Increase Your Bartending Tips – Clean Bar Surface
Wiping your bar? This might seem like a small thing to us bartenders as there is so much more on our minds as we pound through the neverending line of customers throughout the night. But as a customer in a nightclub have you ever put your arm on the bar while ordering a drink and as a result gotten your sleeve soaked in a residue of sticky, colorful alcohol that has been spilled on the bar troughout the night? Or worse has your shirt stuck to the surface? If you have experienced it, you know it is not very pleasant. It is one of the easiest ways for a bartender to piss off their customers without doing or saying anything. Many bartenders wipe their bar only a handful of times throughout the night. And of those who do, many bartenders use the same sticky disgusting rag for the whole evening - this only compounds the problem. Once a customer has soaked their sleeve or purse on your bar, it is going to be much more difficult to get a decent tip. Here are a few pointers to help keep your bar clean:
1. Keep a stack of clean folded rags in an easily accessible place
2. Keep the one you’re using in the same spot so that you always know where it is
3. After serving one customer, begin wiping down the surface. Make eye contact with the approaching person so that they can see you’re wiping the bar for them.
4. Keep the bartop “stick free” and dry. As soon as your rag is wet, toss it (If possible, have a porter continually pick up the pile of used rags) and bring you clean ones
5. Make sure you do it for every customer!
You will notice 2 things start to happen. People will first be impressed as you make eye contact and wipe the bar for them as if to say “I’m doing this just for you.” Then when they lean on your bar and don’t stick or get their arm wet, they will take notice and tip you much more. This is a highly effective tactic that often gets overlooked by bartenders who are only concerned about their sales totals.
Increase Your Bartending Tips - How You Handle Change
Let me say first of all, that Tyson and I are blessed to bartend in Canada. Why is that? Because we have one and two dollar coins!! It gives a bartender far more options with they way they distribute change.
1. Give your customer as much change as possible without making it overly inconvenient for the them. (In Canada, I would even give $5.50 change back all in the form of coins). It’s amazing how many times you show a customer a mittfull of change and they would rather toss it in your tip jar than have to walk around with a questionable bulge of change in their pocket and sounding like a reindeer as they walk around.
2. Give your customer change with your palm up. It definitely takes some skill to be able to do this without making it seem awkward for both you and the customer. This will increase your tips because the act of you showing the customer the change in your palm is almost like you’re asking “Do you really want this back?” It’s all subconscious of course…
I have found that the best way to do this is to give the customer the bills first, and while you’re handing them the bills with one hand, your other hand is getting the change out of the till (without looking at it) then once you have the change, you show them the change in your palm. At that point it is almost like you are doing them a favor by letting them know you have change for them.
Just try this out and find a way that works for you. I guarantee you will have a lot more customers waving the entire handful of change into your tip jar.
3. Make sure the customer has a fully garnished complete drink before you give them their change. Sometimes a customer will give you the money right away, and it might be tempting to ring it through and give them their change before you’ve completed their drink. A customer won’t feel the need to tip you if you haven’t provided a service yet.
If you try these 3 tips on your next shift, you are guaranteed to make more money!
Cheers!
Andrew
Increasing Your Tips: Time and Place for Flair Bartending
How effective is flair when it comes to increasing your tips? Step out of the bar for a moment and put yourself in your customers’ shoes:
- You’ve been waiting in line for five minutes to get a drink
- The bartender is putting on a lengthy flair show for each and every customer
- You wait in line for a few more minutes
- You hear complaints from other customers around you… “why doesn’t this douchebag stop throwing bottles and start making drinks!?”
- By the time you get to the counter you’re a little irritated that the bartender found it more important to show off than to make drinks. And the customers around you probably feel the same way.
In this situation are customers going to tip more as a result of the flair? A bartender has to know that there is a time and place for flair. When the bar is slow at the very beginning of the night is when the big flair shows should come out. At my nightclub – we blow Bacardi 151 at flaming pyramids of glassware pull out all our flair moves that are just for show.
As the night picks up, the flair is reduced to basic working flair – Glasses are thrown behind the back or over the shoulder, shaker tins are spun, etc. These small moves give you added credibility and respect which will contribute to higher tips, but the key is that they don’t reduce your efficiency as a bartender. Which will almost inevitably reduce your sales and tips.
Increase Your Bartending Tips - A Tip From Bartend LA.com
Check out this post at www.bartendLA.com on how to make more tips by using dirty words! I’m not only posting this because I want the folks at Bartend L.A. To like me… I’m posting it because it’s good advice!
Cheers!
Andrew
Increase Your Bartending Tips - Stay Away From the Dicks!
Almost without exception, every night you bartend somebody is going to get under your skin. Drunk people can get obnoxious, this is no secret. I’ve seen too many bartenders let these idiots get to them, resulting in an argument. This is a terrible mistake.
Bartenders are the centre of attention, and a source for entertainment. As soon as customers in the bar see you arguing with a customer, they can see you’re not having fun. This means you’ve just killed the vibe you worked so hard to create. Less people will order drinks from you, thus your sales and tips will go down. I’ve noticed this not only with myself, but with bartenders in other nightclubs when I’ve gone out for a big night. Leave the arguing for the bouncers. In my nightclub, we have radios behind the bar which allow us to call bouncers down discretely to break up any problems. If you don’t have radios, make sure you have systems set up that allow you to contact bouncers quickly to help you get out of any bad situations throughout the night.
If a fan gets aggressive or unruly with a rock star, their body guards steps in and handles the situation. This should be your approach. The second somebody begins killing the vibe you’re setting off – call in a bouncer, it’s their job to do the dirty work, not yours. Handle these situations quickly and discretely, and nobody will ever be able to get to you. Every night will be a great night if there are never any problems!
Increasing Your Tips: Bartender Tricks!
Always cater to the ladies. Over the past 5 years, I’ve discovered the best ways to engage in fun contact with hot girls, here are a few…
Before your shift starts – arrange with management to showboat through the crowd with your shirt off. Have a bottle of Cuervo in one hand, and a bottle of lime juice in the other. Cherry pick the place for the hottest girls, and do some “tequila laybacks. (If an open bar or long table is available, have her lie down, and pour from both bottles at once into her mouth. If not, have her kneel, or sit on a chair. This gives hot girls a close contact opportunity to grope you, take pictures with you, and introduce themselves, which ultimately brings them over to your bar when your shift starts.
Once you’re behind the bar – don’t stop there. If you have a reputation for yourself (which won’t take long to develop) girls will approach you and ask you to perform various fun tasks. If the action is slow going, grab one of your regulars, or even a staff member who is off for the night, and start your fun.
1. Make up a couple of juicy shots (something easy like golf carts) and head around to the other side of the bar with a can of whipped cream. Rip off your shirt, and sit with the shot positioned between your legs. Spray whipped cream down your abs, on your nipples etc, and instruct the young lass to take the shot with her mouth only, then to lick the whipped cream off your body.
2. An old favourite is the tequila body shot. (I only advise this one for girls you are really attracted to!) Have the young lady lick your stomach, and shake salt on the spot she just licked so it sticks. Once again, hop up on the bar and place a shot of tequila between your legs. Have a lime ready in your mouth. Have her lick the salt off your stomach, and take the shot with her mouth only– don’t be surprised if she gets frisky with her free hands. Right after she does the shot, get ready to give her the lime from your mouth….how far you take it from here is completely up to you.
3. For a group of girls, have the most outgoing one lie flat on her back across your bar. Spray a circle of whipped cream around her belly button, and pour a juicy shot in the middle. Have one of her hot friends take the shot right off her stomach.
These are just a couple sample ideas that I’ve tried recently. The crazier you get the better! The whole idea is to draw a crowd to your bar. The more ridiculous and cocky you are, the more fun you and everyone else will have, and with fun comes more TIPS!!
5 ways to Increase Your Bartending Tips - Tip Jar
4. A full jar is better than an empty one - Some bartenders are tempted to empty their tips every few minutes so it looks like their not making much. They think that this might draw on some sympathy from their customers. That is definitely not the case. If a customer sees that no one else is tipping you, they won’t feel bad if they don’t either.
5. Tape a large bill - This is the dirtiest trick in this list… But it is also very effective. Tape a large bill ($10, $20, or $50) so that it stays visible in your tip jar (i.e. against the front glass) This way, no matter how much money goes in customers will still be able to see the bill. Psychologically, this will entice customers to tip you in a higher range. They will feel stupid leaving you a quarter if someone else left you $20.
Try these out on your next bartending shift and you are guaranteed to make more money.
Cheers!
Andrew
Increase Your Bartending Tips - Show Vs. Go
To increase your tips you need to realize that your customers fall into two distinct categories:
Those that want to chat, party and have a great time at your bar (Show)
The quiet, serious(ish) customers that want their drink asap (Go)
The good news is that both customer categories are equally profitable. The better news is that if you follow the steps detailed below you will squeeze maximum dollars out of each group.
Your first step is to identify the category a customer falls into which is pretty obvious once you’re looking for it (Go = Quiet, Show = Loud). Your second step is to treat them accordingly:
Show: Most important thing is that you remember their name. Once you’ve identified that they are there to party, introduce yourself to them. I’m really bad with names so I’ll even write them down if I have time. Take your time when making their drinks, and make a bit of a show out of it by using working flair, humor, whatever. When they approach your bar, act like you are genuinely excited to see them. These customers also appreciate free shots etc. far more than their conterparts. Anything you can do to make them feel special will fatten the amount of cash they leave in your jar.
P.S If it is obvious that a “show” customer has a lot of money. The best way to make sure you get all of it is to let them know they can skip the line to get a drink from you. That way they’ll be going to you all night, and they will definitely appreciate the special treatment.
Go: Most important thing is that you remember what they drink. These customers are very easy to serve:
- Identify what they drink
- When they approach your bar simply ask them if they would like another ______. Or if it is a bottled beer have it in your hand ready to crack open at their nod
- Go for speed, but don’t look rushed (even if you are completely slammed, it is important to maintain a look of confidence and control… Looking rushed is for amateurs!!)
P.S If a “Go” customer has a lot of money, the best way to make sure you get it all is to wave them up to the front of your line and have their drink ready to go.
On your next shift start to try to fit every customer into one of these 2 categories and then treat them accordingly. Let me know if you notice a difference in your bottom line. Take it from a 6 figure bartender: This Works!
Cheers!
Andrew