And I forgot to mention—I never flirted for tips. Honestly, it never entered my mind. One thing that I was convinced to do by a fellow male bartender (and man, it took a LOT to persuade me) was to go braless underneath my vest one night. He insisted we’d get all kinds of tips. I didn’t understand why. He wouldn’t let up so I gave in, and how it made me feel was awful (the least of it just being flat out uncomfortable physically), like a “piece of meat” and that just wasn’t me.

To this day, I avoid showing cleavage and truly hate that that’s all you see nowadays. I want people looking at my face, my eyes, when I speak, not my cleavage. I find it rude and voyeuristic AND just distracting anyway. I’m a woman, have no gay tendencies, and when there’s too much cleavage in front of me, my eyes are still drawn to the spectacle. I get that I’m probably in the minority, but it’s how I feel. I figure if anyone reads my comment, it can add to fleshing out of a possible character! And as Kitty mentioned, you DO get hit on a lot, even without the flirtation, because it seems there’s a common assumption that if you’re a bartender or cocktail waitress, that it’s OK, and even allowed to be “touched.” I was so sick of being in a bar within a few years, with everything I witnessed, I’ve barely been in one since!

yes, it does!

Yes, good points, all. Bartenders have to have a strong presence as they need to deal with patrons who get out of hand and be able to deescalate situations–thanks for chiming in!

I think it depends on the type of bar, right?

Also, if one of your customers gets behind the wheel drunk and gets in an accident and kills someone, the bartender is the one charged not the drunk driver. Because the bartender allowed the driver to leave intoxicated and didn’t take the keys away.

(Shows how often I go to a bar. Thank goodness I write fantasy, not contemporary novels.)