Hollywood movies like “Coyote Ugly” and “Honey” make it seem like all a woman has to do to make some easy money is be sexy and know how to pour a drink.
While some women say that their feminine wiles can help them earn big bucks, the job still has its challenges, like drunk and disorderly patrons.
“I’m not married and have no kids – it’s the single job to do,” said Natalie Joy Chan, 25. “It’s a great supplement to your income and good skill worker.”
The biology junior serves drinks at Club Lamia, where she is the only female bartender. More than earning up to $500 in cash on a good night, Chan said she enjoys meeting new people and socializing the most.
“You’re the man, everyone wants to come to you,” said Chan.
Asides from free drinks, and the occasional ego boost, Chan said she can get a way with a lot more things than a man can behind the bar. If she doesn’t know how to make a certain drink, she said, male customers are much more willing to explain it than they are with male bartenders.
Linzy Davidson, a 22-year-old BECA and speech and communications major has been working at The Pub for a year and a half. She said she also sees the advantages of being a female bartender.
“I milk it for what it is,” said Davidson.
Davidson started out as a frequent customer at The Pub. When a friend told her about the job opening, she jumped at the opportunity.
This summer, she said, she plans on working at a dive bar in the city so that she can play darts, drink with the customers, and make a “shitload” of tips. She is using her experience at The Pub to build her resume.
Like Chan, Davidson said she enjoys meeting new people and uses her bartender status to get free drinks at bars all over the city, describing her method as a three-step program.
“It goes, ‘What’s up guys, I bartend, let’s do this,’” said Davidson. “I make a little joke about it, but it always works.”
However, Chan has witnessed first-hand the irony of how working in a social environment can leave you with no social life. Many bartenders quit after a few years because watching other people party gets tiresome and they eventually want to be on the other side of the bar, Chan said. Her job also puts a damper on her relationships because its demands leave her no time for a boyfriend.
“The part that sucks is that when I do have a night off, I want to order pizza, stay at home to watch a movie, and do some laundry,” said Chan.
Like with most things Hollywood, there are always two sides to the glitz and glamour. Showing a little midriff can get you extra tips but it can also invite unwanted attention.
Chan has experienced everything from customers following her to the stock room, to getting hit by bottles during bar fights, to sexual harassment. One incident, where a promoter harassed Chan to the point that security had to escort him out of the club, even caused her to quit bartending for two months, she said.
“To be able to put in the back of your mind that people will treat you like a piece of meat is hard to do,” said Chan.
Davidson has also faced the challenges of her job, she said. Every month, The Pub hosts Pub Bash, where the drink specials usually attract a line that goes out the door. Some patrons get especially rowdy and things usually get out of control, according to Davidson.
“On those nights I tend to make more enemies than friends,” said Davidson.
Still, Davidson wouldn’t trade her job for the world, and although Chan agreed that the job has its problems, she said she has no regrets.
“If you can take the shit, it’s flat out good money,” said Chan.