Bartenders don't like dollar-bill tips? What are we supposed to give you then?

The BBQ Pit
61

It kind of sounds worse than it was. I haven’t bartended for a few years now and really miss it. But I did it pretty much full time for 9 years, in the UK and the US, and a few incidents are inevitable over that time frame.

I just didn’t mention all the good things - like the bar I worked at in the UK pulling a load of strings to reduce the cost of my wedding reception to next to zero (under $1000 for 100 people). Half of me still wants to pack the day job in and go back to it full time. The wife and kid on the other hand might not be too happy.

62

You have a misunderstanding, then. The foregoing would be true if the hypothetical patron failed to pay the full price for the drinks. Your patron has paid for services rendered as long as she has paid the full face price of the drinks. Your hourly wage comes out of that.

Gratuities are a bonus. They are not a right.

Fine. Then let me behind the bar and I’ll serve myself.

If your actions impair my enjoyment of the evening, then they concern me. I judge your behavior, not those of other patrons. If other patrons are rude, and yet you are not, I will probably tip you extra. (Of course, given your general attitude, I doubt that could possibly happen.)

63

Of course, if what you collect in tips plus your hourly wage adds up to less than the federal minimum wage for the time worked, your employer has to make up the difference, under the Fair Labor Standards Act. So it’s not true that “waitresses and bartenders earn less than the minimum wage.”

I bet you didn’t report all your tips to the IRS, either. Tax evader.

64

I’ll bet you’ve cheated on your SO. Skank ho. Now that we’re all done jumping to conclusions, lets get right back on track.

Try telling your employer that you need extra cash to make up for the fact that patrons didn’t tip well and thus he is in violation of Section 43201-A of the modern penal code blah blah blah. He’ll laugh in your face and tell you to work harder.

Being a server myself for a year and a half, I understand how hard the work can be. That doesn’t mean I automatically tip 30% because I “feel their pain,” nor does it mean I agree with businesses overcharging on everything and keeping all that money figuring the patrons will make up the difference. I personally don’t understand where all that money goes to if barely paying your help.
But that’s how the system is set up. Waitstaff realize it when they get into the business and patrons sure as hell realize it when they sit down and order.

You want to fight the good fight and buck the system? Don’t go out to eat. Don’t order a beer. Because when you refuse to tip out when it’s expected of you, you’re not screwing management, you’re screwing the server whose only crime was to serve you

I’ve heard of restaurants that have tried no tipping. They pay a flat $10 and tell customers they don’t need to tip. They stopped doing that quite soon afterwards because the servers had no motivation to do better than barely average at their job. The customers also didn’t feel comfortable not tipping.

65

Speaking as her SO, SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU IGNORANT SCUMBAG.

Kelly, in deed, does tip, quite generously usually. But it is the tip, a gratuity, as such it is not paying for any service, but rewarding good service. Try looking up the word gratuity sometime. It is a reward, not a requirement.

Really? One of my favorite restaurants has a no tipping policy. Has since the '60s at least. It is still doing a booming business. Most of it’s contemporaries folded. It in contrast has expanded 3 times since. It has promininent signs that say no tipping and I have seen waitstaff politely refuse tips from those ignorant enough to try to leave them.

66

A different observation. I¡¯ve lived in Asia for about 15 years. Tipping is very much the exception rather than the rule in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and China. Many places, for example Hong Kong, have a 10% service charge built into all the restaurant/bar bills.

In China, people don¡¯t tip much. Certainly not at the very local bar/restaurant. The fancier places/western places/hotels might have a service charge built into the bill. People may tip in these places but doesn¡¯t seem to be held against you.

When you do tip, it¡¯s usually for maybe 5% of the bill. Wages are a lot lower and the prices in the fancy places are jacked up really high ($5 Buds), so 5% actually works out to be quite a bit.

I generally tip to reward good service. I like to encourage good service in China and it¡¯s easy to be generous. My father visited and insisted on tipping every taxi driver. Most of the drivers didn¡¯t realize it was a tip and 90% of the time tried to return the ¡°overpaid¡± amount. It’s nice to be in an environment where a gratuity is exactly that and not expected.

Anyhoo, I frequent a place called the Long Bar here in Shanghai. I tip but it¡¯s hit and miss. I don¡¯t tip every time. Sometimes it¡¯s a dollar or two, sometimes it¡¯s $20. There are probably 20 waitstaff/bartenders. EVERY one of them knows my name. Almost every one of them will ask when I walk in ¡°do you want a Tiger pint?¡± and if I¡¯ve switched beers in the past couple of days, they will usually remember the beer of the moment. There is a happy hour from 6-8, but usually they will extend happy hour until 8:30 (and if you¡¯re not a regular that tips don¡¯t even try at 8:00:01). The manager and sometimes the veteran staff will sometimes buy a drink. When it¡¯s 4 deep at the bar, I can shout over to any of the bartenders and a beer will materialize. On my birthday, the manager will buy a bottle of of Tequila (not sure if that¡¯s revenge or generosity).

For one of my tipping smoking friends, whenever he buys a pack of cigs, the staff will tap the pack, unwrap it, open it, extend the first cig out for easy access, present it with a smile and have a ready lighter. Another guy always gets a half pint of Bud, and it is a rare day when it isn¡¯t poured and waiting for him in the time it takes to walk in the door and reach the bar.

Another member of my group doesn¡¯t tip. He gets treated as a valued customer, but obviously not as well as the rest of us.

All customers should get a standard level of service whether they tip or not. That said, I like the extra service, and happy to tip for it. Flip side of the coin, if I don¡¯t get good bartending in return then either I won¡¯t frequent the bar or I won¡¯t tip.

67

manhattan,

Out at a bar one night, had a few drinks, bill was about $8. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a quarter. Just then I turned around to answer a question my friend had asked, idly throwing the quarter on the bar as I reached into my other pocket for my money clip. I extracted a 5 from the clip, returned the clip to my jeans, finished talking with my friend, turned back to the bar, just as the bartender shoved the quarter back across the bar with a sneer and a “nice fucking tip, asshole”. I held up the 5, said “it would have been”, put it back in my pocket, and walked out.

FTR, Scylla is absolutely right here. Y’all who have never been bartenders have no idea what’s involved, it isn’t just “pouring drafts”. Last time I did it I made the princely salery of $2.01/hour to do all the things he said and more, and listen to certain drunks abuse me about it. If you truly believe tipping is for good service, look at it this way: that’s what you got, unless and until you proved you didn’t deserve it. After that you got exactly what $2.01/hour buys you, and one thing it don’t buy is me listening to your rude shit, cleaning up for you, lighting your cigarette and doing anything but pouring another drink for you AFTER all the other, well tipping customers are taken care of. You also won’t get free drinks, etc…and they will. Last time I went to my local pub, I had 3 beers and a plate of shrimp. All I was charged for was the shrimp. Guess what? I tip in the 40-60% range, or better. Lets see…full price, beer and shrimp, would have been about $17 before tip. I got a check for $8. Even with a 100% tip, I’m a buck ahead at the end of the night. So, tell me, am I an idiot to tip well? BTW, I get sparkling service, friendly greetings, even had bartenders come up to me when I looked down and ask me if anything was wrong. They greet me by name and unless I give them a high sign, have my drink poured and ready by the time I get from the door to the bar. ( I got out btwn 1-3 nights a week for a few beers and to play some pool, lest you think this is a “Norm!” situation). Which one of us is being pennywise and pound foolish now, hmmm?
And after y’all get trired of Scylla’s Margaritas, c’mon over for the Worlds Best™ Long Island Iced Tea.

68

Kelly M:

You are under a misunderstanding. It’s not your bar. You don’t make policy. If you did not like the way we did things you didn’t have to go there. If you did not cooperate with our policies you were either overtly or subtly encouraged to take your business elsewhere.

Ender’s point is exactly correct. If Wednesday was slow, our establishment did not make it up (suggesting we’d make it up Saturday.)

It’s very simple. If you wanted service you had to pay for it.

I don’t know if you’ve ever waitressed, or bartended, but if you haven’t it seems rather silly for you to tell me the way things were.

You may argue whether or not it’s proper, or whether or not you like it that way. That’s fine. But I’m telling you the way it was, and to my continued experience actually is.

Since you are the one giving the tip, you can call it whatever you want. I’m telling you how it is perceived on the other hand, and I’m telling you that most servers aren’t jertks. They do the business because they like working with people. Every server has encountered the working class guy who has to stretch a nickel and treats himself once in a great while. I think no one begrudges that person if they leave a small tip, and they’re easy to pick out.

I have also felt myself rightfully chastised with a small or no tip. I have had people merely forget. These things didn’t bother me, and I never retaliated.

Similarly if you came in the bar and called me “boy” or treated me or the other patrons or servers like shit, it didn’t matter how much you tipped.

However if you received good to excellent service and took up my time without paying for it, you would not receive the excellent service the next time.

And, you have yet to address the issue of drinks being priced with an expectant tip built in.

Finally, I find your last comment offensive, and unworthy.
Lee:

I don’t give a flying shit if you’re her cojoined twin. On this board a person speaks for themself. Ender’s quote was offensive, but so was hers.

Quid pro quo is fair play.

So, unless you are prepared to edit and take responsibility for each of her posts and do her thinking for her before she posts, it’s probably wisest for you to let her fight her own battles.

(BTW: I say this without rancor from one who’s been in similar situations.)

69

This topic made me want to register and jump into the fray.

I travel for my job quite a bit. Usually I’m on the road alone. As a female business traveler, I’ve occasionally felt uncomfortable sitting at a bar having a cocktail (or two). I’ve found an invaluable service I’m very willing to tip a bartender for (besides conversation) is a great bartender will watch out for you and keep the creeps away. There are occasions when some fool assumes a woman alone at a bar is longing for the company only he can provide. Wrong. (FYI Drunken Bar Guy, sometimes a woman alone at a bar is having a drink.) Some bartenders have intervened on my behalf (mostly interpreting the slurring) and sent them on their way. Some have made sure I made it to my car safely. You can bet I tipped well…that’s not written in their job description. I consider that over and above pouring and serving me a drink.

70

Lady:

Let me be the first to welcome you to the board!

Glad to see you’re on the side of the angels and may all your future posts be equally as insightful.

71

What the hell is so difficult for people to understand?
You get what you pay for.

Go to a place with cheap-ass prices because they pay their people crap and then don’t leave a tip, you get shitty service the next time. (It was probably bad this time too, but hey you got your money’s worth)

Go to a place with moderate prices and they still usually pay their service people crap. Stiff 'em on the tip and the same still applies: You still didn’t pay them.

Go to a high price joint, where they might even pay their staff enough, and you stiff 'em on a tip … well you may be less of an a-hole but you still should only expect baseline service next time. Cough up the dinero if you want good treatment.

This ain’t brain surgery folks, just basic economics. No tip means your utility to me is squat.
On the flip side, what really burns my butt is when the waitstaff decides that I’m a bad tipper before I even sit down.

My first time in a place and lines like “Oh, would you like spoons with your soup?” ( No a-wipe, I’ll just slurp it from the bowl ) Then, get sat next to the loud tone-deaf piano player banging out tunes and drinking at the bar on breaks to cover his twitching hands.

So if you treat me like a leper the first time I come in, screw you. Cop that NY attitude and you get health inspectors and building code enforcement visits. I know how to work the system and I’m vindictive as hell.
Other than that, I’m a creampuff :slight_smile:

72

Well, it may be because the cashiers do a lot more than ringing up your sale. (Tips are shared equally between us at my store; at other ones, each cashier has their own pile.) The cashier and the counterpeople are dancing madly about producing your wonderful desserts to order in a matter of seconds, in between cleaning up the trash that you (well, maybe not you personally) were too lazy to take to a trash can, wiping up the ice cream that your child (see above) sprayed all over the window or poured all over the floor and table, and flushing the toilet you forgot to (I swear to Zeus.)

So, note to the twit who ordered the five jumbo shakes and left four cents in tips: Thank you so much for the 0.5% tip. The starving orphans to whom we donate our penny tips will certainly appreciate it about as much as we did. Now enjoy your shake, which, here in my Happy Place, I just poured down your Armani slacks. And have a nice day.

73

Oh, I also forgot the fact that do you people realise that in the hour before the bar/resturant opens and a few hours after they close, that same server is cleaning and setting up and still only making that little bit of money?
And yet most of them still turn around when the doors open and give you service with a pleasant attitude.

Hey, Kelly, I think I made mention of resturants having to make up the difference when you don’t meet minimum wage and nobody questioned that fact.
So your point of bringing that up would be what? So you can weakly attempt a slam on someone?

74

**

[Chris Rock]You supposed to give decent and friendly service, ya low-expectation-havin’ muthafucka![/Chris Rock]

75

It’s Mr. Pink, not Mr. White!

Thank you.

76

I completely understand the bare minmum service to poor tippers thing. If I know that a person isn’t going to leave me a good tip (or any tip at all) I will defenatly spend less time on them. Why spend time being nice to a person you know isn’t going to tip you when you could be kissing up to someone who will. It makes perfect sense to me.

77

Thank you Monocracy! ::kiss: