What drinks you want served and exactly how you want the drinks prepared.
How much interaction you want the bartender to have with customers not seated at the bar.
When you want the bartender to stop serving alcohol.
What roles and duties you want the bartender to perform.
How much showmanship or creativity you want the bartender to display.
Key Training Points
Following are some important training points you will want to emphasize with your staff.
The big picture. One problem of training employees is that sometimes staff members try so hard to follow bar policy that they ignore the major policy of encouraging bar customers. A classic example of this is the bouncer who tries so hard to provide security to the bar that he or she ends up making customers feel so unwelcome that they avoid entering the bar. When training, it is useful to start with the overall ambience you want to create at your bar, and be sure that you discuss how to handle customers who seem to be disrupting that goal.
Enthusiasm. You likely had a vision for your bar before you opened.
This vision of what you wanted to create was so powerful that it made you work to create the bar of your dreams. Share your dream with your employees, whether your vision is to provide a relaxed place for couples or a creative place for young professionals. If your staff understands the overall idea behind the bar—and likes it—they are more likely to understand how they fit into the staff overall. They are also more likely to look forward to work if they share your enthusiasm for the possibilities of the establishment.
Each staff member is responsible for ensuring quality. If anyone notices a problem (chipped glass, hair in the food), they should return the product and explain the problem rather than serve it to the customer. Explain nice ways to point out a problem without offending coworkers. Role-playing is a good way to do this.
Each staff member should try to do their job promptly as each person has an effect on how quickly a customer is served. How quickly
someone gets their drink can set the tone and mood for the customer that evening. If the server does not arrive with the drink for ten minutes, the customer realizes his or her meal service will probably be equally slow. If the server is backed up, a host/hostess or manager should step in and see that the table receives its drinks quickly. As with food, women are generally served first.
Bartenders and servers should know which glasses are used for which drinks. Make sure each staff member knows how to pick up glassware correctly. They should never touch the rim; glasses should be picked up by the handle or the base in the case of a wineglass.
Make sure each employee knows the difference between types of alcohol and can describe this difference clearly and accurately to customers.
Make sure that staff know all the items offered on the menu.
All staff should know which wines go with which food. They should also be able to describe the nose, palate, and color of each wine the bar stocks. Some wine vendors offer training services or presentations to bar staff. Contact your vendor to see what services he or she offers. If your vendor offers wine classes, wine presentations, wine tastings, or other services, enroll your staff.
All staff members should know the basic laws and regulations of your area regarding how food and alcohol are to be served.
All staff members should know the proper proportions of drinks.
Liquor is portioned not by weight but by volume. Volume is measured in shots or jiggers, which are liquid measurements ranging from ½ ounce to 2 ounces. Make sure your staff knows what types of volumes you want added to each drink.
Ensure that your staff knows where to turn for answers when they need them. Inevitably, your staff will learn much while on the job.
This requires some fast thinking. Your staff should know where to find maps, drink recipes, and other necessary items. You may also want to let your staff know where they should turn if a question comes up during their shift.
Your staff needs to know about the layout of the bar and where to find everything they need to find in order to do their job well. Train your staff on finding their way around your bar and train your employees to return items back to their original places.
Make sure your staff knows what to do in a crisis or emergency.
During training, stress questions as well as information. Give your staff a chance to ask you questions about their jobs and about the procedures and policies of your establishment.
Make sure that your staff is trained to take responsibility for the legal aspect of their job. You may want your staff to sign a Service- Refusal Agreement (a sample agreement is found in Chapter 19:
Forms & Charts).
Make sure that your staff knows what paperwork they must fill out as part of their job and how they are to fill out this paperwork. Some of the more common forms that may need to be filled out include a service-refusal form (to be filled out when an employee refuses to serve a customer—your staff should contact the supervisor first about the problem, then fill out the form). A sample Service Refusal Form can be found in Chapter 19: Forms & Charts.
Try to stress the fun side of training. Organize group activities or step-by-step instruction. Rather than having your staff endure a grueling day-long session, aim to instruct staff over a period of days.
Stress role-playing games in which some staff act as customers that other staff wait on. Offer prizes for fastest learning or as awards for training tests and quizzes.
Stress long-term learning. The secret to successful training is repetition and practice. Your staff will no doubt get plenty of training on the job. However, you will want to encourage your staff to seek out training on their own (through reading or attending events). You may even want to purchase tickets for your staff to attend wine or hospitality seminars to learn more skills that would make them quality employees. At a minimum, you will want to hold mandatory “refresher courses” and meetings that will allow you to offer more training for your employees. This time will also give you a chance to listen to the suggestions and questions of your staff.
Start training immediately. When a new employee walks through the door, don’t keep him or her hanging around. However busy you are, nothing can be more important than making the new recruit feel welcomed and enthusiastic about joining the team.
Allocate the function of training to an experienced and trusted member of staff. This works! The trainer feels honored and the trainee feels he or she has someone to turn to with queries, without
“bothering” management all the time.
Choose quiet times to go through the specific routines and requirements of the job. Also, make sure that you have the time to give each new employee an overview of the operation. Productivity improves if employees feel they are more than a cog in a wheel.
Orientation program. All employees should be given a specific job description, plus information about the issues that affect their performance. Examples of the latter include information on periodic or
annual performance reviews, emergency procedures, disciplinary and grievance procedures, personal conduct issues, work schedule expectations, and availability of additional training.
Do you find training overwhelming? Atlantic Publishing has a complete training reference specifically targeted toward restaurants with a special section for bar and beverage service. The Encyclopedia of Restaurant Training: A Complete Ready-to-Use Training Program for All Positions in the Food Service Industry:
With Companion CD-ROM. From orientating the new employee to maintaining performance standards to detailed training outlines and checklists for all positions, this book will show you how to train your employees in all positions in the shortest amount of time. One of the best features of this book is that the companion CD-ROM contains the training outline for all positions in MS Word so you can easily customize the text. There are numerous training forms, checklists, and handouts. There are job descriptions for all positions. To order, call 1-800-814-1132 or visit www.atlantic-pub.com (Item # ERT-02, $79.95).