Essential Bartender Skills For Guest Interaction

Guest Interaction

A bartender plays a hugely important role when it comes to guest interaction in any bar or property. Most guests interact more with bartenders and waiters than they do with any other colleague from other departments. How many movies have you seen where the guests talk to the bartenders about their life problems or challenges? Or in other scenarios, if a guest is celebrating, then it’s your job to interact in such a way that will make them feel valued or important.

Guest interaction can be a daunting experience for any employee. However, your ability to present yourself professionally and make your guest feel like royalty, is what will make you a great bartender. In this post, we will write tips about the importance of guest interaction and the essential skills you need when interacting with guests at your bar.

Essential Bartender Skills For Guest Interaction

Importance Of Being Professional

For a bartender to be professional is required to have the relevant skills and knowledge that will equip him to do his job correctly at all times. But what do we mean by professional? Professionalism is about how you conduct yourself behind the bar as well as how you present yourself. An experienced bartender is the one who has good manners and takes pride in their appearance. Using respectful language will prevent guests from thinking you are rude and overly familiar. This is also important to avoid using slang wherever is possible. Which one of these greetings sounds better to you:

Good afternoon Mr. John! Beautiful day outside isn't it? I'm sure you could do it with something refreshing!

Or…

Hey Dude, keen for a bevy? 

Obviously, the first approach is more professional and appropriate.

Importance Of Being Positive

There is absolutely nothing worse than leaving your home in a fantastic mood, expecting to be greeted with the same positivity everywhere you go, only to face a world that is not as happy as you are. A bartender may not be able to change the way the whole world feels, be he certainly can change the way his guests feel when they step into his bar! Being positive will not only make your guests feel more positive but can also make you feel more positive yourself. The main way to make your bar a more positive space is by making use of more positive terminology while speaking to guests, as well as referring to the drinks on offer.

For example, instead of saying: “Here is your drink Ms. Payne“, you could say something more positive such as: “Here is the refreshing Cosmopolitan, just the way you ordered it, Ms. Payne. Enjoy it! The second option is not only more engaging with your guest but also encourages the guest to feel more positive about their order. If this is combined with good eye contact and a nice smile, you can’t go wrong.

Listening Actively

When you are interacting with the guests, you should listen actively, by focusing on their facial expressions, listening to their tone of voice, paying attention to their body language, and making eye contact. Listening to how a guest says what they are saying, can give you a better indication of what the guest REALLY wants. If you ask a guest how their day has been and they answer with a simple “fine” their body language may tell you otherwise. If you are able to listen actively, you will soon be the bartender that every guest wants to speak to.

Ensuring that you listen carefully to what your guests say to you, will show that you are investing in them and that you value them as a patron at your bar. This will also increase the overall professional impression of your property by reducing mistakes and miscommunications which would normally scare Guests away. Being able to interact in a way that will wow a “guest” and make them feel listened to, is a valuable skill that will ensure your success when working with any of the guests at your bar. Take each of the basic guest interaction skills you just learned and think about a few ways you can apply them in your bar.

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