Here is an amazing testimonial written about her after her very first bartending gig.  It was for a private party.

It was the VERY FIRST TIME SHE WORKED AS A BARTENDER!!  Virtually nobody working for the first time gets a review, let alone a rave review:

Hi Jenny, I just wanted to say again what a delightful job you did as the bartender at my “Drink Me Out of House and Home” party last Saturday. From the start, I was impressed with your professionalism and accountability (if you said you would call, you called & exactly when you said that you would).  You maintained a very tidy workspace and gave me a concise list of supplies in advance.  Your pleasant, calm demeanor in the face of production pressure, flexibility when the party ran late, and most of all, your creativity in concocting a personalized drink menu for my party were above & beyond my expectations.  All of my guests were wowed.  I thank you again for doing such a lovely job; I only wish I wasn’t moving so I could use you again at my next party!Best,Rachel GrayPittsburgh, PA (for one more month! then NY, NY!)

Immediately after that event Jenny picked up two shifts a week at a popular Pittsburgh bar.  After her first solo night, the regulars came back and told her she did a great job.  Jenny is a star in the making.

We assisted and supported Jenny as she prepared for this event, but really she deserves the credit.  The review describes so many of the qualities that make a great bartender:

• Professionalism
• Accountability
• Neatness
• Calmness
• Flexibility
• Creativity

  Whenever you read about great bartenders and how they got to be so good, writers sum it up by calling it “customer service”.  All of the attributes above are critical parts of general “customer service”.  Frankly, bartending schools don’t instill these qualities.  We teach the essence of great customer service.  We teach how to work effectively with both your employer and your customers…but the great bartenders develop that internally.  

So if you are looking for a great bartender or bartenders for your bar, restaurant, hotel or a  private party contact us at 412-912-9221.  Maybe Jenny will be available.  If not we have a lot of other skilled bartender/ graduates of the school; some new, some experienced.   

Its only October right now.  Parties and events pick up in November and December.  Its a great opportunity to get learn a skill, get extra work, earn extra holiday money and have fun all at the same time.  If you are looking for some extra earnings, want to pick up a skill and have fun;  call us at (412) 921-9227

The exciting and different thing is when you are watching a match with natives, ardent fans, and followers of one of the competing nations.  If they are true fans the place will resonate with yells, cheers, songs, and all sorts of fun reactions as they reflect the fandom of their favorite national team.   Its one of the most excting packages of fan excitement you might find anywhere.

So where are those folks hanging out in Pittsburgh? 

We know that  The Pipers Pub on East Carson Street has a rep as a soccer bar and English pub….but I can’t believe that the rabid fans from around the world all want to be caught in an English pub during this event.

American TV is showing the world cup through ESPN this year…so soccer (football) fans can find it everywhere. Where will the Dutch, the South Africans, the Brazilians, and Mexicans and others in Pittsburgh be congregating, celebrating, hoping, and rooting for their native teams?

We searched around ….and dang didn’t find an answer…but we did find this cool article where a Pittsburgh resident who is a native of every competing World Cup team spoke about their national team and experiences. Its from the Pittsburgh Trib and its worth a read.

If you can find a local bar where the native fans are congregating and rooting for their home team arrange to watch it at the same time.

But, let us know. We want to take in the excitement.

• hands on training behind a real bar
• learn a lot of recipes that are popular in all kinds of bars
• learn about alcohol, tastes, colors, mixers, etc. so you can start creating  drinks surprisingly fast
• alcohol management training
• VERY IMPORTANTLY an active local job placement program with real leads/contacts and a system to land bartender jobs.

We feature that kind of job placement program.  Its the critical step in earning back the cost of the 40 hour program.  We can’t guarantee jobs.  That is against the law.  It would be stupid for us to guarantee jobs to anyone.  We don’t do the hiring.But our Pittsburgh bartending school has incorporated a bartending job placement program that was developed elsewhere and in early 2010 alone helped grads land over 350 jobs by Mid May.  Not another bartending school in the nation is wiling to show that kind of information.   We will.  We want you to be able to earn that money back and more and do it quickly!!  Since we updated this system locally its working terrific with grads landing all sorts of jobs; in fact about 10 jobs a week recently.Meanwhile a graduating bartender can often land a job quickly, often within a week or two, and start making money back fast.   Here is exactly what we see from our grads in Pittsburgh and other cities where we have operated bartending schools.A beginning bartender who isn’t fully skilled yet, might find him or herself earning somewhere in a range of $100/night in tips, give or take about $50/night.   Not bad.  That’s about $500 in one’s first week.  That alone pretty much pays for bartending school.Once you get more comfortable and more efficient we see graduate bartenders in Pittsburgh earning in the $200-$400 range on solid evenings.  These can be weekdays or weekends and it depends on the bar and the type of bar.  It could be a club, it could be a fancy restaurant.  Its got to be busy and popular for you to make good money.At that rate its easy to see how a good full time bartender can earn $30-$60,000/year.  Imagine that after a 40 hour program that can be finished in one or two weeks depending on scheduling and costs far less than $1,000.   That is incredible.  No other type of trade school training offers the same opportunities.If you are bartending part time its also easy to make that investment in bartending school payoff.  Imagine making it your fun extra part time job.  You work one or two nights/week possibly making about $300/week and you only do it about 40 weeks of the year.  That is an extra $12,000 in a fun job.  Again you are making it from an investment of far less than $1,000 and investing it in yourself and your skills.One nice thing about a state regulated bartending school like us is that we help all our grads all the time.  Say you take the course, graduate and don’t bartend for a period and then decide now is the time.   Come back to the school.  Take a FREE refresher class(es).   Get updated job leads and start working.  The investment in yourself still works.Enough of this talk about money though.  Bartending is fun.  Its like being at the party, having fun…..AND GETTING PAID.  Nothing beats that.To find out about Pittsburgh Bartending School costs call us at 412-921-9227.   Arrange a visit.  Get the costs and see about the payback through job placement.  Watch class in session.  Speak with our staff.  Ask questions.Better bring a smile though.  Its bartending!!  Its a lot of fun!!!

As is always the case, they picked up bartending gigs at all kinds of places from the fancy and chic to neighborhood bars and beyond.  Check them out.

Eric landed a bartending gig at Chili’s in Butler.  That place gets very crowded on Fridays.  Good work, man.

Ebony is bartending at the very well known, very established Omni William Hotel.  Ebony:  Good work.  That is a place where you can find some great tippers!!

Denise is both managing and doing some bartending at the Coal Hill Steakhouse.  And best of all its Spring.  Definitely that is the BEST bar scene on Mt Washington.  We have already heard about some killer nights there….and on weekdays no less!!!

Chelsea landed a great gig at the Hideout.  Very Kewl!!!  You go girl!!

Alexis is bartending at the Penn Hills Liquid Lounge.  Deffo one of the best places for HipHop in the region.!!!   Gr8 job, Alexis.  Congrats!!!!

Myles is behind the bar at Zippys Saloon.   Knock em dead, Myles.  That is a great place to earn some tips.

Spring is one of the best times of the year for hiring bartenders.  Check out our grads, and above all tip them well!!!!! 

Have you guys been to   Heat NightClub It recently opened…and of course hired several of our grads. We were there for opening night. C.R.O.W.D.E.D . Good luck Heat!!

On the sad side Rythm House Cafe in Bridgeville closed. Long time home of the Pittsburgh Jazz Society…what a great venue for music. Speaking of great venues, grad Cary landed a bartending job at the Wheeling Downs Casino. You go girl. Meanwhile at least 8 grads will be bartending at the Pittsburgh Film Fest at the beginning of March. What an easy way to make money.

Meanwhile we have been working with a lot of grads of our school and bartending schools around the nation in finding bartender jobs. One of our grads went to the West Coast where she got job placement assistance from an excellent Los Angeles Bartending School. Meanwhile we have had grads get work through a Columbus Bartending School located at 1505 Bethel Road, Columbus Ohio and a DC bartending school at 2440 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA while one of our grads went to Seattle and landed a cruise ship opportunity.

Meanwhile, one of our grads is one of the leaders of the growing Pittsburgh Hip Hop community and her web site Rep Pgh HipHop won the 2010 Pgh Hip Hop award for best web site. Hey if you want to know about what is going on in the Pittsburgh Hip Hop community check it out!!!  Good bartenders know that a busy venue with hot music is always one of the best places to bartend.

Here are a few updates.  Steve landed a bartending job at the new hottest  Pittsburgh Nightclub Heat on 108 19th Street. Heat gave a preview on New Years Eve. Its huge. 2 floors, room for 1200, 2 DJ’s and a flavor like a NY or LA nightclub. The grand opening is this weekend. Check it out.

Our grads can land bartending gigs everywhere. Valerie just graduated and is already working at Sandbar Bar and Grill. This bar in Erie Pa is located at 2835 8th Street, Erie and is very very cool.

Meanwhile, we continue to learn all the time. We’ve picked up tips from this bartending school on getting grads hired. They are having enormous success. We can’t wait to spread this to all our grads in the Burg!!!

 Don’t drink and drive, Pittsburgh.  Merry Christmas

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving up to twelve grads worked a major gala in downtown Pittsburgh, arranged by the Hilton.  Later, we had a request for a fill-in bartender by the Omni.  Looks like it is turning into a regular job for one fortunate bartender.

Meanwhile in West Virginia we learned that Bob landed a bartending job pretty far away.  He used his knowledge and bartending job hunting skills to become a 3 day/week bartender at Pete’s Bait Ranch in Sutton, West Virginia.  Bob does excellent web video work, so if you are looking for a drink or an expert web video expert in Central West Virginia, Bob is your man.

Nicole is an energetic go-getter.  That is the perfect type of person for Sauce in Bridgeville, South of Pittsburgh.  Sauce is just a couple of years old, but already popular and has developed a reputation for some  of the best burgers and sandwhiches in the Pittsburgh area.

Finally we provided some national bartending job placement.  Toya relocated from Maryland.  We found out at a bartender news site that Toya landed a Pittsburgh club job. Congrats Toya. Enjoy the Burgh!!

Speaking of Pittsburgh clubs, we learned from one of our grad/experienced bartenders that the post Thanksgiving 3 day bartending bonanza was an $800-900 weekend. Congrats. Good money!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stDWNam7RtE

OMG!  Do you realize if you lose money bartending  by waste, theft, under reporting, etc. they often take it out of your tips.  If that’s the case in this Russian warehouse….this guy will be paying off his employer for decades!!!  ugh.

OTOH.  With a $150,000 less of cognac and vodka I suspect there will be a lot less drunks driving on the road!!