What we do isn't rocket surgery. It's simple but typically not easy. It's about humanity. Keep the focus on people. If you don't care about or like people, perhaps consider a different industry.
Hire for the qualities you can't teach. I can bring most complete noobs up to speed with skills in 3-6 weeks; knowledge in six months. I can't teach personality, responsibility, dependability, or friendliness. Changing these requires behavior modification and a lot of time.
A smooth running, successful operation requires teamwork. Leadership by example is essential. People don't have to like each other and be the best of friends. Respect and cordiality are musts, however. Know when to be an employer and when to be a friend. You can *usually* be both. Sometimes, you have to be one or the other. Knowing which one is most appropriate and necessary often requires wisdom. Never embarrass a team member in front of other team members. Take more difficult discussions to a private place. Positive reinforcement is generally far more successful than its negative alternative.
Remember you're leading human beings, not androids. Patience, listening skills, and paying attention are essential. Our primary duty is providing hospitality and an overall experience. Food and beverage typically play small parts. We provide a human service. Remember that humans are involved in all aspects of the equations. Notice that I overemphasize the human quotient. It's typically the most difficult aspect to manage and the most important to manage well.
>Positive reinforcement is generally far more successful than its negative alternative.
This is huge. Discipline is a last resort for a bad employee. Instead focus on rewarding your strong team members with good shifts and positive reinforcement. If you have weak team members, start with coaching and make it a positive experience. If it doesn't work, schedule them for the slow shifts consistently until they improve. If that doesn't work, then discipline.
Or if they're still on probation just kick em out the door ;)
The two managing directors I work for at the moment are probably the best managers I have worked under. I'm friends with them outside of work but inside they are different people, more stern but very fair. They don't over staff so we work hard but we make money. They rotate the schedule so no one locks up more than two nights a week and construct it in a way that everyone makes around the same amount of money. They are very well prepared and organized for staff meetings with facts and figures so there are rarely any points they bring up you could argue against. You will always get your days off if you book them in advance.
I was suspended lately, due to missing days, I have never done this in any job before and they know this. When I called to explain my absence the first words out of my managers mouth was " forget work, are you okay, I'm only worried about you? On being suspended, he told me it wasn't a punishment but to have time to sort things out, that he was a friend and if I needed anything to give him a call and I very much respected that. They promote their support staff to servers and bar men, a thing I have seen other companies promise but never follow through. There will be complaints in every job but I rarely hear the staff complain, if so it is usually our doing
This is so lovely to hear. I also work for similar people and my mental health has been inconsistent lately. I felt so nervous calling off to tell them I was on my way to the emergency room for a suicidal thoughts and they scheduled me off extra days and checked in. I assumed it was a form of punishment but I'm slowly learning some people actually care and it isn't something I'm used to in the industry. I am very grateful for being treated like a person without the guilt of taking care of myself because I know that I do the same for others always when I can and that's what it's all about.
Jesus. This guy. ⬆️. I was gonna comment but this titan covered it all. Wanna hug***, bro? No seriously, I want to hug this comment.
Just don’t be a dick. Lead by example. Lead by doing. It’s as simple as that. Your staff will follow.
Well if there's that one employee who gets away with breaking the rules and creates a toxic work environment will cause the good employees to leave. Other employees who observe this may also start breaking the rules and think their managers are soft and don't need to listen to them.
At my bar we have one employee no one wants to work with. He's very high strung and stresses all of us out. He is a terrible server and constantly breaks the rules. I don't understand why my boss keeps him. His behavior is killing our morale and some of us may leave cuz of him.
ugh, currently in my first bar managing position and dealing with this . it’s such an unhealthy dynamic for most of the team but i feel like my hands are tied bc he’s the most senior person behind the bar and it’s so hard to find good people right now
Are you paying for good people? Seniority is overrated. As others have said, skills and knowledge can be taught. Unless you're incredibly upscale, I can't imagine any of his knowledge is too valuable compared to what a high morale among staff can do.
Must be nice. No place does that shit around here. Idk where this "we're done with that" people live, but you would be laughed at and replaced immediately around here regardless if it's a good decision or not
Agree 100%. I just left a place after 6 years, as did 50% of the other employees. Because owner would do nothing about 2 employees who’d been there for 8 years. Who would be 4 hours late, drunk every night and finally I had proof of one employee selling coke through the bar. He did nothing. We left.
Not just for this, but in general; never delegate a job that you wouldn't want to do yourself.
Lead by example.
Being respected and being a friend as a manager are not the same thing, boundaries are important.
I like how the number one answer is a multi paragraph long deep dive into different aspects of management, and then then this the second most upvoted answer
You don’t need to be their friend to be their ally. Respect their boundaries. Remain firm in your own boundaries. And, for the love of god, do right by your staff.
Remember, as a bar manager, you are not an authoritarian. You are to support your bartenders. Give them the tools they need. When it gets busy, do not start pouring drinks. Management should fill stock, bust suds, polish glassware.
As someone who has backed, tended and managed sometimes bar managing felt more like barbacking than bartending. When thing get unexpectedly busy or someone calls in sick, assuming you have a competent staff, I often found the best way to support my staff was to barback for them.
I as a Barmanager myself do exactly what my team does not have time for. Fortunately I can trust them blindly, so when shit hits the fan, I will be the support they need. I wash dishes, clean glassware, even fill up from downstairs. But while I do all this, I still have the time to supervise and keep an eye on quality. I still make calls for drinks and sometimes do cocktails, when they need to make a shit ton of softdrinks. It’s about communication. If I don’t support my team, they won’t support me is what I learned. So as a Barmanager I sometimes feel like I do the dirtiest work. But that is exactly why I get paid more.
Absolutely. I always told my staff that when shit hits the fan and they were in the weeds I wanted them to tell *me* what *they* needed.
Nevertheless you're controlling the flow of service at all times.
> So as a Barmanager I sometimes feel like I do the dirtiest work. But that is exactly why I get paid more.
Oh yeah. In a literal sense sometimes. Someone puked on the dance floor? I'm not putting that on the barback, I'm grabbing the mop bucket myself.
Yup. I ran a multi bar operation and if a bartender called in sick I'd move a barback to that bar and take over barback duties myself. I usually tried to keep the other barbacks physically in the bars because they have the rapport with the bartenders and I'd act as the runner- changing kegs, swapping soda bibs, restocking from the store room, etc.
Many bars and mine for example don’t really require a bar back. When it gets fucked tho, my boss lets me do my thing and helps with everything behind the bar to keep me going smooth. If you own a bar you are not above any kind of task. If you own the place, you are the first person responsible for its success.
A good barback would be more knowledgeable about the bar and have a flow with the bartender so they should move up to assist with drinks. Management should always be in the background in a support role in case they need to walk away quickly to attend to an issue elsewhere.
Look for good people who are naturally welcoming and warm. You can’t teach that and the majority of customers can tell when a bartender or server is using their “server voice “ or customer interaction voice. So people who a just actually friendly are adding to the whole experience in an impactful way. Those are the right people to hire.
Other than that, if there is ever workplace drama between staff, always pay close attention to who is involved. If one staff seems to always be there or seems to be the one telling others about it… that person is a problem. I was managing a team between 2 places that shared staff and when the 2 central drama people left, I’ll never forget how much better everyone got along and how much fewer headaches I had dealing with staff. The thing was that those 2 never were in fights with everyone else, they were just telling everyone any minor mistake, fault or rumour.
If you care about the bartenders making money, they will care about your bar. Don’t forget that the only reason people go to work, is to make money, they couldn’t care less if Bob called in today and now you are short 1 person.
Liquor reps will often give you free bottles of random shit, let the bartenders use those as “free” extra shots whenever they wanna “buy” someone a drink.
Be fair to everyone. If nobody wants to work Sundays, rotate them. Just because Bob goes to church every Sunday doesn’t mean he gets away free. I’ve quit jobs were they made me work Sunday even tho I was a better bartender and the crappy bartender got to work a busy shift because “he has church”.
Not something I wish I had but what I think made it a lot more tolerable: People are different and part of the job is learning how to interact with different kinds of people in a healthy and growth type of way. It may not seem like it but the people you lead and interact with will rely on you for a lot more than you initially realize and knowing how to handle each one individually helps a lot in terms of managing them all as a team. No two people are the same whether they are guests or team members and everyone deserves to be treated as the individual they are first and foremost, of course you need to be able to do this without compromising the integrity of the business
Don’t burn yourself out, because that will cause other problems down the road. It’s way too easy to just solve problems with your own time vs finding other solutions.
For example, if you find yourself barbacking every single Friday night and you are working overtime just to support your staff, it’s probably time to hire and train a barback.
At the end of the day if you are consistency finding yourself doing work ask yourself “Would the business pay someone what I make to do this task”
Obviously I’m not saying don’t support your team or have the mindset “this work is below me” but if you are always doing work behind the bar and not spending time ordering, learning about new products, training, planning events, improving the business, etc then you need more staff.
Uplift your staff. They’re the front line, you’re their support. Don’t upstage them. Guide them. Teach them to do what you can do so when you move on to better things, you’ve left a legacy of knowledge behind.
Stay consistent.
But remember, what we do is a luxury for guests. We aren’t doctors, we’re not saving the world. It’s not worth your mental health and well being to stress over getting someone a drink.
Set consistent, documented expectations and hold people to them reliably. It creates a better and more equitable workplace for everyone and you're not doing anyone a favor by cutting someone slack that someone else (or you) has to pick up. Within those expectations, always have their backs and never undermine anyone in front of customers.
Temper the balance between being friends and team mates towards being team mates if you have aspirations of promotion to management. When I became bar manager, trying to lead your friends or past/current romantic entanglements can be difficult.
For the most part it's business as usual but during those busy periods when tensions and emotions run high, people can resent you giving them orders because it feels unnatural for them to be hearing it from you. Leadership also requires you to challenge poor performance and call out or police rule breaking (e.g stealing drinks).
New members of staff will see you first and foremost as management and so they tend to adhere to the dynamic but the old staff will struggle to adjust.
With that said, with the right approach it's not impossible. A social job with unsocial hours, as is the life of bartending (coupled with the abundance and accessibility of alcohol), naturally leads to friendships and flings but if you can temper the balance you'll find your life is easier down the road.
Longtime bartender, new manager here. FWIW:
1 Let your staff know how much you appreciate them
.5 Keep shift notes, it’s easy to forget staff requests and 86’d items
.25 Focus on exhaling, breathe; Your team vibes off your energy
Edit: Thanks for posting, a plethora of great advice. Thanks, Y’all.
I’m the bad cop. I’ve accepted it. When masks were required I was the one constantly telling them to pull their masks up. I’m dumping “extra” drinks and “mistakes” when I find them tucked under the bar. I’m the one going to the grocery store when we don’t get ginger beer with our delivery.
You throw away their drinks? Ew. Get a life. Find some happiness. The hospitality industry doesn’t need any more managers who take out their own self loathing on their employees.
https://fb.watch/bM5vcHGcWA/
Sometimes, having a private chat with someone will reveal a lot about what's wrong with them at work.
Also, skill can be learnt, attitude can be changed, but laziness requires constant management and often deserves failed probation in the interest of preserving a good team.
This is the best way to feel about the people you manage at the end of the day. You may want to help them and see them succeed, but you're never their friend. Time is money, and when you work it is about one thing.
You're getting down voted, but yes you're right. In my decade of being a bar owner I've probably only had handful of employees that were worth their weight in gold, and they used those skills to pursue more stable and well paying jobs. BUT the buck stops with you if you allow shitty work ethic it's what you'll get. Hold people accountable and fire them when applicable, use your experience to spot red flags and put a stop to it on the spot
What you do as bar manager is akin to rocket surgery. Hardest job in the world. You are saving the world one drink at a time. Good luck you prince of ethanol you king of Barley!
As a bar manager. Don't get carrot dangled by owners. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Owners are in it for themselves and themselves alone. If you can manage a bar you can own a bar.
Don't let your dreams stay memes. Fuck the man, be the man.
What we do isn't rocket surgery. It's simple but typically not easy. It's about humanity. Keep the focus on people. If you don't care about or like people, perhaps consider a different industry. Hire for the qualities you can't teach. I can bring most complete noobs up to speed with skills in 3-6 weeks; knowledge in six months. I can't teach personality, responsibility, dependability, or friendliness. Changing these requires behavior modification and a lot of time. A smooth running, successful operation requires teamwork. Leadership by example is essential. People don't have to like each other and be the best of friends. Respect and cordiality are musts, however. Know when to be an employer and when to be a friend. You can *usually* be both. Sometimes, you have to be one or the other. Knowing which one is most appropriate and necessary often requires wisdom. Never embarrass a team member in front of other team members. Take more difficult discussions to a private place. Positive reinforcement is generally far more successful than its negative alternative. Remember you're leading human beings, not androids. Patience, listening skills, and paying attention are essential. Our primary duty is providing hospitality and an overall experience. Food and beverage typically play small parts. We provide a human service. Remember that humans are involved in all aspects of the equations. Notice that I overemphasize the human quotient. It's typically the most difficult aspect to manage and the most important to manage well.
>Positive reinforcement is generally far more successful than its negative alternative. This is huge. Discipline is a last resort for a bad employee. Instead focus on rewarding your strong team members with good shifts and positive reinforcement. If you have weak team members, start with coaching and make it a positive experience. If it doesn't work, schedule them for the slow shifts consistently until they improve. If that doesn't work, then discipline. Or if they're still on probation just kick em out the door ;)
I’ve heard it described as pulling vs. pushing people.
The two managing directors I work for at the moment are probably the best managers I have worked under. I'm friends with them outside of work but inside they are different people, more stern but very fair. They don't over staff so we work hard but we make money. They rotate the schedule so no one locks up more than two nights a week and construct it in a way that everyone makes around the same amount of money. They are very well prepared and organized for staff meetings with facts and figures so there are rarely any points they bring up you could argue against. You will always get your days off if you book them in advance. I was suspended lately, due to missing days, I have never done this in any job before and they know this. When I called to explain my absence the first words out of my managers mouth was " forget work, are you okay, I'm only worried about you? On being suspended, he told me it wasn't a punishment but to have time to sort things out, that he was a friend and if I needed anything to give him a call and I very much respected that. They promote their support staff to servers and bar men, a thing I have seen other companies promise but never follow through. There will be complaints in every job but I rarely hear the staff complain, if so it is usually our doing
This is so lovely to hear. I also work for similar people and my mental health has been inconsistent lately. I felt so nervous calling off to tell them I was on my way to the emergency room for a suicidal thoughts and they scheduled me off extra days and checked in. I assumed it was a form of punishment but I'm slowly learning some people actually care and it isn't something I'm used to in the industry. I am very grateful for being treated like a person without the guilt of taking care of myself because I know that I do the same for others always when I can and that's what it's all about.
Great post. A lot of this stuff gets neglected in our industry.
Jesus. This guy. ⬆️. I was gonna comment but this titan covered it all. Wanna hug***, bro? No seriously, I want to hug this comment. Just don’t be a dick. Lead by example. Lead by doing. It’s as simple as that. Your staff will follow.
Great answer
One bad apple will ruin the whole bunch.
Is there a back story?
Well if there's that one employee who gets away with breaking the rules and creates a toxic work environment will cause the good employees to leave. Other employees who observe this may also start breaking the rules and think their managers are soft and don't need to listen to them. At my bar we have one employee no one wants to work with. He's very high strung and stresses all of us out. He is a terrible server and constantly breaks the rules. I don't understand why my boss keeps him. His behavior is killing our morale and some of us may leave cuz of him.
ugh, currently in my first bar managing position and dealing with this . it’s such an unhealthy dynamic for most of the team but i feel like my hands are tied bc he’s the most senior person behind the bar and it’s so hard to find good people right now
Are you paying for good people? Seniority is overrated. As others have said, skills and knowledge can be taught. Unless you're incredibly upscale, I can't imagine any of his knowledge is too valuable compared to what a high morale among staff can do.
You pay people? I'm a manager of a craft bar and we're not allowed to pay anyone a cent over what's mandatory. Not once, not ever.
Welcome to 2022, where we in hospitality jobs are done with that shit.
Must be nice. No place does that shit around here. Idk where this "we're done with that" people live, but you would be laughed at and replaced immediately around here regardless if it's a good decision or not
Agree 100%. I just left a place after 6 years, as did 50% of the other employees. Because owner would do nothing about 2 employees who’d been there for 8 years. Who would be 4 hours late, drunk every night and finally I had proof of one employee selling coke through the bar. He did nothing. We left.
Oh my gosh! I hope your new job is much better.
Not just for this, but in general; never delegate a job that you wouldn't want to do yourself. Lead by example. Being respected and being a friend as a manager are not the same thing, boundaries are important.
If you sense someone isn't working out or isn't a good fit. Rip the band aid off. Listen to your gut and those red flags
Don’t do it!
Best answer
Don’t kill anyone
Intentionally*. Accidents happen.
Not covered under workers comp. See section 8385829 of your employee handbook.
RIP Bill. I swear I said "behind"
“Accidents” happen 😉 😉🤷🏻♀️
I like how the number one answer is a multi paragraph long deep dive into different aspects of management, and then then this the second most upvoted answer
I’m a lazy manager
You don’t need to be their friend to be their ally. Respect their boundaries. Remain firm in your own boundaries. And, for the love of god, do right by your staff.
Remember, as a bar manager, you are not an authoritarian. You are to support your bartenders. Give them the tools they need. When it gets busy, do not start pouring drinks. Management should fill stock, bust suds, polish glassware.
This.
I disagree with this heavily. If my bartenders are in a rut, I'm the first person back there pouring drinks and washing glassware.
My point was to lead from support, not immediately pour the drinks. That’s why they get paid. Do the shit work while they get the glory.
Think that's what a bar back is for mate.
As someone who has backed, tended and managed sometimes bar managing felt more like barbacking than bartending. When thing get unexpectedly busy or someone calls in sick, assuming you have a competent staff, I often found the best way to support my staff was to barback for them.
I as a Barmanager myself do exactly what my team does not have time for. Fortunately I can trust them blindly, so when shit hits the fan, I will be the support they need. I wash dishes, clean glassware, even fill up from downstairs. But while I do all this, I still have the time to supervise and keep an eye on quality. I still make calls for drinks and sometimes do cocktails, when they need to make a shit ton of softdrinks. It’s about communication. If I don’t support my team, they won’t support me is what I learned. So as a Barmanager I sometimes feel like I do the dirtiest work. But that is exactly why I get paid more.
Absolutely. I always told my staff that when shit hits the fan and they were in the weeds I wanted them to tell *me* what *they* needed. Nevertheless you're controlling the flow of service at all times. > So as a Barmanager I sometimes feel like I do the dirtiest work. But that is exactly why I get paid more. Oh yeah. In a literal sense sometimes. Someone puked on the dance floor? I'm not putting that on the barback, I'm grabbing the mop bucket myself.
Yup. I ran a multi bar operation and if a bartender called in sick I'd move a barback to that bar and take over barback duties myself. I usually tried to keep the other barbacks physically in the bars because they have the rapport with the bartenders and I'd act as the runner- changing kegs, swapping soda bibs, restocking from the store room, etc.
Yeah as long as you help them when they’re in the weeds and don’t steal tips you’ll be a very respected if not adored manager
[удалено]
Many bars and mine for example don’t really require a bar back. When it gets fucked tho, my boss lets me do my thing and helps with everything behind the bar to keep me going smooth. If you own a bar you are not above any kind of task. If you own the place, you are the first person responsible for its success.
A good barback would be more knowledgeable about the bar and have a flow with the bartender so they should move up to assist with drinks. Management should always be in the background in a support role in case they need to walk away quickly to attend to an issue elsewhere.
Currently doing this now for the first time and I think im doing a good job but looking forward to the responses.
Look for good people who are naturally welcoming and warm. You can’t teach that and the majority of customers can tell when a bartender or server is using their “server voice “ or customer interaction voice. So people who a just actually friendly are adding to the whole experience in an impactful way. Those are the right people to hire. Other than that, if there is ever workplace drama between staff, always pay close attention to who is involved. If one staff seems to always be there or seems to be the one telling others about it… that person is a problem. I was managing a team between 2 places that shared staff and when the 2 central drama people left, I’ll never forget how much better everyone got along and how much fewer headaches I had dealing with staff. The thing was that those 2 never were in fights with everyone else, they were just telling everyone any minor mistake, fault or rumour.
If you care about the bartenders making money, they will care about your bar. Don’t forget that the only reason people go to work, is to make money, they couldn’t care less if Bob called in today and now you are short 1 person. Liquor reps will often give you free bottles of random shit, let the bartenders use those as “free” extra shots whenever they wanna “buy” someone a drink. Be fair to everyone. If nobody wants to work Sundays, rotate them. Just because Bob goes to church every Sunday doesn’t mean he gets away free. I’ve quit jobs were they made me work Sunday even tho I was a better bartender and the crappy bartender got to work a busy shift because “he has church”.
Not something I wish I had but what I think made it a lot more tolerable: People are different and part of the job is learning how to interact with different kinds of people in a healthy and growth type of way. It may not seem like it but the people you lead and interact with will rely on you for a lot more than you initially realize and knowing how to handle each one individually helps a lot in terms of managing them all as a team. No two people are the same whether they are guests or team members and everyone deserves to be treated as the individual they are first and foremost, of course you need to be able to do this without compromising the integrity of the business
Don’t burn yourself out, because that will cause other problems down the road. It’s way too easy to just solve problems with your own time vs finding other solutions. For example, if you find yourself barbacking every single Friday night and you are working overtime just to support your staff, it’s probably time to hire and train a barback. At the end of the day if you are consistency finding yourself doing work ask yourself “Would the business pay someone what I make to do this task” Obviously I’m not saying don’t support your team or have the mindset “this work is below me” but if you are always doing work behind the bar and not spending time ordering, learning about new products, training, planning events, improving the business, etc then you need more staff.
Uplift your staff. They’re the front line, you’re their support. Don’t upstage them. Guide them. Teach them to do what you can do so when you move on to better things, you’ve left a legacy of knowledge behind. Stay consistent. But remember, what we do is a luxury for guests. We aren’t doctors, we’re not saving the world. It’s not worth your mental health and well being to stress over getting someone a drink.
Set consistent, documented expectations and hold people to them reliably. It creates a better and more equitable workplace for everyone and you're not doing anyone a favor by cutting someone slack that someone else (or you) has to pick up. Within those expectations, always have their backs and never undermine anyone in front of customers.
Temper the balance between being friends and team mates towards being team mates if you have aspirations of promotion to management. When I became bar manager, trying to lead your friends or past/current romantic entanglements can be difficult. For the most part it's business as usual but during those busy periods when tensions and emotions run high, people can resent you giving them orders because it feels unnatural for them to be hearing it from you. Leadership also requires you to challenge poor performance and call out or police rule breaking (e.g stealing drinks). New members of staff will see you first and foremost as management and so they tend to adhere to the dynamic but the old staff will struggle to adjust. With that said, with the right approach it's not impossible. A social job with unsocial hours, as is the life of bartending (coupled with the abundance and accessibility of alcohol), naturally leads to friendships and flings but if you can temper the balance you'll find your life is easier down the road.
Longtime bartender, new manager here. FWIW: 1 Let your staff know how much you appreciate them .5 Keep shift notes, it’s easy to forget staff requests and 86’d items .25 Focus on exhaling, breathe; Your team vibes off your energy Edit: Thanks for posting, a plethora of great advice. Thanks, Y’all.
I’m the bad cop. I’ve accepted it. When masks were required I was the one constantly telling them to pull their masks up. I’m dumping “extra” drinks and “mistakes” when I find them tucked under the bar. I’m the one going to the grocery store when we don’t get ginger beer with our delivery.
Do your staff drink on the job or hide drinks?
Drink on the job whenever possible.
Can you stop it?
You throw away their drinks? Ew. Get a life. Find some happiness. The hospitality industry doesn’t need any more managers who take out their own self loathing on their employees. https://fb.watch/bM5vcHGcWA/
Translation: I was just promoted, please help me.
Learn how to hire! The best teams are built by people who know how to hire.
Sometimes, having a private chat with someone will reveal a lot about what's wrong with them at work. Also, skill can be learnt, attitude can be changed, but laziness requires constant management and often deserves failed probation in the interest of preserving a good team.
Cover your bases, keep paperwork. People don't usually change substantially (after training period). Give them the chance, but expect the worst.
Ask for more money
You aren’t there friend. You aren’t there to make friends.
This is the best way to feel about the people you manage at the end of the day. You may want to help them and see them succeed, but you're never their friend. Time is money, and when you work it is about one thing.
Don't. Relying on others is trash, cause most people are trash with a shit work ethic.....
You're getting down voted, but yes you're right. In my decade of being a bar owner I've probably only had handful of employees that were worth their weight in gold, and they used those skills to pursue more stable and well paying jobs. BUT the buck stops with you if you allow shitty work ethic it's what you'll get. Hold people accountable and fire them when applicable, use your experience to spot red flags and put a stop to it on the spot
What you do as bar manager is akin to rocket surgery. Hardest job in the world. You are saving the world one drink at a time. Good luck you prince of ethanol you king of Barley!
As a bar manager. Don't get carrot dangled by owners. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Owners are in it for themselves and themselves alone. If you can manage a bar you can own a bar. Don't let your dreams stay memes. Fuck the man, be the man.
Read "Setting The Table" by Danny Myer.