6 things a bartender should strive to achieve on every shift...

1. Speed

Develop a routine, which will give you a steady, fluent flow to meet your customer's expectations.

Economy of movement and thinking ahead will help you get everything done with maximum efficiency, by seeing what needs to be done before it needs doing.

2. Attentiveness

There's little value in being quick and consistent if you make a lot of mistakes just as quickly. Don't hesitate to double check your orders and don't work faster than is comfortable, so you'll only need to do things once.

By being aware of everything that's happening in your section of the bar, you can head problems off in advance. It's not hard to satisfy your customers if you make the effort to identify what pleases them.

3. Cleanliness

Too much clutter gets in the way and slows you down, so clean as you go. Also, let your bar backs and supervisors known in advance what you're going to need. Make sure the trash is not too full, and empty bottles moved to the reserve station.

4. Satisfaction

Pay attention whenever possible by checking with your customers to see how they like their drinks, especially for the specialty cocktails. They might not say anything bad out of politeness, but you can easily judge from their reaction if the drink meets their expectations or not. Doing what you can to remedy the situation is a great way to keeps guests loyal to your bar.

5. Consistency

Aim to make your drinks, especially cocktails, the same across the board. Most bars have standards, so if one bartender makes a cocktail one way and you make it another way, your venue will look unprofessional and the customer will have something to complain about.

Also, the amount of head on a beer and the portions of liquor in your mixed drinks needs to be consistent to keep inventory control simple, but remember the customer is always right, so if they request a drink made another way, go ahead and serve it that way.

6. Freshness

Cocktails shouldn't sit around too long before being delivered to the customer, as ingredients can separate, dilute and that generally looks unattractive. Filling mixed drinks with plenty of ice actually slows the dilution effect, and chilled beer and cocktail glasses help to increase the longevity of these drinks and look more inticing overall.