The Community Bartender: Cheers to lending an ear with a beer! (Listening as a Customer Service Skill!)

 From time to time, I jump behind the bar and volunteer at a couple of our local social and veterans’ clubs. It’s a lot of work, sure, but it’s also pretty enjoyable—mostly because you get to know the regulars and see firsthand how important these gathering places are for the community. The sense of being that people created when they come together for good causes and conversation.

Now, I don’t pretend to be the world’s greatest bartender. If you order something super fancy, I’ll probably break into a light sweat, glance at you like you just asked me to solve a physics equation, and then casually pull out my phone to Google the recipe like every responsible mixologist of the YouTube era.

I’ve also decided that drinks say a lot about personality. You’ve got your casual beer drinkers, your loyal whiskey folks, and then your martini sippers—who always look like they know something the rest of us don’t.

I got a couple of nice
gifts from the 
other barteners. 
During the holidays
it is the little 
gifts that count the most.

I must be doing something right, because they keep calling me back. Then again, it’s volunteer work, so the my skill level might be a little lower than at, say, a five-star resort. But I’ve learned that good conversation carries you a long way. Where I lack in cocktail wizardry, I make up for in human connection.

Everyone has a story, and everyone lives by their own themes. If you listen, smile, and ask a few questions, people will happily tell you what matters most to them. I’ve met some truly great people while bartending—proof that community knows how to create its own best members. Yes you must opt in to conversations.

In the end, bartending has taught me that sometimes all you need is a few minutes, a listening ear, and maybe a slightly lopsided drink to practice humble leadership. Cheers to lending an ear witha a beer!

I thought this study was a little interesting as it discussions bartending and how word of mouth is so important. If you are into business think of WOM as soft marketing that reaches further than traditional marketing. If my buddy tells me it is good, then it must be good! Please don't drop the peanut shells on the floor. Thank you.

Bartending Skills In Creating Customer Experience