Alternative Jobs

IMHO this is not the town to get your chops in. There is far too much demand for any position for a place to offer a job to anyone but the most qualified. They don’t pay cooks a livable wage here. Unfortunate but hard to overcome given the high minimum wage paid to servers. Hah - there, I said it.

You should try to get a serving job instead and then maybe they will move you up. Soon people will be hiring for patios.

Don’t do bartending school! You either have to serve or barback first. Barbacking is a good gig too but better for younger guys…I have no idea how old you are.

I have 8 years of high volume bartending experience and I am a cute girl and can’t find a good job. I working a bunch of crappy day shifts right now and I hate it. I have too much pride to look at serving jobs…I also know I would end up quitting for a bartending job and I don’t like to do that to my employers. If I didn’t have so much bartending experience I would for sure, there are so many more of them.

Good luck!

he sees the money and figures “why not me?”
Dude, bartending is one of the best paying blue-collar jobs in this city, and it’s become one of the most sought after. Unless you know a few people that can set you up (this is how a good majority of the bartenders got their first jobs here), you are shit out of luck. I know good bartenders that are having to cook in bars to make money right now, while I see one girl I know, the worst cocktailer I’ve ever seen, terrible work ethic, talks on her cell phone while carrying an empty tray, slow as mud, gets a bartending gig at a family owned bar and grill in NW because a friend knows the owners. And she’s making fantastic money. And she’s still fucking terrible.
I’m sick of this shit. I’m ready to start a war against all the shitty servers and bartenders in this city that have nothing going for them except an “in” at their work, and continue to bring down the tier of service people should expect as both co-workers and customers. There are too many good people out of work right now for management and owners to continue allowing nepotism.
There is so much forgetful, bland service in this city, so little charisma in the front of the house. Maybe what, 400 interesting servers and bartenders out of the 5,000 in Portland?
It’s crazy

Hi Ryan, everything you just said is EXACTLY what is going through my head on a daily basis! Everywhere else I have lived you have be a damn good bartender/server to get a job, plus you have to be friendly and usually attractive as well! I cannot believe the service I have received in Portland. Most of the time, the bartender doesn’t even greet me and gives me stink eye! There is the whole “I’m too cool” hipster syndrome…and then just the “huh? I don’t care, I get 8.40 and hour” thing. Oh, and then there are the huge, old women who are mean as fuck and still have their jobs. I am not saying you have to look like a model but at least don’t be a bitch to everyone. If you don’t know what I mean go to ACROP when that old mean troll is working. I applied for a job right in front of her and the owner said “We have everyone we need”. I he deaf and blind???

I have only worked at very high volume places in the past. I have a condo in SoCal and a 30,000 dollar car FROM BARTENDING…because I am fast, nice to people, and I keep up my appearance. Here, I can’t find a job and I am convinced the mean bartenders throw my application away when I apply. It is insane, and I don’t know why employers here don’t care if their people give terrible service, are rude, and don’t know how to make drinks. Does anyone know?

It’s not just bartending - the whole industry is flawed out here. On all levels it often appears that they refuse to hire talent simply based on where you are from. East coast and CA transplants are treated with dismissive contempt regardless of ability. It is so “who you know”, not what you can do. Ridiculous.

I think you’ll have to relocate to find that coveted ‘Chef’ position, my friend. Things are slim these days in Portland metro.

I think it would be fun to run a bar that keeps up the informal east-coast tradition of a buy-back with every third drink. You tip on your first two beers, the third is on me. I know it sounds crazy, but it works beautifully over there….

But the old hipstiers/hags/bimbos club maintaining a chokehold on the portland service industry is a joke. A terrible unfunny joke that I’m so sick of hearing and how do you round up all these business owners to re-educate them? You’d think the constant onslaught of bad citysearch reviews would get them to reconsider, but nope. Customer complaints don’t seem to touch it. People with amazing resumes, or even resumes reflecting experience, coming in, but to no avail.

Is there an explanation for why this is such a glaring oversight in the bars and restaurants here in Portland? Does anyone know why it’s so common?

Wait, is this the famous Ryan Robinson from the old boards? Wow. All I can say is wow.

Just checking in on all the old assholes on this useless site, saying what’s up.
And a big fuck you to i just hate!! and aumporn as well. Thanks for all the grief!
Peace.
Oh and if I ever find out who K&Z Fan is I plan on kicking his ass back to pastramiville.
-Ryan

Yea I Just Hate is a total cum gargler. Have you noticed he usually makes his shitty comments when it’s obvious the original poster is female? Definitely a turd burglar.

I worked for a place here in portland recently and within four years went from 10.5 to 18 an hour. not bad, sometimes it depends on the person, I don’t go there with intent to take over someones job but when you prove yourself to be better then their current whatever, it just works out that way eventually. do it for the love of the food and the money will follow.

born, raised, educated, and trained east of the mighty mississippi : brings order to a busy restaurant.

the other: brings chaos

freakin locals ruining it for everyone. been cooking and serving here for thirteen years and I have yet to find someone born and raised here and here alone that knows how to work cohesivley with other team members.

but at the same time, the restaurant gossip and drama brought to a boring job in such a situation is quite rich.

i’ve seen several posts comparing east and west and in the end, even though i have saved energy by not pressing the shift key in order to produce a capital letter in this response, i’m simply too tired to go into it.