Who Are You Behind The Bar For?

By Jeremy Sherk

Who are you behind the bar for? You? Or your customers?

This is a powerful question. It reminds me of a night out when I really saw the contrast of this first hand…

Some friends and I started out the evening at a restaurant for dinner, where our waiter was a true professional in the art service. He listened attentively, suggestive sold accordingly and made sure we were taken care of for our entire stay. He was obviously there for us, the customer.

After dinner we decided to hit up a club downtown for a few drinks. I had been to this club before and never felt too fond of it. But my buddy insisted. So I thought, what heck, we’re just going for a drink or two…

So we go to the club, and there the bartenders were your typical run of the mill meatheads. Forget about approaching the bar and being served, you had to literally yell and wave them down to get their attention (and it’s not like they were busy either).

In fact, when I finally got the bartender’s attention, he told me to hold on while he went to the other end of the bar and did a shot of Tequila with his friend!

That guy wasn’t behind the bar for the customer, he was behind the bar for himself. I’m always shocked when I see bartenders like that at lucrative establishments. What’s the manager thinking? Do they not realize that kind of service turns away scores of good clientele?

It’s paradoxical. When you’re behind the bar for the customer, you’ll reap the greatest rewards of this profession. When you’re behind the bar for yourself, you’ll end up getting the least.

At the restaurant, the server was totally there for us. The result was a big tip, a returning customer, and me telling everyone how great it was there.

At the nightclub, the bartender was there only for himself. The result was shrapnel for a tip and a customer who hasn’t returned since.

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