Jon Taffer

“Learning from your customers is vital to your success. Even if you work in a back office or don't deal directly with the public, you are serving someone in your job. You have a boss--and the...”

“I've traveled the world, and as an America,n I get insulted when people say American businesses aren't respected overseas. Look at how our food and beverage companies do around the world. We...”

“I have a playroom with my drum set, a guitar, and amplifier at home.”

“When I was running the Troubadour, there was this transition from the classic singer/songwriter Jackson Browne types to bands like Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, and Fear. Those are just som...”

“When I went to college, I really became interested in cultural anthropology. Our behavior isn't that different from other primate species'.”

“Each 'Bar Rescue' is shot in real time. So the complete rescue is 5 days from my arrival to my departure. I do not see or meet anyone in advance.”

“I'm a businessman, not a bartender.”

“If you have to signal a bartender to get a drink, then they're not looking at you, which is their problem. They're not doing their job. So don't feel rude when you signal a bartender. They'r...”

“You ever see a bar with 200 beautiful women go broke? But I've seen a lot of bars with great DJs go broke.”

“The infusion of technology and social marketing to bar spaces is a big opportunity.”

“There has been a black hole in the bar business in Las Vegas, particularly on the Strip in tourist areas.”

“The greatest gift of leadership is a boss who wants you to be successful.”

“One of my first bartending gigs was on Santa Monica Boulevard at Doug Weston's Troubadour, a very famous live music venue.”

“Revenue cures everything in the business world.”

“I think success is a relative term. If you're a caveman, success is capturing an elephant. Success is achieving better than the norm. Success is being exceptional. It's exceptional reputatio...”

“I could take a cemetery and make all the tombstones beer companies. There's a lot of craft beers that came and went. A lot of them.”

“Great negotiations happen when people are relaxed, so a relaxing environment is important. A high-energy environment tenses people up. It closes them up. You're not as likely to get that con...”

“Cocktails and food are social.”

“Any time a bar or chef cares more about their own ego than the tastes and comforts of their customers, they should just open a monument to themselves and not a business.”

“Failure is an awful thing, and when I look at the common denominator of failure, it seems to always be the same thing: excuses.”