Questions and Answers
I don’t drink alcohol, but would still like to be a qualified bar tender. Should enroll?
This will be a perfect gift for my daughter just starting out in college and who just got a job as a cook in a local pub. She had asked about going to bartending school and earning extra cash while going to school bartending. Now she will be able to learn from the best and move up from the cook job and eventually land a higher paying job bartending at a higher scale establishment.
By attending these classes do you get your bartending license?
Hi everyone! I bought this deal last year when it was available (my first groupon!) and it’s absolutely worth it. I would buy it again if I needed to (but drinkmasters allows you to drop in on classes after your initial classes are over for free…)
They’re supportive, creative, and knowledgeable and I’m so glad I did it. It’s certainly not just a few facts thrown at you, but they really train you on the muscle memory of it.
Jump on this groupon; this is one of the best groupons I have ever seen because it’s a skill you can use through out life.
Weird! Anyone notice that all the reviews compiled by google have a strange clustering of dates by people with only one review on DrinkMaster? This is interspersed with comments like :
“Decietful and Dishonest
Rated 1.0 out of 5.0 By Sam – Apr 26, 2010
I was seriously considering enrolling at this bartending school, but I decided I would first check out the reviews to make sure it was worth the money. I’m glad I did, because I feel I almost made a huge mistake. Looking through the first three pages of reviews for this business, I would say all but two are fake. Each account has reviewed only DrinkMaster, and occasionally a Boston area restaurant. I’m posting this review to let the DrinkMaster company know their attempts at deception have cost them my business, and to let anyone else who happens to come to this page know about the true nature of these reviews. For anyone who doubts me, check for yourself. Each user that has reviewed this school hasn’t reviewed anything else. Reading through the reviews, one starts to see the same phrases and sentences reused over and over. One person clearly put a lot of effort into deceiving potential customers.”
Thoughts? I was almost going to buy one – it seems like a great class and school.
Edward: Definitely can understand the concern, so I looked it up myself on Yelp. While there are only 3 reviews, all reviewers have more than 50 reviews, so if they’re dummy accounts, that’s some damn dedication.
All 3 reviews sounds thoughtful and generally enthused about the course.
Add that to the fact that it’s only $160, when most bar schools are at least $300, and you can go back and practice there for life (so you don’t have to waste your stuff) and it seems like at the least it’s worth it from a learning perspective standpoint. Think about it. 16 hours of classwork, $160 bucks, that’s $10 an hour.
So while I’m not buying this expecting to even GET a bartending job (I hear these courses are useless for that), it seems worth it to me from a fun, educational point of view.
Just my two cents.
Here’s Yelp’s review: http://www.yelp.com/biz/drinkmaster-bartending-school-of-boston-boston
Just because one weirdo on the internet makes allegations in very strong terms doesn’t make it true. If you read through more reviews, it’s pretty clear what’s going on, and it appears to be above board. Here’s a snip from one:
“I told the owner how happy I was with the Drinkmaster program. He asked me if I wouldn’t mind sharing my experience by writing a review online.”
This happens all the time — business owners know people look to online review sites, and ask users who express satisfaction to write reviews. A number of reviews refer to this openly — that the owner asked them to put in a review. If these are fake reviews, why would they say that? I think it’s much more likely that the owner asks people, many of whom previously didn’t have experience posting reviews online, to post, and maybe even told them how to do so. For this person Sam to start calling the owner names “deceitful and dishonest” is way over the line.
And the 3 yelp reviews, all 5 stars, look legitimate, from users who have many reviews.
Edward: Well, I haven’t reviewed it anywhere but to recommend it here, and in my blog to my friends.
My first entry on it (which is not uncritical) is here:
http://thespian.livejournal.com/1636577.html
and you can read the rest of the entries here:
http://thespian.livejournal.com/tag/bartending
Please not that livejournal does newest to oldest, so to follow me as I blogged through the class, please scroll to the bottom. There are points where I was critical (and last night I deconstructed the cost of their bartender kit, which is a good price for a kit, but showed how I did better scavenging around a number of places).
I enjoyed the school a lot, and am very happy with the experience. As I mentioned I was looking for a hobby, but I have found a second career (with my first semi-pro party tomorrow, having graduated 2 whole weeks ago!).
Yeah, I’ve read the Yelp and they sounded legit. I just then continued to read some others, and that’s when that review caught my attention and caused me to focus on some others. Before I make a purchase, I always make sure I do thorough research. Just part of the package! Thanks guys.
Edward it might be best if you don’t take the class.
Bartenders are expected to be upbeat, competent and reasonably friendly ( although, alot of them need work in that area). They are not generally paranoid and accusatory. Perhaps groupon has a nice conspiracy theory class for you.
Thanks Stephanie C. That blog is quite insightful. That was sort of the thing I was fishing for by posting my original comment.
Wow Tracy. That was totally uncalled for. People want to learn and research before they take a class. I wasn’t being paranoid. I had a question. Other people were being helpful. Your comments, however, were not. I think I’m allowed to ask a question in this forum. If you’re upset about people questioning things, maybe you should ask yourself why you feel so threatened by an innocent question and feel the need to lash out.
Edward,
I thought your accusation was harsh. You were a little strong with your implications. Why not come out and ask if anyone thought this was legitimate?
I don’t feel threatened at all. Do you feel defensive?
There are a couple of testimonials at the beginning of this discussion. They were not very similiar. testimonials and poeples opinions are not research. The better business bureau and the like, would be the way to go if you have any doubts about business transactions, etc.
Just as you are allowed to ask a question, others are allowed to post their thoughts and opinions. Your verbage is not any better . upset, lash out. I don’t think so. Question away edward . I am glad some people halped you
Edward,
I thought your accusation was harsh. You were a little strong with your implications. Why not come out and ask if anyone thought this was legitimate?
I don’t feel threatened at all. Do you feel defensive?
There are a couple of testimonials at the beginning of this discussion. They were not very similiar. testimonials and poeples opinions are not research. The better business bureau and the like, would be the way to go if you have any doubts about business transactions, etc.
Just as you are allowed to ask a question, others are allowed to post their thoughts and opinions. Your verbage is not any better . upset, lash out. I don’t think so. Question away edward . I am glad some people halped you
And now you’re shoppro. the conspiracy continues…. (that was a joke in case you get upset about that too).
You are a pickle
are you planning on bartending in the soviet union?
That was also a joke incase you are stil defensive
how did edward L know that shoppro’s name was Tracy? I think this is a fake review of the fake reviews.
totally ted c. you’ve caught us. :) miss congeniality actually changed her name after her first post because… well… you can see how she might be ashamed of her behavior on the board.
Ooh, I might be outspoken and opinionated. But I am not a hypocrite. I am certainly not ashamed. I am tempted to explain the name change but I don’t feel it’s necessary. It would seem defensive. Edward you seem to be lashing out.
Ted, your jokes are actually funny. Thanks I enjoyed that.
Hi—I can’t seem to locate a minimum age limit for this deal. My kids tell me that even though the drinking age is 21, you can take a class like this when you’re 18…but obviously they have an agenda.
Just wanted to say that I took this course the first time Groupon offered it… I’m not working as a bartender; I may do it part-time at some point but right now, my full-time job is keeping me more than busy. I took it mostly for fun. That said, most of the people in my class were taking it to try to land bartending gigs and we all agreed it was a very useful class, not to mention quite fun. Anyway, just thought I’d add my two cents. I’m on Yelp, but it hadn’t occurred to me to review it there. Maybe I’ll go do that now. FYI— I don’t have a ton of reviews on Yelp, but that doesn’t mean they’re not legit. It means I have a life. ;)
As much as I enjoy this battle of wits, I unfortunately have to attend to more pressing matters. That and I feel it is unfair to go against an ill-equipped opponent. This is the “Soviet Pickle” signing out.
Hi this is the owner of DrinkMaster Bartending School, Jason Rothe. We are very excited with the positive response from the Groupon community. Here at DrinkMaster we are very proactive in encouraging our graduates to share their positive experiences with others online. Word of mouth has always been the driving force behind our success.
Please feel free to swing by the school at anytime for a tour. We would be happy to answer any questions. We can be reached at drinkmaster101@gmail.com or call us at 1-800-BARTEND.
We look forward to meeting all of our new students.
Best Regards,
Jason Rothe
President / CEO
DrinkMaster Bartendng School
Boston & Framingham, MA
Is the “graduate” TIPS certified upon completion of this course?
Stephanie C – thanks so much for your post and your blog about your experience with this course. It helped me decide. I am very much into food and wine (having taken many wine courses and seminars with Sandy Block, Master of Wine), and I love good cocktail. Have been toying with the idea of taking this class, between the Groupon deal and your blog, I will take the plunge and do this for fun. Their Framingham location is just the road from me.
I just wanted to clarify some of the details about the school and throw in my two cents.
First off, I took the class May ‘09. The class was a lot of fun and I learned so much. The instructors are fun and enjoy what they do. I got to know a few of the instructors as well as the owner, Jason, really well over that week. Since then, I’ve been in over a couple dozen times to get some help with my bartending business, my resume, or just to visit. Everyone in the office is really friendly and helpful when it comes to you as a bartender. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone and everyone.
As for some of the questions, you need to be 18 to bartend in MA but there is no age limit to take the class. The class teaches you to bartend and everything that goes along with that. TIPS and ServSafe training are outside of what they do, although they do offer ServSafe classes for those who don’t want to take the class online (I would do it online though, easy and from the comfort of your home).
For those of you who have already taken the class, I would definitely recommend the Catering 101 class as well if you plan on doing any private bartending or catering. The class is really helpful and Jason tells you a lot about the industry.
If you cannot tell by now, I absolutely LOVE DrinkMaster. Not only did I learn a lot about alcohol, bartending, catering, among other things, I also gained some friends in the process and started my own business from it.
(if I messed anything up Jason, feel free to correct me)
Just to clarify, i was looking on the DrinkMaster bar-tending school website and you do have to be 18 to take their course as well as 18 to bartend in MA
I am trying to buy today’s deal, but seem to be having accessing the groupon, I can open my email, but when I click on “todays deal”, I don’t get the page where I can buy it. I have tried another browser, I have tried another computer any suggestion? Thanks
EdwardL and 007, get a room.
Hello,
If someone already has a bartending license, can they still take this course as practice?
I took this class 2 weeks ago, and enjoyed they hell out of it. I went in thinking ‘oh, it’ll be fun to do for my friends weddings and the occasional catering gig when I need cash,’ and walked out wanting to seriously work at bartending as a career. I had a very good time.
That said, I wish (since they knew I was a groupon person), that they’d told me this was coming up, because it would have saved me a lot of money – enough to buy the professional bartending kit! (so, guys…about that kit…or the catering class, maybe…?)