Free checklist
Barback Training Checklist
The checklist (11 items)
Written as observable actions, so two trainers scoring the same shift land in the same place. In CrewSharp this is the Barback checklist in the Brewery / Taproom starter set, filed under Bar, and every item here is editable.
- 1Ran clean glassware to the bar before it ran low
- 2Washed glasses with the beer-clean detergent
- 3Air dried glassware upside down on a rack
- 4Checked glasses for lipstick and film before stacking
- 5Kept ice wells full and free of glassCritical
- 6Restocked napkins, coasters and garnish
- 7Emptied and rinsed drip trays
- 8Took trash and recycling out before bins overflowed
- 9Mopped spills behind the bar right awayMust pass
- 10Checked the sanitizer in the three-compartment sink
- 11Stayed out of the bartender's way during service
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What usually goes wrong
Keeping the ice well free of glass is the critical item. A chipped glass scooped through ice can send shards into a drink, and the only fix is to burn the whole well. Mopping spills behind the bar is required for the same reason in a different way, since that floor is where people fall.
The items a good total should not outweigh
- Kept ice wells full and free of glass
When to sign someone off
A workable bar for this checklist: no critical items missed, a score above a line you set for Barback specifically rather than one number for the whole building, and observed on more than one shift with at least one of them busy. Then date it, so it can expire.
That last part is the one people skip. A sign-off with no date cannot be re-checked, which means a year later you have a record that says somebody was ready once.
Checklists that pair with this one
Someone trained on this one most often covers these alongside it, which makes them the sensible second checklist to train.
Common questions
Is barback a good first position behind the bar?
It is the standard route in, and for good reason. It teaches the layout, the product and the pace without the pressure of serving, and someone who has barbacked well already knows most of what makes a bartender fast.
What should be on a barback checklist?
The 11 items above cover it: ran clean glassware to the bar before it ran low, washed glasses with the beer-clean detergent, air dried glassware upside down on a rack, and the rest of the list. Keep it in that range. Fewer and a pass proves very little; many more and trainers stop finishing it during a real shift.
Which items should count as critical?
On this checklist, one item is marked critical: kept ice wells full and free of glass. Missing one means not ready, regardless of the total score, because these are the failures that cannot be corrected after the fact.
Scoring it is the part that lasts
Run this Barback checklist on a tablet between rushes and CrewSharp keeps the rest: who is signed off, when it was last checked, and which item your crew misses most.
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