MinWageJobsSck
07-17-2008, 02:38 PM
I can relate to some of your experiences. Like you, I went to bartending school...although it seems that my bartending school was a lot more organized and professional...but although I learned a lot about drinks, I felt like there wasn't enough hands-on practical experience, probably due to how large our class was. As a result, I was very nervous and anxious during my first bartending job.
My first bartending job was at a really divey bar in a ghetto neighborhood in my city. The tips sucked(ghetto customers, some whom stole tips from the bar when I turned around) but on the bright side, we were paid a base rate of $7/hr which helped to compensate. Like the Irish bar you worked at, the owner sometimes got drunk at his own bar! Luckily I never had to close the place alone though, since the assistant manager worked with me. Yeah I got canned too for a stupid reason...funny how those corner bars have a habit of doing this to a lot of people...in my case, the owner's female friend kept badtalking me and trying to make me look bad. I know this to be true because when she was badtalking me one day at work, ALL of the customers told her off in my defense, and a HUGE Jerry Springer-esque brawl broke out!
I can also relate to the drama and cattiness of family chain restaurants. Prior to my bartending gig, I waitressed at a well known chain and although the tips were pretty good on a busy night, there was a lot of drama. Everyone was dating everyone else at the place, and there were more single parents than any strip club I've ever entered(nearly half a dozen employees even brought their babies to the employee meeting!!). Even the GM told me that he thought most of the employees were "immature children"!(exact words)
It is a shame that the Thai restaurant wasn't financially lucrative, since it sounds like it was a very nice work atmosphere where you could learn a lot of cool new drinks and garnishes.
My first bartending job was at a really divey bar in a ghetto neighborhood in my city. The tips sucked(ghetto customers, some whom stole tips from the bar when I turned around) but on the bright side, we were paid a base rate of $7/hr which helped to compensate. Like the Irish bar you worked at, the owner sometimes got drunk at his own bar! Luckily I never had to close the place alone though, since the assistant manager worked with me. Yeah I got canned too for a stupid reason...funny how those corner bars have a habit of doing this to a lot of people...in my case, the owner's female friend kept badtalking me and trying to make me look bad. I know this to be true because when she was badtalking me one day at work, ALL of the customers told her off in my defense, and a HUGE Jerry Springer-esque brawl broke out!
I can also relate to the drama and cattiness of family chain restaurants. Prior to my bartending gig, I waitressed at a well known chain and although the tips were pretty good on a busy night, there was a lot of drama. Everyone was dating everyone else at the place, and there were more single parents than any strip club I've ever entered(nearly half a dozen employees even brought their babies to the employee meeting!!). Even the GM told me that he thought most of the employees were "immature children"!(exact words)
It is a shame that the Thai restaurant wasn't financially lucrative, since it sounds like it was a very nice work atmosphere where you could learn a lot of cool new drinks and garnishes.