Having a professional bartender in your party is the best way to ensure your guests remain entertained throughout the event. It also helps lift some burden off your shoulder, as you won’t need to worry about buying drinks, setting up the bar, insurance, serving guests, cleaning up, and many other things.
If you have an upcoming event, it’s likely that the only thing you thought about was whether to get bartending services or not. But once you got down to hiring one, you became quickly aware that it’s a daunting task. If it’s any consolation, you are not alone. The market presents a wide-selection of bartending experts; it can be hard to know which one is best suited for your needs. To help you separate the wheat from the chaff, here are five questions to ask your event bartender.
Can you help me determine what to serve and how much to buy?
Knowing how much of what to buy is not an easy task, especially if you lack bartending experience. You may like rum, but perhaps 70% of your guests would prefer another drink. You may also get too much of beers, yet your guests prefer cocktails. Working with a pro from The Bartender Company will eliminate the guesswork from the process. However, you first need to ask them whether they can help you with this. Remember, only experienced bartenders will know what you need to serve your audience and in what amounts. So, if a prospect says he or she cannot do that, then you might want to bounce to the next one.
What kind of insurance do you carry?
It’s easy to overlook this aspect, yet it is critical. Reputable bartenders carry some general liability and liquor liability insurance. This will help protect you from potential lawsuits should anything happen due to alcohol.
Do you know when not to serve?
Events carry different kinds of people – some will drink a glass of wine and start acting tipsy, others may take ten glasses and still be okay. A good question to ask your bartender before hiring them is whether they know when not to serve a guest. If they know when and how to cut tipsy people off, then they are a good candidate for the job.
Are you able to bring my vision to life?
Of course, you want something unique, something that will stay in your guests’ minds for years to come. So, it only makes sense to want to know if the bartender is capable of helping you realize your dreams. A good bartender has lots of experience. He or she also keeps up with the latest trends and know what’s hot and what’s not. So, they’ll leverage their experience and industry know-how to help give you have an event of your dreams – just how you envisioned it, or even better.
Can your team handle the number of guests I will have at the event?
Some bartending companies specialize in large events, while others in small intimate gatherings. You want to know this upfront to avoid any mishaps later on.