Being a bartender can be an awesome job, but you have to be mindful of all the challenges that comes with it. Before choosing bartending as a profession, you may want to consider a few things. Standing on your feet for 10-12hr shifts at a time with no break can be exhausting, and doing that with no customers can be even worse. Your pay comes mainly from tips, so no customers means no money and that can be a big waste of time. You can’t purchase or borrow more, so time is a limited resource that runs out every day. Use it wisely.
You Can Make Good Money
The money in bartending can be lucrative but is not consistent at times. You can make good money, but it depends greatly on the establishment you work for, the loyalty of your customer base, and the hours you work. The shifts you get and the customers you retain greatly impact how much you actually earn. Other people are more than willing to take your time so you have to figure out what that means to you. Most bartending jobs don’t offer health insurance and vacation or sick leave so keep that in mind prior to committing to the profession.
Let’s accept it, bartenders and other tipped workers can get screwed royally. Only seven states require employers to pay tipped workers the same minimum wage as workers who do not receive tips. The United States federal government requires a wage of at least $2.13 per hour be paid to employees that receive at least $30 per month in tips. If wages and tips do not equal the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour during any pay period, the employers are supposed to increase cash wages to compensate. The sad reality is a lot of employers are not doing it.
Bartenders and Time Management
So, you are a bartender and love what you do and enjoy the people you meet and work with. You just hate that you get no benefits and more importantly, you work many long hours, and are not compensated for your time. What’s even worse is when your employer over schedules the shift, you have to split tips with other bartenders when all of you did not need to be there in the first place. Employers are not on the hook for any hourly costs, so they can over schedule bartenders without any repercussions. Maybe if they understood the importance of your time, they would manage the schedule better.
People don’t seem to understand what goes into a bartending shift. There are hours of prep work, hours of clean up, and hours of dealing with demanding people who have no idea of a bartender’s actual responsibilities. A bartender has to be at work at 10am but the restaurant does not open until 12pm and the restaurant closes at 11pm but the bartender doesn’t leave until 1am. That is 4 hours of unpaid services. In addition, effective bartenders may have to split shifts with ineffective ones and also has to pay the barback. Your tips cover the time that you interact with customers, so 4 hours of free labor never hurt anyone. *sarcasm
Bartending is not all bad. Your income is comprised mostly of tips and with the exception of those attached to credit cards, there is no way for the government to know how much you are tipped. That means you get free money with cash tips. But with the average bartender salary of $21,500, how much are you beating the IRS? With all that said, you also have to keep in mind that bartending is easy to get into, the job is fun, the work schedules are flexible, and you get to meet some great people. It’s not all bad but it could be a lot better.
No matter how you look at it, there are only 24 hours in a day. You have to realize that money isn’t the most important resource, time is. Money comes and goes and you can make it through a variety of resources, but once time is gone, it’s gone for good. If a bartender spends 12 of those 24 hours working at the establishment, there should be compensated for your time. A good bartender consistently brings in the regulars, wears company apparel, promotes the establishment, set the mood, and make sure everyone has a good time. There is a price to pay for that and it ain’t just in tips.
Original Article: https://botyapp.com/blog_time-is-money-bartender-chronicles/
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