What Is the Salary Range of a Bartender?
Tending bar can be a lucrative career choice for folks who enjoy working preparing libations in a social atmosphere. Experienced bartenders can find employment opportunities in many types of establishments such as restaurants, night clubs, banquet halls and casinos. It's quite difficult to estimate what your average earnings as a bartender may be without considering factors like location, clientele and the type of establishment that employs you.
Other People Are Reading
-
Customer Service Bartenders
-
Customer service bartenders are responsible for making direct contact with customers, preparing and serving drinks, delivering the check and collecting payment from customers at the end of their visit. As a customer service bartender you can typically find employment in privately owned night clubs, taverns and restaurants as well as corporate franchises such as Olive Garden, Applebee's or Hard Rock Cafe. According to PayScale.com, the 2010 average hourly wage for bartenders in such positions ranges from $6.40 to $9.16 excluding tips.
Wait-Service Bartenders
-
Wait-service bartenders generally complete the same tasks as customer service bartenders with two primary differences. In this type of bartending position you will not deal directly with customers, hence the bar patrons will not tip you. As a wait-service bartender your job is to prepare drink orders for waiters and waitresses that are providing table service for guests. Typically, wait-service bartenders are paid more per hour --- up to about $15 in 2010 --- than customer service bartenders and have little or no direct contact with customers. Servers may be required to tip you a small percentage of their tips in this position.
-
Tips And Gratuity
-
In most instances, as a bartender you can expect to receive a certain amount of cash tips offered voluntarily to you by your customers. Generally, customer service bartenders take in anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of their annual salary in cash tips. This is in addition to your hourly wage and must be claimed on your income tax return. As a wait-service bartender you will not receive customer gratuities, but it is not uncommon for company policies to require that the wait staff you service pay you a percentage of their tips ranging anywhere from one to five percent.
Benefits
-
If you are working for an independently owned bar, lounge or restaurant it's fairly unlikely that you will be offered any type of benefits. However, full time bartenders of corporate owned chains are typically offered a benefits package. PayScale.com reports that in 2010 the national average of bartenders receiving medical benefits is about 18 percent with 13 percent receiving dental and only 10 percent receiving vision insurance coverage. Overall, 81 percent of U.S. bartenders are receiving no benefits at all in 2010.
-
References
- Glassdoor: Bartender Salaries
- KayCircle: How much does a Bartender make per Year? Average Bartender Salary Range
- Cruise Ship Employment Services: Cruise Ship Jobs - Food and Beverage Department, Restaurant Jobs
- PayScale: Hourly Rate Snapshot for Bartender Jobs
- Salary.com: Banquet Bartender - Casino - U.S. National Averages
- Salary.com: Bartender - U.S. National Averages
Resources
- Photo Credit cruise ship bartender image by Wimbledon from Fotolia.com
