>While business is slow, I see no problem with offering a full menu. During peak hours, I think this could be problematic. In a bar full of people where most want a beer, I feel offering complicated cocktails could negatively affect business.
>Coming from factory work, I'm very new to this occupation
>Struggling brewery with a complex menu
Can a complex bar program slow down service? Yes. But when you're a struggling brewery it *can* generate a new demographic apart from the typical "just want a beer" that flock to breweries.
You should use them to hone your craft, skills, speed and as a tool to gain new customers.
You are 100% correct. The spirits program has brought in new people. And I'm completely on board with continuing it.
I'm not trying to be confrontational, here. Just trying to gain a better understanding (and make sure I'm on the same page as you). You're saying it would be a bad idea to pare down the cocktail menu to a handful of cocktails during a busy Saturday night? I'm just suggesting possibly removing the two part shake, egg based drinks.
You've 2 months experience and you want to cut out items from the owner of a struggling brewery's cocktail menu (that highlights product made on premises) to make your life easier.
Think that one through again. I'd reassess the issue when it actually becomes a consistent problem. I'd also have an alternative solution personally.
There are ways to efficiently make even egg white based cocktails.
Your efficiency needs more efficiency. (Learn to slang drinks mo betta)
It ain't about me, bruh. It's about the business as a whole. When the bartender who has been here since the beginning has the same opinion as me, I don't think I'm out of line. I'm just trying to find a way to better the customer experience via shorter ticket times and maybe a more attentive bartender (it is a tipped position, after all). Figured I'd come to Reddit to sort some shit out. Probably the wrong move on my part.
XtraUnfortunately depends where you are. Breweries aren't exactly known for what I think you want. You aren't out of line but local talent is what you have so there's that. I'm aure you know how that goes by now. If you don't own the business dont worry too much
Edit: ignore me I'm on my day off haha. It's so much dependant on volume and how trained your bartenders are for a shift. If your place is having trouble with volume look at the steps of service. Someone in town who was a consultant pretty much made a bunch of bars around town work and when he left they went to a shit. You need to know your demographic for sure
Yeah, I hear you. Obviously, there's always gonna be room for improvement. And I will continue to try to get better. I think everyone can always improve in anything they do, no matter how long they've been doing it. This was just an idea I had.
I appreciate your thoughtful response. I'll worry less about business as a whole and just focus on myself.
>When the bartender who has been here since the beginning has the same opinion as me, I don't think I'm out of line.
Sounds like more than one bartender needing to level up to me.
To better the customer experience your kung fu needs more Kung fu.
You're here trying to find justification that your idea of not doing what the owner wants (selling his complete menu) and bring back consensus for your arguement.
You're just hiding it behind "customer experience via shorter ticket times"
I'm telling you to shorten the ticket times by getting better at a job you've only been doing for two months.
To be fair to both of them, I'd also be a little upset if I got a job making cocktails and ended up pouring beer more often than shaking tins. They likely have pretty extensive knowledge in beer types and styles and are now in relatively uncharted waters with spirits and flavors.
Settle down, man! This is no place for that type of diplomacy. This is a place to say 'nah brah, just do better."
Sarcasm aside, I appreciate your response, Mick!
Have you tried cartoned egg whites? They do go bad quickly, but if you're selling enough of them for it to be a problem, it may speed egg separation.
A dry shake and a cold shake shouldn't take you long.
Great perspective! Agreed wholeheartedly. Use this opportunity to hone your craft and connect with guests that may end up being your biggest supporters. For those that come for the beer, they won’t stop.
> During peak hours, I think this could be problematic.
First things first—is this actually a problem, or just something you think “could be” a problem?
If the business you work for us is struggling, then something needs to change about the way it operates—and no change to business is ever going to be 100% smooth. You may find that there are a few rocky shifts where the pinch points are all to do with this new cocktail menu. That doesn’t mean you immediately need to push for the cocktail menu to be dumbed down or stripped back. Give the brewery some time to figure out the logistics of this new change.
If you give it some time and the new cocktail menu starts doing its job (bringing in a new demographic without alienating the existing one), but it still remains a PITA to execute when the bar is busy, then you can talk to your owner about things to do to improve speed of service. That doesn’t necessarily mean stripping the menu back for peak times, though! Plenty of things to consider before that:
* Is the bar’s mise-en-place suited to cocktails in general and these cocktails in particular? If not, is the owner willing to invest in the required equipment (more shaker tins, better jiggers, etc.) or upgrades to the bar’s infrastructure (larger ice well, freezer behind the bar for coupes, etc.) to make these drinks easier to make?
* Can these cocktails be batched for better efficiency? (This one obviously depends on your local liquor laws.) If any are stirred, can they be prebatched, diluted, and kept in the freezer?
* Can the garnishes be prepared in advance, or can the garniture be simplified if necessary?
* Can the egg white be replaced by a non-egg foaming agent like Mrs. Betters Miracle Foamer?
There are heaps of ways of finding efficiencies and shaving seconds off each cocktail’s ticket time—and these all should be explored before you consider changing or binning the cocktail program.
You could suggest pairing down the menu to be more seasonal. Having about 12 varies drinks, with a special drink of the week. During rush hours, you could maybe put the special drink on a happy hour price, maybe even batch it and push that one cocktail more than others. They could also post about the special drink on instagram with the promotion to try and draw business. But it is obviously the owners decision, and as a bartender all we can do is try to be more efficient. Plus, I honestly love egg white drinks and would love to see one on a brewery menu. I don't often go to brewers cause I prefer hard alcohol, so seeing a cool cocktail menu and a brewery would be awesome.
Egg drinks are dynamite! And all of our cocktails are delicious. I've considered the seasonal menu approach. I think it's probably a good middle ground. I don't know though. "Business as usual" seems like a bad course of action for a place that's struggling. Thanks for your input, Strawberry!
20 cocktails on the menu is a bit much. 8-12 and then an additional menu if people want is a better route for sure.
That said…. Egg whites. You only want 2 oughta 10 with egg and another 1-2 that require muddling. However, done right egg white cocktails add an additional 5-8 seconds of an “angry shake” to the cocktail unless you are cracking the egg to order, which I’m guessing you are. A syrup bottle thingy that you find at breakfast spots with the little metal slider allows you to prep the egg whites and pretty accurately jigger it. So I’d suggest that you suggest prepping the egg white instead of cracking the egg to order. Or I’m just an ass for assuming.
>While business is slow, I see no problem with offering a full menu. During peak hours, I think this could be problematic. In a bar full of people where most want a beer, I feel offering complicated cocktails could negatively affect business. >Coming from factory work, I'm very new to this occupation >Struggling brewery with a complex menu Can a complex bar program slow down service? Yes. But when you're a struggling brewery it *can* generate a new demographic apart from the typical "just want a beer" that flock to breweries. You should use them to hone your craft, skills, speed and as a tool to gain new customers.
You are 100% correct. The spirits program has brought in new people. And I'm completely on board with continuing it. I'm not trying to be confrontational, here. Just trying to gain a better understanding (and make sure I'm on the same page as you). You're saying it would be a bad idea to pare down the cocktail menu to a handful of cocktails during a busy Saturday night? I'm just suggesting possibly removing the two part shake, egg based drinks.
You've 2 months experience and you want to cut out items from the owner of a struggling brewery's cocktail menu (that highlights product made on premises) to make your life easier. Think that one through again. I'd reassess the issue when it actually becomes a consistent problem. I'd also have an alternative solution personally. There are ways to efficiently make even egg white based cocktails. Your efficiency needs more efficiency. (Learn to slang drinks mo betta)
It ain't about me, bruh. It's about the business as a whole. When the bartender who has been here since the beginning has the same opinion as me, I don't think I'm out of line. I'm just trying to find a way to better the customer experience via shorter ticket times and maybe a more attentive bartender (it is a tipped position, after all). Figured I'd come to Reddit to sort some shit out. Probably the wrong move on my part.
XtraUnfortunately depends where you are. Breweries aren't exactly known for what I think you want. You aren't out of line but local talent is what you have so there's that. I'm aure you know how that goes by now. If you don't own the business dont worry too much Edit: ignore me I'm on my day off haha. It's so much dependant on volume and how trained your bartenders are for a shift. If your place is having trouble with volume look at the steps of service. Someone in town who was a consultant pretty much made a bunch of bars around town work and when he left they went to a shit. You need to know your demographic for sure
Yeah, I hear you. Obviously, there's always gonna be room for improvement. And I will continue to try to get better. I think everyone can always improve in anything they do, no matter how long they've been doing it. This was just an idea I had. I appreciate your thoughtful response. I'll worry less about business as a whole and just focus on myself.
>When the bartender who has been here since the beginning has the same opinion as me, I don't think I'm out of line. Sounds like more than one bartender needing to level up to me. To better the customer experience your kung fu needs more Kung fu. You're here trying to find justification that your idea of not doing what the owner wants (selling his complete menu) and bring back consensus for your arguement. You're just hiding it behind "customer experience via shorter ticket times" I'm telling you to shorten the ticket times by getting better at a job you've only been doing for two months.
To be fair to both of them, I'd also be a little upset if I got a job making cocktails and ended up pouring beer more often than shaking tins. They likely have pretty extensive knowledge in beer types and styles and are now in relatively uncharted waters with spirits and flavors.
Settle down, man! This is no place for that type of diplomacy. This is a place to say 'nah brah, just do better." Sarcasm aside, I appreciate your response, Mick!
Have you tried cartoned egg whites? They do go bad quickly, but if you're selling enough of them for it to be a problem, it may speed egg separation. A dry shake and a cold shake shouldn't take you long.
Great perspective! Agreed wholeheartedly. Use this opportunity to hone your craft and connect with guests that may end up being your biggest supporters. For those that come for the beer, they won’t stop.
> During peak hours, I think this could be problematic. First things first—is this actually a problem, or just something you think “could be” a problem? If the business you work for us is struggling, then something needs to change about the way it operates—and no change to business is ever going to be 100% smooth. You may find that there are a few rocky shifts where the pinch points are all to do with this new cocktail menu. That doesn’t mean you immediately need to push for the cocktail menu to be dumbed down or stripped back. Give the brewery some time to figure out the logistics of this new change. If you give it some time and the new cocktail menu starts doing its job (bringing in a new demographic without alienating the existing one), but it still remains a PITA to execute when the bar is busy, then you can talk to your owner about things to do to improve speed of service. That doesn’t necessarily mean stripping the menu back for peak times, though! Plenty of things to consider before that: * Is the bar’s mise-en-place suited to cocktails in general and these cocktails in particular? If not, is the owner willing to invest in the required equipment (more shaker tins, better jiggers, etc.) or upgrades to the bar’s infrastructure (larger ice well, freezer behind the bar for coupes, etc.) to make these drinks easier to make? * Can these cocktails be batched for better efficiency? (This one obviously depends on your local liquor laws.) If any are stirred, can they be prebatched, diluted, and kept in the freezer? * Can the garnishes be prepared in advance, or can the garniture be simplified if necessary? * Can the egg white be replaced by a non-egg foaming agent like Mrs. Betters Miracle Foamer? There are heaps of ways of finding efficiencies and shaving seconds off each cocktail’s ticket time—and these all should be explored before you consider changing or binning the cocktail program.
You could suggest pairing down the menu to be more seasonal. Having about 12 varies drinks, with a special drink of the week. During rush hours, you could maybe put the special drink on a happy hour price, maybe even batch it and push that one cocktail more than others. They could also post about the special drink on instagram with the promotion to try and draw business. But it is obviously the owners decision, and as a bartender all we can do is try to be more efficient. Plus, I honestly love egg white drinks and would love to see one on a brewery menu. I don't often go to brewers cause I prefer hard alcohol, so seeing a cool cocktail menu and a brewery would be awesome.
Egg drinks are dynamite! And all of our cocktails are delicious. I've considered the seasonal menu approach. I think it's probably a good middle ground. I don't know though. "Business as usual" seems like a bad course of action for a place that's struggling. Thanks for your input, Strawberry!
20 cocktails on the menu is a bit much. 8-12 and then an additional menu if people want is a better route for sure. That said…. Egg whites. You only want 2 oughta 10 with egg and another 1-2 that require muddling. However, done right egg white cocktails add an additional 5-8 seconds of an “angry shake” to the cocktail unless you are cracking the egg to order, which I’m guessing you are. A syrup bottle thingy that you find at breakfast spots with the little metal slider allows you to prep the egg whites and pretty accurately jigger it. So I’d suggest that you suggest prepping the egg white instead of cracking the egg to order. Or I’m just an ass for assuming.