Speaking of jobs again..

[AestheticDeath]

Anyone here ever been a bartender? How hard is it?

And for the males who have bar tended, how much $ did you make? I have a feeling women make a majority of the money in bartending(tips), but I could be wrong.

Still looking for a new job, and saw an ad for a bartender. Said they make $20-$60 an hour. Or like $100-$300 a day/night.

[Snapp]

Well, as a guy, you could always bartend at a gay bar. If you're decent looking you could rake in big $ off the creepy old guys.

[Souzy]

Well, I'm not a bartender, but a lot of my friends are. They make good money actually. Especially when it's busy. I know for around MA and RI, you have to pay back money when you do your taxes though, so I guess save enough when that season comes around. It depends if you tend in a club or bar. The ones I know that tend at clubs, make boku(sp?) bucks. Then ones that tend at the busy bars/high end restaurants do as well. I'd say nothing less than $100 per night for them at least. It all depends where you work. If you're beginning, you're prolly going to have to fight for the peak hours.

[Souzy]

Well, as a guy, you could always bartend at a gaybar. If you're decent looking you could rake in big $ off the creepy old guys.

Oh this is true. If you're decent looking and willing to bartend with your shirt off, you will make more tips.

[The Ponzzz]

Well, depends where you wanna bartend.

You will want to take the training. I use to do it during the New York State Fair over in the midway and make good cash, but it's the fair. Plus you're so overwhelmed with so many people wanting beer that it's crazy, and most people don't leave tips.

If you are looking for a legit job that's gonna always pay the bills, bartending is not the way to go. As a part time with a job, I'd say, hell yes!

[Danical]

Bartenders in my town make a killing on thursday-saturday.

No benefits to speak of though which sucks because some could use it. Scott Lighty, who trains with Chuck Liddell, bartends there and i'm certain he doesn't have medical through bull's tavern.

[Kranar]

From what I know, and I once worked at a restaurant with a bar attached to it (although I washed dishes there), bartending can be a pretty stressful job. You deal with all sorts of weird, rude, and annoying people and you have to pretend to be polite and understanding towards them.

The pay won't make you rich, but it can't be too bad. The question is are you the kind of person who is good with customers and can manage servicing any kind of character in any situation. It only takes one bad day from you for any reason to kill the whole job.

[Jazuela]

I bartended for a few places, and it really does depend on the bar. The advertised earnings aren't your wages. You would normally get minimum wage, plus tips, except in some of the really upscale places. Since bartending is a service job they can even pay you less than minimum, because your tips are expected to put you over minimum, and this is all legit practice (though not very common).

If you bartend in a bowling alley, don't expect tips at all. Bowlers are notorious for not tipping. If you bartend in an upscale nightclub/dance hall you can probably expect amazing nights of uber money rolling in, and hispanics at salsa clubs tend to tip ridiculously high amounts.

Customer service is more than just crucial, it can mean the difference between getting tips and getting arrested. If you're in a small place where there's no "bar manager" you have to be capable of shutting off a drunk without getting your head bashed in. Letting a drunk leave with car keys in his hand could land you in jail, if said drunk ends up in a car crash. Bartending is serious business, but it can be a lot of fun with really great money if you get into the right place.

[Augie]

Anyone here ever been a bartender? How hard is it?

And for the males who have bar tended, how much $ did you make? I have a feeling women make a majority of the money in bartending(tips), but I could be wrong.

Still looking for a new job, and saw an ad for a bartender. Said they make $20-$60 an hour. Or like $100-$300 a day/night.

As far as whether or not you'd make more tips than a female bartender, it all depends. I know if you work in a nightclub on ladies night as a male bartender you're gonna make bank.

My buddy bartended at one and I'd always go there on Thursdays (ladies' night) and he'd walk with 400-500 bucks cause the drinks were free and all the women just threw the money they'd spend on drinks at him. Since he was good looking and kinda flirted with them and got em on the bar to dance and stuff, it worked.

[Keller]

Don't bartend at a restaurant. DON'T BARTEND AT A RESTAURANT. Do NOT bartend at a restaurant.

You will make 75% of your drinks for servers who wont tip you out for shit. If you bartend at a proper bar then you'l make the same amount of drinks but you'll keep all the tips.

Other than my advice to NOT BARTEND AT A RESTAURANT, you should know that it all depends on a combination of the venue, your looks/smile, or your personality. It's tough work though. I'd say it's about 25-35% harder than serving tables in terms of stress and workload. It can be worth it if you're tending the right bar though.

[Jazuela]

Oh and last bit of advice. If you have people who are assigned to roll kegs to replace empties, do NOT do it yourself - even if those people are busy and customers are hollering for more beer.

Rolled full keg + toe = bad mojo

<--speaking from personal experience, and a permanently broken big toe

[AestheticDeath]

Permanently broken? hows that?

And thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate it.

[Jazuela]

Toes are strange things. The pinky toe doesn't even have a bone in it; it's all cartilege with a tad of muscle, and you could rip the toenail off that toe and not even notice because it isn't attached in the same way that nails are on other toes or fingers.

The big toe is more complicated, and there's no way to "set" it if it breaks. You can't put a cast on a big toe :) So - it heals awkwardly, and is constantly at risk for re-breaking. I probably break it every couple of months. There's nothing you can do about it, or for it, and the pain isn't nearly as traumatic as a broken ankle or arm or leg. It just hurts when you take a step in this or that direction or turn your foot while it's flat on the floor. But, it's one of those annoying things I wish I knew about when I ran out of beer and the "runners" were busy smoking a joint out back, leaving me with a half dozen beer-guzzling bowlers demanding a refill. I should've told them all to bowl their next frame and called the manager to roll those stupid full kegs for me <grumble>

[TheEschaton]

Or you should of sacked up and not rolled the fucking keg over your own foot, dumbass.

-TheE-

[Sean of the Thread]

I broke my big toe 2 years ago.. and.. it's still fucked even after surgery. Bitch constantly hurts when running/jogging or really almost anytime.

[Alfster]

I broke my big toe 2 years ago.. and.. it's still fucked even after surgery. Bitch constantly hurts when running/jogging or really almost anytime.

I don't believe that you run unless either cops or dogs are involved

(the worst is when they both are)

[Jazuela]

Well Gee whiz Esch, where were you when I needed that sage piece of advice? I mean, how stupid of me to think my foot was impervious to a 150-pound keg of Bud Lite...if only you had told me I would have known not to do that. Cause, it isn't like I did it by accident, having never tried to roll a keg before or anything like that. Y'know - since accidents can happen if you have a bar full of drunken bowlers with the sports channel blaring and all that bowling noise and people coming up to the side bar demanding their stuff and the loudspeaker announcing the high score of the league, and you're trying to concentrate on safely rolling a keg, for the first time in your life, in a narrow area less than 4 feet wide.

Nah - couldn't possibly have been just a plain old accident that could've happened to anyone under those circumstances. It had to be because I'm a dumbass. Yeah.