Socal Event Staffing

Yep. It’s a scam.
Did it. Paid for it. Felt like an idiot. The whole deal.
The entire process is shady and riddled with red flags from the get-​go, but I imagine that there are/​were a lot of people like me, looking for a job and were enchanted by the idea of a no-​experience-​required bartending gig.
Here’s a list of just a few of the many things that should have made me realize earlier that I was a shmuck:
1) This type of deal would even exist.
2) The Craigslist ad listed a phone number to call. The recording on the phone said they were having «exclusive» interviews the next day only. Of course, after realizing I had been scammed, I called the number again on a different day and, sure enough, it was a new recording with the exact same message (they re-​record it everyday – that way when they say «Wednesday the 27^th of June», you think it’s legit).
3)The «business» is located in some strip-​mall craphole in Norwalk with an empty parking lot.
4) During the interview, the guy skimmed over my application in seconds and instantly told me that no one was going to hire me without any training. LUCKILY they offered a two-​day crash course to get you certified, AND they have connections with recruitment services that can give you priorities to job interviews.
Here’s a hint: their ‘connections’ are worthless, and their ‘class’ is even more so.
5) The $ 200 class requires that half be paid up front, because of course it does.
6) When I asked if I could pay in cash, the guy literally said «We love cash around here.» I still can’t believe I went through with it after hearing him say that.
There’s so much more stuff in between, but I’ll just skip ahead to the class.
Like the other reviews before mine said, this class is a joke. To be fair, I never expected them have us use real booze for the practice cocktails, so I didn’t have any gripes with that. My real problem came when the owner of the «company» to make a quick announcement to explain how the company worked.
So here’s the big secret on their success. And, honestly, I can’t believe they told this to us straight up at the beginning of the class:
THEY LIE.
And I’m not trying to be dramatic. They literally lie to employers. In exchange for $ 200, you are allowed to put SoCal Event Staffing on your resume and say that you’ve worked with them for six months. If an employer calls Socal Event Staffing, the guy will literally just lie about you. «Oh, so-​and-​so is such a model employee, blah blah blah!» All very official, I’m sure.
Don’t get me wrong — if a company is willing to exchange money for that kind of service, that’s fine with me (and I actually see the value in that). But it definitely isn’t what I signed up for.
But even if you are okay with this system, there’s a huge downside: they don’t actually teach you anything in the class. I love the ‘tea party’ analogy that another reviewer wrote, because that’s exactly what it’s like. They just blast the music and give you a stapled stack of paper with a bunch of different drink recipes. Then the teacher just makes 30 or 40 of them, one after the other, as if we were all savants with photographic memories.
The real winning moment is when they told us that they wouldn’t recommend us to employers until we came back (on our own) and spent however many hours memorizing all the drinks. That way they didn’t look like liars to their «connections», aka people who call them.
So, basically, they charge you $ 200 so you can memorize drink recipes on your own. A bargain at any price.
Oh, and their elusive ‘master list’ of job leads are just pulled from the internet and Craigslist. Literally anyone could do it on their own.
The ‘teacher’ spent the rest of the time telling crappy bar stories, flirting with the girls, and calling everything «retarded». The final ‘test’ was open-​book, and we just had to correctly make five drinks (or incorrectly, who cares, they’ll give you your certificate anyways).
And mind you, this ‘certification’ is the ultimate middle finger to the students. It’s in no way, shape or form a legal certification to serve alcohol. It’s literally something they made on what looks like MS Paint that you completed their ‘program’. Wow, thank you guys, now I really feel validated and not like a stupid child at all.
In the end, it was my fault for not immediately bailing when my mind started telling me that something felt wrong. But hopefully this review can help another person avoid losing $ 200 and then grumbling about it online.

Waste of money. A split hair away from being a total scam. They ask you to come in for an «interview». No job just a $ 200 class which they make it sound like it’s selective and not just anyone gets picked to take their class. You go to basically an adult version of imaginary tea party. You’re pouring «drinks» with various pretend bottles of liquor that are actually water. Watching teachers flirt with students is also part of the itinerary. And job placement is a paper print out of places that might be hiring. Lame.

THIS PLACE IS A SCAM! I went to this place back in ’11 when it was known as ‘West Coast Bartenders Association’ which I assume they started working under a different name due to unsatisfied patrons. As most I saw the ad on craigslist offering a ‘job interview’ when really it’s just a ploy to get you there and sell you their course. I wasn’t unsatisfied with the course given I don’t know how a proper course works but I was unsatisfied with the initial misleading and after the fact there is no job placement just a weekly email compiled of Craigslist ads! I scanned that list for weeks following the course and all dead ends. They have no ability to hire anyone or just chooses not to, but they will take your money. ALSO THE ONE + review from ‘Brenden H.’ Is a fake! HE IS AN INSTRUCTOR FOR THE COURSE.

Can I get my money back?
I needed to make some extra money over the holidays, so I went in for an «interview» to be a cocktail waitress for events that they supposedly staff for other caterers. At the interview, I was told that in order to serve drinks, I had to get my bartending certificate, and that they have an in-​house bartending crash course for $ 300. I was also told that I would be scheduled to work events the weekend following the crash-​course, as well as Christmas and New Years Eve… (see pics, I took notes on their flier during the interview)
I didn’t pay the full $ 300, since there was a Groupon ($ 150).
I took the course, got the certificate, and called about the events I was told I could work… and wow… turns out there was no job/​event placement.
What they did do for me (and everyone else they scammed) was give me a packet of job leads. However, these same leads for bartending positions were also posted on Craigslist, so it’s obvious they’re not an employment agency as they claimed since they can’t offer placement.
When I called them out on the lack of fulfillment of their promises, I was told verbatim, «there are no handouts and nobody can buy a job».
Surprise! I was SCAMMED… Thanks guys.
(BTW, the other reviewer on here works for them…)
They are affiliated to Bartenders Network Association (supposedly closed… or just operating under this name in the same space), and West Coast Bartenders Association, and who knows what else…
I’m not being malicious, I just don’t want other people to be deceived and ripped off. I should have known better, just by the fact that there was only 1 review on them.
They advertise a ton on craigslist and happily take peoples’ money, only offering empty promises in return.
I hope this saves someone…
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On another note, if you want to buy the Groupon, just for fun, I wouldn’t. Their mock-​bar has bottles of water, so you don’t get to taste and learn experientially about the drinks. You just memorize recipes, pour water, listen to stories, and make friends there. But hey, if that’s all you want, then go for it.