Days That End in Y

7 Responses to “Are You a Terrible Tipper?”

1. Rick Says:
   December 19th, 2007 at 12:12 pm

   I think if you’re ordering beer, a buck or two is fine. If the drink is a bit more complicated, a few more bucks.

   If I open a tab, and the bartender doesn’t ask me my name everytime I put a drink on it, I tip 20%. But that’s mostly just because 20% is a lot easier to calculate when you’ve had a few.

2. Butch Says:
   December 19th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

   I tip 15% of the post-tax total and/or $1 per beer at the bar. I hope that’s not bad, but I really don’t care if it is. We have a screwed up system that demands we pay for a business’ employees directly. They should get the same wage as anyone else a tip should be just that: a tip for above average service.

3. Darcy Says:
   December 19th, 2007 at 3:42 pm

   Honestly, and I’m a bartender, I think a buck a beer is stupid. At a snails pace a bartender can dish out 60 beers an hour and most bartenders I’ve met don’t deserve to make more than a doctor.

   I’m kind of against the tipping system as it seems to be getting out of control. Everybody wants to be tipped. Plus employers in the F&B business get a significant advantage that other business don’t get. I’d rather just have a normal pay system and be tipped for exceptional service. It would also force crappy bartenders out and allow good bartenders to earn what they deserve.

   Having said all that, I love a good tip.

4. Mike Says:
   December 20th, 2007 at 7:52 am

   That’s a good point, Rick. 20% would be much easier. Either way, I tend to throw down more money when I’m a little drunk.

   In general, I do wish tipping simply didn’t exist as a de facto standard. Bartenders and wait staff ought to be paid a living wage rather than scrounging for tip money. Tips really should be on top of already good wages.

5. JohnnyRnR Says:
   December 20th, 2007 at 11:14 am

   As a bartender my average was 25% of my ring, and that’s what I tip now. That’s also the quickest way to get on the preferred customer list.

   Butch; the benefit for you of paying the server’s wages directly is that there’s a cost savings. At the most basic servers can skimp on paying their taxes, and the restaurant can avoid FICA and FUDA payments. This allows the server to set a lower mental wage because they’re receiving the money in mostly tax-free cash.

   If the house was paying a server market wage for their time and hassle (and it would be fairly expensive) you would see much higher wage related prices on the food and drink, plus the differential for taxes. Our system just disguises the fact that restaurant folk are paid well.

6. Chuck Says:
   March 12th, 2008 at 4:29 am

   Tabs suck for me. Granted our beer is cheap, so that’s a big factor. If I were to get a buck for every other beer from a cash customer, and the equivalent tab for 10 beers is $20, 25% is a must, just for me to break even! F&B folks are indeed the best. Nobody else could really understand the BS we deal with daily. When I’m on the other side, a buck per beverage is standard, unless my wife insists on a daiquiri!

7. LetzGoOut.com Bar Search Says:
   June 17th, 2008 at 11:56 am

   The best tippers are generally people that have worked for tips at least one point in their lives. I’ve never bartended, but I’ve waitered and delivered pizzas in college. Funny thing with pizza was, tips were generally inversely proportionate to what you’d expect pulling up into the driveway. The bigger the house, the more likely that the $11.45 bill would be paid with a ten and three singles, a smile, and a “keep the change,” while a small house with a 12 year old car in the driveway would be more likely to hand you a ten and a five with the same “keep the change.”

   I drink beer, and generally tip $1 per beer, which, where I drink, is about 25%.

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Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
     —David Rains Wallace