So You Want To Be A Bartender

bartending it's definitely exciting working as an alcohol therapist I love what I do and you're interested in hearing some bar stories so let me show you a little of what it's like behind the bar and maybe even inspire you to finally take that bartending class [Music] so I'm the first one at the bar today and I'll be showing you guys how I open the bar lights all right okay we'll lower that a little bit perfect and then we're gonna turn up the music because what kind of bar doesn't have music and since I'm here I'm the DJ Turn on my dehydrator so my lines are good and ready to go [Music] thank you so the first thing that you can't expect working at a bar is that it's a high pace and high pressure environment so for me working in New York City it's kind of like riding a roller coaster at Full Speed Ahead all while juggling flaming batons sometimes music is often really loud because you're at a bar and everyone's there to have a good time and then the customers are just waving and whistling snapping their fingers at you your hands are constantly moving washing glassware washing cups grabbing bottles pouring drinks the orders are coming in left and right Non-Stop and they're all different can I get two Mojitos can I get a beer old-fashioned three shots of tequila one gin and Tony easy on the tonic easy on the Gin whatever it's your job to remember it all keep the orders straight and above everything else keep the drinks coming in that environment within all that noise that music and the Sea of Faces that's gonna be in front of you because you're the bartender you're not just a bartender you're like a memory wizard a drink artist even a crowd conductor because again you're in front of them and and sometimes you're going to be the DJ by pressing play and letting the Spotify just do its thing but if you're able to meet that pressure head on and you deliver it's great [Music] the second thing you can expect working at a bar is that the hours are long and irregular so this job often means taking on a schedule that flips the script on the traditional nine to five that we all know bars in the city operate late until the night and it's really not that unusual to find yourself working until 4am like I get off at two so so if you work at a club you're probably not getting home until like five or six honestly you're probably gonna be working the weekends Friday and Saturdays sometimes if you're lucky you're probably going to be working the Sundays as well and let's not forget about those holidays Christmas Halloween Easter Thanksgiving you're working all of it especially if you're the new guy you don't really have a choice while working all these days can mean that you're gonna be the one missing out going to your social events well on the upside get money this kind of schedule doesn't just require flexibility ability it also Demands a lot of physical stamina you'll be on your feet for 10 hours or something like that I'm on my feet 10 hours when I'm working at the bar another thing you can expect bartending in United States uh particularly in New York City is that tips are a significant part of a bartender's earnings you see while the hourly wage may seem low but the real money is in the tips and honestly you can pull in quite a good amount if you're quick with the drinks and you're good with the customers the better you work the more money you make and it's just another part of the gig that just keeps things interesting and rewarding just remember service is King I know cash is King but service is a little bit higher than cash and if the customers are happy then they're more likely to leave you a generous tip Hi Sam it's not on is it on it is on though I have some bartender friends and they tell me how much they make it's like uh usually you could probably bring in about like three to four hundred dollars a night on the weekends and like just a little bit lower on the weekdays but there are times you make more money on the weekdays uh compared to the weekends just because in the weekdays uh you have less people on the team to split compared to like you would have a lot more people on the weekends because you know it's a lot more busy so you would need more people on the team and then you're going to be splitting with everybody depending on how you guys choose to split it but uh yeah it usually varies about like three four hundred dollars to or like yeah or a little lower than that when you're on the other side of the counter dining at a restaurant staying at a hotel or you know just getting coffee at a local cafe you're more likely to remember to leave a tip and possibly you leave them a generous one as well because you understand the difference they can make and both in terms of finances and morale it's it's kind of it's kind of like a a bit of an unspoken Bond among service industry workers you've been in their shoes and you know the game you understand and value the work that they do it's a circle of giving hey Mr Diego can we get a chicken sandwich okay and the fourth thing you can expect working at a bar is you're going to be facing a lot of challenging situations strong people saying they've paid but they didn't because they forgot because they're drawn crazy people coming in and doing crazy things because this is New York and people are crazy I'm telling you they're crazy cleaning dirty bathrooms all right like people just you know you know I've seen a father and a daughter fighting because of I think I overheard like they were she was cutting school or something she took a she took our sign our our menu and she broke it on her dad like she she hit her dad on the head and the design broke and then they both ran out the door and it didn't even pay their tap I don't know if they set it up or whatever but they got away with the bill I've seen two friends they come in together drinking happily together like an hour then they started play fighting and then they started real fighting and then one guy got hit so hard he just fell asleep down there like he was out there was like a whole crowd around this guy so he was just laying on the floor we had like 20 people because some it was like an open bar event after 20 seconds he got back up and then he charged at the guy but that's a different story basically you're going to be dealing with a lot of [ __ ] and if you're a girl you're gonna get hit on there's no questions about it all right that's just that's just the way it is and aside from you know the people aspect of the job I don't think making drinks is honestly that hard it's it's like if you know how to deal with people you'll be good right if you if you know how to stay calm just observe before you do anything crazy you'll most likely be good this is the best age you because you are but not too and the last and best thing you can expect from bartending is the exciting opportunities that will come across you you'll meet many interesting characters and just realize how vast the world really is and maybe it's because I bartend in the heart of the Big Apple and I but I've shook many different hands heard many different stories and it's made me feel elevated being in this environment I've gotten job offerings from GMS from the Virgin Hotel recruited to a car sales team the literally the VP and the president of a crypto hedge fund company Sat by my bar and we just talked about the future of digital assets together and after their beard the president told them to give to told the VP to give me a copy of their business card and you know what that moment was special because I I I wouldn't have never expected to come across any of these guys if I wasn't expertly positioned as a professional alcohol therapist you know what I mean like and even though I didn't take these offers I've learned to speak their language build rapport and I still have their contact information if anything goes wrong and and you know what I was positioned to receive these opportunities and guess what you can too this this job it's more than just a job it's an experience that can transform you in just many different ways that you might not have even expected you'll find parts of your personality coming to light that you never even knew existed and you'll just see your communication skills skyrockets you're not just serving drinks again you're connecting with people creating experiences and making a difference in people's night outs and that's a powerful thing and even if you're not the net and you even if you're not naturally the most social butterfly bartending can just be that way to help you break out of your comfort zone daunting at first but you'll be fine over time you'll find your Rhythm your style and even your confidence and before I leave you guys off this video I just want to give you guys a little reminder that there is no amount of video that you're going to watch that's going to be able to land you that position or sign you up for that course until well unless you're the one who's actually going to be doing that but I'm pretty sure you already know that that's like the most generic advice on YouTube but I'm just giving you a little reminder right you can watch this video 10 times 100 times doesn't really matter until you do something about it and that's really all I have for this video video is brought to you by belkopia if you're looking for an electric bike a traditional bike electric scooter electric longboard we got it all in belcopia that's my store so check that out if you are into riding electric yeah that's all I have for this video thank you guys so much for watching if you enjoy watching content like this give me a like thumbs up subscribe all that good stuff you already know and yeah peace guys 27 year old self which is this is the best age you can be because you are old enough but not too old actually you have like a the window has expanded nowadays because I remember a thing like 28 28 that's like your Peak I realize it's actually like 34. 27. my advice would be don't be stupid don't be an [ __ ] here's the thing I used to think that [ __ ] [Music] were were the people who got everything like we got everything done like you know what I mean like you know what like Steve Jobs versus [ __ ] Mark Zuckerberg is an [ __ ] so you think those people know everything and you think that being an [ __ ] is the key to successor no they knew they had other going on but most people who have success are the people who actually treat people with respect so and you have no idea the people you're gonna be who's gonna be important or not foreign [Music] [Music] place for the right time and they made all this money and you're like oh that's what it is don't be an [ __ ] don't be an [ __ ] and if you have a chance to play Illmatic when someone asks YouTube if you have to drive across the country just put Illmatic on like 14 times it'll make you think about your life oh

Channel: Nelson Lam

Views: 244,763

Keywords: Nelson Lam, So you wanna be a bartender, How to be a bartender, How does it feel to work at a bar, What I learned about people as a bartender, How to start working at a bar, bartender, how to become a bartender, how to become a bartender with no experience, bartending, new york bartender, bartending in new york city, bartending school, how to become a bartender at age 26, online bartending course, bartending license, do i need a bartending license, the real bar man, dave allred

Id: nPltnMj5Gao

Length: 14min 11sec (851 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 10 2023