The money you make as a bartender depends greatly on your tips.
It’s no wonder why bartenders are always looking for ways to increase them. We have found 6 simple ways to double tips. And the best part is you should already be doing most of these things.
So go ahead, polish up your skills and watch your income increase.
1. Be The Bartender Everyone Loves
Attitude is everything when you’re a bartender. If you’re consistently grouchy, chances are you won’t make great tips. Yet if you are the bartender who your customers can relate to and they love coming to see; there is a strong possibility tips will be better and steady. Also, it’s a great idea to know a few jokes, laugh and smile a lot. Customers come into a bar for the atmosphere, the drinks, and the people. If they feel they can relax and have a good time with you, they will keep coming back and your tips will grow.
2. Offer Different Choices
When a customer orders a drink like a top shelf margarita, offer choices that have different price points. Do not overwhelm them with too many choices and be sure to let them know of any daily specials. Give them a few suggestions because customers love to have options and oftentimes they don’t know what they want. They will appreciate you being the expert and giving them options they can afford. It’s all about being the knowledgeable bartender that gets you better tips.
3. Deliver Drinks In A Timely And Efficient Manner
If you are slow all the time, your tips will be too. It’s important to learn how to make a drink correctly and in a timely manner. Customers hate to wait! I understand that bars get busy, but if you make customers wait too long, best believe they will walk out the door and you just lost tips and returning customers.
4. Pay Attention To Your Customers Needs
If you are one step ahead of your customers your tips will grow. For instance, your customer is just about done with their beer, be sure to ask if they need another. Or when a customer spills his beer on the counter, you are quick to react and get towels and clean up the mess. Customers love bartenders that seem to be on top of things. Don’t be that bartender who is way too busy doing everything but tending to your customer’s needs. If you don’t pay attention, it is more than likely that your tips will show that.
5. When You Make A Mistake, Fix It
So, you just made the wrong drink for your customer. No biggie! Just make them the drink that they originally ordered and tell them this one is on you. Fixing your mistake and offering to buy that drink for your customer shows that you care about them. It’s okay to make mistakes once in awhile, however if you’re making them repeatedly, you might want to find a new career. Customers love to know that their bartender is a real person so an occasional mistake that you fix quickly is okay. Honesty, trust and a caring attitude will take your far as a bartender.
6. Don’t Get Too Personal
Customers want to relate to their bartenders, however they don’t want to know their bartender’s whole life story. Be a real person but don’t offer too many details about your personal life. Your customers don’t want to know about your dead cat or your crazy ex. If you are personable and relate to them without going into every detail, chances are they will tip you better. If you are the negative, crazy bartender who tells customers about all your problems, they probably won’t want to come back.
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