Catering and bar work

Buster_Danog

If I did manage to get a position in a bar or hotel in central London what could I expect? I don't have any experience in this area and tend to think of bar work as very busy and requiring an ability not to get flustered by a packed bar of customers barking their orders at you. For me I guess this is an assertiveness thing. I did work in a charity shop on the till and would sometimes feel like I was keeping people waiting too long, which would put me under additional pressure.

Also, for the jobs in hotels or posher establishments are they really expecting a pretentious "positive attitude" or is that just HR speak that they put in job ads. I am by no means miserable on the job, but fake smiles and regimented routines from managers would be a bit annoying, especially when they are paying £6 an hour for the privilege. Has anyone worked in such an establishment and what was your experience.

pinkypoopydoo

I used to work as a bar manager, in Edinburgh, and ran a couple of fairly busy pubs in my time. Firstly, personality was the thing that we always looked for at an interview. Someone who seemed at ease with themselves and the interviewer, someone who could answer the question, "There's a blonde girl and an old man standing at the bar, both wanting served. Who do you serve first?", with honesty and a bit of humour. Someone who had a grip of more than just basic numeracy. You handle A LOT of cash on a busy night, and if you get a customers change wrong a couple of times a night, it leads to a huge amount of headaches for ALL the staff on shift, not just you.

People will tell you that bar work is a job anyone can do - they can't. Especially in a busy bar. The pressure of having a 20 foot long bar, 6 deep in customers (pleasant, rude, sober, drunk, with money, with pennies, underage, the list goes on) ALL wanting served at the same time is something that is difficult to explain. It's a huge amount of fun, but it's really not an easy job and is ridiculously underpaid.

~Beanie~

I don't think you are cut out for bar work. What makes you consider this as an option?

I can't imagine a charity shop having customers 5 deep at the counter yet it made you feel like you were keeping people waiting too long?

And the part about the pretentious "positive attitude" is a bit worrying. Of course it isn't just HR speak that they put in job adverts, of course they want someone with a positive attitude, would you want some grumpy git serving you? I know I wouldn't, no matter how much they are being paid.

AP007

All customer facing jobs should be looking for a positive person who likes dealing with the public. They are looking for cheerful people with a positive attitude.

Buster_Danog

pinkypoopydoo wrote: »

"There's a blonde girl and an old man standing at the bar, both wanting served. Who do you serve first?", with honesty and a bit of humour. Someone who had a grip of more than just basic numeracy. You handle A LOT of cash on a busy night, and if you get a customers change wrong a couple of times a night, it leads to a huge amount of headaches for ALL the staff on shift, not just you.

You serve the blonde first. Yep, I can imagine the fuss they would kick up if money went astray. I guess for those bars that offer training it is down to their assessment and supervision. Anyway, I am not bound to any given job. I can always try and if they think I am not suited then that is that.

~Beanie~ wrote: »

I don't think you are cut out for bar work. What makes you consider this as an option?

I can't imagine a charity shop having customers 5 deep at the counter yet it made you feel like you were keeping people waiting too long?

And the part about the pretentious "positive attitude" is a bit worrying. Of course it isn't just HR speak that they put in job adverts, of course they want someone with a positive attitude, would you want some grumpy git serving you? I know I wouldn't, no matter how much they are being paid.

Considering I made clear I'm not a "grumpy git" in my post I think you might have been reading something else, or are out to throw pointless insults.

I've been served by a lot of people who were not expected to give fake smiles and yet they were polite and gave a good service. The thing I won't have is a bar manager treating me like a jester. That is what I was asking about.

As for the charity shop. No, not five deep, but when there is a sale on, it's a busy Saturday and a customer who doesn't speak English brings about 15 items to the counter and wants you to give them the total sale price before they decide what to buy while there are another 4 or 5 people in the queue that does put you under some pressure.

Thanks for your positive post.

AP007 wrote: »

All customer facing jobs should be looking for a positive person who likes dealing with the public. They are looking for cheerful people with a positive attitude.

I've faced customers. I know this. My point is as above. There is a difference between being polite and cheerful and someone insisting you smile like Cheshire cat or put on a show.

AP007

Sergeant_Troy wrote: »

I've faced customers. I know this. My point is as above. There is a difference between being polite and cheerful and someone insisting you smile like Cheshire cat or put on a show.

Bar work is different to shop work. Bars want you as a customer to stay so the staff have to make it a nice place to be - warm, friendly staff etc. Not the Cheshire cat grin to be honest but not glum faces either.

Buster_Danog

AP007 wrote: »

Bar work is different to shop work. Bars want you as a customer to stay so the staff have to make it a nice place to be - warm, friendly staff etc. Not the Cheshire cat grin to be honest but not glum faces either.

Not to be pedantic, but my concern in this regard was about the posh hotels. No, I don't imagine a bar will be treating the staff in that way, but at some 4 star hotel I see it as a possibility. I guess part of the point of this thread is how staff are treated in businesses that want to present a luxury kind of image to the public. I know waitresses can be treated like dirt if they have the wrong manager but I don't know if it is the same for other staff.

AP007

Sergeant_Troy wrote: »

Not to be pedantic, but my concern in this regard was about the posh hotels. No, I don't imagine a bar will be treating the staff in that way, but at some 4 star hotel I see it as a possibility. I guess part of the point of this thread is how staff are treated in businesses that want to present a luxury kind of image to the public. I know waitresses can be treated like dirt if they have the wrong manager but I don't know if it is the same for other staff.

Trust me in a 4* 5* + hotel you will be smiling all day and bending over backwards - that's what people pay for.

If this bothers you so much then id say the service/hospitality industry is not for you.

Savvy_Sue

Sergeant_Troy wrote: »

You serve the blonde first.

Reminds me of a colleague coming back from the petrol station, where they'd been a bit of a to-do from another customer, who had aggressively asked "Is you serving her first because I is black?"

To which the attendant replied "No, I am serving her first because she was here first."