First day
Today was my first day as acting bartender. The bar I am working at is basically a small dive that is primarily inhabited by regulars/Hispanics. However, it is an older crowd and it's a friendly environment. During my shift it is fairly slow (I'm 12-6). However, plenty of people get off of work at 3 so it picks up around then. Tonight I ended up staying real late to do some networking and talking with a prior owner. I was bought some drinks and dinner (imported from a steakhouse) which was absolutely lovely. I had prime rib (free) for the first time in about a year and I got to know some people who could potentially lead me to a similar job but in a much higher volume place. The positive with this job is that the hourly wage is rather high for a tip-based job. Most bartender or food service jobs in the area seem to pay about $4 or a little less an hour. This job pays $7 an hour plus tips which I cannot complain about. With my tips today and the hourly wage it came to a little over $12 an hour which is far better than most any office job I could work here. Apparently at the steakhouse servrs often yeild $100-150 in tips a shift... that would be pretty fantastic. For now, I just want to work my shift, gain experience, learn to know the regulars, and do a good job. After that, we shall see.
The regulars seemed to like me and helped to train me further. Some of them tipped well and others didn't... education for my future there certainly. Luckily the primary request there is for beer so my lack of drink knowledge is not a hindrance. As the former owner told me... "This is an excellent training ground for you, and you could later move up to something much higher." Customer after customer told me that I was the 3rd "Lisa" to work there, but that I was "by far the prettiest." It seems that most of the bartenders there have been basically fat and middle-aged, so I am, by comparison, a feast for their eyes. Most everyone seemed to like my personality too, although I felt my personality was more appreciated at the other bar I trained at yesterday. Since the crowd at the bar I'm working has been going there for so long, they are slow to warm-up to new individuals. Hopefully I can prove my worth quickly. I already have some tip-improving ideas. :)
Overall, I think this kind of job is a good one for me. I always thought I was not pretty enough for a waitressing or bartending job but considering how much in the past day and a half that I've been working that I've been told I'm beautiful, I guess I was wrong... or at least I'm pretty enough for Tucson. *laughs*
Now I just need to get myself on a regular workout/practice/work schedule and I will be set for the summer!
The regulars seemed to like me and helped to train me further. Some of them tipped well and others didn't... education for my future there certainly. Luckily the primary request there is for beer so my lack of drink knowledge is not a hindrance. As the former owner told me... "This is an excellent training ground for you, and you could later move up to something much higher." Customer after customer told me that I was the 3rd "Lisa" to work there, but that I was "by far the prettiest." It seems that most of the bartenders there have been basically fat and middle-aged, so I am, by comparison, a feast for their eyes. Most everyone seemed to like my personality too, although I felt my personality was more appreciated at the other bar I trained at yesterday. Since the crowd at the bar I'm working has been going there for so long, they are slow to warm-up to new individuals. Hopefully I can prove my worth quickly. I already have some tip-improving ideas. :)
Overall, I think this kind of job is a good one for me. I always thought I was not pretty enough for a waitressing or bartending job but considering how much in the past day and a half that I've been working that I've been told I'm beautiful, I guess I was wrong... or at least I'm pretty enough for Tucson. *laughs*
Now I just need to get myself on a regular workout/practice/work schedule and I will be set for the summer!