A question regarding number of bartenders (HELP!)

[egator]

I am in charge of the finances for a fundraising event that will host approx. 350 people. I was looking over the budget and noticed that they have only 2 people scheduled to tend bar. We will be serving wine, draft beer and frozen margaritas. There are two bars. I can say with certainty that the members of this organization have probably never worked in the service industry. As they go on with their sheltered comfortable lives, no one but me seems to be concerned about the lack of servers.

Now that I’ve vented my frustration (thanks - had to get it off my chest), here’s my question. How many people do you think would be an appropriate number to tend bar? Keep in mind they will not be bartenders, just members that volunteer to “get their hands dirty” doing something I’m sure they’ve never done before. Maybe after the experience they’ll tip better!

Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

[winesonoma]

I'd say eight people because 3-4 will quit when they realize what a hassle it is. Do not let the beer be self served. There are major liability issues here. Make sure you have proper insurance ( Calif insurers just said you offer alcohol you ain't got insurance any more). ABC license is needed. I do this 2-3 times a year with a historical society and it's become a major hassle.

[spiritchild]

2 on each bar for a total of four

[egator]

I'd say eight people because 3-4 will quit when they realize what a hassle it is. Do not let the beer be self served. There are major liability issues here. Make sure you have proper insurance ( Calif insurers just said you offer alcohol you ain't got insurance any more). ABC license is needed. I do this 2-3 times a year with a historical society and it's become a major hassle.  

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Good point – I’m sure a few volunteers will drop off quickly – didn’t think about that. First few overflows of that gosh awful margarita sludge and the sticky mess that ensues…yep I better try for eight at the least. Perhaps I should look into hiring a few bartenders for the night.

Definitely no self service, they’re already pushing past their budgeted expenses.

Thanks for the heads-up about liability and license permit. We do have the permit, thankfully. And both were a hassle.

I appreciate all your help. If you have any other words of wisdom, then please feel free to share!

[egator]

2 on each bar for a total of four

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You are a professional and an optimist! Would you like to come help??!!

I have a feeling that I should dress comfortably and bring some bar mop towels…

[slkinsey]

Yes, that probably is a recommendation for people who know what they're doing (i.e., professionals). When I read your first post and you said you were looking at the budget and saw that only two bartenders were scheduled, I also thought you were hiring. Somehow my eye skipped over your later explanation that they are going to be inexperienced volunteers.

I, too, would probably recommend something like eight. My experience in working with volunteer organizations is that at least two of them won't be reliable anyway. One thing that should help is for you to divide the tasks down into components and perhaps rotating those assignments to keep it more interesting for the volunteers. For example, serving the drinks is the easy part. Who is keeping the bar and equipment clean, who is making sure the bar is stocked (fetching new bottles and kegs when needed, opening bottles, tapping kegs, refilling the margarita machine, etc.). You could split the task so that you have essentially two bartenders and one barback per station.

[ChicagoBartender]

We will be serving wine, draft beer and frozen margaritas.

Beyond making sure you have staffing for this be sure you have enough blenders and ice. Dedicated people for the frozen margaritas may be a good idea. You also have to remember that a lot of ice gets used to chill beer and wine at catered events. Good Luck!

[lancastermike]

As a retired bartender it is my thought that the frozen magariata idea may not be a good one. They are time consuming and messy to make. Are there going to be machines that simply dispense them or are they being made in blenders? Either method has it's issues, but if I was setting this up I would have a seperate station for the beer and wine. Also, draft beer can be finicky in these settings with inexperienced staff serving nothing but foam. Good luck and I agree that two untrained people for this large a function is really asking for trouble

[egator]

I, too, would probably recommend something like eight.  My experience in working with volunteer organizations is that at least two of them won't be reliable anyway.  One thing that should help is for you to divide the tasks down into components and perhaps rotating those assignments to keep it more interesting for the volunteers.  For example, serving the drinks is the easy part.  Who is keeping the bar and equipment clean, who is making sure the bar is stocked (fetching new bottles and kegs when needed, opening bottles, tapping kegs, refilling the margarita machine, etc.).  You could split the task so that you have essentially two bartenders and one barback per station.

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Damn. Didn’t think about no-shows – that will definitely happen. Thanks.

Yep. They’re in bad shape. Today, I had to explain what a barback is – if that gives you any idea. There has been no consideration that glasses have to be cleaned, ice refilled, kegs changed-over (and rested) and margarita slop to deal with. I’m going tomorrow to look over the location and meet with the manager. Hopefully he will be able to answer the questions that my council couldn't. Ya know, small issues like, will your staff pick-up and wash glasses in the back during the event, or is that solely our responsibility? Not like it makes much of a difference (quote from volunteer when I asked her about it).

Dammit! I was just supposed to deal with the numbers!

Thanks! All good points.

[egator]

Beyond making sure you have staffing for this be sure you have enough blenders and ice. Dedicated people for the frozen margaritas may be a good idea. You also have to remember that a lot of ice gets used to chill beer and wine at catered events. Good Luck!

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You bring up a good point, and something else that I was wondering about. I never worked in a banquet hall or anything like that, just regular restaurants. So, how in the hell do you chill that much wine? This is a crowd that I can sum-up as, “Liquor, never touch the stuff, just give me a bottle and a ½ of wine”. I expect to order at least 25 cases of wine. Even if the location lets us stick some of it in their walk-in, that probably won’t be enough room. Any tips on what to do?

Again, priceless information – thanks!

[winesonoma]

Are you doing Plastic throw away or rental glasses. Because if your doing glasses for that many, your are f##ked. Go to party america and buy all the plastic you can. If you don't own the place and the glass and the dishwashers, that is way to many people, to look after. Chillwine 2 cases per ice chest with ice standing up.

[egator]

As a retired bartender it is my thought that the frozen magariata idea may not be a good one.  They are time consuming and messy to make.  Are there going to be machines that simply dispense them or are they being made in blenders?  Either method has it's issues, but if I was setting this up I would have a seperate station for the beer and wine.  Also, draft beer can be finicky in these settings with inexperienced staff serving nothing but foam.  Good luck and I agree that two untrained people for this large a function is really asking for trouble

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Believe me; I know the margarita idea sucks. Big bad councilwoman has already struck down enough of chair’s requests . I let this one go (it works with the theme). They are getting a machine. Funny thing is, in the contract that was submitted to me for approval of the margarita machine/mix, the bar owner clearly states that it is too much volume for the one machine to handle. Again, overlooked by all, but glaring problem to me.

I hope to get my questions answered by him, but then again he is trying to make a sale. If you would like to share what the issues are with those pesky little machines, then I would be very grateful.

I’m hoping to give a short tutorial on how to avoid pouring foam! That’s all I can offer them on that one!

I really do appreciate all the help. If only my volunteers were as helpful as egulleteers!

Also, love the picture of your dogs.

[winesonoma]

I would suggest the Flu that weekend for yourself. Listen to the stories later.

[egator]

Are you doing Plastic throw away or rental glasses. Because if your doing glasses for that many, your are f##ked. Go to party america and buy all the plastic you can. If you don't own the place and the glass and the dishwashers, that is way to many people, to look after. Chillwine 2 cases per ice chest with ice standing up.

Oh I’m so f##ked. Again, dammit! It’s not even my committee - they just fall under my council! The event site said they have enough glasses for 350, but I'm not sure what that means. That’s another question for him tomorrow.

Are there decent wine glasses made of plastic, or are we talking about standard 8oz. plastic cups?

I’m sending a blast email out requesting ice chests.

Thanks again to all. We’ve accomplished (what I would estimate to be) three weeks worth of meetings!

[herbacidal]

You can use glassware for that many people, assuming you have tons of hired staff. Since you don't, use plastic.

Normally, the ratio is 1 bartender per 100 people. For 350, I'd go with 4.

Since your bartenders are actually volunteers and not hired, I agree with the idea to double that count and target 8 people.

Two people per double bar. Even better, if you can get more volunteers, put each bartender on for only an hour. That way you'll get less whining out of them.

In other words, target number of volunteers = 4 bartenders per hour X total hours of party time

Chilling that much wine and beer isn't a real problem. Buy tubs from Walmart @ $4-6 per for 10 or so(depending on size) and ice the bottles in them. 750ml and 1.5 L of wine should only need half an hour to be chilled when you're putting it in direct contact with ice. 12 oz bottles of beer, 15 minutes will do. Ice half your white wine supply initially, and have someone restock later (if you have that second shift, they should start 15 miinutes before the first shift leaves so they can do this.)

Just keep it all out of sunlight and in a relatively cool place before you use it.

[egator]

I would suggest the Flu that weekend for yourself. Listen to the stories later.      

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Words of wisdom! You really do have a lot of experience with these things!

[ChicagoBartender]

Just a few things. Alright, TEN THOUSAND. JK. It becomes natural after a while, like rock climbing or tying shoe laces.

I would suggest that the beer be laid sideways in the plastic tubs (as opposed to standing up). You can fit more in the tubs then. I like to use large lexan containers on jobs of that type. If you don't have lexans at your disposal anything that doesn't leak will work. If the event is at a rented hall it may be possible that they have Ice Caddies. Those are great too. And remember, Beer first, Ice second!

If you have room you should think about a back bar. Two 6 or 8 foot tables with cloths, one for the bar and one for the back bar should be fine. Use pins or clips to hold up the cloths on the back side. With the tubs underneath you now have a makeshift reach in. With 8 foot tables it may be possible to squeeze 3 behind the stick. With a 6 footI wouldn't go more than two unless you put two tables together. (When the guest list is this large, if no one has done so yet, find out the size of the space for the event and draw a nice, simple diagram. Doesn't need to be fancy.)

Make sure you have tape to tame the power cords, and lots of power cords. I've been caught short before and it sucks to make a run to the hardware store. Ice Scoops and Garbage Cans are a must.

You may also want to print out recipes for the bartenders since they're rookies. Size the recipes accordingly and make it easy for them to measure out the amount of booze going into the blenders. Explaining that it's no fun to have a guest throw up on you may be good motivation to use some reason.

Ice. I've always found it a good rule of thumb to have a pound of ice per person and keep it in a separate cooler that's only for ice. If you live in a warm climate you may want to up that 10-15%. (It still kinda cool where I live) If the crowd has heavy drinkers you may want to go higher. Remember, some of the ice will be needed to chill the beer and wine.

Lastly, have the bartenders display the available products. Just one of each on top of the bar should suffice. If you make a big bar... you get it. It eliminates a lot of the questions people may have (e.g. What kinda beer ya got?), speeds up the line, and in general makes life easier on everybody.

I'm sure there's a million things I'm leaving out, but with all the info from everyone else and my two cents, I'm sure you'll do okay.

Once again, best of luck!

[lancastermike]

As a retired bartender it is my thought that the frozen magariata idea may not be a good one.  They are time consuming and messy to make.  Are there going to be machines that simply dispense them or are they being made in blenders?  Either method has it's issues, but if I was setting this up I would have a seperate station for the beer and wine.  Also, draft beer can be finicky in these settings with inexperienced staff serving nothing but foam.   Good luck and I agree that two untrained people for this large a function is really asking for trouble

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Believe me; I know the margarita idea sucks. Big bad councilwoman has already struck down enough of chair’s requests . I let this one go (it works with the theme). They are getting a machine. Funny thing is, in the contract that was submitted to me for approval of the margarita machine/mix, the bar owner clearly states that it is too much volume for the one machine to handle. Again, overlooked by all, but glaring problem to me.

I hope to get my questions answered by him, but then again he is trying to make a sale. If you would like to share what the issues are with those pesky little machines, then I would be very grateful.

I’m hoping to give a short tutorial on how to avoid pouring foam! That’s all I can offer them on that one!

I really do appreciate all the help. If only my volunteers were as helpful as egulleteers!

Also, love the picture of your dogs.

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The issue with the frozen drink machine is they need a certain time to freeze the mix. So once the first batch is gone it will serve only liquid for a while. The are also a pain to keep clean, however since this is a one time use that may not be an issue. I always hated these machines, they either did not make the stuff frozen enough, or they froze up completly. Trying to keep them clean was an issue as no one ever wanted to do it.

[auntdot]

Egator am just one of the sort of people who would probably be at the function, except I have donated my time in similar situations, can tap a keg, learn fast, and work like heck.

Used to live in Orlando and were I still there would be happy to drive up and do my best.

Sounds like you need to do some serious education to the bartenders. Particularly with the margarita thingy.

From what others have said it sounds a bit complicated for someone with no experience to just cruise in and make the machine run successfully.

" Funny thing is, in the contract that was submitted to me for approval of the margarita machine/mix, the bar owner clearly states that it is too much volume for the one machine to handle."

When someone says that in the contract, sounds to me that you are heading for a disaster.

Were it me would have a hissy fit about the margaritas, tell the folks running the thing I could handle the beer and wine and no more.

Believe me I wish you well, and regret I cannot be there to help you out.

To me there is little more fun than being in a crazy situation and making it work.

Gets the old adrenaline running.

Take care and good luck.

[herbacidal]

Yea, I think the other people are assuming that they'll just know what to do because it looks easy and they've seen bartenders do it in the past, so how hard can it be?

That's folly, bigtime.

All of the info given here plus more that we may be leaving out is testament to that.

[egator]

Egator am just one of the sort of people who would probably be at the function, except I have donated my time in similar situations, can tap a keg, learn fast, and work like heck.

Used to live in Orlando and were I still there would be happy to drive up and do my best.

Believe me I wish you well, and regret I cannot be there to help you out.

To me there is little more fun than being in a crazy situation and making it work.

Gets the old adrenaline running.

Take care and good luck.

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You are too kind!! Thank so much for the info. and help. If you were still in Orlando, I'd be temped to take you up on your offer!

[egator]

Yea, I think the other people are assuming that they'll just know what to do because it looks easy and they've seen bartenders do it in the past, so how hard can it be?

That's folly, bigtime. 

All of the info given here plus more that we may be leaving out is testament to that.

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Maybe they are assuming that it will be easy. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what the heck they're thinking!

[egator]

Well I went to the location to check it out. They don’t even have bars. They will be using those long buffet tables as bars. When I realized that, I almost fell over! The site was not originally constructed to be a banquet hall, so the kitchen was retro-fitted. To get to the ice machine or the walk-in, you have to walk through the kitchen. Basically no way to get through without getting in the way of the cooks. The cooks are going to LOVE that – hopefully they’re used to it! They have a standard restaurant ice-machine – and everyone is telling me that’s “more than enough ice” grrrrrr. I let the ice issue go because they are allowing us to use their walk-in to store the wine, and we can bring it the night before the event. I still think they need more ice, but I can do no more.

I ordered the wine yesterday. If it was ordered on Monday, then it wouldn’t come in until the day after the event. Nobody seemed to be aware of that. The manager loaning the margarita machine was apparently very honest about the problems that could arise, but still, everyone thinks it will be fine. They have 350 plastic margarita glasses that need to be assembled (stem to glass). I told them those will probably take a while to assemble, but “they don’t think it will”. The first bar shift is scheduled to come on 15 minutes before the event starts. I’ve rounded up some guys to go earlier to set-up.

That’s it! I am done! I’ve tried to help, and believe me I’ve gotten some attitude from some for it!

Now…I’m starting to feel…a little…under the weather. Feel…a…flu coming on (thanks winesonoma, that was a good tip).

You all have bee so helpful. Thanks so much. Not only for the advice, but for confirming that I’m not crazy to be a little concerned!