AGENCY FAQs

To request a quote, click the "Request a Quote" button and provide the requested information about your event. If you are ready to book, click any of the "Book Now!" buttons on the site to start the booking process. You will be led through a step by step process, starting with filling out an online form that will give us all the information we need in order to process your event. Once you have filled out this online form, you will be contacted by the Agency Manager who will help you through the rest of the process. The Agency Manager can also help with minor party planning questions, like finding a special drink recipe, or deciding how much glassware or alcohol to order.

The total cost depends on when you are requesting a bartender, and for how long. Our minimum rate is $35/hr, but this rate goes up if you are requesting a bartender within 48 hours of your event, which would result in our increased rush rate, or if your event falls on a holiday. We also have a $35 network fee that gets paid to the Agency for the service of connecting you with a bartender, and we require that you cover cab fare back to the Columbia campus if your event ends at 10:00pm or after. Please visit our Rates page for more information.

Once you have filled out our online form you will immediately be directed to the payment page for the processing fee. We accept all major credit cards.

No. This fee is non-refundable if you cancel your event. However, this fee is refundable if we are unable to provide a bartender(s) for your event. This is extremely rare, but does happen occasionally. We do our best to let you know up front and as soon as possible if a particular evening is unusually popular and therefore our bartenders are in high demand. We understand that planning a party can be stressful, and we certainly don’t want to add to that stress in any way! If anything, we strive to alleviate your anxiety as a host.

Yes! This is usually possible, unless we are completely booked. The standard rate for hiring a bartender on the same day of your event is $50/hr.

No, we do not provide alcohol or glassware.

All of our bartenders are undergraduate or graduate Columbia University students who have taken and done exceedingly well in our Mixology course and then were accepted into the Agency after an intensive interview and competitive selection process. Every one of our bartenders is TIPS certified and has been selected to work for the Agency because they are professional, responsible, and personable. Our bartenders inspire client loyalty. Some of our clients have been hiring us for over 20 years!

You must be a current Columbia University student at any one of the graduate or undergraduate schools (including Barnard) in order to be considered for the Agency. Additionally, you must be a non-graduating second semester senior and US work authorized to be eligible. Finally, you must have taken our Mixology class and scored higher than a 95% on the final exam. If you take our class and score high enough on the exam, we will contact you for an intensive interview. We weigh multiple factors in making our decision, so while being a Columbia student and doing well on the exam are requirements, we cannot guarantee anybody a spot in the Agency on those two factors alone.