For the Love of Bartending

Restaurant bartenders are a different breed than waiters. For instance, they make far less money than servers, yet often work twice as hard; and they’re usually under a lot of scrutiny from the serving staff.

That’s not to say that restaurant bartenders aren’t appreciated by their colleagues – they definitely are; but bartenders seem to get a lot of flack from servers during the dinner rush.

In order to survive a night of serving full table sections, servers have to work according to their own rhythms. When these rhythms are thrown off by something as simple as having to wait an extra five minutes for a strawberry daiquiri, bartenders unfortunately become public enemy number one. However, since many restaurant bartenders also work the odd serving shift, they’re usually pretty good about taking their ‘enemy’ status with a grain of salt.

A typical weekend bartending shift at my place of employment consists of:

• Arriving at 4 p.m. to stock bar fridges and ice trays;
• Cutting fruit for the garnish station;
• Counting and monitoring the bar till throughout the night;
• Polishing glassware and wiping down bar stools;
• Changing empty beer kegs;
• Making and preparing all drinks – one by one – for every table in the restaurant;
• Serving dinner and drinks to a [usually full] 14-seat bar;
• Answering phone calls for reservations and take-out orders; and
• Helping servers run food during their downtime.

All of these tasks are done by one person – sans help – on a busy evening.

While not every restaurant operates the same way, the basics of bartending remain consistent across the board. Bartenders do more work than they get credit for; that is why bartenders deserve respect, appreciation and a little bit of empathy from the serving staff.

On behalf of servers everywhere, I say: THANK YOU, BARTENDERS.

Servers: Underappreciated Labourers

Most waitressing jobs are labour-intensive. In an eight hour shift, a server may take up to 15,000 steps and lift up to 40 pounds of weight. Servers are constantly on their feet, and continually practice poor posture. And the list of work-related injuries servers endure on a daily basis include (but are not limited to):

• Burns, from touching hot plates and pouring boiling soup;
• Cuts, from handling sharp knives and cleaning broken glass;
• Bruises, from bumping into table corners;
• Sciatica, from the uneven weight distribution of carrying trays;
• Carpal tunnel, from carrying multiple plates with one hand;
• Achy neck muscles, from looking down to seated customers; and
• Emotional distress, from interacting with a wide variety of tempers and personalities.

For these reasons, waiters and waitresses fall into the category of labourers. However, the very things that classify servers as labourers are also the things that render servers underappreciated.

It seems as if the only people who can appreciate the strength and skill involved in waiting tables are fellow servers and restaurant staff. People who have never worked in a restaurant just don’t seem to understand the physical and emotional demands placed on servers – and we do it all for a mere 15 per cent.

So, the next time you go out for dinner, keep the following things in mind:

• When you ask your server to bring out a piping hot plate, she might burn herself;
• When your table of ten orders one drink at a time, your server has to run around taking unnecessary extra steps; and
• When you verbally undermine your server’s intelligence, you may have just cost her an extra $80 in therapy bills.

Restaurant Life

When people go out to dine, they only see one side of restaurant life: the deliberately staged ‘outside’ atmosphere that includes aromatic fragrances, welcoming faces and calming décor. What they don’t see is the other side of restaurant life: the chaotic ‘inside’ environment filled with frantic servers, overworked chefs and a pile of dirty dishes.

This is not to say that all restaurants experience the same level of chaos on the inside; but the basic elements of restaurant life are assumed to be universal. All restaurants – at one point or another – are faced with the hustle and bustle attributed to promotional specials and holiday weekends.

During moments of chaos, restaurant life becomes a place where ‘sink or swim’ is the main mantra. Chefs, line cooks and pantry help scurry to produce delicious meals in a timely manner, bartenders scramble to create thirst-quenching beverages, and servers hustle between the kitchen and dining room to satisfy customer needs.

If customers aren’t aware of how many people work behind the scenes to produce the perfect dining experience, they might take that whole experience for granted. For instance, on a busy weekend, popular restaurants will often over-book their reservations; in turn, customers have to wait extra time before a table becomes available. During these busy evenings, customers seem to only be concerned with what they see on the outside: dirty tables, lines of people, and frantic servers. But in these cases, staff members actually work twice as hard to ensure that everyone has an exceptional evening.

What people need to understand is that restaurant life does not merely consist of food, servers and customers. There’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes to make their dining experience worthwhile. Each department of the restaurant – including servers, hostesses, bartenders, bus kids, managers, cooks, dishwashers and food runners – works in synchronicity to produce an exceptional product and flawless service.

The sooner people realize just how complex restaurant life can be, the sooner they can appreciate all the hard work that goes into their dining experience.