What's up Steem Punks & Princesses!?
So I was a bartender for almost 2 years, and let me tell you it is not as glamorous and amazing as you'd think...
Now don't get me wrong, the money aspect of it can be AMAZING..sometimes.
I was a server (waitress) for 3 years before I eventually moved up to bartender. As a server that's the next step and at most places that spot is heavily wanted because usually bartenders make more than servers. I always thought it to be easier than serving because as a bartender usually you aren't running around the restaurant with hot food trays, running back and fourth to the kitchen and constantly having to remember to check on your 9-12 tables. After bartending for 2 years I almost started to miss serving. LOL.
Let me tell you what drove me to eventually not only quit the bar I was working at but the entire profession....
1st thing that drove me absolutely i n s a n e after a while is small talk
And yes, I know what you're thinking.. "Of course there's gonna be small talk you're a bartender." But let me just elaborate a bit, small talk is fine and I USED to love talking to anyone and everyone but after countless repeated conversations you start to go a little mad. LOL. If you work at a bar long enough you eventually know every person that comes in there and what their kids names are.. what job they do..basically their entire life. Which is cool but when you see the same people every day for months they eventually I noticed run out of things to say. That's when the small talk comes in. I also noticed most adults just answer questions on auto pilot. Having the same conversation over and over and over gets so crazy annoying after a while you just eventually don't want to talk anymore, it sucks and that's what happened to me. That's originally why i went into serving was because I can talk for days on end and make conversation about anything with anyone. But after so much small talk it made it to where I didn't want to talk to anyone, of course I had to but it just made me start to hate my job.
Bartending is like entertaining drunk people who you really don't even care for.
Like i'd rather stab my eye out then get you another vodka cranberry but sure I gotcha. I know its a bit dramatic but when I tell you towards the end of the path of bartending it turned me into such a b*tch because you just eventually get tired of the bullshit. Drunk people are annoying and especially people that come as soon as I opened the doors at 11am to get wasted like dude I haven't even fully woken up yet. You get asked the same stupid questions over and over and over by some old drunk guy who just got done trying to hit on you but is now demanding you make his stronger or "your'e not getting a tip" Thats the part that bothers me the most, the fact that you can go to work, do your job PERFECTLY and just because some asshole decides he doesn't want to tip, you don't make money. I will never do that again, do my job perfectly and not get tipped/paid for it. One time I received a 0 dollar tip simply because I didn't root for the Cowboys in a football game.. oh and they were so kind as to write a note telling me why next to my fat zero tip. That's the kind of stuff i'm talking about, I served that table for probably 3 1/2 hours because they were watching the game then gave me no tip. That is definitely not the only time that happened, iv'e also had countless tables leave without paying for their bill.. then guess who has to pay for it.. ME. That rule never made sense to me, like yeah I would understand if I had given someone bad service and they didn't pay their bill but every single time that was not the case. Imagine if you went to work and you did everything how you were supposed to then at the end of the day your boss tells you "actually no I don't think I'm gonna pay you today" Its such an awful feeling. Don't get me wrong though, on MOST days you usually walk out with anywhere between $175-400 dollars. So the money part was good but for me money isn't worth my complete happiness. It got to the point where i would sit in my car before I went into work and just try to pep talk myself into not quitting. Then one day I just decided screw it this isn't worth it anymore. My manager would never let me request off for anything, and as someone who has a serious case of wanderlust that was not gonna work for me. So I was unhappy and unable to travel like I wanted, I was too tired from work to want to do anything with friends or family when I was off work. I'll never forget the day I left, because I knew I wasn't ever going back. It was such a freeing feeling knowing I wasn't going to have to be a servant to drunk idiots anymore.
Now I work from my computer and am traveling more than ever and am honestly happier than I have ever been!
So if you took the time to read this let me leave you with this, always tip your bartender and always quit a job that makes you miserable.
This post has received a 1.46 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @beccaboomm.
Thanks for sharing, I own a marketing company and I can relate, customer service industry can be challenging. I have known many people that have been servers/bartenders and and hear the stories of the shit they put up with. Glad you are doing what makes you happy now! Only live once.
This post has received a 20.85 % upvote from @steemdiffuser thanks to: @beccaboomm, @beccaboomm. Steem on my friend!
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I enjoyed reading your post. I honestly wouldn't have thought bartending would be hard but after you break it down...f*ck that. I definitely see why you would quit. I loved your words of encouragement at the end. I did this same thing with my job. I was a cna so I worked in a nursing home. I got hit by old people with dementia, bit and kicked. I cleaned up old butts all day long. I would cry as I walked through the hall ways. So, one day I quit while I was pregnant and I've been a stay at home mom since
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STOPI'm sooo happy for you! I'm going to use the freedom I have gained from my position to do the same. As much as it sucks, I just remind myself that I could be in the BOH doing dishes, or be the one in the barstool lying to myself. I hope you are still enjoying your travels and succeeding in you ventures. Cheers.