be far more rewarding and enjoyable.
More often than not that loud, arrogant, rude person on the other side of the bar is your customer and he/she is the most important (like it or not) person in your bar or function room.
Our goal is to ensure that all you guests have the best experience possible and that they have enjoyed themselves enough to recommend your establishment to there friends. You will be able to achieve this if you nurture three basic qualities:
- - Personality;
- - Professionalism;
- - Knowledge.
- Welcome
- Salesmanship
- Showmanship
- Presentation
- Product knowledge
- Customer awareness
- Follow up
- Farewell
All the above make a world difference to a customer, in fact, people are used to bad service in so many places that if you were simply to begin doing some of these things, customers might actually think you are offering them an „extra‟ service. It is important to realise that even if a customer regularly visits your bar and the high level of service he/she receives becomes the norm it is when they visit another establishment that the true value of your service and personality is appreciated greatest.
Welcome: The welcome must be warm, genuine and immediate. However you want to say it, this is the first point of communication between the bartender and the customer. The customer must be made to feel he/she is genuinely welcome in a fashion unlike any previous experience. He/she should feel as though their custom is cherished and that they feel welcome. A word of warning don't go to over the top with the welcome as you may find it difficult to serve while you have your tongue down your customers trousers.
Salesmanship (subliminal selling) this is a very important part of your job. Use the power of suggestion with your customers, salesmanship is an art in itself, not used in bars very often, for salesmanship to be effective it must be subtle, in fact, most of the time the customer does not even know that you are selling to them!!
Knowledge is obviously an important part of salesmanship. Know what you sell, and sell what you know. Many people will ask for gin and tonic they have been drinking for years. You will now have the knowledge to sell them a drink, it may simply be a premium Gin (Tanqueray) or a gin based cocktail. If a customer asks for a white wine ask them if they would like house wine or a wine from our selection (intro 2), the point being you are now giving the customer a viable alternative. This both satisfies the customer and increases your sales.
To practice using your suggestive selling techniques, avoid using general terms like, drink, cocktail, appetizer, or dessert. Help your customer narrow their field of selection. There will always be those customers who are having trouble on making a decision on what they want to drink, if they want wine suggest a nice premium wine or if its spirit suggest a premium spirit i.e.. Valadivar - Smirnoff.
Showmanship is used in every aspect of your job and is the most obvious part of our technique that will impress the customer. The spin of a bottle or the subtle flick of a glass all go into the recipe of becoming a creative bartender. You will undoubtedly hear the usual onslaughts of "Hay there is Tom Cruise" or "I bet you can‟t do that with a full one" these rare and extremely funny sayings are not unusual in this line of work. But the customer will walk out of the bar remembering something they have not yet seen or experienced before. You will be taught basics of flare and shown more advanced techniques which you can practice as you become more proficient. Each bar person develops at their own pace and has there own style based on their surroundings and their fellow work colleagues. Showmanship is more than just flair. Your personality comes into showmanship in a big way. Everybody is an individual and has a different personality to anyone else. So use yours. You may tell a bad joke, show a magic trick, chat up a girl, chat up a boy, dance on the bar top, piggy back rides, anything. Its all part of showmanship. Just remember we frown upon nudity, swearing and bartenders flogging dodgy watches or fake Armani shirts.
Presentation: This not only covers the product, whether it be a drink one is buying, poured to specification in a clean glass made to the recipe and garnished correctly, but also the environment in which you are working. If your bar/room or yourself are not clean, tidy or attractive there is very little chance of making a good impression on your customer. They are less likely to tip or even leave you their phone number if you look untidy.
Remember: - These standards must be met at all times to be successful and to be in continuous employment.
Product Knowledge: Part of good customer service is offering the right sort of drinks and food to the right sort of people, therefore a complete knowledge of what we sell is called for. You are expected to have comprehensive knowledge of all the drinks we serve i.e.. product lagers, Fosters 4% Australian, John Smiths bitter 4% in cans 3.7% on draught brewed only in Tadcaster. The more you know about a product the more likely you are to be able to sell it and thus increase your sales and customer satisfaction.
Customer awareness: You must be aware of what your customers are doing from the second they enter your bar. Providing quick and efficient service to a customer is critical to providing overall good service. If a customer looks as though he/she wants something, ask if you can help, if a cigarette is reached for, light it; if a customer is drinking to much be aware of the fact. If you are totally aware of your customers it makes your job allot easier, and satisfies your customers a great deal more.
Remember: - Although the atmosphere of your workplace will often be Hectic, making the effort to acknowledge customers, and letting them know that you are there for them will make all the difference in the world to that customers attitude and patient understanding.
Follow-up: As a professional bartender you should care how your customers have enjoyed their stay at the bar. A warm smile, a friendly touch, not too friendly though. Show interest in a customers health, if need be ask about their pet goldfish. A simple "how is your drink Sir/Madam?" all make people think that they are someone special.
Everyone should strive to make their customers feel this way.
Farewell: A warm farewell is essential. The last experience for the customer is often the one they remember, so always say “good-bye” in a sincere manner. The type of farewell is down to the individual and the customer, again read your customer and make the appropriate farewell.
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