Breaking Glasses: Tips and Stories From Working In Hospitality

So you need a part time job while studying at university to keep up with bills or your party lifestyle and where might you find one? Your local pub, bar, or restaurant. Hospitality and retail are the largest employers of young people and if you're a post-graduate like me, the weekend shifts suddenly transform into full time hours. Closing shifts mean you finish around 12 PM on weekdays and 3AM on weekends, regular sleeping patterns are a forgotten memory- a luxury we can only receive after leaving. Tiredness isn't the only battle we endure; dealing with hundreds of customers everyday, which i'm sure has aged me ten years, quick sales, memorizing drink orders and specs, throbbing feet, the list goes on. All of this is done with a smile. For anyone wanting a ticket on this chaotic train, or for those who need some relief whilst waiting for your stop, I have compiled a list of tips I think could help smooth your journey. From one bartender to another.

Tip One- Fake It

From the moment you clock in, until you clock out, you are on stage. No matter what you've got going on in your personal life, you leave it behind to act out your role. I don't mean you have to smile your entire shift because that is just painful and kind of creepy for the customers, but carry yourself in a carefree way that's inviting yet hardworking. Think mysterious butterfly. Which leads me on to my next tip...

Tip Two- Shape shift

The energy that the customer brings to you determines how you respond. You need to be versatile because no two customers are ever the same. For example; if a hen party walks through the doors and orders a round of cocktails, bring to them a fun and energetic persona. Offer them the shots, ask them how their night is going, all while keeping a professional distance. If an older man walks up to you and orders a pint, you're not going to offer him the pink fruity shot. Instead, bring a friendly, quiet energy. If he wants to tell you his life story he will, just nod along and respond with an 'ah right' and a 'yeah'.

Do you work in hospitality?

• Yes
• No
• I escaped!

Tip 3- Walk on clouds

Trust me when I tell you that you need to have comfortable shoes. After a ten hour shift completely on foot, blisters should be the least of your worries. Wear black trainers or boots, if your workplace allows, that you have already worn in or know aren't going to leave you with throbbing soles. I've only learned this recently and i'm sat writing this with bad injuries.

Tip 4- Chill out on the people pleasing

It's difficult to see the harm in people pleasing when your job is literally to serve others, but it definitely exists. Behind the scenes, help your coworkers out by swapping and picking up extra shifts but learn to say no now and then. Don't make this job any harder than it is by forgetting to give yourself rest when you need it. Give and take in proportion. Remember, the customer is rarely right, even if you let them believe they are.

Example of a people pleasing negative:

I once went to work straight from the doctors after getting antibiotics for a kidney infection. I didn't realize how severe a kidney infection could be and because I could walk and talk and felt generally okay, I hopped behind the bar. Apart from the throbbing lower back pain, I maintained a positive attitude until two hours in. The world went slightly dark and my entire body felt hot. I collapsed onto a chair out the back. It was only then that I admitted that I should've taken the day off.

Buy me a coffee! :)

Tip 5- Not your circus not your monkeys

STAY OUT OF DRAMA. The more staff there is in your workplace, the more rumours and drama will spread. It's inevitable when working so closely for long hours that coworkers will argue, form friends quickly, lose them and potentially get caught up in 'workcest' (romantic or sexual relationships). Be friendly with everyone, have a laugh, have a drink after work. Do not share the rumours and gossip you hear and definitely don't get caught in the middle of it as it can lead to awkwardness. In a highly social environment, you want to maintain a good reputation with everyone and if you are able to, keep work life light as it doesn't determine your entire life.

Tip 6- Moving on up?

Many managers have told me to never become a manager. Personally, I have no interest in gaining extra responsibilities for a venue and staff and I like to have someone safe to turn to when things get messy. I can't tell a customer "I'll get my manager for you" when they have a complaint or serious issue if I am the manager. This tip isn't much of a tip, rather a question for you the reader. How much do you like hospitality? If the answer is not much, then becoming a manager may kill you off completely. If, like a few people I have met, you want to climb the career ladder in this industry, then go for it. I've bashed being a bartender a lot during this post, however I understand it is a passion of many, and to those people I applaud and appreciate you. You're either completely crazy or operating on the highest possible resilience level- one that I cannot reach.

Story Time!

This one is gross so apologies in advance. What is it with bar or pub toilets always being left in the most outrageous states? At my old job, a small bar on my housing estate, the toilets were placed right next to the bar- appalling layout, I know. Any bad smell left by a customer immediately wafted straight towards the staff which is why we always had a can of air freshener lying about. However, on one particular daytime shift, the most evil stench came crawling through the venue; so disgusting that no amount of spring breeze could exorcise it. It reached a point where me and a coworker had to investigate. Creaking open the single cubicle to the men's toilet, of course that was its origin, we were horrified at the scene before us. A pair of blue boxers were left suffocating under the weight of a huge pile of poop. After gagging for a minute or two, we returned our eyes to the crime scene, noses pinched. At least the criminal had managed to get the rest of the waste, also large in quantity, within the toilet bowl even if they didn't know how to flush. We argued about who would dispose of the blue boxers and the dirty job was about to be left to me when a hero rose to the occasion. One of the lads who worked with us, despite not being clocked in, entered the cubicle and cleaned the state. Although we had our suspicions, we never found out who the blue boxers belonged to. All we know is that one of the customers was drinking commando.

Conclusion

Although this post has shared tips, nothing really prepares you for a job in hospitality. It's just you and your bar-blade against the public. I have a bucket load of more stories to tell you about my five years of hospitality. If you would like to read more, please let me know. In the meantime, I'd love to read your stories in the comments and how you feel about working in hospitality.