[QUOTE=rostfrei]
I took a friend out to a bar for a drink at my favorite drinking establishment last weekend. We both ordered bottled beer. After I paid for it, I tipped the bartender two dollars. I normally tip 1 dollar for each beer or drink that I buy. My friend recoiled in horror and said, "You tip for beer? Nobody does that. “He’s just opening a bottle”
So, that got me to thinking. Do you tip for beer? I don’t plan on stopping. I like the bartenders a lot. When I go to the bar, I don’t even have to say anything, they just grab a beer, open it and hand it to me.
Eric
[/QUOTE]
I used to go to a sports bar in Atlanta, Dirty Al’s. I only drank sweet tea, which was 1.25 at the time, and just as easily dispensed as a beer, and I always left 2 georges for it - a .75 tip.
The ONLY restaurant-type transactions at which I don’t tip are ones for which I walk in, go to the register, and walk out - that is, fast food, picking up take-out, etc. Like it or not, it’s how they make their living. If waitstaff were paid a decent wage, our dinner prices would go up to compensate…
How do you suppose take-out workers make their living? I have no illusions about how far the staff at the local Chinese takeout place can stretch the $3.49 I spend to get 1.5 meals’ worth of lo mein, orange chicken and spring rolls every few weeks.
I know this varies a lot, but what would be the average hourly income for a bartender? It seems like if he is just pouring beers and every beer is a buck in his pocket it would seem like he can get over $100/hr.
Not sure if it was because I am a cheap ass Polack, unsociable, or drank too much, but tipping added onto the high cost of alcohol in bars was a main reason I avoided them (when I used to drink). I dunno, but when I can get the premium beer of my choice for less than a buck a bottle, I just saw little reason to pay 2-3-or more times that much in a bar. Or a bottle of gin for the cost of 2-3 stiff drinks.
I’d rather buy the booze, and drink it with friends/family at one of our places.
Note, I’m not saying you shouldn’t tip bartenders. Just saying that I didn’t care to, so I tended to avoid situations where I would feel I should. Now at weddings and places with open bars, few were more generous than I.
Irish barmen LOVE American tourists though as they tip very well indeed. Probably one of the reason a lot of you seem to think that we’re very nice to you
[/QUOTE]
I did a “pub crawl” in Dublin and couldn’t believe how fast the bartender was at refilling my pint. Now I know. See and I thought it was my good looks and charm.
[QUOTE=fetus]
I’d rather be a fraud than to be unable to buy the essentials–which for me include textbooks, relatively low rent in a ridiculously expensive region, the gas I need to drive all over the county for work and school, etc.
[/QUOTE]
I’ve certainly been in a situation such as how you find yourself now. Don’t sweat it, just tip when you can. I’m loathe to speak for anyone else but maybe part of the reason some of us may over tip is because we realize for some it’s difficult and we’ve absolutely no problem with that. Hopefully it’ll all even out… at least that’s the intent.
If you would ordinarily tip but don’t on a given day becasue you are low on funds, is it proper etiquette to explain why you aren’t tipping, or should you just let them think you’re an asshole? Not sure if Miss Manners ever covered this.
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn]
If you would ordinarily tip but don’t on a given day becasue you are low on funds, is it proper etiquette to explain why you aren’t tipping, or should you just let them think you’re an asshole? Not sure if Miss Manners ever covered this.
[/QUOTE]
I once came up short on a tip by $1 and I felt that put me in the semi-asshole column. I made up for it the next time we went there. I agree with psycat; don’t drink in bars if you can’t tip.
[QUOTE=fetus]
Yup–if you think tipping gets you nowhere, you should see me order at a particular local coffee house when my favorite barista is working. It’s to the point where he comps me sandwiches and extra shots of espresso all night because he knows I’ll tip handily even though I can barely afford my order. End result: it’s less expensive for me to sip lattes all night and tip 50% than it is for other customers to pop in for a drink and tip nothing.
[/QUOTE]
This is probably a cultural thing I don’t get, but it sounds a lot like you’re bribing an employee to steal from his business. You’re putting money in his pocket, and he’s giving you free food & drink - what’s going in the till? Or does he have discretion to comp good customers - even if they’re good for him and not the coffee house? I really don’t understand how this works.
[QUOTE=Neptunian Slug]
OK I have to ask. Why wouldn’t gay bars run tabs? Do gay bartenders often get stiffed?
[/QUOTE]
Well, I can only speculate. Have you ever been to a gay bar in the Castro on a Friday or Saturday night? They’re all typically PACKED! It would be very hard to keep track of people and their drinks.
I have been to gay bars in other parts of the country and running tabs wasn’t a problem.
[QUOTE=amrussell]
This is probably a cultural thing I don’t get, but it sounds a lot like you’re bribing an employee to steal from his business. You’re putting money in his pocket, and he’s giving you free food & drink - what’s going in the till? Or does he have discretion to comp good customers - even if they’re good for him and not the coffee house? I really don’t understand how this works.
[/QUOTE]
My son is a bartender. Comping a good customer is usually figured into a guy’s business. If you throw a guy a couple freebies, it builds good will and he’ll spend more money.
I’ll add that this is not done behind the boss’s back. They usually WANT you to do this, at your discretion. Bartenders will also sometimes comp out of their own pocket.
[QUOTE=fetus]
They are. I tell everyone about the place and I bring in all my friends.
[/QUOTE]
Is he comping you for this or because you tip him, though? If you stopped with the tips but kept spreading word of mouth, would you still get free food?
[QUOTE=amrussell]
Is he comping you for this or because you tip him, though? If you stopped with the tips but kept spreading word of mouth, would you still get free food?
[/QUOTE]
It doesn’t really matter. As Kalhoun alluded to, the place still makes more money off of me than other customers, because the more stuff I get comped, the more I buy–plus the more I tip, which contributes to employee morale, which contributes to better customer service which leads to more income for the business.
