The first thing that hits you about BII Scotland's new barperson of the year, Josie McCready, is her indefatigable spirit. "It takes a lot to get me down," she says. "I am always cheerful and can't remember the last time I had a bad day. That is really important to customers."
It is this character trait that the team leader at Glasgow's famous Horse Shoe Bar believes impressed the judges, and which she hopes will help her achieve her ambition of running a freehold.
Josie, 25, was awarded the honour in May after being nominated by her managers, assessed by mystery guests and quizzed in a BII interview, where she was presented with role-plays and grilled on her career to date. Her job at the Horse Shoe includes cashing up and locking the premises, a big responsibility at a historic, successful pub that boasts the longest continuous bar in the UK.
The award has provided impetus for her to take the next step in her career: to managerial level. With opportunities for promotion limited at the Mitchells and Butlers (M&B) pub she has had interviews for managerial roles at other Glasgow sites in the pubco's estate. However, she explains that she has since decided to build up more experience and qualifications before making the leap to manager.
"I would rather learn in a comfort zone," she says. To this end, Josie has just taken a two-day management foundation SVQ - Scotland's equivalent of the NVQ - and qualified for her Scottish Licensee's Certificate.
Next up this month is a two-day SEQ in intermediate hygiene. And in August she is starting a year-long apprenticeship in hospitality supervision - which, due to its modular structure, she can complete while continuing to work full time. This covers training in kitchen management skills, running bed and breakfasts, and how to deal with employees - all vital abilities for an aspiring manager.
The lofty heights she has reached are a far cry from her beginnings in the pub trade. During holidays from Glasgow University, Josie started doing part-time bar work in a private members' club back home on the Shetland Islands.
"It was only when it became too expensive to keep coming back that I started working in the Horse Shoe," she says.
She never finished her law degree because of illness and, after finding how much she enjoyed working behind the bar, a career in pubs beckoned.
Now she is undecided about whether she wants to achieve her long-term ambitions on the mainland or in Shetland, where "business opportunities are endless in hospitality because there's nothing much to do other than eat and drink".
Nevertheless, she has set a timescale of eight or nine years to achieve her goals and predicts that she will have left the Horse Shoe within the next five months.
Wherever the pub is that she ends up, the BII award suggests it will be better for her presence.
Josie shows off her trophy to duty managers at the Horse Shoe. She says the other staff pick up on her cheerfulness
Josie on what makes a good barperson
Being easy-going
"It takes a lot to stress me out."
Starting shifts with a bang
"One of my managers describes it as 'show time' whenever I come in."
Cheerfulness
"You have to serve someone to the best of your ability, but smiling is always your back-up." This breezy approach is passed on to other members of the team, she believes.
Sticking to the traditions of the pub
"With so many regulars at the Horse Shoe, you have to slip into how things have been done in the past. It's the regulars who built the pub and who keep it going."