Working for barcode

[wilem]

Thinking about working for barcode on their bar - wondering if anyone has done it and can advise whether it's worth it? 10-14 hours each day on the Fri-Sun seems like you'd miss the whole festival? 

[gooner1990]

Its a new company who've taken over the bars at Reading and Leeds this year, the Beer Workers company lost the contract. 

 

One of my friends worked the bar at Reading for many years so was quite upset when they said they weren't doing it this year.

 

She used to do 3 x 8 hr shifts, I think her payment was entry to the festival and free food tokens.

[glasto-worker]

Its a new company who've taken over the bars at Reading and Leeds this year, the Beer Workers company lost the contract. 

 

One of my friends worked the bar at Reading for many years so was quite upset when they said they weren't doing it this year.

 

She used to do 3 x 8 hr shifts, I think her payment was entry to the festival and free food tokens.

 

I have been with the WBC 26 Years and the last time Volunteers had to work 3 x 8 hr shifts was in 1997  since then Volunteers would do six hour shifts in most bars and seven hours in the guest bar - she missed out that her wages would be paid to her group { which could be a trade union or a registered charity } so its not the same as just working for her ticket - for every shift worked she would get two beer vouchers and two food vouchers and she also would have access to a staff bar where Pints are £2 + she would get free coach travel { from London } and have full access to flushing toilets and showers { not shared by other crews } 

 

Hotbox and other crews will be sharing facilities and I suspect Barcode will end up sharing as well as they wont have access to the WBC Crew site { the WBC own that area of land }

[wilem]

Am working the VIP bar for the weekend it turns out - one last question I have is are there any phone charging facilities (in crew camping particularly)? Expecting a call to offer me a promotion at work on friday and don't want to have run out of charge!

[glasto-worker]

Am working the VIP bar for the weekend it turns out - one last question I have is are there any phone charging facilities (in crew camping particularly)? Expecting a call to offer me a promotion at work on friday and don't want to have run out of charge!

 

As they have never been there before I have no clue what facilities they will put on but # its common # that many Crews will have a Crew mess tent and they will have power within it but there is some crew areas where there is bugger all.

 

The promoters last called the VIP area the VIP area about 20 years ago - they call it the Guest area and at Reading that is divided up so there is a general guest area and then there is more select areas - one will be corporate - one will be for filming and they require a third wristband .

 

Unlike the other bars where the trade will fall off when a large band is on within the guest bar they tend not to move - if they stick to previous years that bar will close one hour later than all the others.

 

The back route to the ' general crew area '  which is not marked on the map but its the unmarked area ' left of number 2 ' which will be handy for you as that is the side the Guest Bar is - as you leave walk out the back of the bar and turn right - only half that road has a track on it so if its wet it can get very muddy - I doubt they will lay on minibuses { the WBC had a fleet of them picking staff up and driving to the crew area } but you never know.   

 

[krisskross]

£4.90 a pint. Four-ninety a pint... FOUR-NINETY FOR A PINT OF TUBORG! the end is nigh. Spoke to a volunteer at one of the bars and he said he was doing a 12-hour shift.

 

I've got a pic of the prices, will post when get to it.. its among thousands..

[glasto-worker]

£4.90 a pint. Four-ninety a pint... FOUR-NINETY FOR A PINT OF TUBORG! the end is nigh. Spoke to a volunteer at one of the bars and he said he was doing a 12-hour shift.

 

I've got a pic of the prices, will post when get to it.. its among thousands..

 

He was not a Volunteer as they don't use that system - most would have been on minimum wage but the supervisors would have been paid more - will find out later as regards shifts as they advertised various shift patterns but I doubt no one would be working  a full 12 hour shift without breaks { as it would not be legal - the act was called The Working Time Regulations }

 

I have seen a few shots - one bar that looked dead quiet and another that had barriers up which did look busy.

 

I had a friend who did work there so will find out as to how she got on. 

[krisskross]

Yeah, figured he would have had a break in there.  

 

Gotta say, the system worked fairly quickly, even in the break before metallica I got a drink from one of the main stage bars within a few minutes.

[glasto-worker]

Yeah, figured he would have had a break in there.  

 

Gotta say, the system worked fairly quickly, even in the break before metallica I got a drink from one of the main stage bars within a few minutes.

 

They used to run the token system so there was one queue to buy a token and then one to use it - they had lots of complaints so I guess they ditched it .

 

if you have enough experienced staff and the bar is well laid out its amazing how fast a person can get served - I will find out the staffing levels. 

[mrtourette]

I had no idea the WBC weren't at Reading this year, very sad.

[krisskross]

Is 4.90 a pint more than other festivals this year? or is that now standard?

[johnmcga]

Found the bar staff very variable this year. Most were ok but some didn't seem to have a clue. It probably didn't help that our group was ordering halves now and again and many of the bar staff didn't realise the bars offered them!

 

The barrier queueing system was fairly efficient but has never seemed necessary in the past so I'm not sure why they felt they needed to add it this year. Also, the cup deposit system was inconsistent - some bars were serving in plastic cups (particularly ale and halves) which didn't attract a deposit, therefore the arena had more cup debris than usual. No token system at least, thank goodness!

 

The ale bar was a pleasant surprise as I'd assumed it wouldn't be present. But the prices were not. £5.20 (with no cup deposit) was extortionate. 

 

And moving the bar that was on the left side of the NME tent made no sense to me. It's not like they replaced it with food stalls or anything.

 

So, overall the bar service was better than I had expected. But it was nowhere near as friendly or slick as the WBC.

Edited September 2, 2015 by johnmcga

[Chas]

It was £5.20 a pint at the Ale Bar.

 

Edit: You beat me to it by a minute johnmcga

Edited September 2, 2015 by Chas

[glasto-worker]

Found the bar staff very variable this year. Most were ok but some didn't seem to have a clue. It probably didn't help that our group was ordering halves now and again and many of the bar staff didn't realise the bars offered them!

 

The barrier queueing system was fairly efficient but has never seemed necessary in the past so I'm not sure why they felt they needed to add it this year. Also, the cup deposit system was inconsistent - some bars were serving in plastic cups (particularly ale and halves) which didn't attract a deposit, therefore the arena had more cup debris than usual. No token system at least, thank goodness!

 

The ale bar was a pleasant surprise as I'd assumed it wouldn't be present. But the prices were not. £5.20 (with no cup deposit) was extortionate. 

 

And moving the bar that was on the left side of the NME tent made no sense to me. It's not like they replaced it with food stalls or anything.

 

So, overall the bar service was better than I had expected. But it was nowhere near as friendly or slick as the WBC.

 

well the barrier queuing system ' as used by the wbc ' is meant to filter out under age people so it can only work with Security doing the checking.

 

there was plans to use it in previous years but FR blocked it

 

I have heard back from someone I know who worked with them and it was all over the place - they had very strange shift hours and they did not have their own catering unit - it all adds up.

 

She found many were under 25 and as most had never worked there before I am not surprised there was confusion .

 

there was a good few who walked out as they were not happy with the facilities

 

The actual bar location is down to FR so it must make sense to someone .

 

She worked though but was not happy as there was no staff tent so staff had no where to go and she will not be working with them in the future.

[johnmcga]

 

well the barrier queuing system ' as used by the wbc ' is meant to filter out under age people so it can only work with Security doing the checking.

 

there was plans to use it in previous years but FR blocked it

 

 

Ah, yep, security did seem pretty hot on ID checks (at one point a kid asked me to buy his friends some beer - I said no!) so that does make sense. It just seemed silly as at one point I queued in the barriers only to have to then wait behind someone else at the bar itself too!

 

Now you mention it I'm pretty sure in one year they had that same queueing system at the bar to the left of the main stage. If I recall, it lasted for a day, then they ditched it. (Could be imagining it though…)

[glasto-worker]

Ah, yep, security did seem pretty hot on ID checks (at one point a kid asked me to buy his friends some beer - I said no!) so that does make sense. It just seemed silly as at one point I queued in the barriers only to have to then wait behind someone else at the bar itself too!

 

Now you mention it I'm pretty sure in one year they had that same queueing system at the bar to the left of the main stage. If I recall, it lasted for a day, then they ditched it. (Could be imagining it though…)

 

it was removed due to a request by FR - we first used it in 2006 at Hyde Park for two weeks and it worked well .

 

the whole system works fine if security is on the ball - they are only supposed to let in the next person when a station is free - so there should never be anyone waiting at the counter - its a one way system so you also need someone guarding that to prevent jokers trying to walk in backwards { they will try }

 

its more useful for large orders as you don't have any idiots pushing in but its expensive to man correctly.

 

I worked there for two weeks and I know the customers liked them as they had time to walk out without hassle.We tried to have them at Glastonbury but it was blocked due to ' Health and safety concerns ' - which is a bit daft as its far safer than a open counter system. 

 

Melvin did not like them so they had to go so you were not dreaming 

 

Reading is always bad news for ID as they have Trading Standards checking all the bars so they cant take any chances - they will test each bar a good dozen times and they can fine the Tent Manager { even although they may not be in the tent when the offence happened - its his/her head on the block.

 

being a Proxy buyer for a under age person is bad news because ' they wont end up in court but the buyer may ' 

[johnmcga]

 

being a Proxy buyer for a under age person is bad news because ' they wont end up in court but the buyer may ' 

 

 

Heh, yep, no way am I taking that risk — especially not when he asked me right in front of the security manning the queueing system!

 

Thanks for the post by the way, insightful as always!

[glasto-worker]

Heh, yep, no way am I taking that risk — especially not when he asked me right in front of the security manning the queueing system!

 

Thanks for the post by the way, insightful as always!

 

 your right as you never know if the request is genuine or not .

 

I have been working in a bar and a adult walk up and half way though the order shouted over to young Johnny ' was it two or three pints of lager ? '

 

From my side of the bar I have no idea if I am being set up and there is no way I can turn a blind eye and there is no way can I accept the order.

 

one time all the under age ones were right in front of me and handing the adult their money - they might as well have a big sign ' we are asking him to break the law '

 

if its done close to the bar then the bar staff have to take action - now I am sure that most times its just people not thinking but ' we have to assume the worst '

 

--------

 

even when there is no adult involved its possible to see some jokers who are looking at the counter ' and trying to pick the youngest server ' - Do they think we are Daft ? - anyone who is being that selective is at it and I will go after them as I have more experience than anyone else and will tell the young server that I will deal with them - you can see their face drop and most times will not even ask .

 

since the Licensing Act 2003 its changed everything and most bar staff that may have turned a blind eye will be right on the ball.

 

In any bar we already know the staff who don't have that much experience and we will be looking after them. 

[krisskross]

 

The actual bar location is down to FR so it must make sense to someone .

 

 

I think a lot of the shop / bar locations are used as sound barriers between stages. As the site is so small sound bleed could be really bad and it isnt.

[JakyBF]

I worked for Barcode at Reading Festival this year. I was stationed at the 'supermarket bar' in orange camp, selling crates of beer and cider to the campers.

 

I was a bit gutted to not have been put on a bar in the arena, as I didn't really get to see any bands. However, trade was so slow on Saturday night that I managed to get off at 9pm and catch some Metallica

 

We were working each day 11am - 2am with 2 x half hour breaks throughout the day. The arena bars finished earlier (probably 23:30/00:00) but the camp-site bars had a late licence.

The pay was minimum wage, £6.50 p/h for me as I'm over 21, but only £5.13 for people aged 18-21 which I thought was a bit mean.

 

Happy to answer any more questions you have about Barcode. I've been working for them for about 2 years now.

[glasto-worker]

I worked for Barcode at Reading Festival this year. I was stationed at the 'supermarket bar' in orange camp, selling crates of beer and cider to the campers.

 

I was a bit gutted to not have been put on a bar in the arena, as I didn't really get to see any bands. However, trade was so slow on Saturday night that I managed to get off at 9pm and catch some Metallica

 

We were working each day 11am - 2am with 2 x half hour breaks throughout the day. The arena bars finished earlier (probably 23:30/00:00) but the camp-site bars had a late licence.

The pay was minimum wage, £6.50 p/h for me as I'm over 21, but only £5.13 for people aged 18-21 which I thought was a bit mean.

 

Happy to answer any more questions you have about Barcode. I've been working for them for about 2 years now.

 

The WBC used to run four minibuses from the crew campsite { the place you used this year } down to the crew entry gate from early in the morning until 3am so I was surprised that you had to walk  as its a fair old walk - also surprised that you did not have a catering unit { big white tent } nor a Staff bar { that stayed open until 3am with cheap drinks - its the clubhouse that is used { where the people are sitting at tables } - sure you had meal vouchers but its a big walk to be able to use them at breakfast time. My friends who did work with them were expecting more and they have decided not to work with barcode in the future.

 

[charley]

I know there was an Ale bar but was disappointed you cant buy Bitter any more.

 

Is this cause the kids don't like it? I'd be interested to see if there was any on offer at Leeds.

 

Think it is fair to say the younger crowd dont drink as much as we used to back in the nineties so the Qs were OK in general, not that they have ever been bad in my experience.

[gooner1990]

I know there was an Ale bar but was disappointed you cant buy Bitter any more.

 

Is this cause the kids don't like it? I'd be interested to see if there was any on offer at Leeds.

 

Think it is fair to say the younger crowd dont drink as much as we used to back in the nineties so the Qs were OK in general, not that they have ever been bad in my experience.

 

I arrived at about 6pm on the Friday at Reading this year as I couldn't get the time off work. We watched the tail end of Bastille  on the main stage then went over to watch Run the Jewels, Limp Bizkit and Knife Party back to back in the Radio 1 tent.

 

From what I saw around the Radio 1 tent/Dance stage and that Somersby bar area was that everyone was gurning their tits off on pills/mdma, and the queues for the cubicles were miles long as it seemed large amounts of people were doing coke.  

 

Not that  I have any problem with it whatsoever (I indulge myself a little late at night), and drug use is usually quite open at festivals, but I did suddenly feel like I was back at Global Gathering rather than a mainstream festival! 

 

It then mean that queues for the bars in that area were really short as everyone seemed to be frothing at the mouth with their little bottles of water in their hands.

Edited September 9, 2015 by gooner1990

[gooner1990]

double post. 

Edited September 9, 2015 by gooner1990

[glasto-worker]

I know there was an Ale bar but was disappointed you cant buy Bitter any more.

 

Is this cause the kids don't like it? I'd be interested to see if there was any on offer at Leeds.

 

Think it is fair to say the younger crowd dont drink as much as we used to back in the nineties so the Qs were OK in general, not that they have ever been bad in my experience.

 

most of these alcohol contracts are made by people who are rarely ever seen at events and while a rep may be floating about its rare to ever see them leave the Guest/VIP area - I remember one year may have been Reading 2000 when Oasis put it into their contract that the  Guest/VIP bar would close down for a certain period of time - I was working in the Guest/VIP bar and was well aware that we had to close for so long { forget the duration - something like 15 minuets before they walked on stage and then the bar was shut for 90 minuets { a guess } - it was the funniest thing I have seen at Reading as the so called Guest/VIP's went Nuts - pointing out that the other Arena bars were still open they were well upset that they had to walk into the arena.

 

All the bar staff was well happy as they could see most of their concert.

 

anyway these alcohol contracts are linked so what you get at Reading you will get at Leeds