Yay! A tipping thread. These always play out by the same script, where a few people with “unusual” views derail the whole thing. I’m surprised no foreigners have shown up yet with the “we don’t tip in our country” shtick.
Yeah, buck a drink, in general. Sometimes if I get two drinks, and the amount is something like $8.50, I’ll just leave the buck fifty. But I can’t think of a time where I’ve left less than a dollar tip. I also personally never have witnessed a bartender getting “insulted” by a fifty cent tip. That is one bar I would never return to.
Generally, you probably should tip a couple extra bucks if it takes 3-4 minutes for the drinks. Especially if the place is busy. In general, the goodwill is more valuable than the $2-3 extra per round you’re spending.
And this is written down where?
Here, let me help.
In the head of every American bartender, ever. Also, don’t think for a second that a bartender does not know what you tipped just because they have run off to serve someone else. This is like thinking that your wife does not know that you are having the occasional cigarette.
Once a bartender, always a dollar a drink minimum tip. I have certainly paid in more than I took out at this point 
It may not seem fair, but it is reality, and if you choose not to play by the “rules”, just don’t be surprised by the result.
I just wrote it down for you. Feel free to print a copy and carry it with you the next time you go out drinking.
A dollar a drink, minimum. Unless it’s really shitty service.
Tipping isn’t a necessary evil; it’s an investment. Tip well, and it’ll save you money in the long run. There’s a tiki bar here I used to live near and even now I go, bring like six people, get them hammered, and end up paying like $20 total for what should probably be an $80 tab.
I tip $1, sometimes $2, but not on every drink. Bar/nightclub domestic beers are $3.00 around here, which is PLENTY for me when you can buy a whole 12-pack of bottles for $9 or $10.
Pretending that the tip is related to the amount of work the bartender does for your drink is distracting- if you must redefine the tip, think of it as a per-drink fee that you pay the bartender to take your order. I guarantee that this is how the bartender looks at it.
Of course, you can spend an extra five bucks in the course of a night out and guarantee that you and the bartender will have a very friendly relationship- that’s all it takes. You’re not at a bar just to get hammered, or you’d be home. You want a social experience- like it or not, the barkeep can very much influence the social experience you have.
In some very busy places, there is no winning- the thing that works best is to be friendly, to order efficiently, and only after that, to tip reasonably.
I don’t get this–why does the price when you buy them at the grocery store have anything to do with whether you follow tipping convention? Nobody will fault you if you go to Harris Teeter instead of to the local bar, and you won’t be expected to tip at the grocery store. Why treat the bar like a grocery store?
Daniel
Bingo. You’re at a bar to be sociable. And when in a social situation, one should abide by social conventions. Tipping is part of it. Also, the bartender isn’t responsible for pricing the drinks, so there’s no need to punish him for it. If you resent the price of drink+tip at the bar, then drink at home.
Because a drink is a drink. The price of the drinks at bars is such a massive ripoff and then on top of that you’re supposed to just give away more money just for them handing you a drink?
Can’t the frugal go out and see a band without getting gouged?
The *frugal * buy a CD and a six pack and stay home. The *cheap * go out and bitch about the price of drinks and stiff their bartender.
IOW, the bartender is stealing from his employer in return for a kickback from you. Not good for the bar, and perhaps not for the bartender or you in the long run.
Pretty sure that some bars at least give their bartenders a certain amount of leeway.
This cannot be how a lot of people see this. Every bar I’ve ever “regulared” has given shots or beers to us and it’s expected that we tip for the free booze. I think a bar that was uptight about making good customers pay full price every single time no exception wouldn’t have that many regulars.
As a bartender, and as has been stated, a buck a drink is standard.
If you order “high maintenance” drinks, like layered shots, Bloody Marys, "extra dry slightly dirty martinis, " etc., it’s nice to get a bit more. And by “nice” I mean that if you don’t tip very well when you order these drinks, it’s only natural I’m going to be reluctant to make them in a hurry for you again. If the bar is packed, and I see people who tip well, and then I see someone with a high-maintenance order who didn’t tip very well last time, I’m going to take care of the former people first. Basic capitalism. I’ll get to those people eventually because it’s my job, but there’s no law saying I have to take care of them ASAP.
One of the perks of tipping well is the ability to get a drink ASAP, regardless of how busy the bar is. This is why people who tip on “easy” drinks like bottled beer never go thirsty.
And for people who don’t tip at all, I always recommend drinking beer. If you’re ordering mixed drinks and you don’t tip, the amount of alcohol dwindles considerably. I save that alcohol for people who take care of me.
And as noted by Stolichnaya, do not ever assume that the bartender doesn’t know whether you tipped or not. Like mothers and suspicious wives, we have a radar.
Interesting. I might start tipping a little extra when I order the funky drinks. Although I tend to order them when the bar is slow, and the bartender is just shooting the shit or watching YouTube videos (I know about barbacking–sometimes it’s just really damn slow, though).
Daniel
But probably not to the tune of $60 out of $80.