Aoc bartender or barista1/3/2024 ![]() ![]() It informs how I work with colleagues and how I engage with marketing audiences. Much like AOC, serving and bartending is what got me through school, but I wouldn’t be the person (and marketer) I am today without those experiences. Never stop learning and striving to improve.Provide experiences and value that customers absolutely can’t get anywhere else, and regular buyers will become brand ambassadors in no time. One thing I was most proud of was learning to pour a clover leaf topped Guinness, which took a few extra minutes to get right but was always a crowd-pleaser. It was fun, and one of my favorite parts of the job. As a beer enthusiast myself, I enjoyed talking about beer, providing samples and suggestions, and learning as much as I could. Beer connoisseurs expected the bartenders to know about each beer, educate them on what’s new, and make recommendations. The main feature of our bar was a row of 36 beer taps, which included a few regular mainstays and many rotating brews. Provide a unique experience and critical value.Providing knowledge builds audience trust and creates a memorable experience that keeps them coming back to the source for more. And thus, the gin and tonic was born! Neat, huh? Storytelling is a powerful tool that connects the audience to the storyteller. Did you know that the gin and tonic was born out of necessity by the British East India Company to combat malaria in India? It’s true! The "tonic" in tonic water is quinine, a natural cure for malaria – but the taste of the tonic water was so bitter to British taste buds, they decided to mix it with gin to make it more palatable. Fostering cooperation within the marketing team isn’t enough cross-departmental collaboration is the only way for EVERYONE to succeed. And when the bartenders got slammed? Servers would jump in to run food or wash glassware. So, what did we do when during a kitchen rush when food was backing up on the line? Did the bartenders twiddle their thumbs? Did we finger point and take a “sucks to be you” attitude? No, we jumped in and helped. The team of bartenders behind the bar had to work in sync to succeed, and that team had to coordinate with servers on the floor, as well as the kitchen staff in the back, to ensure the night went smoothly. Every Tuesday the bar would be packed to the gills for Discount Pint Night. Compassionate collaboration means the organization wins.Knowing your audience, what they want, and how to engage with them equals repeat customers every time. Nancy wants one of the seasonals on tap, but she wants to try them and have a conversation about them first before settling on a pint. Matt is a whisky drinker and prefers to read his book vs. Leigh is a Blue Moon gal, extra orange slice. As a bartender, I got to know the regular faces at the bar and their drink of choice. Here are the top 5 lessons I learned from bartending which still inform and drive my marketing and work style more than a decade later: If you came through a similar trajectory to your current career, I bet you could say the same. While the title of this article isn’t completely true (obviously there’s a lot of technical knowledge that goes into marketing that I didn’t learn behind the bar), the life lessons I learned in the customer service trenches have without a doubt brought me to where I am today. ![]() Besides the obvious elitism woven into using a blue collar job as some sort of slur, as someone who’s been on both sides of the job spectrum, it particularly rings hollow to me as it’s been my experience that these jobs we’ve had in our past lives 100% contribute to our SUCCESS in our current roles. ![]() Since I was a bartender in a past life, it’s always rubbed me the wrong way to hear it, but it wasn’t until recently that I really thought about how ridiculous this premise is. Regardless of how you personally feel about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ politics, one thing I see again and again brought up to discount her efforts is the fact that she used to be a bartender. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |