View Full Version : How frequently should you tip the Bartender?
FourWinns
07-05-2006, 08:35 PM
i almost always tip everyone at a club - door dudes, waitresses, lapdancers, bartenders and sometimes dj's. some clubs the bartenders are hotter than the dancers - those beer cap poppers get extra big tips as an encouragement to get naked and take even more of my cash.
SeppeSai
07-18-2006, 03:20 AM
Before I relate last night's tale of customer rudeness, I'll provide a bit of background.
I've been coming to this club for two years or so but have really dropped coming for the dancers because of the lengthy and involving situation I have with the ATF at the home club. By this, I mean that I go to the club by work to get out of the house on a late Sunday night, talk to some people, and watch the humorous goings on that club life can provide.
I don't buy dances from the girls but do tip the stage when applicable. Sad to say, the vast majority of dancers are unattractive to my eyes and I pass most of the time.
All is not lost, however, as Mrs. C the bartender more than makes up for the dearth of good-looking girls by doing her thing behind the bar. She's a short Asian lady with dark hair, dark eyes, a fabulous body, and an elegant smile. She's also married, or is "allegedly" married by the double=banded diamond ring she wears. I haven't asked her about the ring, hence the alleged part. ;)
She knows me by face and name, and we get along well. I always tip her $2 per drink and anywhere between $10 and $20 at the end of the night just for fun and appreciation for her efforts.
That said, I had an interesting visit to see her yesterday.
She gets in at her usual time and sees me at the bar with my normal Sprite in hand. I shook her hand and wished her well and noted that I was glad she was here. She smiled and proceeded to get her affairs in order and starts working.
About an hour in, one of the dancers, (who is hosting a small knot of people between the bar and the tables,) to my right orders a drink. Mrs. C promptly takes care of it, then offers up the drink and asks for the $9 that it costs. The dancer replies that a guy to my left who was also in her "party" would pay for it. She asks him for the cost of the drink. He balks. She explains that the dancer said he would pay for it. They argue back and forth for a minute or two before he finally agrees to pay for it.
After he agrees and pays the $, he walks off to his table, upset, leaving no tip. He then comes back and orders something else for himself and one of his buddies, and Mrs. C takes care of it. He again doesn't leave a tip. She asks him about it and he grumbles, then leaves her a single dollar.
She's thrown off her enthusiastic game by this little episode and looks upset., and though I sat there with a blank face through the whole ordeal, I was upset for her.
So I decided to try to cheer her up and asked her for a beer, something I normally don't do. In doing so, she laughed and broke the 20 I gave her for it, giving me a 10 and 5 ones. I then gave her the 10 and told her that while some people didn't understand, I certainly did.
She was surprised and originally passed on taking the 10, but when I left it there and "insisted" she take it, she playfully slapped my hand and put it in her tip jar, smiling and saying thank you. Her good cheer was restored.
Later on, she poured another guy a drink and he counted out his singles to pay for it, then gave them to her. She counted the singles and came up one short. He then sheepishly gave her the missing single and left no tip.
We only looked at each other and shook our heads in disgust. Cheap bastard.
I later witnessed the guy who balked at paying for the dancer's drink willingly tip the other bartender without a single hesitation. That made me mad. Fucker.
When you are drinking in a drinking establishment, its customary to tip the waitstaff. Its OK to vary the amount of the tips depending upon the degree of good service received but to not tip at all (repeatedly in some cases) just shows that you are a cheap ass.
FBR
CarGuy
07-20-2006, 02:50 AM
If you can't or don't want to tip...stay the hell home. I like giving my money away...it's fun.
I took good care of my barmaid tonight. The scheduled waitress called off sick so the barmaid had to not only work behind the bar but also work the floor. She did a great job. She probably made 35-40 bucks off me in tips but she was worth it.
FBR
Kyle1111
08-02-2006, 02:19 PM
Hi Jpac73.
I would tip as little or as much as you feel comfortable with. You don't owe anyone a tip even for supreme excellent service. And, if they don't like it well then one option would be for them to get in a different line of work.
Having said that I just got back from an afternoon visit to my favorite strip club. Refused to buy a drink because the dancers weren't getting on stage. Can't blame the dancers because it seems like most customers treat each dollar as if it were their last. Anyway, no hot dancers so I left after about an hour. As I was leaving I gave the bartender a $1 tip. Big deal? To some people leaving a $100 tip is a big deal. When I use to visit as often as twice daily to catch the different shifts those $1 tips would really start to add up--assuming you view $500 - $1,000 in bartender tips as something that has added up. :) To some guys that is mere pocket change for the evening.
Over at this other club a wealthy customer got very upset when I tipped the bartender $1 for a $4 beer. He was yapping that cheap asses that only tip $1 shouldn't be allowed in the club. He insisted that the minimum tip for a $4 beer is $2. So I invited him to help me out by adding a $1 to my $1 tip. He promptly added an additional $2 and sneared "How do you feel now!?" I replied wonderful, it is great to see the bartender getting more $$$. So then he wanted to know if I was going to tip reasonable in the future. I told him that I would be more likely to tip $0 than $2, but that I'd be happy to accept a sliding scale rule where customers pay according to their ability.
Generally, I think the norm is tip every time ESPECIALLY (sp?) if it is a mixed drink or draft. When I was young my tipping would often be non-existent because my income was often non-existent. When a bartender would complain I would say get in another line of work if you don't like it. The bartender would usually reply that if I can't afford tip then I can't afford to go out. I would sometimes reply if you can't afford not to receive a tip then you shouldn't be in this line of work.
You get what you pay for??? Well, I will say that good tipping can be the best investment you can make in a strip club and in other situations. BTW, some dancers were trying to get tips for the dances on top of the agreed price--a total turnoff for me. But, if enough people think that is the right thing to do then if will probably become the norm and you were be looked at as the bad guy if you didn't fork over your money. :) I had one dancer say she wouldn't do future dances because I didn't tip her over and above the agreed price. I told her that I really wouldn't be interested in buying any dances at the higher price and would just watch the stage shows in the future.
Sperkzy
08-08-2006, 12:29 AM
5 bucks for a small glass of coke, and a dollar tip is good enough...
It isn't that hard to pour me an expensive glass of coke! }:D
Jenny
08-08-2006, 05:53 AM
When I was young my tipping would often be non-existent because my income was often non-existent. When a bartender would complain I would say get in another line of work if you don't like it. The bartender would usually reply that if I can't afford tip then I can't afford to go out. I would sometimes reply if you can't afford not to receive a tip then you shouldn't be in this line of work.
Because bartending is usually a professional hobby for the independantly wealthy? All the poor slobs who are doing it to pay their stupid rent should be working actual jobs?
Kyle1111
08-08-2006, 06:17 AM
Because bartending is usually a professional hobby for the independantly wealthy? All the poor slobs who are doing it to pay their stupid rent should be working actual jobs?
Bartending is an actual job. I cared as much about them paying the rent as they cared about me paying the rent. IOWs, it was totally irrelevant. Growing up in extreme poverty I didn't have any sympathy for those thinking they had a god given right to tips. And, I had even less feeling for wealthy pricks who believed that if you are too poor to tip you are too poor to go out. Want to give me bad service? NO PROBLEM, but please realize that I'm making peanuts and if I had more I would pay more. I guess the bottom line is in a free market, which we don't have, there would places that would cater to poor folks. That ain't the situation so I push into the lowest tier entertainment I can find (in the particular class of entertainment). Somebody wants a tip? Well, I might or might not give him or her one. One thing is damn freaking sure I didn't feel bad about not leaving a tip. I did feel bad there was so little freedom. :(
One of my bosses was a super tough guy--mentally and physically--with PLENTY of money. He wouldn't give you a tip if it was your last dying request. I hate to say it but I like his attitude a hell of a lot better than the wealthy pricks who think poor people aren't allow to have a night out without somebody's hand in their face demanding a tip that has to be paid.
Anyway, thanks for responding to my post. :)
Jenny
08-08-2006, 06:51 AM
^^^
Dude, my point was that saying that one cannot "afford" to have a job BUILT around the concept of tipping if one cannot afford to not get tipped is tantamount to saying that one is or should be working as a hobby. Nobody can afford to work as a bartender without the tips, much less as a waitress because that is how the job is structured. I grew up poor (hello? Exotic dancer! Not the usual job of choice for the elite). So did my mother and, for that matter her mother. None of them ever went out and wouldn't tip - because they knew damn well that if you could afford to go out, you could afford to tip. In a nutshell - these establishments are designed around certain protocol - bartenders and waitresses get paid a certain wage based on the understanding that people tip them. They pay out a certain percentage of the projected tip (here the projected tip being 15%). The drinks, cover charge etc., are all based on that understanding - that after buying you tip the damn waitress/bartender. If you go to the club you are participating in the understanding. Refusing to tip - whether you are rich or poor - is bad. It's bad karma, it's bad personhood - it's just bad.
Kyle1111
08-08-2006, 07:06 AM
^^^
Dude, my point was that saying that one cannot "afford" to have a job BUILT around the concept of tipping if one cannot afford to not get tipped is tantamount to saying that one is or should be working as a hobby. Nobody can afford to work as a bartender without the tips, much less as a waitress because that is how the job is structured. I grew up poor (hello? Exotic dancer! Not the usual job of choice for the elite). So did my mother and, for that matter her mother. None of them ever went out and wouldn't tip - because they knew damn well that if you could afford to go out, you could afford to tip. In a nutshell - these establishments are designed around certain protocol - bartenders and waitresses get paid a certain wage based on the understanding that people tip them. They pay out a certain percentage of the projected tip (here the projected tip being 15%). The drinks, cover charge etc., are all based on that understanding - that after buying you tip the damn waitress/bartender. If you go to the club you are participating in the understanding. Refusing to tip - whether you are rich or poor - is bad. It's bad karma, it's bad personhood - it's just bad.
If they can't afford to work as a bartender without the tips, then they should find another line of work if they can or live in poverty (like me). And, if it costs the bartender money to force a drink on me, then feel free to serve tap water or nothing.
I disagree that is bad karma. I believe in the BS, because I was brainwashed at a very early age, that you do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
You know, I think it would be almost impossible for you to understand how much I detest and hate that BS about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. But, I can't get rid of it. It is like a horrible disease and has caused me a terrific amount of grief.
GenWar
08-08-2006, 10:52 AM
Thanks Kyle1111. And please continue to go out. As long as you exist and spread your message, I will continue to get exceptional service for the occasional Abe I slip to the hostess or waitress. If everyone were like me, or even like TOO, then my pittance of a gratuity would be meaningless. Instead, I never cease to be amazed at how far Mr. Lincoln (or Mr. Laurier) gets me...
-gen
Kyle1111
08-08-2006, 11:36 AM
Thanks Kyle1111. And please continue to go out. As long as you exist and spread your message, I will continue to get exceptional service for the occasional Abe I slip to the hostess or waitress. If everyone were like me, or even like TOO, then my pittance of a gratuity would be meaningless. Instead, I never cease to be amazed at how far Mr. Lincoln (or Mr. Laurier) gets me...
-gen
Hi GenWar,
Excellent point.
(I do now tip $1 with every water or beer bought and it is much nicer to have some money to tip. I'm not interested in good service from the bartender, but it is still nice to have extra money to tip.)
Jenny
08-08-2006, 12:36 PM
Although, Gen, now I have to admit - Laurier was 7th, not 14th. I was wrong.
I am terribly, terribly ashamed.
GenWar
08-08-2006, 03:44 PM
Although, Gen, now I have to admit - Laurier was 7th, not 14th. I was wrong.
I am terribly, terribly ashamed.
I read that on line but I assumed that history was wrong, not you. }:D
Either way, he sounds like he was a cool dude. I mean, no TJ or nothing, but he got it done.
-gen
Docido
08-09-2006, 05:59 PM
I tip for very practical reasons. Waitresses, bouncers, and dancers remember the guys who take good care of them and improve their service accordingly. I don't have TOO's disposable income, but do appreciate his philosophy.
Farnham
08-12-2006, 01:24 AM
I like giving my money away...it's fun.
Either you have more money than you need or you don't work very hard for it. :O
Farnham
08-12-2006, 01:26 AM
If you can't afford to tip a bartender a buck everytime (s)he pours you a drink (if you are bypassing the waitress), then maybe you should find a cheaper hobby.
CP
A buck everytime?
My name isn't Daddy Warbucks!
This attitude is why I quit going to stripclubs. I'm a working man, the strip clubs done priced me out.
Richard_Head
08-12-2006, 12:11 PM
A buck everytime?
My name isn't Daddy Warbucks!
This attitude is why I quit going to stripclubs. I'm a working man, the strip clubs done priced me out.I'm guessing regular bars have also priced you out too then haven't they?
CarGuy
08-12-2006, 12:28 PM
Well...I don't go for a free show...
I go with money, with the intent to give it all away and have a blast doing it.
Work hard? Hmmmm...does that matter...I like what I do, it's work, but it's fun and it's my company.
I'm with Gen....the crappy tippers make the good ones look that much better.
Farnham
08-12-2006, 01:37 PM
I'm guessing regular bars have also priced you out too then haven't they?
Oh no. My corner tap is quite affordable.
space_Cadet_28
08-15-2006, 02:57 PM
tipping is an utterly idiotic way of pricing services. the service in non-tipping countries is just as good if not better as it is in the US.
CarGuy
08-15-2006, 07:26 PM
Your name is fitting then....