Five Strengths of Great Servers & Bartenders

Those of us who have worked in the food and beverage industry as seller-servers know that there’s a huge difference between doing the job and doing it well. Being a great server, bartender, or store clerk requires a variety of skills and characteristics, and here are five strengths of those who are great at the job:

 

Ability to Take Criticism… but Not Take It Personally.

If you’re someone who gets easily defensive, serving or bartending is going to be rough for you. Customers are critical, often rudely so, and almost always regardless of whether you are really to blame. Being able to humor the customer by apologizing even when you have no reason to be sorry is your easiest route to moving on. If you’re someone who can’t stomach that approach, you’re unlikely to cut it.

Of course, all criticism doesn’t come from customers. It could also come from your manager. No matter what job you’re in, being able to maturely accept criticism and weigh its usefulness for you is a key difference between those who succeed and those who don’t.

 

Stamina

Different people have different energy levels. For those on the lower side of the energy spectrum, serving and bartending are not a good match. There’s really no getting around that. Everyone gets tired sometimes, but stamina is about the ability to push through despite being tired. Given the fast pace of restaurant life, mind-over-matter in the face of fatigue is a make it or break it proposition.

 

Professionalism

It may seem strange for a job that requires friendliness, sociability, and a generally “cool” vibe, but professionalism is extremely important for servers and bartenders. For these purposes, we’ll define professionalism as the ability to set aside one’s personal life and focus on work while at work. Because serving requires so much interaction, it can be especially difficult when you’re going through challenges in your personal life. But servers who bring their own issues into their interactions with customers are almost certain to leave a bad impression. No one came into your bar or restaurant because they wanted to be involved in the staff’s personal problems, they likely came to escape some of their own.

 

Engagement with Customers

This is all about making your customers feel like they matter to you. Being warm and friendly, noticing and responding to the little things, even just making eye contact are all small and simple ways to accomplish this. It doesn’t have to get deep and personal, and in fact shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean it has to be cold and distant either.

 

Confidence

Customers relax and are more likely to have a good time if they sense their server is in charge and running the show. If you feel uncomfortable or less experienced than you’d like, “fake it till you make it” is truer in this profession than just about any other. If you can trick your customer into thinking you’ve got a hold on things, you’re golden. On the more serious side, when you have to cut customers off, they are far more likely to push back if they sense a lack of confidence.

Seller-servers should also be incredibly confident when it comes to the Illinois alcohol laws and how to serve alcohol safely. Keeping your BASSET card updated is a great way to confidently keep your customers, team, and restaurant or bar safe.

 

At BASSET On The Fly, we know servers because we’ve been servers. Our hat is off to the many strengths required of servers and bartenders.

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