/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>268922
(2/2) [Never mind the images being out of order]
What's the typical “minimum population” a city has that has at least five or ten of these types of restaurants?
Are there any areas that pay better than other areas? For example, a hotel restaurant might pay much more than another swanky restaurant in the middle of a street block.
Pros and cons of being a waiter in a swanky restaurant?
Pros and cons of being a waiter in a swanky restaurants as compared to being one in the typical restaurants?
What tasks and things are you expected to do as a waiter in a swanky restaurant?
I'm sure this depends most on the city but what's a typical weekday and weekend pay like for a waiter in a swanky restaurant? I know it's far less than a female and varies by location but still I must ask.
Tips for being a waiter in a swanky restaurant?

>>268922
(2/2)
What's the typical “minimum population” a city has that has at least five or ten of these types of restaurants?
Are there any areas that pay better than other areas? For example, a hotel restaurant might pay much more than another swanky restaurant in the middle of a street block.
Pros and cons of being a waiter in a swanky restaurant?
Pros and cons of being a waiter in a swanky restaurants as compared to being one in the typical restaurants?
What tasks and things are you expected to do as a waiter in a swanky restaurant?
I'm sure this depends most on the city but what's a typical weekday and weekend pay like for a waiter in a swanky restaurant? I know it's far less than a female and varies by location but still I must ask.
Tips for being a waiter in a swanky restaurant?

>>268922
was a bartender for a while in a swanky bar in santa monica california. idk what you would call it... upscale bar? these are usually in nice hotels. better tips than a dive bar and less rowdy customers. if someone asks for a drink you never heard of ask them what is in it or what it tastes like. shit happens all the time. i made about 70k after tips.

also this is a lot of questions you have. why dont you just go to bartending school and ask around there / see for yourself?

>>268932
How come you left? What are the cons of it (as opposed to the pros)? No bartending school because there aren't any where I live and most bartenders say it's a waste of time and money.

>>268936
Not a waste of time and money. You need to learn "mixology" if you want to be a good bartender and the schools really arent that costly or that long. If you want to be a bartender at an upscale bar they want to know that you know how to make drinks. I left because a better opportunity came along. Also, I was burnt out on dealing with customers.

>>268922
who puts a diagram of a cockroach in a bar

>>268939
May I ask what better opportunity? (Just curious.) Was there anything wrong with or annoying about the customers, or was it just getting fed up with having to go into conversation?

>>268945
It's a swanky cockroach.

>>268948
You have to hustle for tips like any other service job which means being extra outgoing and personable. It just drains on you after a while having to put up a facade even if you don't feel like it that day. Bartenders that don't socialize don't make that much.

I left to go become a real estate agent. Haven't looked back since.

>>268952
That's sucky. I'm joyful and what not but putting on a facade when I wouldn't want to would wear away after a while. Good luck with your career, Anon. I suppose you make more money now too.

>>268955
Thanks you too. Bartending really isn't a bad transitional job while you are either going to school or passing time to get into something else. It is good money but not really something you want to do forever imo. Good luck to you

>>268922
I worked for shitty bars first. In Canada and the US where you get tipped it's hard to get in unless you have tits. I worked in a bar in the UK where basically if you had a pulse you could work there. Minimum wage, no tips, paid monthly. It sucked.

>>268960
That's the ideal. Really, a man could do it until 35 and it's not the worst thing ever. I have education but will never use it (policing). I've gotten jobs in 3 countries with bartending. I work seasonally in a heli skiing lodge, in cities the other 8 months and once I pay off my debt I can start saving and investing. The money is fairly solid for having zero education....

>>268978

And that's the thing. Every bartender I've known spoke dreadfully of staying in as a lifer or talked about starting some shit-tier education program that would land them in virtually an entry-level job after a couple years busting their ass going to school and working (and having a family). They wouldn't be able to find another career with the same salary for a long time.

>>269009
Exactly. What other job can you pick up on a whim, make the money you do and take 2 months off to travel? In a 9-5 job I'd spend 2 years in school and have to work at least a year to get 2 weeks vacation at the same money...

>>269060
I know I'm retarded but I'm confused. Are you saying being a swanky bartender is a good thing or bad thing?

>>269060

You can do that with other jobs. In this case

>no benefits
>no retirement
>no professional development
>income capping below 75k for a seasoned professional
>working nights and weekends forever

You usually get a free meal with each shift though, if that really floats your fancy.

Bumping.

To the bartenders, got any tips or insights about the job to someone who knows little about it but wants to get into it?

I was thinking of opening a bar at one point, but after I did some more research it seems really risky. I'll see what happens after I get my CPA and MBA.

>>269114
You dun goofed by saying it's easy work. It's not. You get your ass handed to you some nights when you're in the weeds for 2 hours.

>>269694
Supposedly you make like 400%.

>>269935
>supposedly
A lot of bars and restaurants fail for a ton of reasons. Just because the markup on a drink is 400% doesn't mean you're gonna make money.

>>269992
I wonder how many out of how many are successful.

>>269715
What

>>270760
>Can't into reading.

>>270760
see
>>270940
unless you have tits you have to work for your money. Best money I ever made was working in Calgary with great regulars. Made about 50 bucks a night off them, 100-120 off tipout from servers (4 servers running their asses off while I make drinks for them for 2 percent tipout)

What is the formal reference for this type of upscale “swanky” bar where the bartender and customers are well-behaved and commonly dressed well all listening to soft piano music vs. the typical bars with drug addicts, single mothers, and rap music that degenerates gather in?
>There are many names, some are fraternities, but all are very elitist.
What's the typical “minimum population” a city has that has at least five or ten of these types of bars?
>I'd say you get one of these classy bars for every 30,000-50,000 people (at least the classiest). There will obviously be less of these establishments in areas of a lower income.
Are there any areas that pay better than other areas? For example, a hotel lobby bar or a casino bar might pay much more than a simple one in the middle of a street block.
>Casino bars sometimes pay well depending on if people actually get they're drinks from you. If it there is a dispensary they will often skim most of their tips. In most of these places however there is often a no tip policy.
Pros and cons of being a bartender in a swanky bar?
Pros
>Get to meet interesting people.
>If attractive can meet some lovely women (you know what they say about posh girls).
>You become very well acquainted with quality wines, whiskies and other such things. You also pick up perfect manners. (Cont).

Cons
>Makes you very envious/ambitious. In honesty I know I will never be as rich as some people I have served. It is the most depressing thing in the world.
Pros and cons of being a bartender in a swanky bar as compared to being one in the typical bars?
Pros
>Can make the odd rare contact if you talk with a few drunk gentlemen at the bar. It formed the framework of my contacts network.
Cons
>You have far more fun working a nightclub or dingy indie bar.
>You funnily enough make more tips in an indie bar. Liberals are free with their money.

Do you have to know how to make more or less types of drinks at swanky bars vs. degenerate bars? About how many are you expected to memorize at a swanky bar?
>You will have to memorize ALL of the drinks for a swanky bar. It is bad form to keep the customer waiting while you research a drink. Following this you also have to have perfect showmanship and presentation. I personally know the difference between 1000 whiskies now, purely through working in these bars. I got to try them (yay) but the depressing thing is I could never afford a shot of some of them even if I spent my whole monthly pay.

What the fuck do you do if someone says “I'll have a Buhfeonoijnby”/something you've never heard of?
It has happened a few times, if it does you apologise profusely to the customer and say you are new, aren't familiar with it and will get it to him immediately (and then panic and google it on your phone out of sight). If he knows you most of the time you can laugh it off and say you have to remember so many you just forgot it (play the stupid poor person card).

I'm sure this depends most on the city but what's a typical weekday and weekend pay like for a male bartender in a swanky bar? I know it's far less than a female and varies by location but still I must ask.
>I make roughly £80 a night (and get no tips) weekends, working 7:30-3:30.

Tips for being a bartender in a swanky bar?
>Don't do it. Fuck this job. Here for questions.

>>271068
>>271083
Fuck, Anon. Are they all like that or just in your area? That sounds depressing. Only 80 pounds and no tips?

Based Gooby bump.

>>270940
where did i say it was easy work???

Saw this thread the other day and wanted to contribute.

I have been bartending since i'll be legally able to work where they serve liquor.

The job has alot to do with who you work with and who you serve , rather than the skills you bring to the table. To many , this is an entry level job and some don't see it as a career path. Weather you do or not is irrelevant, but keep in mind alot of your co-workers might feel this way, and not take it as seriously as you might. This could mean that they don't work as hard as you, or might make your job more difficult in their lack of experience or work ethic. I've had great jobs,only to have been ruined by shitty people (mostly in-experinced managers). Topically you might think you want to work at "swanky" bar because it's busy and you'll make money - but it might not be all its cracked up to be. You might access to less of your tip money because of the management structure , and you might get end up working late night shifts.
One thing that differs as a bartender is that your personality and charm is a emotional commodity . What I mean by that is working as a bartender is a job where you need to be able to offer yourself to people. You need to have the charm, banter and memory to wow a guest so that they will come back, and you will remember that their son is in a theatrical production of Phantom of the Opera, and that they prefer glenfiddich to glenfarclas.
Building a rapport with not only guests but staff is how you make money. You need to be able to grease the wheels.

>>273480
In my experience, the best places to bartend are restaurants . I've done the club thing and while it can be great consistent money, it becomes a harsh mistress and the life style can quickly consume you. Very late nights lead to waking up later and later and gradually your whole schedule changes. IT becomes more difficult to hang out with 9-5'ers and forget ever having a weekend off. As well your clientele are usually out to get drunk and it's not really conducive to bullring relationships that become repeat guests. Also places like this might take a higher tip out. Which brings me to that.
you as a bartender or server or waiter typically have to tip out on top of your gross sales. Some places take more some take less.
I've worked places where servers/waiterstip out 3%-11% of their total. 0%-8% for bartending.

So you might work at some busy ass night club, but if you have to tip out 10% every one has to be tipping you 15% or more to make it even worth your time. Some times the volume makes up for it, but if one person jews you, it's coming out of your pocket. Bartend at a restaurant where you only tip out 1%. you will also receive a tip out from servers who you make drinks for based on their total sales.

The best place to work is a medium sized , busy restaurant.
having food as a draw as opposed to just booze is that your Guest Check Average is higher- and you have someone as your audience for a little bit. I could sell a 50$ entree, with a 12$ glass of wine, and i'll make around 7- 15 $ when all i really had to do was pour a drink. The basic theory of a restaurant is you want some one's food bill to match their liquor. This also benefits you as a bartender when you have 3 servers who you make drinks for tip you out on their total sales. So they have a table of 6 drinking and eating, the majority of their bill will be on food, and you get a little cut of that.

>>273503
Im not all there as i worked a 12 hour shift today, netting me 400$ in tips before wage at 12$ hour.
Also, free lunch and dinner. I will moniter this thread if there are any questions.

>>273506

thats really good what city you work in?

>>273480
>>273503
Awesome reply, Anon. Thanks. Do you have recommendations for how to be hired at a place like that? Also, do you have a response or opinion to the other Anons who said the job was thankless and depressing?

>>273512
Same as >>269715

>>273528

The best way to start is find a bar that has a service bar . A service bar is just for production of drinks for waiters , and you have no interaction with guests. This way you can familiarize yourself with making drinks, getting use to spirits and learning how to work a bar.

When i worked as a service bartender I received 1% of what all the waiters total sales, so the tips aren't the best , but you make a bit of cash and learn how the bar operates.
From this point on, you could transition into a full bartender job at the same place. If there is a service bar, there will be a full bar. Or, you could just try to move to another place with your new found bartending skill set.

Another way into the game is to become a B.A (bartenders assistant) or porter. This is the shit of the job- set up , tear down, stocking , cleaning, being the bartenders bitch- but you learn the ins and outs of a bar - and you get a greater understanding of how it works. Tips for this position are up to the bartenders discretion- so depending on the relationship you have you could get treated very nicely, or get jewed. Plus, you might just find a 100$ on the ground.

As for mr my job is thankless anon-
Why are you in the job, to make money, or to get thank yous.
you have to earn your thanks and tips , its not hard to do- It just takes some rapport, knowledge and foresight.
Some bartenders are bitter fucks, because they arn't at terms with who and what they are.
Bartending can be a cul-du-sac job - because alot of people wish they were something else and get stuck doing the job. Your outlook is directly related to your mood, and in turn your earning potential .Who wants to tip a grumpy gus ?

I work 3 days and 1 night a week, with the option to work if it is busier that day. That means that if people will be spending money, they need me there , and i will make some cash.
I'm also on a normal schedule, so I can hang out with my lady and cook her a nice meal a few times a week.
Another benifit is that i'm on a cash budget. I never use plastic outside the internet, and the money in my pocket is my budget. There are 2 revenue streams, paycheques for rent and bills, and cash in hand for everything else.

Heres a shitty story for you: I learned quickly that I was not meant for that industry.

My roommate offered me a job at a place you needed to wear tuxedo.
I would start out as busboy... since I told them I never waited on tables before. I was hired, and I asked how much do I get paid?
Not knowing anything about how this industry works as a busboy.

She says I can pay you minimum wage hourly.. or you can be tipped out.

Being a working class stiff in generic retail jobs.. i went with pay me hourly.

Turns out that customers were dropping $250 on each table on the regular.

I was busting my ass... pouring water and cleaning off plates. Doing a fine ass job... there was some muttering from the waiters... confusion. One stepped up to me and says in front of everyone at the end of one long night: "you did a fine job tonight.. here $5."
I said thanks. a Month of work goes by. That was the last $5.00 I saw from any waiter.

My cousin comes into town ( pro waiter).. tell him what Im doing how I am getting paid.

He informs me how bad I am getting screwed.
So on the day my boss informed me that the place was rented out for a wedding reception I would be needed there to also help clean the toilets... I never showed up for work again.
My roommate was a dick.. and said.. well you chose hourly. $400 paycheck for a month of work.... He makes $400 in a night if I remember right.

Don't be me.

>>273588
I never asked the questions...
How do I know how much each waiter is making at the end of the night? Do I really have to chase each one of them down before they leave for my share?
seriously.. if you dont have the feels for this job.. dont even bother attempting. Plus being basically a submissive servant sucks balls.
I am a great tipper though.. because I couldnt handle that job.

>>273568
>>273579
You and the other Anons in this thread are a load of info. Notes taken. Thanks m8. So what do you do nowadays, if you don't mind me asking?

>>273588
>He makes $400 in a night if I remember right.
HNNNNNNNNG. Just for being a waiter? At a fancy restaurant or a regular one? What makes him better? What state (or place)?

>>273598
Tuxedos everywhere brah... Tuxedos everywhere.. this wasn't Mckidies... and in a state where people generally dont spend a dime... we catered to Governors and people like that in South Carolina. Rich white upper class... this was several years ago.. like a decade ago.

>>273630
HNNG. What does it take to get and maintain a job like that? Is there anything more to it than being a regular waiter at a shitty restaurant (other than being more polite?). I would have stuck with it and told the person that I want to be paid via tips instead of hourly from here on out, especially putting in all the work you put in. Why didn't you do that, Anon? You could have been rich by now.

Bumping

>>273598
I still work behind the bar.

If anyone has any questions, im more than happy to answer.

>>268945
CURE Bar in New Orleans does

>>277374
>>>273598
>I still work behind the bar.
>
>If anyone has any questions, im more than happy to answer.


Is the work worth the pay you earn? Is there anything you need to know or have to be a bartender?

I live in NYC. There are plenty of places to work. but it seems every single one wants experience so how would I get my foot in the door.
I am interested as a waiter/bartender.
I knew a guy I worked with that worked in a high class places would make 400$ a day on a slow week day his week ends are 1000$ days. he is 28 but he had been working there since he was 16. And only have a job with a pay check so he can pay taxes and doesn't get asked to many questions.
SOB has a car since he was 20 and his own apartment since he was 17. Pays everything on his own.
I am 25k in school debt and work a 9-5 job that gets me 21k a year. week ends off so i am looking to work Friday through sunday.

>>277766
>I knew a guy I worked with that worked in a high class places would make 400$ a day on a slow week day his week ends are 1000$ days
Fuck, man. Are there any cities/places/bars that aren't in a city as big as NYC where this is possible? Like a city of 200,000 or even 100,000?

>>277766
>>277884

How do you know your friends are honestly getting that much. There are alot of people who embellish the amount that say they make.
I've made 1000$ in one night before, Once.
It didn't have to do with how busy we were, but someones generosity. There was a private function that was for 20+ people, with an automatic 18% gratuity on the tables because they were a large party. The guy was impressed by me and put a 700$ tip on top of the 300$ that was allready there.
>>277671
Yeah the pay is worth it . I average 500$ in tips a week for 4 days worked. Also, they feed me every shift - very nice i might add.
I'm more of a skilled conversationalist and am by default cool. People seek to share their experiences with me , or ask me for advice. Attractive women ask me what they should drink - yadda yadda.
As for complex drinks, I know the basics - sours, old fashioned, fizz's.
But if there is some drink im not 100% familiar with i just google it-
Most times people who ask for some dumb drink like a Super Sonic Gin & Tonic are too dumb to know what it is they are really ordering.
I had a guest ask for a "perfect" gin martini last night. She obviously had no idea what she really wanted, because if she did she would have specified shaken/stired , twist/olives, dry dirty. I find if some one wants something specific, they will tell you exactly whats in it and how to make it, or ask how you prepare it.

>>277884
what city are you in?

any major city has the highend places

>>278015
A small town of 4,000 in the middle of nowhere. ;_;

>>278041
well i'm sure theres a bar where everyone goes...

>swanky

>>278117
>Implying swanky isn't a based word.

>>277766
>400 on weekdays
>1000 in weekends
Let's say he works three weekdays and two in the weekend, that'd be 3200 a week and roughly 150k a year. That sounds like bullshit to me.

>>278224
there aren't many jobs like this and 150k/year isn't rich by NYC standards at all (think 90-100k elsewhere)

Even though I want to believe, I feel like it's next to impossible to make $400 a day in tips (especially $1,000 a day on weekends) unless you're in the rich part of a huge city like NYC and looking like Brad Pitt, and even then I feel like it's too good to be true.

>>278229
He doesn't get paid an hourly rate. And actually he pays 150$ to work there every week. as some sort of kick back. be it to the restaurant or just for the host to hook him up. But i know he doesn't get paid to work there and is solely reliant on tips.
I know another person I had the aquantince of meeting and talking for a bit. Works at a hotel as a waitress and comes out with 200$ a day.
I hear even as a bussboy they don't make bank but they make 500$ a week after taxes. cause apparently the staff pools tips for bussboys and the hotel gives it back on their pay check. Don't know the legitimacy on that but so he guy says, at the same hotel.

>>278224
Nope. 2k a week average bartender. Hawaii.

>>278703
>$500 a week after taxes to live on in NYC.

>>278868
its doable

Bartenders in this thread: Did you have to get fingerprinted for your bartender's license?

i work at a PF Changs in IL
our busboys get $10/hour flat rate and no tips
i work as a food runner and make $6.50/hr wage + $7-9/hr in tips
our servers get $6/hr but im not sure how much they get in tips, though they can make about $160 on a good night
bartenders $6/hr and $180 on a good night
hosts/hostesses get $9.25/hr no tips

cooks/dishwashers make $12/hr more or less

>>278947
Bump

>>268922
What states y'all boys in? Anyone in CA?

I'm glad this thread is up I was just thinking about bartending.

I'm 19 so I'd have to wait 2 more years until I can do it, but so far from reading this thread seems like a pretty sweet deal...

Any helpful insights from you bros? Never worked in the service industry so not exactly sure what to expect.

How hard would it be to get a job as a decent looking guy(that matters right?) in a city of ~1 million?

Anything I can do to prepare now?

>>278041
If you want to make money you have to be prepared to move.

>>278947
Bump for this.

>>273588
Sounds like your fuck up entirely.