How To Get Help When You Need It.

How To Get Help Behind The Bar Anytime.

Every bartender needs some help at some point.
 
How to get help when you need it can be easy. You just need to lay the groundwork.
 
Getting the help you need when you need it depends on you and how you treat people on a daily basis.

Give Help When You Can.

Always help out the other people you work with, even when you’re busy. The little things that you do for others will get noticed. Not just by the person you’re helping but by everyone else that watches what is going on. This includes management and customers.
 
For example, if you need to go to the kitchen and walk by a server’s table , grab anything you can that needs to be cleared.  It can be one glass or one plate.  Whatever you can do helps.
 
It doesn’t matter whose table it is or if you’re going to get a tip from it. Helping them is helping the business, this benefits you too.
 
You helping others now, is how to get help in the future.
 

Thankless Job.

 
You might not get a “thank you” for everything you do for others. That doesn’t mean you should stop doing the right thing.  Some will give tons of thanks and others will barely notice or forget about it by the end of the shift.  It doesn’t mean anything in the long run, so don’t worry about it.
 

Show Sincere Appreciation.

 
This is one of the best things you can do.
 
Anytime someone helps you, or even does something they’re supposed to, THANK THEM.
 
I know that thanking people for doing their job seems stupid but people still like the acknowledgement.
 
I’m not suggesting that you throw someone a parade or party for doing what they should.  I’m telling you that those words of thanks coming from you will resonate and be remembered. Especially if management doesn’t do this sort of thing. 
 
When people realize that you do honestly appreciate them, and their efforts, they will start to respond in kind.
 
They might start asking if you need a new bus pan or more silverware. You might even catch them wiping off the bar as they walk by. ( That doesn’t mean they’re trying to steal your tips. ) The subtle changes you begin to notice, in most people, will help a little bit at a time. Then when you really need to know how to get help, it will just happen.

In The Weeds.

None of us like being there, but it happens. Sometimes out of nowhere.
 
This is when that ground work of helping and thanking others, for what they do, pays off.
 
There you are on a standard weeknight shift cruising along without a problem. Then… it … happens. Customers and lots of them. Where did they come from?
 
The unscheduled, unheard about, No heads up, Bar Crawl.
 
You go from 40 people in the bar to 80 in a matter of minutes. It isn’t that you can’t wait on that many people, it’s just that all at once and what you already had going on is too much too fast.
 
Sure you can get through it and do any damage control that happens. But wouldn’t it be nice if the other staff members helped out as best as they can. And you didn’t even need to ask. They just want to help the one person that is always there for them when they get stuck. You’re even there when they aren’t stuck. This is the thanks you get for all those times you helped everyone and thought it wasn’t noticed.
 
Remember to give thanks and appreciation to everyone that helps you and the business. It will pay off.

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