Life no cocktail for Jakarta's bartenders<\/p>\n
Endang Roh Suciati, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The clock shows 10 p.m: Amid a haze of smoke and pulsating music
\nat a busy bar in Jakarta, the bartenders are busy doing what they
\ndo best.<\/p>\n
Like jugglers, they nimbly twist, swing and catch the bottles,
\ntheir two hands working in unison.<\/p>\n
\"It is part of our job. Not only the serving, but also smiling
\nand talking to the people come here asking for a drink,\" Agung
\nPrabowo, a bartender at a five-star hotel, said.<\/p>\n
Bartending is a profession that involves long, tiring hours in
\nsometimes difficult working conditions, including ornery
\ncustomers and those who try to get out of paying their bills. But
\nthere are also rewards, not only in the form of tips but also
\nbuilding up a loyal clientele.<\/p>\n
For 25-year-old Agung, work begins at 3 p.m. and continues for
\nthe next 11 hours, with clean-up taking another hour or so.<\/p>\n
\"If this is said to be hard work, yes, it's hard work. But if
\nwe do it with complete willingness, it is a fun job,\" said the
\nslim, tall man who commutes to work by motorcycle.<\/p>\n
He relishes the chance to meet others. \"I've learned how to
\nidentify people's characters from this job, like how some people
\nwant to be entertained when they are sad, some not. The job has
\ngiven me many friends.\"<\/p>\n
Agung said he had never planed to be bartender when he was
\ngrowing up.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't want to be bartender, but a movie with Tom Cruise,
\nCocktail, changed my life. It motivated me to be a bartender. And
\nhere is where my destiny brought me.\"<\/p>\n
He started out washing glasses, wiping tables and other menial
\nduties at a small cafe in Jakarta. He studied bartending from
\nothers, reading, browsing websites and practicing late into the
\nnight.<\/p>\n
He has won several bartending competitions, is now the bar
\nmaster at the hotel and makes enough money to support his family.<\/p>\n
He is grateful to God for his job now, but still holds to his
\ndream that one day he will be an entrepreneur. \"Who knows, I can
\nhave my own bar or cafe in the future.\"<\/p>\n
Other bartenders admit they have faced family opposition to
\ntheir plans, especially the small band of women in the
\nprofession.<\/p>\n
\"The first time I informed my parents in Medan, they opposed
\nmy decision. I explained them that being a bartender is a
\nprofession, too, and I want to be a professional. Then they said
\nOK, asking me to work with all my heart,\" said Melsa Hariani, a
\nbartender at trendy Blowfish Kitchen and Bar in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
University educated, the 24 year old said she had learned that
\nit takes skills to do the job, with a qualified bartender needing
\nto meet international standards on mixing 50 types of drinks.<\/p>\n
Melsa is doing well after one year in her job, but
\nacknowledged the challenges, including being a woman in what is
\ntraditionally considered a man's profession and also being
\npropositioned by male patrons.<\/p>\n
\"They thought I'm that type of woman. It is a risk of my job.
\nWe have to be strong,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Tips help out in supplementing income.<\/p>\n
\"Once I got a tip of US$200 from an American couple. Maybe
\nthey were satisfied with my service,\" Wawan \"Away\" Rusmana
\nrecalled of his experience in bartending.<\/p>\n
Away went into bartending during university to help pay his
\ntuition; he liked it so much that he never completed his studies.<\/p>\n
After 10 years of bartending, he is now managing a cafe with
\nhis colleagues. He has also set up the Jakarta Bartender Club.<\/p>\n
\"We are among bartenders trying to share information here.
\nTraining is also given,\" Away said during a breaking of the fast
\nevent held for bartenders on Jl. Jaksa, Central Jakarta, last
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
One of the aims is to eliminate the dismissive view of
\nbartenders as \"servants\".<\/p>\n
\"Skills and knowledge are needed to be bartenders. We should
\nspeak English, remember the different kinds of drinks, have
\nstrong attitude, trained in preparing drinks, and also have good
\nphysical condition,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/life-no-cocktail-for-jakartas-bartenders-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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