A bar that serves exceptional food and fine liquor is headed for success, depending on the location it is in. However, the success of your barcan reach greater heights with exemplary customer service offered. How do you ensure that? Easy to train your staff, you may think. Isn’t it? Think again. Hiring front staff for your bar is a critical decision as the chosen candidate needs to be detail oriented and smart for a lasting impression on your customer..

Customers might forget your food because of a very high level of competition but they will never forget how you made them feel. So, you need to be extra careful while picking the front staff for your bar.

Here are the five traits you must look out for while hiring front staff for your bar:

A pleasing personality

This goes without saying. Nobody wants to be greeted by someone who is aggressive or dull. Both sides of the spectrum need to be avoided and a person who showcases equilibrium is the one to hire. This goes for the host or hostess who greets the customers in or takes their table bookings and also for the bartenders and first servers. Fit for such a position is someone who is not intimidating yet confident.

This is also someone who is able to impart a sense of trust in the customers so that they take the next step to walk in or order. They are the first face of your bar and need to represent the quality of overall service that your customers can expect from your establishment.

Adaptability

Surprisingly, this can really be a big problem sometimes. When your front of house staff treats every customer in the same manner without understanding their needs, the conversation will end up sounding scripted. Moreover, it might end up irritating the customer. For instance, a particular couple probably likes to be left alone, but if the host constantly interrupts them trying to figure out if they need something, they are likely to get frustrated and might never return.

You need to find someone who is sharp enough to know when to start a conversation, when to stop and when not to have one at all. This adaptability goes a very long way as the customers feel valued and understand the personal touch in your bar’s service rather than being disappointed with someone who serves every customer in the exact same fashion.

Hard work

This is obvious. However, hard work means a lot of things than just the traditional definition. It means optimism and a ‘never say die’ attitude. Front of house staff is presented with many challenges and if they fail at crisis management, your bar fails at customer service. The relationship is as simple as that. Your front house staff members need to be ready to work on any challenging situation which can range from simple ‘not getting the table I want’ woes to someone not willing to pay the bill because they are unhappy with the bar’s food or service.

Multitasking is the key. It could also be a drunk customer not behaving appropriately and a lone female customer who is feeling intimidated by the crowded atmosphere. He/she could also be required to manage the POS restaurant software along with checking the bar inventory on the same at the same time. Good restaurant software coupled with a great front of house staff member will help achieve this. Your front house staff needs to be on their toes to manage everything that is probably happening simultaneously.

Proud of working with you

Any employee, if unhappy with their organization, will not do justice to his/her position. It is no different for your bar. Of course, part of it comes from you and you need to keep your front of the house staff happy but when you hire them, you need to have an eye for how interested they are for working with you per se. They probably are interested in working at ‘any’ bar but that is not what you should be looking for.

Understand why ‘your’ bar? If they like your brand and are ready to take the name forward, then you have won yourself a proud employee who will also extend the pride to a customer. If he/she is confident that they are working in the ‘best’ bar in town, they will make it look like the best bar, whether or not it actually is.

Constant learning

A bar has a million different situations happening every single day. If the person you are interviewing has a closed mindset and a fixed approach to everything, he/she will never be ready to learn. You need someone who is open to constant feedback and newer ways to do things. Someone who is willing to learn every day is someone you definitely should go for.

Hiring front house staff may seem like rocket science but it isn’t. You just need to have an eye for detail and you will get many clues during the interview to judge whether or not they have all of the above mentioned qualities. If they do, you have just found the people who are the face of your bar and will only drive it forward with their skills and personality!