We learned how to make better drinks. Somewhere along the way, we forgot how to take care of people.
I have a serious question for the hospitality industry:
When did bartenders stop being bartenders?
Today, a bartender can tell you what mountain the agave came from, explain the spiritual journey of an olive, smoke an Old Fashioned like they’re electing a new Pope…
But somehow miss the empty glass sitting six feet in front of them.
Amazing. Somewhere between craft cocktails, social media, QR codes and everybody becoming a “mixologist,” we forgot the simplest rule of the business: Take care of the guest.
THE DRINK WAS NEVER THE WHOLE JOB.
A bartender’s real product isn’t alcohol.
It’s hospitality.
People can pour tequila at home considerably cheaper, by the way. They come to your bar for the experience.
Great bartenders read the room. They remember faces. They keep a clean station. They know who’s next. They help the teammate getting crushed beside them. They see a drink getting low before the guest starts waving like they’re directing traffic at Miami International Airport. That’s bartending.
YOUNG. DUMB. COCKY.
Relax…. I can already hear the keyboards.
This isn’t really about age. There are phenomenal young bartenders, just like there were terrible bartenders twenty years ago. It’s about culture. Too many people want Friday-night money with Tuesday-afternoon experience.
They want the prime shift before mastering the slow one. They’re too experienced to barback after six months, too talented to clean, and somehow offended when somebody with twenty years in the business tries to teach them something.
We used to call that training. Apparently now it’s a personal attack.
There was a time when you earned your way behind the bar. You barbacked. You stocked. You watched. You listened. You learned the bottles, the regulars and the rhythm of the room. That wasn’t punishment, That was apprenticeship.
THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO.
If you’re standing behind a bar wondering what to do, here’s an advanced hospitality technique:
Look around. Something needs cleaning. Something needs stocking. Somebody needs water. Somebody wants another round.
And your teammate is probably drowning three feet away while you’re checking Instagram. There is always something to do.
If a guest is staring at an empty glass while you’re staring at TikTok, we have officially lost the plot.
HOSPITALITY IS ANTICIPATION.
Great bartenders don’t wait to be summoned. They notice… The beer getting low. The new guests sitting down. The person looking for a menu. The couple ready for another round. And when you’re slammed?
Five words can buy you another minute:
“I see you. One second.”
Nobody should feel like they’re bothering a bartender by ordering a drink. Brother… that’s why we’re here.
MANAGEMENT, COME GET SOME TOO.
Owners and managers love complaining about lazy bartenders…. Okay…. Who hired them? Who trained them? And who keeps putting them on Friday night? You can’t give somebody two training shifts, a cocktail sheet and a POS password, then act shocked when they don’t understand hospitality. Culture is taught. Standards are taught. Urgency is taught.
And whatever leadership repeatedly tolerates eventually becomes the standard.
The industry also lost enormous amounts of experience after COVID. Veteran bartenders, servers and managers left, and many never came back. Maybe we didn’t suddenly create a terrible generation of bartenders. Maybe we stopped properly teaching the next one. That’s on all of us.
AND YES, SOME GUESTS ARE TERRIBLE.
Absolutely… Some guests are impatient, entitled, rude and occasionally convinced their $18 vodka soda came with majority ownership in the restaurant. We know, But difficult guests don’t eliminate professional standards. You don’t have to love everybody sitting at your bar. You don’t have to become friends. But you do have to take care of them.
And if taking care of people genuinely annoys you… Hospitality might be an interesting career choice.
THE BAR HAS BEEN LOWERED.
Here’s the irony…
Our cocktails got better.
Our ingredients got better.
Our ice got better.
Our glassware got better.
Our technology got better.
And somehow… our hospitality got worse.
Knowing 150 cocktail recipes doesn’t make you a great bartender. Having 30,000 followers doesn’t make you a great bartender. Making a beautiful Negroni doesn’t make you a great bartender. The craft matters, But hospitality comes first.
Clean your station. Stock your bar. Acknowledge your guests. Help your team. Learn people’s names. Check your ego. Earn your shifts. Put the phone away.
Pay attention.
Because after the smoke clears, the perfect ice melts and the latest cocktail trend disappears, people won’t remember every ingredient you poured into their glass. They’ll remember whether you saw them. Whether you welcomed them. Whether you took care of them. So learn the cocktails. Master the craft. Build the following. But never become so good at making drinks that you forget how to be a bartender. Pour the drink. Read the room. Take care of people. Everything else is garnish.
- Words by Juan C.
