Bouncing 101

SO, I work as a bouncer. I do this 3-4 nights a week and it's my major source of income, so I take my job seriously. Now, I have people come up to me frequently and ask about becoming a bouncer.
Well, here's a few tidbits of hard learned truth.

First, forget 99.99% of what you think you know about it. We're not all 'roided-up gym rats who are just itching to demonstrate out latest super-ninja/ultimate fighter death moves. Most of us are just normal guys, trying to make a little extra cash by renting out ourselves as the buffer between drunken, often violent bar patrons and everyone else in the bar.
Now, most of us are on the large size, 'cause it can help to be a little intimidating, and most of us have some background in physical confrontations. This can be formal martial arts, training as former (or current) law enforcement or just plain experience in street fighting. The truth is, that it's better to be a good communicator who's willing to take the time and defuse a situation before it turns violent. That's why I prefer, without exception, to work with guys who are over 30 yrs old. They've generally had time to work out the youthful testosterone poisoning and be able to look at is nothing personal.
Now, I hate to quote a line from Road House but amidst all the horse shit in that film is one pearl of perfect wisdom "It's a job. It's nothing personal". We watch the crowd, we study peoples body language and facial expressions and we try like hell to see trouble coming before it starts.
Once a fight breaks out, all that's left is damage control. Try to get them separated, get them outside-whenever possible via different exits, and get the night back on track. The bar/club exists for the sole purpose of providing an environment in which the owners can separate you from your money, and if you're worried about your safety, you'll just find somewhere else to do your drinking.

This is bad for business, and bosses love to point fingers and we're at the bottom of the pile.

We are, almost without exception, the lowest paid employees in any bar or club. It's just the way it is. Now, this is mostly due to the fact that we don't recieve tips, neither directly or a a portion of the bartender's nightly tips.

Objectively, this is a good thing, as we should have NO vested interest in allowing more people into the bar, especially if they're "wrong" in some way...no or fake ID's, already drunk or beligerent, etc.

But again, it's a balancing act. Too few customers and the owner's will downsize the staff-beginning with us. Too many problems resulting from being too leinient at the door, also justification for a staff shake-up. A real Catch-22.

Now, in theory, it'd be nice if the bartenders gave up a little thank you every night, regardless of the crowd, not a percentage, but just say a nice $20-50. as a thank you. After all, we're not the ones who can be sued for serving an obvious drunk who gets in his car and runs into a van full of nuns, nor are we going to get a summons or arrested for serving a minor....we didn't serve them, the bartender did. We keep that from happening, but the 20-yr old kid who helps stock the bar and bus tables will often leave with double what we make on any given night.

Next I'll go into patron-bouncer interactions, and all the fun ways they can go to hell in a heartbeat.....