Bar House Policies

Pay Attention to Your Bar’s House Policies!

I really would like to tell you that all 20 sections of my Bartender Course Online are equally important – but they’re not. Some sections, like this one, carry a lot of weight. A lot of weight.

I have seen more new bartenders lose their jobs over some rather trivial things. Things they should know. Drinking on the job, theft, giving out free drinks, and having a bad attitude are among the chief culprits. Don’t be one of those bartenders!

All bars are different! Different owners, different bar mangers – different house policies. Most likely you will be in a training phase for the first week, so it’s imperative that you know that particular bar’s House Policies. If you’re unsure – ask!

*Huge Tip: Do not rely on other bartenders or employees to “fill you in” on house policies. Go directly to the source, the Bar Manager, when in doubt. It is your responsibility!

Some of the topics below will “cross over” into other sections of the course like Section 12 Bartender vs. Customer or Section 10 Customer Service. Remember that I go into much more detail in the full Bartender Course.

Bar House Policy Chapters

Here’s a partial list of the topics I discuss. I constantly add or combine modules, so you can be sure that new or “hot topics” are always included. Don’t be intimidated by this long list! I cut out the “fluff” and stick to facts, so the chapters are short and sweet. There are often fast, simple solutions to every situation, and I’ll give you the details.

1.         Employee Breaks

2.         Drinking On the Job

3.         Flair, Flipping, and Fires

4.         Free Drinks

5.         Comp/Waste Sheet/Voids

6.         Handling Unruly/Drunk Customers

7.         Starting and Running a Tab for Your Customers

8.         Hitting on Customers and Employees (Fraternization)

9.         Difference Between Bartenders and Servers (And other staff employees)

10.       Language

11.       Topics of Conversation – Religion and Politics

12.       Over-Serving

13.       Tipping Policies

14.       Teamwork

15.       Running a tab

16.       Benefits/Employee Free/Discounted Food and Drinks/Vacation/Sick Leave

17.       ID’s – Zero Tolerance Policy

18.       Food Handler’s Card

19.       Alcohol Awareness Training

20.       Good Bartender/Bad Bartender

21.       Arrogance/Mixologist/Narcissism/Know-It-All

22.       Regulars vs. Tourists vs. One Hitters

23.       Don’t count tips!

24.       Separate tip jars. Coins/Paper money

25.       Oops. Gave the wrong change – or did you?

26.       How Bartenders rip off their customers

27.       How bartenders rip off the house

28.       How bartenders rip off servers

29. Short Pouring/Long Pouring

30. Bar Owners & Mangers (The Differences!)

31. Drug/Alcohol Abuse

32. Scheduling

33. The Law

34. The POS (Point of Sale) System

Many of these House Policies that I discuss will cross-over to the Bar Operations section.