7 Essential Skill for Excellent Barbacks
Barbacks are a crucial part of your bar’s operation and, if all goes well, that individual will eventually become an integral part of your bar team. Often low on experience and equally excited and nervous about being on the “other side of the bar” and barbacks need to be given direction and shown everything they need to know.
Once fully trained an attentive and knowledgeable barback can make the difference between a big headache and beautifully smooth nights, especially on the busiest weekend. With that in mind we’ve compiled seven essential skills every barback should know, the benefits they provide for the individual and the boost they give to your operation.
Opening and Closing Duties
Fail to prepare and prepare to fail. Your barback will set the bar up in the morning and often, but not always, break it down at the end of the night. It is essential that both of these tasks are done correctly to set your operation up for success every day.
Give your new barback a shift where they’re shadowing one of your more experienced bartenders, helping them open and close down your bar. They will get the best learning method in the business, “learning on the job”, and by assigning them to one of your best employees you can be sure that they’ll get the best training.
Glassware Care
No glasses no beverages. Your barback will spend a lot of time in the bar version of the dish-pit, so it’s essential that they learn how to care for your glassware. This includes running your machine as well as polishing glasses. This is also a great opportunity for them to learn about glassware and the purpose of each individual glass.
Running Food
Barbacks will often help ship dishes back and forth between your kitchen and your bar. This will help them get closely aquatinted with your food menu as well as assist them in learning your table numbers and the ebb and flow of business at your location.
Inventory Management
In reality, the person who spends the most amount of time in your stockroom is your barback. Therefore, it is essential that they learn excellent inventory management skills in order to help you keep your stockroom organised. This means teaching them FiFo (First in First out) practices and how to stock shelves to maximum effectiveness.
Restocking the Bar
Barbacks will restock the bar throughout the day and now that they have an in-depth knowledge of your stockroom they can complement that with an in-depth knowledge of your bar setup. Here your barback will learn exactly where everything is on the bar, how much product you dispense and, therefore, how much they need to stock for each shift.
Bar Upkeep
Barbacks don’t take orders or make cocktails but they can refill waters and soft drinks, and clear empty plates and dirty glassware. Completing these tasks will teach them attentiveness and how to manage their guests and their time effectively behind the bar.
Bartender support
One of the skills a barback will learn later in their tenure is how to pour beer and wine. Having a barback who can complete these two simple tasks can allow your bartenders to focus on their guests and other duties.
Pouring beer and wine is basic yet essential knowledge for a bartender and after learning this skill and gaining the knowledge your barback will feel rewarded. They’ll be making progress toward their goal of becoming a bartender.
Remember, almost every barback is aspiring to be a bartender. So if they feel like they’re working toward that goal then they’re going to be more inclined to be more attentive and work harder for you. Only time will tell if they’ll eventually grow into this roll or not, but, either way, barbacks are a crucial element of your operation and should be treated and trained as such.
