Sociology

In American culture, the workplace environment of the average worker can vary dramatically from person to person within different occupations. Different occupations represent different cultural values within society. In a case study on myself, I found out that bartenders are exposed to many diverse kinds of cultural values. I am a bartender here in Oswego at a local college bar and I have found myself exposed to a vast variety of different societal cultural values.

There are many workplace values that I have found in being a bartender. The first thing I think about before I go to work is what I am going to wear. In bartending, what you wear can be very important because it can be the difference from a good paying night in tips and a bad one. A bartender's main form of income is from his tips so this is why it is very important to think about. What to where is determined by what type of night it is. You would dress differently for a weekend night then you would a weekday night because weekends are primarily party nights and draw different crowds. The next thing I do is drive to work. This is when you think about what the night will bring and what kind of interesting people you will meet. There are also a lot of thoughts and questions running through my head like will someone get sick, will someone be arrested or will I get a number or two tonight. The next thing I do is pull into the parking lot. You can tell a lot about what the evening will be like just by looking at the parking lot. For example, you can come up with an estimate on how busy the bar will be when you start working, and if there is a lot full of cars, you begin to worry about people driving home drunk because of the NYS dram shop laws (which makes the bartender responsible for the people you serve).

The next thing I do is walk into the bar. This is when the cultural values of being a bartender really hit you. The first thing I notice every time I walk into work for the first time is the smell of the bar. It is a strong beer-like smell mixed with the colognes and perfumes of the people in the bar. It is a smell that you only smell in a bar, and when I smell it I know that I am at work. The next thing you notice is the noise level. The noise level can tell you a lot about what the night has brought or will bring. A loud crowd usually means you're in for a busy night and most likely a nice pile of tips. This also means you will most likely work hard and go home tired at the end of the night. You also know it will be hard to actually meet and interact with the crowd because you will be moving at to fast of a pace to socialize. On a quieter night, you know that you will most likely get to socialize and talk to people. You probably will not get a lot of tips but you also will not work all that hard and go home tired. The next thing I do is talk to the bouncer real quick to get a recap on how the night has been because he will know best. I then visually scan the bar and become familiar with the different social groups and diversity amongst the crowd. This will help me determine how I have to act and talk towards different people so that I can maximize my tips from them. I try to get to work at least 15 minutes early every time so I can wash glasses, stock racks and clean upper shelf liquor bottles. After that I begin to work for the evening. My boss doesn't have an official clock-in or clock-out system. You are expected to be on time and work, and if you don't he will not think twice about replacing you because bartending is a very competitive occupation on a college campus. Our boss usually isn't at the bar when we work. He is there when the bar opens and when we close to close out all the draws and give us our pay for the evening. He is a very professional man and isn't interested in being your friend. My boss is strictly about business. He treats his employees with respect and expects the same in return.

This is when I start to work. I will always remember the first 3 or 5 drinks I make at the end of the night because it is when you are most anxious to get work done. After making the first couple drinks, you realize you are just at work again on a different night. This is the time where it is hardest in being a bartender. It is hard because you have to somewhat keep track of who you serve and how much you have served him. NYS state says that you are responsible for him even after he leaves the bar so it is something that you have to do. So if someone keeps ordering drinks from you, you can avoid problems in the future by making his drinks less and less alcoholic hoping they run out of money soon. Another method is just telling the person that you cannot serve him anymore flat out. The bottom line is that you have to create a good balance between maximizing your tips and customers and keeping yourself safe. It is also important that you socialize with the crowd as much as you can. The more you talk to people, the better they are going to like you and the more drinks they will order from you. This will increase the tips you receive. Bartending all revolves around making the most tips. Serving drinks to people and slowly watching them become drunk also can tell you a lot about somebody. What often happens to me is that if there is a guy or a girl that I am talking with during the night, he or she will start getting more and more personal as they drink more and more. I find this very intriguing because I often hear very interesting stories that I will think about even after I go home.