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I was reading a post by Kayla Gregory on Tuesday about Why the Bar Scene Sucks… During college, I spent two of my years bartending. Because it was such good money, I probably logged more hours in the bar than I did in the classroom. (Sad, but true.) But believe it or not, you can actually learn a lot from spending time in a bar…
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Comments
10.15.08
Andy -- I enjoyed your perspective and agree with a lot of your points. I love people-watching in bars, and depending on who I'm there with sometimes I can just chill at a table and do just that. I also agree about using the bar scene to build confidence. In my undergrad days I was very introverted, and it wasn't until I started bar hopping with an outgoing crowd that I really started to open up.
Plus, I think bartending is just a great life experience to have -- my sister has been a bartender for a few years, and not only does she know how to pick the best wine and mix the best drinks at family get togethers, but she also has a great read on people.
Thanks for pointing out the good aspects that my bad bar weekend made me forget! :)
10.15.08
Andy, innovative post. I used to bartend as well. The only part of the job I enjoyed was the interaction with all types of people.
You said, "You’ll probably learn more about them in an hour at a bar than if you spent a entire day with them at the office.". I totally agree in that you can judge someone by how they treat "the help". Sometimes the little interactions are the ones that yield the most insight.
10.15.08
@Kayla - Thanks for your original post... It was what got me thinking. :)
@Hailey - I don't know if you feel the same, but because of my experiences with bartending, I tend to be overly critical when judging someone's actions or personality when we're in a bar/restaurant atmosphere. Does that happen to you?
10.15.08
When I moved out to Madison from Jersey I learned a lot by touring through the bar scene.
First, the college bars: Loads of fun, but in small doses. I'm not capable of what that crowd is capable of anymore. Plus, they make me feel old.
Second, the bars around the capital: Good times with 20-40 year olds. And my shoes don't stick to the floor. But there are also some hoity-toities up there that I don't always feel like dealing with.
Then there are the local hangouts: Good ole Wisconsin folk, working class, extremely chill. But if I want to talk business, forget about it ...
Different types of bars have different characteristics that make them great, but also make them suck. Just like people, you have to understand their strengths and their weaknesses to really appreciate what they are all about.
I kind of want to go to the bar now ...
10.15.08
@Andy: if you mean I expect more from the servers after being in the restaurant business, yes. I go from tipping 10% (RARE) to 30% because A) I know how hard it is to do a great job and B) how important it is to DO YOU JOB (thus, the rare 10%).
If you mean being critical of the patrons, I find that I don't easily forgive someone who's acting like a jerk because he drank too much. It was his choice to have the fifth Long Island...
10.15.08
I have met some of the most amazing connections at the bar, and through people I know from the bar. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
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