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 Message 2217 of 22774 in Behind the Bar
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Subject: Re: New Job Help
From: Chris
Posted: Sat Jun 14. 2003, 17:06 UTC
Followup to: "New Job Help"  by Drunk Monkey  (Thu Jun 12. 2003, 01:17 UTC)
> On Saturday, I will be starting my first true bartending job.  I have 
> worked a few private parties before, but when I ran out of a certain 
> alcohol I could simply reach down and get a new bottle.  I don't want 
> to go to the job looking unprofessional, so my question is this: how 
> do you go about re-stocking a bar in the middle of your shift?  Do 
> you wait until the bottle is totally empty or do you get another one 
> when it is almost empty?  Any information and help would be greatly 
> appreciated.  Thank you in advance.

If I clearly see that the bottle will be emptied out in the pour I'm about to 
make, I go to the cabinet where we keep our backups and grab another bottle, 
keeping it ready to use when I finish up the other bottle.

We usually try to avoid, or at least minimize, mid-shift re-stocking by doing 
proper requisitions beforehand, anticipating what will people will drink that 
evening and making sure there are adequate backups in our cabinets behind the 
bar. But almost inevitably we will run out of something.

If it happens that there's no backup bottle in the cabinet (this has happened 
due to poor requisitioning on the part of previous shift, or on days when we 
have a cluster of people continually ordering something we rarely pour), then 
we have to get someone, usually a busser (we have no barbacks where I work), 
to tell a manager to get another bottle or two for us.

We try to anticipate what will be needed for that day and prepare accordingly, 
so that the managers don't have to keep unlocking the liquor room door and 
delivering liquor to our bar when they have plenty of other things they have 
to be doing. 

The following applies to my situation, as a bartender at a country club:

Is it a wedding party? Make sure you have plenty of wine - especially Merlot, 
Chardonnay and (ugh!) White Zin. Have some Cabernet, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon 
Blanc and Shiraz on hand, but not as much as the others.

A party with lots of young women attending? Get prepared to make lots of 
foo-foo and frozen drinks. That means stock up on juice and mixers and be 
prepared to use the blender. Make sure you have plenty of Martini and 
Hurricane glasses in stock. You will be making Cosmopolitans.

A party of mostly older men? That means beer, Maker's Mark, Absolut, Jack 
Daniels and Dewar's. Any Martinis or Manhattans served will be on the rocks 
and very light on the vermouth. Have plenty of olives and lemn twists ready.

An ordinary day with people coming in after golfing? Beers, gin-and-tonics, 
vodka tonics, Madras's, Screwdrivers, Maker's & Diet, etc.). Cut lots of lime 
wedges. Keep the snack mix well stocked.

Then there are your regulars, who tend to drink certain items on certain days. 
Make sure you are prepared for them.

Is it Friday in the summertime? That's when the "Corona Gang" come by, so we 
make sure we stock up on Coronas and have plenty of lime wedges. They tip big 
when we keep them supplied with "just-in-time" service of Coronas and snack 
mix.

Is it Friday or Sunday? The "Golden Girls" come in then, and they like the 
non-spicy snack mix that everyone else hates. Prepare their tables with the 
otherwise shunned snack mix and make sure you have plenty of Chardonnay in the 
fridge.


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