LetsSeeSomeID
New York, NY
Male, 33
I bartended for three years in NYC and San Francisco … for better or worse. Ask me anything.
It's much different if you’re a female bartender. They probably get multiple numbers a night. They also, inevitably, get that one guy who thinks he's going home with her and won't leave when the bar is closing. A word of advice: Don't be that guy. You're not going home with her. She does this to everyone and you're just looking like more and more of a pathetic chump the longer you stay. Also - as a bouncer, these are often some of the most dangerous customers - the ones that won't leave when the bar is closed because they think they're going home with the female bartender. You're leaving one way or another. Whether you do it with your dignity or not is up to you. I'm not going to say I never went home with a patron, but I don't think I ever dated one. A lot of the people I worked with went home with patrons. I wasn't really that into it. Bars are fantasyland, and if you're the bartender, you're king of the fairies. People don't like you because you are you, they like you because you are “the bartender.” I was very aware of this, and the times when I did go home with someone, it wasn't that satisfying. Interestingly, I got way more of this type of thing when I was bouncing.
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Bartending Licenses are a joke, at least in NYC. A great way to make sure you DON'T get hired is to come in waving your Bartending License. The number one way to get a bartending job in NYC is to be a hot girl. The sluttier the outfit you're willing to wear at the interview, the better. I have years of bartending experience and I've worked shifts where I've served over $4K in drinks in one night and a hot girl straight off the bus will get the job over me 100% of the time. I was once let go from a bar when business was slow because, as I was told, they thought business might be better if they had a “big-tittied girl” instead of a guy behind the bar.
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Depends. I've worked off the books on tips only and I've worked on the books in some of the bigger bars.
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You're trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy, make the place larger than life. It’s all about creating that fantasyland. But I agree, it’s very annoying especially when you can't hear what someone is ordering. Your ears are usually ringing when you get home, too.
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The hip-hop crowd is the worst tippers of all time, period. Stereotype true. I worked a stint at Jay-Z's club and got stiffed 90% of the time. I've never seen anything like it. The club counters it by automatically adding a 20% tip on any order over $30. If you read the bill carefully you could figure it out, but no one ever read the bill.
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When I got bored, I’d go into the "tell me anything" mode. People will tell you some weird shit. You have to be careful with it, though, because if business picks up, they still want you to play therapist.
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In New York bars close at 4. Once the bar closes you have to clean and count out your money. So you're usually out by 4:30-5, unless there is some kind of after party and you decide to stick around for it. A lot of places I worked the managers, bar staff and a few regulars would stick around and drink sometimes until as late as noon the next day. Clubs are another animal - at least the big ones are. The big ones are usually huge and take forever to close out. They're also big money making ventures and have a lot of liability so there's not as much drinking behind the bar and there is almost never a after party. When I worked clubs I typically got out around 7-8am. They're less fun, the hours are longer and the music is horrible but the money is usually way better.
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