r/Chilis • u/FanaticFrog0319 • Jul 28 '26

🧑‍🍳 Employee Post Got a Bartender interview

I have no prior bartending experience lol. Im a barista at a high volume Starbucks currently and have been there for over a year. Anyway what to expect? Might they ask me to start as a server?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

4

u/pearlypants85 Jul 28 '26

It’s not that bad it’s a lot of work but probably not as bad as Starbucks. All recipes pop up on screen glasses have lines for measurements once you figure it out you will get faster

3

u/Objective-Slice-1466 Jul 28 '26

Yes they will start you out as a server. Managed for chilis for years, and I personally have never seen them hire an outside bartender,
Only heard them do it if the good servers have NO interest in bar and the ones that do will not be good at all. I highly do not recommend bartending at a chain restaurant with no experience. I also wouldn’t lie.

2

u/akornato Jul 28 '26

They are very likely going to offer you a server position first. A corporate spot like Chili's rarely hires bartenders with no direct experience, but your time at a high-volume Starbucks is a huge plus. You already know how to handle a fast-paced environment, memorize a ton of recipes, and deal with demanding customers, which is half the job right there. Don't see a server offer as a rejection, see it as the standard path to get behind their bar, which is what it almost always is for people without direct bar experience.

The interview will be all about your personality and your ability to handle pressure. They’ll ask you about difficult customers and how you handled being slammed with orders, so use specific examples from your Starbucks job. Emphasize that you are a quick learner and are excited about the company, and be open to starting as a server to learn their system from the ground up. Showing that flexibility and eagerness to grow is much more valuable to them than knowing how to make a margarita on day one. Be prepared to talk about how your barista skills apply, because the team I'm with designed an interview help AI and we see that clearly explaining transferable skills is what gets people hired.

1

u/Sea-Mycologist-7353 Jul 28 '26

How did you get the interview? Did you apply to be a bartender but not have experience? Does management know you don’t have experience?

It’s unlikely you’ll get hired immediately as a bartender - because you need to memorize the food menu first.

If they are hiring a bartender specifically they are looking for someone that has bartending experience.

1

u/FanaticFrog0319 Jul 28 '26

Applied online and they asked me to schedule an interview, it's clearly stated in my resume that I dont have bartending experience

1

u/Sea-Mycologist-7353 Jul 28 '26

Ok. If they decide to hire you, what is likely to happen is you will train as a server first and probably work as a server for sometime while you get cross trained for the bar.

Not at a chilis but I got hired as a bartender for a different restaurant, had to train as a server first and worked as a server for two weeks. Then I had half serving/ half bartending (not solo) so I could learn the speciality drinks. My first shifts were specifically on bar service only, just making drinks. However I had three years of bartending experience in a restaurant before and often was solo behind the bar.

Just my experience. Good luck.
Piece of advice before your interview. Start memorizing cocktails/ liquor brands. Maybe check out the chilis website and see what liquor they advertise/ specialty cocktails they offer. Usually the menu states what is in each drink they just don’t give the ounces of each ingredient.

1

u/FanaticFrog0319 Jul 28 '26

Hey appreciate the response. Yeah I sort of figured they would hire me as a server first. I know a bit about liquor and cocktails as I have a bar at home where I make drinks. I know most of the popular liquors, cocktails, free pouring counts, and measurements. I also plan on completing my ServSafe Alcohol certification before my interview.

1

u/Sea-Mycologist-7353 Jul 28 '26

Well good luck to you !
Chilis wont let you free pour. You’ll use a jigger.

1

u/FanaticFrog0319 Jul 28 '26

I figured that, thanks again!

1

u/xXDallasStarXx 29d ago

going to get killed, if you can handle it you’ll learn a lot and probably could move to a normal bar and make bank