bartender

line cook

cook

kitchen assistant

kitchen team member

Elks Lodge

At first, the Elks Lodge seems like a fun place to work. Bartenders have a casual dress code & cooks have none. The lowest staff ie, cooks, bartenders, janitors, etc. are usually friendly & easy to get along with. However, the Elks Lodge suffers from terrible managing due to its membership hierarchy. Each year a new "Exalted Ruler" comes into power which changes the power structure of who manages the workers. Most of these people have personal agendas and friend circles similar to high school. Since the Lodge is effectively a bar they're in the business nearly every day making decisions about the business from a membership standpoint, while intoxicated. Little to no training or direction is giving in way of procedure, execution, or organization of anything kitchen or bar related. This leads to inconsitenceies between shifts & workers. Following in those same steps, little to no regard for the workers is shown in a professional business sense. If your clock in time is altered you do not sign off on it, breaks are not scheduled or given unless you take it upon yourself to note how many hours you're working & take one. Each summer business increases exponentially which brings a wave of high school and college workers usually showed favoritism because their families are members. Once the summer nears end & these temporary workers leave it is left upon the remaining staff to fill in their shifts sometimes resulting in 7 day work weeks or 8+ hour work days with no break. At best I could only recommend this job to someone who needs something not professional and part-time to get by or as a second job. Do not invest a lot of time and/or energy into this business.

I absolutely love volunteering at the Elks Lodge. A typical work day consists of scraping food off of dishes, rinsing them and putting them into an industrial dishwasher. After I am done with that I have to put them away and start the process over. Once I am done with the dishes I wipe everything down with a sanitized cloth, sleep/mop the floors and then take the trash out. 
I have learned so much to do with work and without. However to keep this relevant I have learned why its important to show up early, how to keep myself organized while working and how to properly maintain a restaurant type of kitchen. I have also learned that I work best in a fast paced environment and have been able to put my people skills to the test and I am very happy with what I have shown myself. 
My co-workers are all fantastic people and I love being around them. They are fun, loving and extremely caring people. They are very wise and teach me so many interesting things. 
The hardest part of my job is not being able to interact with all of the people that come to the Elks Lodge. They are all older people with lots of interesting stories and a great knowledge to pass down.The most enjoyable part is the fact that I even get to talk to such people and be around them. The environment is so positive and full of great people. I love it.

A typical evening at work included preparing for and serving dinner, making guests smile, followed by clean up with a fantastic crew. An event usually entailed serving far over 100 guests so we had more servers to accommodate. At these events I directed servers when nessecary. Guests were always dressed in their finest and having a great time.

I learned how to work fast, we often served over 100 guests with only two servers. I learned to memorize regular guest's dinner preferences. 

Management was wonderful, sometimes stressed but ready to laugh at a joke when they needed to. Co-workers were a great team, we all worked hard and got the job done in a timely manner and always had fun doing it.

The hardest part of the job was having to cut conversations short with the sweet guests to get dinners served to others.

The most enjoyable part of the job was the people I worked with and the guests I served. The co-workers were all happy to be at work  and the guests were almost always kind and excited to eat what was on the menu. They were all a big extened family.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I had a good time working at the Lodge.  I was treated well as a bartender and with respect by the leaders in the lodge.  I would love to say all my customer’s members loved me but in the real world sometimes not everyone is going to like you they were all very friendly and respectful.  .  I made good money on the busy days.  I enjoyed the slow days.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Busy nights were stressful but time flew bye when two bartenders were serving a couple hundred people.  Our shifts were 12 to 13 hours and sometimes we covered two, three or more shifts in a row but the money was good.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
One of the better cultures I have been a part of.  Customers and leaders really did care about their bartenders.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I would get to the lodge at about 1030 to make sure the bar was fully stocked and the food prep area was ready.  Some days no food prep staff was available so the bartender was responsible for that.

A typical day of work is hob-nobbing with the members.  There are 1200 at this particular lodge and they all want to get to know you.  I've learned that even though this is a charitable organization, the members are very demanding and you have to have a lot of patience to try and get everything they want done.  They are very short staffed as they are not open to the public, so it is difficult to hire the proper people to put in the right jobs.  There is only 1 manager in the entire place and that person is responsible for the kitchen, restaurant, P&L, ordering, maintenance and all the little nuances that go with a semi-casual restaurant.  The hardest part of the job is being in 5 places at once.  You must make sure that the kitchen is running smoothly while doing table touches in the dining room.  At the same time, you should be in the bar  talking with the members while being in the basement overseeing a banquet.  It is very challenging, but also rewarding.  The most enjoyable part of this job is the same thing.  Once you can find a happy medium with all of the responsibilities, there is no greater feeling at the end of the day.

a typical day at the Elk's involved setting up the register and counting out money banks, then documenting the money amounts. wiping the bar and setting up liquor bottles. making sure all stock is in place and fruit is fresh, if not, then through out old fruit and cut fresh. turn on all lights, ceiling fans and games. check for expired membership cards as members enter, and i.d. for underage drinkers. mix drinks, pour beers and wines and serve food. pay out for gaming machines through ticket vouchers. converse with members and have fun telling jokes. I learned what a great group of people the Elk's have for members and management is very organized. my co workers and I had a lot of fun working together and covered each others back. the hardest part of the job is finding a hard part of the job. most enjoyable part of job was the whole friendly atmosphere from members through to the house committee.

The work day is only Monday due to it being a volunteer job but it consisted of making bingo packages and setting up the work counter starting at 2-3 and ending at 5.  After setting up the counter and packs are made me and my associate start selling the packages and extras to all the people that come through.  This lasts the rest of the night, ending at 9-9:30.  At 6:30 is when the bingo games start and that is where the 3rd part of my job comes in.  I was responsible for making payouts to the winners and making sure they received the correct amounts.  This ending at 9:30 when the final game ends and everyone packs up and leaves.  After selling packs and paying out money I was left to organize the leftover cards and packs and make sure we were correct on the amount of packs and papers we had sold that night.  Once they were all accounted for I would put packs and papers up while still making sure to be behind the counter to pay out the winnings to the bingo winners.  Overall this was an incredible experience because it taught me to be on time, respectful, and to work with others.

This was my first experience being a bartender and I will say it was very rewarding. The members I got to serve and interact with made my job experience worth it. Not dealing with drunks and people creating commotion was a big positive, especially to a novice bartender. The management is run by volunteers, so high numbers and cross selling isn't a pushy topic. 

It is very relaxed however don't expect a lot of money from working here unless you work for a busy and active lodge. Job security is solid. I would say that because its not like a normal bar, the type of drinks made aren't those elsewhere. If your looking to make all those goofy drinks; its probably not going to happen here. BPO Elks would be a perfect place for a novice bartender to build confidence in anticipation to work at a public bar. 

In my opinion, I would recommend the BPO Elks as a potential employer.

A typical day at work would be I get to work around 4, I get the tables set, I start the coffee, I make salads, and fill water pitchers. Most of the time somebody was always arguing. I learned how you have to be verbal and respectful towards others to get ahead in life. I also learned that you may see or hear a lot of different things but never let what somebody elses tells you to get you down. My manager was a full functioning alcoholic who was very verbal and sexual, my co-workers were a bunch of fun and wild girls who like to party and not really get things done until it was time to leave. The hardest part of my job was having to deal with the manager and some of the customers who were very demanding and rude, and the most enjoyable part of my job was I got to meet a lot of different people and got to hear stories and learned a lot of things about a lot of different people and places.  

Typical day at Work:Distributed meals ensuring proper distribution to customers that follow various dietary restrictions
Hosted various club functions and events
Cleaned and sterilized server stations and dining area
Prepared checks that itemize and total meal costs
Greeted and escorted customers to their tables


What I learned: Well, your not allowed to be in a bad mood, Always smile even when things get tough, Always be polite even when customers are mean and rude. Never question a customer always do the right thing even if you disagree, be nice and make it right for them. Use clear communication, Ask questions, be interested but not nosy, Overall be humble and kind. 

Work Place: This place was very fast paced and political.


The hardest part: The hardest part was being in the environment.
 It made it very hard to want to go to work everyday. 


what I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the fast pace part and the hours.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Bartender 6 salaries reported	$11.85 per hour
Line cook 1 salary reported	$22.50 per hour
Cook 4 salaries reported	$17.13 per hour
Kitchen assistant 1 salary reported	$14.00 per hour
Kitchen team member 1 salary reported	$17.00 per hour

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