![]() ![]() I think people who have never worked in a service industry job don’t fully understand what it means to live off tips, so I think they have a hard time conceptualizing that I don’t get, like, a salaried paycheck. One, I think it’s very strange when people ask me, “Oh, do you make good tips?” Which comes up a lot. What’s something annoying that a lot of customers say to or expect from bartenders that they should…not? I mean, I’ll tell you that last year I made $46,000, but that includes some weeks where I made very little, and some where I made 1.75 times what I would on a slow week. It’s hard to say what an average week is, because my restaurant is very seasonal - we’re much busier in the warmer months than the cold months. I work 30 hours a week, so barely full-time. So, what is a normal amount? What do you typically bring home in a week? Because the vast majority are making a normal amount. But I would definitely say never assume that any bartender or server that you encounter is making a ton of money. ![]() In New York it’s definitely possible to have, like, a comfortable living from bartending. At the end of the year, they owe a ton of money in taxes, and they’re paying for their health insurance and everything out of pocket. So there are definitely some bars where people are making a lot of money, but in some of those places, it’s all cash and they get no benefits. You can make a ton of money, but there are caveats to anything. Which made it easier for me to get a job back here, and I skipped the normal climbing of the ranks of like, starting as a bar back.Ī lot of people have the assumption that, in New York, bartenders can make a ton of money. And when I moved back to America, I had a year of bartending experience in a really high-volume bar. So, they hired me straight-up as a bartender with no experience. I was lucky, because in England, there’s no tipping, and it’s a less service-oriented job, so they don’t require as much experience when they’re looking to hire. ![]() ![]() So it was food service, just obviously a much lower service standard. My high school job was working at an ice cream counter, and honestly there were a lot of parallels - it’s just ice cream instead of booze. ĭid you have a background in food service already, or was bartending your intro to it? Then I bartended at a rooftop cocktail bar, and for the past two years, I’ve been bartending at a wine bar in the West Village. Then I served tables at an upscale restaurant in Manhattan, because I hadn’t done high-end bartending. And when I moved back to America, I worked at a cocktail bar for a short period of time, then a margarita bar/Mexican restaurant for about two years. I started in an English pub, which was a really young crowd, and it was really crazy and high-volume. I have been bartending for six and a half years. How long have you been bartending, and in what kind(s) of bars/restaurants? Recently, I spoke with one of my dearest friends (who I’m keeping anonymous) about his years of working behind the bar, rude customers, and what you should never assume about your bartender. I’ve personally never worked in the food service industry, so I’ve completely depended on my friends who’ve worked as bartenders, baristas, and servers to learn about how it all works - including the importance of tipping correctly (seriously, budget it in) and what to look for when picking a place to eat or drink. One of the best things about living in a big city, for me, has been having friends with different careers and work lives than my own. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |