Bar Service and Business – Part 3

To recap from my previous 2 blogs in this series of The Seven Elements of Perfect Bar Service and how they relate to Business – firstly, the Customers/Clients are being served… secondly the Customer/Client area is clean… what to do next?

Pt 3 – Keep your Area Clean!

I have to admit, I suck at this one in an office situation.  You want to see my desk right now… crap everywhere.  My excuse is that it is the last week of our financial year and I’ve been coming in, dumping stuff, picking more stuff up, and leaving again.  I’m sure you have had times when this happens too!

You cannot deny though, the feeling you get when you walk into your office and see a clean, tidy, uncluttered, well-ordered area.  You automatically feel on top of it.  It will probably take me a weekend day/afternoon for me to go in and get myself in order, but I know how great Monday will feel when I have, so it’s no big hardship.  It’ll happen.  Honest 😉

In a hospitality situation however, and literally ANY other situation where I have been sharing a space with other people, I’ve been an absolute stickler for this.  There are few things more infuriating than working with someone who leaves dirty or used equipment around a communal workspace, uses the last of something and doesn’t replenish stock, or – one of my pet peeves – moves gear/ingredients/paraphernalia to places they are not usually located, so you them have to use valuable time hunting out what you should have been able to reach out and grab with your eyes closed in the first place!  Breathe Simon… breathe…

It can be a Health and Safety issue too.  Leaving stuff lying around can cause slips or trips that lead to injury.  Can you afford to be a staff member down from something that could have been so easily avoided?

Part of this is about teamwork, but mostly it’s about respect – for your colleagues, your work environment, and yourself.

I’ve made myself feel sufficiently guilty now, so I’m off to tidy my desk!   Stay tuned next week for Pt 4 – Keep on top of Glassware.  How does that relate to business?  I’ll answer all next week…