Many bartenders are losing big tip money and don't even realize it! I'll show you how to work smarter not harder to increase your main source of income in the bar business, your tips and your personal customer list.

The number one "cardinal rule" for bartenders is never discuss your personal problems with your customers in the bar.Whether it's problems at home, your health, children, money problems, or how the world is treating you. Quite frankly, the customers don't want to hear it! I know this sounds callus and you think the customers really care about your problems because they listen to you. On the contrary, they listen out of politeness, and they may even feel sorry for you, but your tips are derived from pity or sorrow for your situation not because you made them feel better. This wears thin real quick and so do the tips.

Let's take a look at this from the customer's viewpoint. The customer comes into your bar for any of several reasons. They may have had a bad day at work or at home. The reasons could go on and on, but they came in to have a good time, socialize with friends, and relax after a rough day.They came into your bar to see a smiling face, get a good drink and forget their problems for a few hours. Instead, they come into the bar and the bartender has had personal problems and lord help the customer that asks the bartender the "fatal greeting", "How are you today?" The "flood gates" will open and the customer will regret they asked the question. Not only does the customer have problems of their own, they now had to listen to the bartender's tales of woe. The customer leaves feeling worse than when they came in to see you. The whole bar is effected because as you told the one customer your problems, the rest of the bar has heard them too. Sometimes more than once.Word will get around the other bars and customers will go to a bar where they can be in a positive atmosphere and a bartender will listen to their problems not the other way around. It won't take long before your tips will drop and so will your customers.

There is an easy solution to solve these problems and it will greatly increase your tips and build you're personal customer list. Keep a positive attitude from the time you open the door until you leave. You are going to have problems in your life, we all do, but as a professional bartender you leave those problems at the door and put on a smile to start the day.

Listen to your customers. Try to remember their first names. It is a psychological fact that the "sweetest sound" in the world to a human being is the sound of their name. It's not because of the name itself, it's the recognization you have given that person. Don't just use it to greet them. Work a person's name in the bar conversation. Not just "he said" or "she said", say the name " Tom said," or "Mary said". This will help remember their name in no time and you will quickly build your personal customer list.