nickparks.orgpersonal blog of Nick Parks

I looked into more schools and the price for the other bartending schools (ABC Bartending Schools and Orlando Bartending School) in Jacksonville and Orlando is around $600. All though it is cheaper it seems as if these schools are not as personal and have larger classrooms, therefore will be less hands on. Not to mention these classes are almost 40 miles further than Daytona.

I gave Hank a call today and asked for a few referals and he seemed glad to do so and he even gave me one students number, but he told me that he would first have to contact a few students to verify with them that it’d be okay and he will call me back. Seems like that would make sense, but then again he could be fishing for the satisfied students for me to talk to. I also asked if there were any licenses involved in the class and he said that I will be recieving certificates to be able to serve alcohol and that upon completion if I happen to make a mistake a serve alcohol past the time I’m allowed or serve alcohol to a minor the certificate will allow me leeway and I will not be punished for my first mistake. He also said that in the future all bartenders will be required to have the certificate in order to serve alcohol.

I called one of the students named David and he seemed satisfied with the class, but it’s almost 5PM I’m still waiting for a call from Hank with more referals. I’ve been thinking about it, and regardless of whether or not the school will help as far as job placement goes it doesn’t really matter to me as I know this school with give me more experience than I am getting sitting here behind a computer desk. Besides that, I seem to do well at interviews so getting a job after the class should not be a problem at all. So I am going to go for it, bite the bullet, and enroll next time I meet with Hank.

I have been contemplating throughout the day to apply at some local bars and restaraunts as a server or busser, but I decided not to as I have been making enough money to live on through eBay buying and selling items online. The problem is I don’t have too much money to invest with anymore. I’ve come up with a solution to this dilemma of not knowing whether or not the $995 investment will be a good one. My solution is to contact Hank and ask for referals of students that have “graduated”. The problem is it is now 11:53PM and it is obviously too late to call his office right now, so I will be calling him first thing in the morning.

I’m having trouble going to sleep so I decided to do a little more research on bartending and the best ways to become a bartender. As far as I can tell it seems as if all of the websites I have read reviews on bartending schools says that most managers will frown upon bartending school. It seems as if it is actually looked down on. I understand experience is better, but the way that most of the reviews are states that the people that are experienced in the field do not agree with the techniques that are taught, as bartending schools miss out on quite a few important points such as the POS system, restocking the bar, tapping kegs, etc. Most sites say the best way to become a bartender is to just get your foot in the door at a food and beverage establishment as a barback, cocktail waiter, server, or busser and become friends with the bartender and eventually fill in when the bartender takes breaks or becomes sick. I can see this becoming a very tedious process and time is something I don’t like to waste as there are not many barback or server positions available without prior experience.

I left this morning for the meeting. The building is within walking distance of many bars and the beach which was quite impressive. I walked in and was greeted by Hank himself and he told me to have a seat while he spoke with another student ready to enroll. While I waited I noticed that the classroom, although seeming outdated as far as design goes, the building itself seems layed out well for about eight to twelve students to learn in their own “simulation bar”. Hank spoke with myself and the other student and explained to us the advantages of being a bartender and how you can create a larger income by going to his school and learning certain techniques to bring guests and customers back. We were told that it takes anywhere from two to six weeks of class to “graduate” and he will only graduate us if we are ready. We were told that he has a unique way of job placement; instead of actually helping us find bars, we are to pick 3 bars and introduce ourselves to the managers and become friends with the managers. Hank will then speak with the managers about job placement. We were also told that we are allowed without charge to come back to brush up on new techniques once we “graduate”. He spoke with us individually about payment. The cost of the class is $995. I thought this seemed like a fair price if I can in fact get a bartending job upon completion, but I told Hank that I would think about it and get back to him so I rescheduled an appointment for October 25th at 10AM.

I decided to stop thinking about becoming a bartender and actually take a step forward, so I searched through Google looking for bartending schools. I found quite a few, but the closest classes I could find online were in Orlando. I decided to drive to the gas station and pick up a Pennysaver. I skimmed through it looking for a school and ran across Hank Belden’s Hospitality Training and Bartending Institute. I gave Hank a call and set an up a meeting for tomorrow at 10AM so I can understand exactly what I will gain from the school.

Hey! My name is Nick. I am a twenty year old college student and this is my blog of me becoming a bartender. The problem is that the only food and beverage experience I had was while I was working at The Club at Hammock Beach as a Pool Attendant. Although I never really made any drinks, I did help serve people when the cocktail waitresses were understaffed. I love interacting with guests, but the problem was that being a Pool Attendant I was not allowed to accept tips so regardless of how friendly and attentive I was to guests I only made $10.30 an hour (after working there for almost four years), but enough about me; here’s my blog.