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| A Tip20! Original Article |
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Why I Bartend...
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by David Neeson
Tip20! Contributer
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Why I Bartend...
My name is David. I remember growing up looking at people who have 'fun' jobs and being jealous. I was 10 when I first went to a go-kart track and saw this guy whose entire job is to just sit outside and be around go-karts ALL DAY LONG... How awesome was that? I mean he's not in an office, or in the back scrubbing toilets, he's around fun go-karts just sitting around and occasionally jumping on the back of a kart and riding it for a bit. Most important thing is he's outside around people when THEY are having fun...
It took me awhile, but seven years later I became that guy. I worked at a Family Fun Center for two years working the go-karts. By now you're probably thinking, "What does this have to do with bartending???" Well hold on, because it was around that same time that I went into a TGI Fridays and saw a bartender who had the entire crowd laughing, cheering, and genuinely enjoying themselves. It was at that exact moment that I found my new 'fun' job to strive for.
I left Indiana and went to college at the University of Dayton, in Ohio. Sure I left my family and friends a state away, but I never forgot that feeling in the bar as a teenager. I wanted to be that guy who had the crowd cheering, and remembered that he was doing 'flair' behind his bar and owning every inch of it. I didn't know at the time how hated flair is to bartenders, all I knew is how much fun I had watching it. Within the first two months at Dayton, I found a group of jugglers and learned how to juggle with the specific idea of applying it to bottles later in life. Even though learning to juggle was a big step in my life, I was too scared to say anything about my hopes to family and friends, because it just seemed silly. This brings me to another point I want to make: The ONE thing I would like to accomplish by this post is giving hope to those who enjoy something, not to be scared to strive to get it done, no passion is stupid…
My second year at Dayton I left on a study abroad program to Hawaii. I was only 20 but thought I was the best flair bartender in the WORLD. I soon found guys who showed me otherwise and taught me the art; yes I said art, of flair bartending. I can truly pinpoint my passion for bartending, and flair, to that moment in my life.
It's been several years since and I'm still growing and learning every day. Flair bartending aside, bartending is still an art. Not everyone can walk into a bar and own every inch of that bar top. I've heard the saying over and over, "I can teach a monkey how to pour a drink, but I can't teach anyone how to bartend."
It's hard to look someone in the eye when they're having a bad day, and get them to trust you enough in the five minutes you've known them, to tell you why their day isn't going well.
I'm here to talk about bartending. So my first question to those who've cared enough to read this far is, Why do you bartend? This isn't meant to call into question the monetary rewards bartending achieves, but this is more calling into question your dedication to the art... So... Why? Why do you bartend. I do this because it's the only job that no one is perfect at. No one can go into a shift and truly have the exact same thing happen to them because everyday is something different...
If by now you're tired of bartending, or don't have the motivation to grow in the art, then sit down and think about what it was like for you the first time you saw a bartender who really made you feel good... I mean someone who probably wouldn't be able to pick you out from a ham sandwich, but yet you still respect enough to trust them with your deepest secrets...
 Bartending can be fun. Bartending SHOULD be fun. Aside from the flair aspect, which I plan on talking about later, bartending should be a job people look forward to... If your bar is gloomy, then take some action and be that one person who makes other people have fun... No one likes having a boring area to work, and fun can be contagious...
Well I'm going to end this with that same go-kart track that I worked at before bartending... It sucked... After the initial first week, it was boring and the same thing over and over while smelling gas fumes and dealing with yelling children every day... The one thing that kept me going was that even though I got the same question asked, and same scenarios each day, it was with a different person and I couldn't hold that against them... I never knew if I was going to the next race with a child who looked up to me like I did that guy how ever many years ago, so I had to make it fun... After I did that, the fumes and yelling didn't bother me quite as much...
Choose your work style... |
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