Set the Tone: Moving with Intention
It’s time for another installment of set the tone. Today, we will address the wider application of this mantra to how you carry yourself behind the bar. As you progress through a shift, pay attention to how you move behind the bar. How do you pick up bottles when building drinks? How are you stepping over to grab drink tickets at the service bar? How are you moving along the bar to check on guests? How you move behind the bar gives off powerful nonverbal cues to those visiting your bar.
Behind the bar, your goal should always be to move with intention in all you do whether it be fetching a group refills or greeting guests. If you are stationed at the service bar, be sure to scan the bar and dining room with intention. Presenting a check. Clearing empty wine glasses. It doesn’t matter. Do it all with intention. Any potential bad actors will become aware of the bar staff that exhibits intention with their movements, and this appearance of control will pervade the room discouraging much bad behavior.
Set the tone makes clear what not to do behind a bar. Don’t stand slouching against the backbar looking at your feet or worse your phone. Don’t lean against the bar staring off into space. If things slow down then find something to wipe down. Check garnishes for any that have spoiled and replace them. Wash some glasses. Do anything to avoid looking sluggishly disinterested.
Paying close attention to how you move behind the bar will reward you handsomely. No one wants to tip an indifferent barkeep. However, a professional who moves with intention behind the bar is someone worthy of a generous tip along with a great deal of respect. Many an American town began with a saloon keeper who held the same social status as the town lawyer, mayor, and sheriff. As arbiters of taste and decorum, bartenders still hold a special place of status in the American psyche. Now stand up straight and act like the professional you were born to be!
