Bartender's ability to communicate

There is no doubt that every self-respecting bartender should be able to correctly prepare drinks for visitors to the establishment, according to the recipe. However, no less, and perhaps more important, is his ability to communicate with visitors. After all, they visit the bar not so much because they need to “refresh themselves”; they simply lack human communication in everyday life.

That is why for those who intend to spend more than a dozen years behind the counter, a few tips on the psychology of communication will be useful. Moreover, this applies not only to “Negotiations” with visitors, but also to contacts with partners in the workshop, management, and simply in everyday life. When starting a job at a new bar or establishment, you should first understand your behavior pattern in the bar. And this means properly building relationships with management and within the team. Moreover, here you need to clearly understand your place in it. It’s one thing if you are a high-class specialist, another thing if you are a young bartender whom management is counting on in the future. In the first case, everything is quite clear: your qualifications will allow you to more or less quickly establish relevant contacts. In the second, the situation is more complicated. A young bartender should not try to present himself as a “know-it-all”, “jack-of-all-trades” from the very beginning. Try to take a closer look at what the internal routine is in the bar, what functions the employees perform: bartenders, managers, what requirements the establishment’s management makes. Do not rush to express your opinion about the routine, relationships in the “camp” of staff or housekeeping. Don’t try to immediately become the “guy guy” and the “ringleader” in the team. This can leave an unpleasant impression on the “old-timers”. And, most importantly: try to listen as much as possible - this is the first thing a novice bartender should learn.

Communication with management

A separate point is communication with management. Don't act defiant or too submissive. Depending on the rules, conditions and simply the character of the head of the establishment, you need to behave more or less during the conversation, but still with restraint. Look around the team first. Listen to the communication style among employees, between bartenders and customers. After this, you will understand whether it is worth using youth slang in a conversation with the owner and whether it is possible to tell a new joke to a senior manager. In general, try to be polite not only with management. Experience shows that it very often turns out to be costly to be rude or take liberties with the youngest and most inexperienced waitress or an arrogant security guard (what if these are the owner’s children or relatives?).

In the process of work, it is very important to understand such a concept as the “error complex”. Is it worth noticing and voicing that your partner made a mistake or did something wrong? According to the experience of professionals, you will get much more benefit if you notice and publicly admire the positive actions of your colleagues. Mistakes should be taken into account so that you yourself do not repeat them under extreme conditions. This does not mean that you should clap your hands for every reason. If your partner is at approximately your level, it is better to point out the mistake to him alone, in a calm environment. It is worth contacting “seniors in rank” in an allegorical form, asking, necessarily after some time, to find out their opinion on the problem that interests you. Perhaps the interviewer himself, after thinking, will give the correct answer and subsequently adjust his behavior.

Basic principles when communicating

Psychologists and professionals advise using several basic principles when communicating. First, the bartender must always be neatly and elegantly dressed, have his hair styled to suit his face, and have well-groomed hands (primarily this applies to nails). The second is a smile and movements when communicating in a bar. Don’t be afraid to smile kindly once again at your guest, partner, or waiter. The smile should be friendly, not ingratiating. This is conducive to oneself. Try not to “twitch” while working or talking with colleagues in your free time. Your movements should be confident, clear and fast, but not frantic and fussy. All this will attract your interlocutors, instill in them calmness, and encourage them to continue contacts.

Finally, some tips about the communication process itself. While behind the counter, never conduct a conversation with your back turned, but also do not do this by deliberately approaching the visitor. The distance should be average; during a conversation it is possible, and sometimes necessary, to do something - grind glasses , prepare juices, clean the counter, etc. The tone of your voice should be average. You shouldn’t speak very loudly, intoning, but it would also be wrong to speak quietly, muttering under your breath: your conversation partner is not obliged to cover his ears with his hands or to listen intently to your words.

In communication, as a field of psychology, there are two concepts that define its types - active and passive listening. Activelye is “helping” listening. It is effective at a time when your interlocutor needs an active dialogue. He is interested in your opinion on a problem or topic that has puzzled him. At the same time, one of the basic rules is that the bartender is not recommended to ask the client direct questions. In this case, it is worth directing the flow of the conversation with confirming phrases (for example: Visitor: “Today the boss looked at me like an animal!” Bartender: “Yes, I understand, it’s not sweet.” Visitor: “What did I do?! I just took out a loan in the wrong bank!” Bartender: “He apparently decided that you are violating corporate ethics,” etc. The bartender, without asking anything, but supposedly interested in the visitor’s problems, pushes to continue the conversation, and, therefore, most often to the next drink). Do not forget to take a pause after each conversation, thereby giving yourself the opportunity to think about the answer, and the visitor to add something to the development of the conversation. In this way, you will be able to attract regular visitors who will form the “golden fund” of the establishment.

Passive listening

Another form is passive listening. In this case, the visitor, in principle, does not need dialogue, but simply needs to speak out. At the same time, the bartender has the opportunity to sometimes get distracted, but it is advisable not to lose the thread of the conversation. Otherwise, the guest will become withdrawn and will not be able to emotionally discharge. Of course, these are just a few tips overheard from famous Moscow bartenders and told by psychologists. Much, as they say, “remained behind the scenes.” However, there is no doubt that the science of communication for a bartender is important and vital, because it is one of those elements of the profession that brings profit.