Barback interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Name the shifts: setup starts [an hour] before doors, closes run until the bar is restocked for tomorrow, and you need [Friday and Saturday nights and holidays].
• Describe the work plainly: hauling ice, cases and kegs on the hand truck you provide, wet floors and broken glass behind the bar, and training on each before a busy night.
• Say what a barback here doesn't do, [pour, serve or ring up drinks], and that your state sets an age for working behind the bar, which you'll ask every candidate about the same way.
• Explain barback pay, [the hourly rate and the share set by your tip policy], and whether barbacks here can train toward bartending.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Situational · Staying ahead of the bar

   You walk in thirty minutes before doors on a Friday. The ice wells are half full, last night's close left the beer cooler short, and there's one clean rack of wine glasses. Walk me through the next half hour.

   Bars run out mid-rush because setup missed something. This shows whether they set priorities from what the night will need.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you check first, and how?
   • Who do you tell about the short cooler, and what do you say?
   • What would you leave until after doors open?

   5Strong

   Fills the ice first, since the bar can't make drinks without it, gets the dish pit started on wine glasses, restocks the cooler with warm cases behind the cold ones, checks the par sheet with the opening bartender and names what's still short at doors.

   3Mixed

   Gets everything stocked correctly but in the order they walked past it, and doesn't tell the bartender what's still short when doors open.

   1Weak

   Starts with whatever is easiest, or waits for a bartender to say what's needed.

2. Situational · Staying ahead of the bar

   It's nine on a Saturday and the bar is packed. On one loop you see the well ice getting low, two bartenders down to their last rocks glasses, and the house red almost gone. What's your order, and why?

   Every bar has a rush where three things run low at once. The order they pick shows whether they think about what stops drinks first.

   Follow-ups

   • What tells you which comes first?
   • What do you tell the bartenders before you leave the bar?
   • What would you change so this doesn't happen next Saturday?

   5Strong

   Brings a rack of rocks glasses and a fresh bucket of ice first, since drinks stop without them, then pulls the red from the liquor room and signs it out. Tells the bartenders what's coming and how long, and raises the pars with the manager afterward.

   3Mixed

   Picks a sensible order but works in silence, so bartenders keep stopping to ask what's coming.

   1Weak

   Fixes whatever a bartender shouts for first, or lets one station run dry while working another.

3. Behavioral · Working with bartenders

   Think of a time, at any job, team or event, when someone else did the work people saw and your part was making sure they had what they needed. Walk me through it.

   A barback succeeds when the bartender looks fast. This shows whether they've spotted needs before being asked, wherever they did it.

   Follow-ups

   • How did you know what they'd need next?
   • What ran short anyway, and what did you do?
   • How did they let you know it helped?

   5Strong

   Names a specific setup, like a stage crew, a kitchen or a team bench, describes watching for what would run out and handling it before anyone asked, and explains what they did when something still ran short.

   3Mixed

   Did the job reliably whenever asked, but describes waiting for requests rather than spotting needs.

   1Weak

   Has no example, or only talks about their own tasks.

4. Situational · Ice and glass safety

   A wine glass breaks against the rim of the ice well during the rush. The bartender says only a couple of pieces went in and asks you to pick them out so they can keep pouring. What do you do?

   Glass is hard to see in ice, and this is where a busy bartender's pressure meets a guest's safety. You want someone who holds the line politely.

   Follow-ups

   • How do you keep the bartender making drinks while the well is out?
   • How do you clear the ice without getting cut?
   • What happens to any drink scooped from that well since the glass broke?

   5Strong

   Says the well is closed, sets the bartender up with fresh ice in a clean bucket, then burns the well: empties all of it, melts the rest with hot water, cleans, sanitizes and refills it. Has any drink scooped from it since the break remade.

   3Mixed

   Closes and burns the well and has drinks from it remade, but leaves the bartender with no ice to work from until the well is refilled.

   1Weak

   Fishes out the shards they can spot, or lets the bartender keep scooping from that well.

5. Situational · Ice and glass safety

   A bartender is low on ice for drinks. The tub chilling the bottled beer is full of ice right next to them, and the ice machine is in the back. Someone hands you a pint glass to scoop with. What do you do?

   Ice that chilled bottles can't go in a drink, and a glass used as a scoop can chip or break into the bin. Both shortcuts look harmless in a rush.

   Follow-ups

   • Why not use the beer tub ice?
   • What do you say to the person with the pint glass?
   • Where does the ice scoop live between uses?

   5Strong

   Leaves the beer tub alone because that ice has touched bottles from the storeroom, fills a clean bucket at the machine with the scoop, turns down the pint glass because it can break in the ice, and puts the scoop back in its holder, not in the ice.

   3Mixed

   Goes to the machine and uses the scoop, but can't say why the beer-tub ice is off limits, and hands back the pint glass without saying why.

   1Weak

   Fills the well from the beer tub, or scoops with the glass.

6. Situational · Kegs and gas

   Mid-rush, the draft IPA starts spitting foam and then stops. The bartender says the keg's empty, and the spare is in the walk-in. The bar manager signed you off on keg changes last week, and this is your first one alone. What do you do?

   A blown keg is routine. Forcing a coupler or guessing at the gas can hurt someone, so you want a barback who follows the steps or asks.

   Follow-ups

   • Walk me through the change the way you were trained.
   • What would make you stop and get the bar manager?
   • What would you do if you hadn't been signed off on keg changes yet?

   5Strong

   Tells the bartender how long it will take, brings the keg on the hand truck, follows the trained steps in order, and stops for the bar manager if the coupler sticks, a fitting hisses or the new keg pours only foam. Not yet signed off? Gets the manager.

   3Mixed

   Changes the keg safely by the steps and would wait for the manager if not signed off, but leaves the bartender guessing how long and doesn't mention the foamy pour afterward.

   1Weak

   Forces a stuck coupler, tries a fix they weren't taught, or skips the hand truck.

7. Situational · Kegs and gas

   You're swapping a gas cylinder in the small keg room the way you were trained. After you tighten the regulator, you hear a steady hiss, and the bar is calling for you. What do you do?

   Carbon dioxide has no color or smell and settles low in a closed room, so a leak can build up before anyone notices. The barback is often the only one in there.

   Follow-ups

   • Why does it matter that the room is small?
   • What would you do if the room's gas alarm went off?
   • Who else needs to know, and what do you tell them?

   5Strong

   Leaves the room right away and gets the manager instead of staying to fix the fitting, and stays out until the manager says the room is aired out. Knows a gas alarm means get out and stay out, and warns the bartender the taps may go flat.

   3Mixed

   Leaves and gets the manager right away, but can't say why a leak in a closed room is dangerous or what the alarm means.

   1Weak

   Keeps working on the fitting in the closed room, or ignores the hiss to get back to the bar.

8. Situational · Product and the rules

   Your bartender steps away for a minute, and a regular at the bar asks you to pour them a beer, since you're standing right at the taps. What do you do?

   Many states set an age for pouring or serving, and bars train bartenders to check IDs and judge who's had enough. A barback who pours on request takes on both risks.

   Follow-ups

   • How do you put it to the guest?
   • Suppose the bartender, buried in tickets, tells you to pour it. What then?
   • Why might the rules be different for you than for the bartender?

   5Strong

   Tells the guest politely the bartender will be right with them and lets the bartender know, without pouring or taking money. If the bartender says to pour anyway, still says no and points to the house rule. Pours only where your policy and state law allow it and after training.

   3Mixed

   Doesn't pour, but leaves the guest hanging without a word or forgets to tell the bartender.

   1Weak

   Pours it, or pours it free because it's a regular.

9. Behavioral · Working with bartenders

   Tell me about a time someone corrected you in front of other people during a busy moment, at work, in a sport or at school. What did you do next?

   Bartenders correct barbacks fast and in public mid-rush. You want someone who fixes it, keeps moving and asks about it later.

   Follow-ups

   • What exactly were you told?
   • What did you say back, if anything?
   • What do you do differently now?

   5Strong

   Describes a real moment, fixed the thing right away without arguing, asked later how to do it right if it was unclear, and can name the habit that changed because of it.

   3Mixed

   Fixed it and moved on, but stayed upset about it or never followed up to learn the right way.

   1Weak

   Argued in the moment, ignored the correction, or has no example.

10. Situational · Product and the rules

    At close, a bartender hands you a pair of bottles from the liquor room, asks you to carry them out to their car with the empties, and says to leave them off the sign-out. What do you do?

    Barbacks move product all night, so they're the easiest person to ask to look the other way. This shows whether they'll keep the count honest under pressure from a coworker.

    Follow-ups

    • What do you say to the bartender?
    • Who do you tell, and when?
    • What if the bartender says the manager already approved it?

    5Strong

    Says no, leaves the bottles in the liquor room and follows your inventory rule that nothing leaves without a sign-out. Tells the bar manager that night, and if told the manager approved it, checks with the manager directly before moving anything.

    3Mixed

    Refuses and leaves the bottles where they belong, but waits until their next shift to tell the bar manager.

    1Weak

    Carries them out, or does it once because it's a coworker they like.

Work exercise: read a mock bar setup

Set up a station with empty, rinsed bottles, a made-up par sheet, an ice bin with its scoop and a few glasses. Plant [four] problems: a glass in the ice, the scoop buried handle and all, a shelf short of par, and a photo of an unchained gas cylinder. Finalists get [10] minutes to restock to par, name each problem and say what they'd fix first. No alcohol, kegs or live gas. Any working shift is optional, paid at least minimum wage, and open only to ages your state allows.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• How often did the bar run short of ice, glasses or product on their shifts, and what did they do about it?
• When glass broke near the ice or a keg blew mid-rush, how did they handle it?
• Were their liquor room sign-outs ever off, and did they ever pour or serve when they weren't supposed to?
• Would your bartenders want to work a busy night with them again, and is there anything that would stop you rehiring them?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipThis is usually a guy's job because of the kegs. Are you sure you can handle it?

  AskDescribe the same tasks to every candidate: [moving full kegs with a hand truck, carrying ice buckets and cases that can weigh fifty pounds, and working on wet floors behind the bar]. Then ask if they can manage it, with or without reasonable accommodation. Hiring on assumptions about sex or size is unlawful.

• SkipHow old are you? You have to be old enough to work back there.

  AskWhere your state sets a minimum age for working behind the bar or handling alcohol, ask each candidate in the same words whether they're at least [that age], and once you've made an offer, check proof of age in the same way for every hire.

Common mistakes when hiring a barback

• Assuming an experienced barback knows your gas system

  Couplers, regulators and gas setups differ from bar to bar, and some bars run bulk tanks instead of cylinders. Have the bar manager sign off every new barback on your keg and gas steps, however long they've worked bars, before they change one alone.

• Hiring the strongest-looking candidate

  Lifting with a hand truck is easy to teach. Noticing the low well and the glass in the ice is not. The mock setup shows you which candidate sees both in ten minutes.

• Promising a bartending job to fill the opening

  Many candidates take the job to become bartenders. Say honestly what the steps are, [the training and how openings are filled], and don't promise a date that your state's age rule or your schedule can't keep.

Barback interview FAQ