1954 Practical Bar Management by Eddie Clarke

PRACTICAL BAR MANAGEMENT

over the British Isles, and they will be only too pleased to recom mend a suitable man,either for this country or abroad,also a point well worth bearing in mind is that all their members are approved and reliable bartenders. Failing the U.K.B.G., a notification to one or more of the agencies who deal only with the engagement of hotel and catering staffs will no doubt result in perfect satis faction. Then again there is always the personal recommendation angle, for who is better qualified to recommend someone suitable for the vacancy than another bartender ? He will never give you a loser, because it would be a personal blow to his own prestige if the fellow he vouched for turned out"unsuitable". With regard to the actual interviewing of applicants, there are one or two things to be wary of: 1. Don't be too reference-minded. Just because a man is not in possession of one it does not necessarily mean that he was a failure in his previous position. Some establishments make a point of not giving any to their late employees, but, of course, on the other hand, the employee may have been discharged through being unsatisfactory, and it was thought preferable to refuse a reference, rather than give him something injurious. Supposing, though the applicant may have a wonderful testimonial, there is nothing to prevent its being a forgery ; many of the"smart boys"are up to all those types of tricks. Why is it that employers seldom bother to check with the person alleged to have given the reference ? It would be so easy to 'phone just to make sure, and after all the Catering Industry is rather like a big family circle, so one would seldom meet with a refusal in such a request. 2. Another"drive careful"sign is over Cocktail Competition cups and diplomas—do not be too much influenced by the bartender who displays these as proof of his abilities, for there is much more in the art of bartending than the winning of such recognitions. Whilst it is true to state that these awards are for degrees of merit, they are also often apt to be similar to one's luck in winning afootball pool. This is not ajealous statement,because even though I hold several diplomas, etc., I do not consider myself any the better bartender than the fellow who has none. 3. Experience is an oft misquoted, misjudged, and misused term, mainly because it can cover such a vast amount of territory, but it must be taken into account when engaging a bartender.

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