The benefits of employing flair bartenders

Flair bartenders can add some, well flair, to your venue, but do they add value and what are the benefits of employing a flair bartender? If any?

Bars and Clubs spoke to the World Flair Association (WFA) to find out more about what having flair bartenders can really add to your venue.

If you are a bar owner or manager, WFA Gradings provides a standardised, professional system for training your bartenders if the art of flair.

The WFA explained there are a number of advantages its Gradings can actually bring to your bar, including a competitive edge, entertainment and free marketing.

In terms of a competitive edge, the WFA said: “Having fully trained flair bartenders gives your bar a competitive edge over other bars that don’t. If a bartender can flair it says a lot about them, it shows that they are not only talented but also very into what they do.

“When it is clear that someone loves their job, it draws people in like a moth to the flame. This is particularly true with bartending.

“You want the bartender who looks like they know what they are doing and is enjoying it. Nothing behind the bar is more visually appealing than flair bartending.”

The fact that flair bartenders bring entertainment into venues is no great surprise, but what does that entertainment mean, and why is it important to your venue?

The WFA said: “Guests like to be entertained and flair bartending is entertaining. If you are entertaining your guests, rather than just serving them drinks, then you are more likely to be forming positive memories.

“These memories act as a great hook to keep people coming back to your bar time and time again as they look to repeat that great experience.

“Also, due to the visual nature of flair bartending, language barriers or a noisy, busy atmosphere aren’t a problem. Therefore, flair bartending can provide an extra element of entertainment in almost any bar, anywhere in the world.”

An extension of the entertainment, memories and hook that flair bartenders bring is the free marketing that it means for your venue, as the WFA explained.

“The entertaining and impressive nature of flair bartending can often wow guests into capturing videos or telling others about their experience. In short, for your bar, this means increased word-of-mouth marketing and a greater presence on social media as people share the videos of your flair bartenders in action.”

While a lot of what the WFA said here is about bringing a consumer-led advantage to your bar, there is another important factor that the association was keen to point out, and that was the investment in staff.

“Like any skill, learning to flair is rewarding,” the WFA said.

“By offering a training course like WFA Gradings to your staff you are not only investing in your bar but also your staff. As more bars start to utilise and recognise WFA Gradings, having any WFA Grade on your CV will be a great advantage.

“Some of your staff may recognise this investment and reward you with loyalty, which in turn is useful in bringing down staff turnover. When you start to conquer the basics of flair bartending, it can quite easily leave you wanting more.

“As a result, your staff may start to pursue it outside of working hours too, taking part in competitions or collaborating with other flair bartenders to learn new skills and tricks.”

To find out more about flair bartending, the WFA and its Gradings program, head to the World Flair Association website.