Requirements for a bartender, his responsibilities

A bartender is not only a creator of great drinks, the soul of the party and a cheerful good-natured person, but also a professional in his field. A bartender can improve his skills throughout his life and constantly achieve new and new heights. Moreover, the easier the bartender’s action seems from the outside, the more complex and longer it was worked out. The filigree of the work process always requires will, effort, aspirations, time and talent.

When going on shift, the bartender becomes one of the components of the large work process of a catering establishment. He begins to work in accordance with the standards of sanitation and hygiene, federal and regional laws of the Russian Federation, fire and anti-terrorist safety standards, rules of etiquette and ethics of communication with colleagues and guests. This entire arsenal of knowledge not only fits in the bartender’s head, but also forms a harmonious symbiosis with professional knowledge, skills and abilities.

Bartender work standards in an establishment

Appearance. Form. The appearance of a bartender should always be impeccable. It doesn’t matter what kind of uniform is required in the establishment: a three-piece suit, a bow tie and polished shoes in a 5-star hotel, or just a polo and an apron in a beer bar – there is always a uniform! Must be flawless. Nobody likes to look at a rumpled bartender.

The bartender is the face of the establishment

This is a person who is constantly in the sales area, who is always in sight and his appearance directly speaks about what kind of establishment it is and how the staff works there.

Personal hygiene. Young people should always be clean-shaven; bartenders are not recommended to wear voluminous beards, as this aspect of appearance would be contrary to sanitation and hygiene standards. After all, the bartender serves the drinks, prepares them himself, and, naturally, it is necessary to minimize the possibility of foreign substances getting into the guest’s glass . Jewelry should be kept to a minimum; firstly, this is due to the rules of the service, when, in accordance with etiquette, staff can only have a wedding ring (demonstrating a person’s social status) and a pectoral cross (denoting involvement in a religion). The employer has the right to ask to remove all other decorations during the work process. Secondly, let's be honest, a lot of decorations interfere with work. Massive rings on the fingers create inconvenience during necking, and bracelets cling to equipment. Therefore, the smartest thing to do is to keep decorations to a minimum.

Hairstyle. In five-star hotels, the recommended hairstyle for staff is a bun for girls and a short, neat haircut for men. Of course, the format of the bars may be different, but again, hair needs to be removed. If there is no strict standard for hairstyles and a unified style, find your own version, the main thing is that it looks neat and the hair does not end up anywhere: neither in the garnish, nor in the guest’s cocktail.

Smell. The use of perfume should always be in moderation. The bright aroma of even the most elite perfume can repel guests, so reason and moderation are everything to us. If you are a heavy smoker, you also need to look for a solution to the odor situation so that the tobacco aroma does not absorb into your hands and shape and does not transfer into drinks. For example, wine absorbs surrounding odors very well and when decanted, even if you have washed your hands several times, smoky notes can transfer to the drink.

Hygiene at work

There has long been an expression in the bar: the cleanest thing in a bar is the hands of the bartender.

In real life, this statement is completely true, because the bartender always washes something. Prepare a cocktail - wash the shaker , come out from behind the counter - wash your hands, you stand there bored - wash and polish the glasses . And so it happens that the bartender is always washing, rubbing and cleaning something. If a bartender stands idle for more than 10 minutes, he is a bad bartender.

When serving drinks, the bartender must always comply with sanitation and hygiene standards. While in a catering establishment, the bartender is obliged to check the quality of the products served; all fruits, vegetables, and other components for drinks must be thoroughly washed and dried. In general, it’s cool when the bar staff takes care of the cleanliness themselves, and in addition to general cleaning, maintains the ideal condition of the bar every day. The cleaner the bartender's workplace, the more pleasant it is to work at such a counter.

Qualification requirements

Let's be honest: the most valuable thing about a bartender is his personality.professional skills. Where and how he developed them is another question. What is always important for an employer is not the presence of a huge number of certificates, diplomas, qualifications, but what a person actually can do, how he works in a given team and how well his qualities correspond to the general concept of the institution.

In general, of course, there are government agencies that train bartenders. According to the professional standard, there are even bartender ranks (yes, yes, like cooks and welders). And, of course, this is one of the ways to master the profession, when at the age of 18 you realized that you wanted to be a bartender, went, graduated, received a rank and set off to conquer the capital's bars. But... only a few have this scenario. In fact, most bartenders find themselves in the profession due to a number of circumstances and begin to study on the spot; this is not good for a young bartender, but not at all good for his employer, because all the mistakes, mistakes, misunderstandings with guests will happen in the workplace and form public opinion about the institution.

Therefore, the best option for acquiring at least a minimum amount of knowledge are short-term courses that take no more than a month, but where already experienced bartenders share their experience, knowledge and close basic gaps in knowledge.

So there are many ways, you just need to find the optimal one for yourself.

Job description

1. The bartender prepares the workplace for work, maintains it in perfect order and cleanliness, controls product supplies for the work shift and, together with the bar manager, for several days in advance. Fully responsible for organizing the work process.
2. Interacts with the warehouse service (receiving products) with production (cooks), with line staff in the hall (waiters, cashiers, hostesses) and management personnel (bar manager, hall manager, director).
3. The bartender works in accordance with a predetermined work schedule, observing official discipline (without being late, leaving the workplace during work, and so on); in case of violations of the internal regulations of the establishment, penalties are imposed on the bartender.
4. The bartender prepares mixed drinks, gives them to the guests at the contact bar counter and passes them to the guests through the waiters at the service counter. He is fully responsible for the drinks that end up in front of the guests.
5. The bartender monitors the condition of his workplace, as well as inventory, utensils and equipment. If any device fails, the bartender must contact management personnel to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
6. The bartender communicates with guests, takes orders, perfectly knows not only the bar menu, but also the menu of the establishment, and can easily recommend the optimal dish for any drink.
7. At the end of the work shift, the bartender cleans the workplace and prepares it for the next shift.

Bartender communication ethics

During the work process, the bartender interacts not only with guests, but also with all departments of the establishment. Therefore, it is worth remembering the ethics of communication not only with visitors, but also with colleagues.

All guests are always on “you”. The exception is when a regular guest personally asked to be addressed as “You”.

In the workplace, swearing and any forms of obscene language and slang must be excluded. It is prohibited to use expressions that belittle the feelings and dignity of other people. Forbidden topics - religion, politics, gossip.

In general, bartending is one of the socially active professions, so bartenders interact with people every day. Coming to an establishment, every person wants to relax, rest and replenish, so the main job of the bartender is to create an environment in which you want to return again and again.