[General Stalin]

From my observations if you are good and lockdown solid hours at a really hot venue then you can be making pretty much stripper money every weekend. Could probably live like a king making $1000-$2000 in tips every weekend plus your hourly wage and whatever else you made during the week, assuming you don't mind working nights and weekends forever.

[Rhyme or Reason]

(09-07-2017 10:04 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

From my observations if you are good and lockdown solid hours at a really hot venue then you can be making pretty much stripper money every weekend. Could probably live like a king making $1000-$2000 in tips every weekend plus your hourly wage and whatever else you made during the week, assuming you don't mind working nights and weekends forever.

Exactly. I'm lucky enough to work in a spot with an active nightlife, where I pull in a pretty decent amount of cash. I don't mind working weekends at all at this point, after all, why go out and spend money to be around chicks and a fun atmosphere when I can be on the other side of the wood and get paid to do basically the same thing?

To the poster who asked "do you really need to 'work up to' being a bartender lolz" yes, if you want to bartend at a place where actual money is being thrown around, you have practically no chance just coming in off the street and applying, unless you're talking about working in a rural area or somewhere where there's no action or money. There's a difference.

[Travesty]

How often does the gig directly get you laid with a girl that is above what you could get easily on Tinder or a night out normally? As in a girl where you get ease of lay & quality above what you normally get outside of bartending.

What is the pussy premium?

[MaceTyrell]

Bumping this thread cause it's awesome. Going to try this in NYC - seems like a great way to get a place on lockdown.

[AneroidOcean]

(09-08-2017 07:11 PM)Travesty Wrote:  

How often does the gig directly get you laid with a girl that is above what you could get easily on Tinder or a night out normally? As in a girl where you get ease of lay & quality above what you normally get outside of bartending.

What is the pussy premium?

Probably 2 points easily and the girls who you could bang with some serious effort and game you have already, would be far easier to close. Much easier.

[Rhyme or Reason]

(09-20-2017 03:39 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:  

(09-08-2017 07:11 PM)Travesty Wrote:  

How often does the gig directly get you laid with a girl that is above what you could get easily on Tinder or a night out normally? As in a girl where you get ease of lay & quality above what you normally get outside of bartending.

What is the pussy premium?

Probably 2 points easily and the girls who you could bang with some serious effort and game you have already, would be far easier to close. Much easier.

It's easier to get the interest, closing still requires the same logistics unless you have a situation where you can bang at work which I don't. Something I noticed is the chicks who seem to lay it on the thickest are usually on a date / with a dude.

[MaceTyrell]

^What a world we live in...

[Rhyme or Reason]

(09-20-2017 03:19 PM)MaceTyrell Wrote:  

Bumping this thread cause it's awesome. Going to try this in NYC - seems like a great way to get a place on lockdown.

NY jobs are notoriously difficult to get. I've never lived or worked there this is just based on what I've heard about it, but apparently NY restaurants / bars are very hard to get hired in. Many such places require "NY experience" and say as much on their job applications.

It's absolutely going to be an uphill battle.

[MaceTyrell]

^Yeah I thought as much. I've found a few barback positions on Craigslist that I've reached out to/plan to reach out to.

Plan on playing the long game with this anyway - I'll ideally be leaving NYC in a few years to start grad school, and could parlay whatever bartending-esque skills/experiences I can get in the meantime into a bartending gig of sorts at a bar in a non-NYC city.

[H1N1]

I've got a few observations on this that I thought I'd note down. I've been working in one of the most popular spots in my small city for about 5 weeks now, doing Thursday - Saturday night shifts as a barman.

First of all this is a great job that I would recommend to all young guys, particularly those who struggle with socialising with strangers and talking to girls. It's also great if, like me, you are not that keen on getting wasted for the sake of it with your friends, but enjoy being out and about in busy places.

Things I've observed, in no particular order:

Everyone is desperate for positive human connection, and very few people are providing it. You may see the extreme of this in a bar, but the truth is that all of the people I talk to would enjoy all of our conversations sober, on a bus, or anywhere else - both the sexual and non-sexual ones. Bartending is great for helping you develop this. People expect you to engage them, they expect to chat to you whilst you make their drink. This means you can try stuff out. If it falls flat, it doesn't matter, because there is a time limit on the interaction. You get a hundred 'sets' each night if you work somewhere busy. You can very quickly and easily build up a lot of practise talking to pretty girls, big, imposing guys, and everyone in between. This is just a great job for getting a lot of practise very quickly at talking to people and getting good with them. If you're intimidated by pretty girls, this is a great way to get over it. For developing your social skills this is the best short term thing you can do that I've come across.

Smiling, eye contact, posture. These three things all but guarantee a good interaction and a positive reputation with men and women alike. The same nervousness you feel about talking to strangers, or flirting with a pretty girl, or accidentally making eye contact with a brute is something all these types of people feel when they look back at you. You don't have to do a great deal to take the lead and remove those barriers. Just smiling at someone and looking at them in the eye is really all that it takes to open the door to a good chat. People want you to do this. Almost everyone wants you to do this. It was my turn to be on glasswash the other night, and I rolled around the bar just talking to everyone. Some guys try to get one over on you, and it's a great learning environment for nipping that in the bud without turning something into a fight. Needless to say, the most effective way of doing this is with a smile, eye contact, and good humour. You will invariably win over all their mates so long as you're not aggressive or over the top, and it's a great training in subtlety of touch and wit under pressure.

Women are the real sexual predators, and many of them do things far more egregious on a casual week night than most of the men they so gleefully ruin in these popular sex scandals. The men who flirt with the barmaids are always extremely respectful compared to what I have experienced already from the women in our bar. The men may grab a barmaid's hand over the bar, or tell her she's hot, or buy her a drink, or suggest she go out with him sometime. By contrast, in the last three nights (which are typical of each week's experience to date) I have had the following:

- I have had a 30 ish year old woman on a hen do tell me, a propos of nothing, that she wanted me to suck on her clit all night. She then proceeded to stand at the bar in front of me for much of the night making a v with her fingers and waggling her tongue through it, and blowing kisses. Her friend then came to the corner of the bar, leapt over it, and grabbed me trying to kiss me.

- I had a 40 year old woman stand in front of the bar after she bought a drink from me biting her lip and rubbing her nipple.

- I had a young mother angling for free shots, and telling me she deserved them because she'd pushed a baby out of her vagina 6 months previously, tell me that she wanted to rub her wet cunt all over my face.

- Miscellaneous, usually over 30, women screaming at me over the bar that they want to take me home.

These are just the most overt things. I don't mind, and find them amusing/interesting/eye opening to see. But I think most would agree that any guy behaving that way in a bar would be treated very differently.


Chronically bad breath - a significant proportion of men have it and are seemingly oblivious to it. I watch, where I can, how these guys who I can smell from across a bar get on with girls around the place. Some of them are good looking guys who'd do fine otherwise. The girls are invariably quite polite, but you can see them recoiling and looking for an exit. Just by not having bad breath, and having some modest game, you can put yourself in a relatively small percentage of guys in with a chance of taking a girl home.

[debeguiled]

Cosign on the smiling. Most people simply cannot do this. It is like everyone is a guppy, just looking at each other waiting for something to happen. Will they be friends? Or get in a fight? No idea. Waiting to see what happens. A hello with a smile doesn't seem like much but puts you in the driver's seat.

[Dragan]

OP I have a question about breaking into the industry... Great post by the way... I do have restaurant industry experience, but it was as a dishwasher and a delivery driver... I do have kind of a chip on my shoulder because I did the worst job in the restaurant, and no one understands how hard it is... Anyway, thankfully I have my college degree, and several different jobs under my belt now, despite still being in the mid-20s. I have done consulting of several sorts, graphic design, an internship, etc. How do I get going at a halfway decent bar (in my opinion a bar that knows how to make the classics, old fashioned, martini, etc.)...? My personal experience with bartender buddies is they have dark triad personality traits, and they tend to lie/ compartmentalize their lives a lot. I'm thinking about lying about past restaurant industry experience, even though I'm pretty opposed to lying, given how big of dicks people are in the industry... What you said about making you more social and helping you chat with women, is exactly why i want to start bartending, because I'm an introvert, but once i get talking to people, i can hold a good conversation.

[glugger]

Why would you try to hide your experience in the industry? That makes zero sense.

[Bizet]

Great thread. Working in bars did wonders for my social skills. And yes, it's also pretty easy to get girls while working behind. Plus you'll be working with a high turnover of backpackers, so if hitting on co-workers is something you don't mind, there are plenty of opportunities there too.

Like everyone else here, I also recommend starting off as a bar-back.

[Dragan]

(03-05-2018 12:59 PM)glugger Wrote:  

Why would you try to hide your experience in the industry? That makes zero sense.

No I would say I have more expereince than is the case. But they'll almost never hire someone of the street with 0 bartending experience.

[Rhyme or Reason]

(03-04-2018 02:23 PM)Dragan Wrote:  

OP I have a question about breaking into the industry... Great post by the way... I do have restaurant industry experience, but it was as a dishwasher and a delivery driver... I do have kind of a chip on my shoulder because I did the worst job in the restaurant, and no one understands how hard it is... Anyway, thankfully I have my college degree, and several different jobs under my belt now, despite still being in the mid-20s. I have done consulting of several sorts, graphic design, an internship, etc. How do I get going at a halfway decent bar (in my opinion a bar that knows how to make the classics, old fashioned, martini, etc.)...? My personal experience with bartender buddies is they have dark triad personality traits, and they tend to lie/ compartmentalize their lives a lot. I'm thinking about lying about past restaurant industry experience, even though I'm pretty opposed to lying, given how big of dicks people are in the industry... What you said about making you more social and helping you chat with women, is exactly why i want to start bartending, because I'm an introvert, but once i get talking to people, i can hold a good conversation.

I'm not sure what country you're in but in the US the best way to get your feet wet with zero barrier to entry is event bartending aka catering bartending. It sucks and hardly ever makes you money but you get experience. So start hitting up event companies. The upside there is it's super easy to get those gigs because they're so desperate for people to work their events. You will NOT make good tips doing these gigs, but it's a way to pay your dues.

The only upside of shitty event bartending is the possibility to network. Granted, it has to be an event hosting a good crowd who you'll get along with (which happens sometimes but not often). But if you impress someone who is a bar manager or knows people in the business you could possibly get a permanent gig or at least an interview.


You could also apply for jobs as a barback. You could actually save yourself a lot of time if you select a few specific venues you REALLY want to work at and offer your services to them and give them a compelling case why they should hire you. Barbacking will teach you the basic FOH stuff as well as get you adjusted to the chaos of a busy bar / restaurant. Then, there's a possibility to get promoted.

The downside of the event bartending route is that it's very hard to make the transition from Event bartender to Real bartender, because hiring managers assume (correctly) that most event bartenders are shit. But if you take a real interest in it and hit the pavement enough and get your face out there, you will catch a break / get offered a gig (in your case, likely as a barback...which you should take) at a legit bar eventually.

If you can get used to the stress of the chaotic atmosphere, and having all eyes on you, it's a huge confidence booster. H1 covered all this in his post. This job is actually quite rewarding and fun. It also does wonders for your social skills.

On the women front, I have gotten unsolicited #'s from the job but they tend to go nowhere. Probably because your status as a bartender only increases your stock when you're behind the bar on a busy night, the next day, you're just a guy.

[Biz]

Nice data sheet. I been bartending off an on for about 10 years now. Haven't worked a gig in over a year now but been recently itching to get away...

Anyone have experience finding gigs out of state or out of country?

From experience it's always best to just show up, I have close to 100% closing ratio on this front but when you're looking out of state / country this is impossible to do.

[Rhyme or Reason]

@ Biz

I don't have any input insofar as taking the trade on the road/ out of country. I had to build up a reliable reputation here in my hometown before getting any good gigs.

On that note, I just accepted another bartending job (now doing it 5-6 nights a week) at a hipstery craft beer / craft cocktail bar. It's a lot of fun, not nearly as much money as my main gig, though. But that's ok.

The only thing is, it's not in the best part of town, and there's no security. Fun fact: before it was bought out and made into a hipster bar it was a bikini bar where the girls doubled as prostitutes. Oh, and a guy was murdered there too. Hence the property being sold.

Sounds like i'm in for quite a ride.

[Biz]

Been doing a little research, there's a few other sites besides Craigslist that has a ton of listings:

http://www.jobmonkey.com/
https://www.indeed.com/
https://www.simplyhired.com/

One thing I can say though is that over the years of bartending I have probably sent my resume and/or replied to hundreds of online job listings, all but one actually responded, literally only one, and this one was an actual re-locate gig that I took. Showing up in person is king, the only way to do it... if you see a place hiring online, don't even respond just show up.

[Rhyme or Reason]

^ I agree 100 percent on the online job postings leading nowhere. They get literally thousands of applicants. I've sent in hundreds upon hundreds of resumes to online postings and got a very, very low response percentage.


When they do reply, it's usually weeks or even months later. I still get calls to this day saying they received a resume and want an interview. I got the call from the hipster bar out of the clear blue sky and have no idea how they got my info, though it was probably from an online posting. Apparently they interviewed a fuckton of people for this job and i was the only one selected to be hired, which was nice to hear.

The county I live in is affluent and bartending jobs are actually extremely competitive to get. There's far, FAR more people trying to land these jobs than there are jobs, and it's a grind trying to find a good one where you don't double as some fucking food server.

I touched on the 'not serving food' thing in the OP but I'll say it again: AVOID 'BARTENDER' JOBS WHERE YOU HAVE TO SERVE FOOD. It totally changes the dynamic. Things you don't want to hear: "can i get a side of ranch?" or "i asked for it well done"

Fuck all that noise. Neither of my gigs has me serving food and that's the way I like it.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

(04-02-2018 01:13 PM)Rhyme or Reason Wrote:  

^ I agree 100 percent on the online job postings leading nowhere. They get literally thousands of applicants. I've sent in hundreds upon hundreds of resumes to online postings and got a very, very low response percentage.


When they do reply, it's usually weeks or even months later. I still get calls to this day saying they received a resume and want an interview. I got the call from the hipster bar out of the clear blue sky and have no idea how they got my info, though it was probably from an online posting. Apparently they interviewed a fuckton of people for this job and i was the only one selected to be hired, which was nice to hear.

The county I live in is affluent and bartending jobs are actually extremely competitive to get. There's far, FAR more people trying to land these jobs than there are jobs, and it's a grind trying to find a good one where you don't double as some fucking food server.

I touched on the 'not serving food' thing in the OP but I'll say it again: AVOID 'BARTENDER' JOBS WHERE YOU HAVE TO SERVE FOOD. It totally changes the dynamic. Things you don't want to hear: "can i get a side of ranch?" or "i asked for it well done"

Fuck all that noise. Neither of my gigs has me serving food and that's the way I like it.

You serious dude? You make TONS of money off of the higher tips from a more expensive bill due to food costs.

If you're going by normal $1 tip per drink you serve then you need to serve 20 drinks to make $20.

Meanwhile some dude comes through orders a couple of beers and a burger for $40 tab you're making almost $10 in tips if they tip normal 18-20%. And all you have to do is put the order into the POS system and then the deliver the food/remove the plates when they're done. Hell, most of the time the waiter would bring out the food for me.

Times this by 10 guys sitting at the bar you can easily make $100 in less than an hour.

I worked as a bartender at a bar that was a good ass BBQ place during the day and turned into a bar/club at night. If I were to do the lunch shift then the dinner to closing I could pull in $500 easy in a 12-14 hour shift.

God I miss bartending. You can make so much money. I wouldn't bartend to get ass though. It's far easier to just go out and do night game

[Rhyme or Reason]

Quote:

You serious dude? You make TONS of money off of the higher tips from a more expensive bill due to food costs.

If you're going by normal $1 tip per drink you serve then you need to serve 20 drinks to make $20.

Meanwhile some dude comes through orders a couple of beers and a burger for $40 tab you're making almost $10 in tips if they tip normal 18-20%. And all you have to do is put the order into the POS system and then the deliver the food/remove the plates when they're done. Hell, most of the time the waiter would bring out the food for me.

I can make over 500 in a 10 hour shift on a busy evening / night without ever having to touch a plate of food, or tipping out a server or anyone else. It's a one man show with me and that's the way I like it. Dealing with chefs can be a pain in the ass (sorry Veloce) and time spent running food around and with customers eating a full meal means less time for me to get to know them, to get inside their head, give them good conversation they want, to entertain them, ect.

That translates to less money in my case, not more.

I would agree, however, that a venue not offering food means having overall less to offer.

[Biz]

I could go either way really... as long as it's not brunch, brunch is bartending hell

[Rhyme or Reason]

(04-03-2018 10:57 AM)Biz Wrote:  

I could go either way really... as long as it's not brunch, brunch is bartending hell

Oh god...don't remind me. I was a breakfast server for about 6 months. Worst job I've had in the service biz. It was a joint frequented by old ladies and that made things even worse. Breakfast sucks because you have so many variables, eggs can be made a bunch of different ways, you're dealing with like 4 plates per customer, getting toast, butter, refilling coffee every two minutes, all for a small check. It really is hell.

[a beer is enough]

Solid thread! Glad I got linked to it.

Got familiar with the gig in my college days, no doubt the guys who did it were cleaning up with hot girls since it was an entry to the party life. The only issue is that unless you were a well-connected fraternity guy, it was impossible to get. Most bars were loaded with hot girls or fraternity guys as bartenders and outside of that, it was impossible to get a job there even as a barback.

Been wanting to do it myself being in my mid-twenties and seeing time run out so I wanted to ask questions for the OP or anyone who might be able to answer.

1. Is it possible to get any job at a bar (barback or bartender) if you already have a full time 9 to 5? Will that rub managers the wrong way?

2. What is the age limit typically like if you want to bartend at places like a nightclub or some of the bars that younger fresh out of college crowds gather at? I don't ask regarding being able to do it but whether management will take a chance on you.

(09-22-2017 07:32 PM)Rhyme or Reason Wrote:  

(09-20-2017 03:19 PM)MaceTyrell Wrote:  

Bumping this thread cause it's awesome. Going to try this in NYC - seems like a great way to get a place on lockdown.

NY jobs are notoriously difficult to get. I've never lived or worked there this is just based on what I've heard about it, but apparently NY restaurants / bars are very hard to get hired in. Many such places require "NY experience" and say as much on their job applications.

It's absolutely going to be an uphill battle.

In that case I have another question, any strategy for breaking into the bartending scene there? My goal is to one day bartend at a nightclub or bar in Manhattan.