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This post was provided by The Only Sober Guy In The Room a brand new blog. He has worked in the bar and restaurant business for more years than he cares to admit to the public. During this time, he has amassed a portfolio of shots and stories; if they didn't happen to him, they happened to someone else. His site aims to be a How-To navigation page for both those drinking and those making the social lubricant, with a fair few anecdotes thrown in to keep you entertained. To visit his blog click on the link below.
Well, it had to come up at some point, so I may as well tackle it as my very first post. Tipping is intrinsic to hospitality. In places like Las Vegas or other tourist destinations it can get a little out of hand (I can hail my own cab, thank you very much) but bartenders lie in a grey area. The amount of people who say “Well, you only open my beer bottle, where’s the skill in that?” is staggering. I don’t come to your office job and say, “You type up reports. Any idiot can type!” I’ll explain it to those of you that don’t or haven’t worked in the service industry.
Depending on where you work in the world, this custom can literally make or break your night. Those in Europe and Australia, not so much. But then you get a decent wage, so it balances out. Here in North America, however, wages can be dismal, well below minimum wage, so we rely on that extra change.
Now: the most important part to remember is that tipping is completely up to the customer. But usually, there is a tip out, where the bartender must give a percentage of what they sold to the management and, if applicable, the kitchen, and also to any support (for example, the busser).
So, let’s say the management, or “the house” gets a 2.5% tip out, and the busser gets the same. That adds up to 5% total. If I sell $500, and make a steady 10 percent all day that gives me $50 before tip out. After that 5% on my sales however, and I’m giving away half of my day’s work. I’m walking with $25. It adds up quickly, see.
So, bartenders: instead of losing your temper when someone consistently puts that change in their pocket (as I have done once, and will never do again due to sheer embarrassment), just explain that to them. Most people aren’t aware; it isn’t malicious.
Here’s what it boils down to: 10% if your server does his job, and doesn’t go above that. 15% if you notice that they’re performing better than you would expect. and 20% if they really go above and beyond the call of duty. A friend of mine, when at a restaurant, has his own personal system: he starts off at a 20 percent tip, and everything that goes wrong after that – no smile, drinks take too long, etc.- results in a deduction from that 20. It’s a win-win: the restaurant knows he’s a healthy tipper when he returns, and he can give the money to the server he prefers by asking to sit in their section.
I have a friend – in the ‘spirit’ of this site, let’s call him Johnny Walker. Johnny worked at a bar years ago, and had a group of frat boys sit down at his bar. He got talking to them, joked around, bought them a few rounds, the usual. Johnny thought he was gonna get a nice big payday. Then it came time for the bill, which they paid with credit card, and left. When Johnny looked at the credit card slip, he saw they’d written profanity all over it and suggested his sexuality was otherwise what it actually is. No tip, just a great big F*** You. Which would have sucked, if this was the end of the story. Sucked hard. They had forgotten their credit card.
Now, what I am about to tell you, I do not endorse. I just want you to appreciate it for the humour. Seriously, don’t do this. You’ll probably get fired at best; at worst, arrested.
Johnny is a resourceful sonofabitch, and, knowing which college they had come from, he called the admissions office, and explained that Roger E. Pottymouth had left his card, and could he get the address of his frat house so that he might send it back to him? Which he of course did. But not before ordering hundreds of dollars worth of gay pornography – on Roger’s card – and had it delivered to the front doorstep of the fraternity house!
While I don’t approve of it, and it’s something I don’t think I would ever do, it is by far and away my favourite bartending story. You never know when you’ll get your comeuppance. Just the thought of that kid opening up a discreetly packaged box in the common room and probably altering his college experience forever, is a happy thought!
So to sum up: tip when you think it’s deserved, but bear in mind that a 25 cents on a $40 round isn’t gonna cut it. Chances are you’ll be waiting a lot longer for that 2nd round while he makes real money from everyone else around you.
Looking to guest post, drop a comment below or contact me through my contact page.
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