tipping bartenders

[popinfresh]

$10 a drink? Where the hell are you drinking at? Must be a nice place.

And tipping isn't done where you're from?

I've seen quite a few people at bars I've been to that make me glad I'm not a bartender.

Well ~8 bucks for the drink, 2 dollar tip. And for me, 10 bucks is more like $12-13au. Back home i'd be paying $6au for a mixed drink, $8 at most. Beers are $3-3.50 pot/schooner etc. And in the states booze is a whole lot cheaper off the shelf. Does not compute.

In Aus, no tipping. I can't ever even recall seeing a tip jar anywhere. Maybe if you really like the guy you'll let him keep some change or chuck him a 5'er at the end of the night, but i've only ever done that a couple times, and don't know anyone else who has.

Everyone here wants a tip, cabbies, restaurant workers, bar tenders, the pizza guy, hotel workers/cleaners, hairdressers, the person at the door at a venue, receptionists, yadda yadda yadda. People wanted money from me just because I asked for directions for gods sake.

As far as i'm concerned, most bar tenders who've served me here don't deserve a tip to start with, I feel cheated giving them money when they're hardly life like and giving poor service. I've served back home and if I was making $1 off every drink i'd be raking it in, and i'd also have no desire to work hard, as i'd be getting tipped anyway. I find the idea that you have to give them a chunk of money first just to ensure you get good service ridiculous, they should be giving me good service anyway (it's their job), then i'll tip on their performance.

Same goes with anything else, I had a major ******* cab driver in Van BC, was rude the whole way, drove like crap, didn't want to make conversation, purposely got lost to rack up my charge, then when I got there, didn't get my bags out for me, and when I paid/tipped he complained i didn't tip enough (would have been 10-15%)! Why the hell should I be tipping that??

I'm not saying bartenders don't deserve more than their usual wage, but just raise minimum wage and get over the whole tipping thing unless they actually deserve it IMO.

My girlfriend doesn't work in a high class or majorly busy pub, but on a good night can still make $300. At most she's working 10 hours, that's at least $30/hr!

 

[Korladis]

Well ~8 bucks for the drink, 2 dollar tip. And for me, 10 bucks is more like $12-13au. Back home i'd be paying $6au for a mixed drink, $8 at most. Beers are $3-3.50 pot/schooner etc. And in the states booze is a whole lot cheaper off the shelf. Does not compute.

In Aus, no tipping. I can't ever even recall seeing a tip jar anywhere. Maybe if you really like the guy you'll let him keep some change or chuck him a 5'er at the end of the night, but i've only ever done that a couple times, and don't know anyone else who has.

Everyone here wants a tip, cabbies, restaurant workers, bar tenders, the pizza guy, hotel workers/cleaners, hairdressers, the person at the door at a venue, receptionists, yadda yadda yadda. People wanted money from me just because I asked for directions for gods sake.

As far as i'm concerned, most bar tenders who've served me here don't deserve a tip to start with, I feel cheated giving them money when they're hardly life like and giving poor service. I've served back home and if I was making $1 off every drink i'd be raking it in, and i'd also have no desire to work hard, as i'd be getting tipped anyway. I find the idea that you have to give them a chunk of money first just to ensure you get good service ridiculous, they should be giving me good service anyway (it's their job), then i'll tip on their performance.

Same goes with anything else, I had a major ******* cab driver in Van BC, was rude the whole way, drove like crap, didn't want to make conversation, purposely got lost to rack up my charge, then when I got there, didn't get my bags out for me, and when I paid/tipped he complained i didn't tip enough (would have been 10-15%)! Why the hell should I be tipping that??

I'm not saying bartenders don't deserve more than their usual wage, but just raise minimum wage and get over the whole tipping thing unless they actually deserve it IMO.

My girlfriend doesn't work in a high class or majorly busy pub, but on a good night can still make $300. At most she's working 10 hours, that's at least $30/hr!

Ten hours is a rather long time to work....

Tipping is part of our culture. That's just how things work here. If the service is good, you tip. It encourages good service. When the service is bad, I don't tip. That's what it's for.

You can't go into a foreign country and expect everything to be the same as whatever you're used to.

Also, (something you won't get if you haven't seen Reservoir Dogs) "F*ck you, Mr. Pink!"

 

[D Rokk]

i've read that in some countries it is considered very rude to leave a tip on the table at a restaraunt.. and also rude to ask for change..

you better hope you have something smaller than a 50 if you only want coffee i guess

 

[mike_v_s]

Everyone here wants a tip, cabbies, restaurant workers, bar tenders, the pizza guy, hotel workers/cleaners, hairdressers, the person at the door at a venue, receptionists, yadda yadda yadda. People wanted money from me just because I asked for directions for gods sake.

As far as i'm concerned, most bar tenders who've served me here don't deserve a tip to start with, I feel cheated giving them money when they're hardly life like and giving poor service. I've served back home and if I was making $1 off every drink i'd be raking it in, and i'd also have no desire to work hard, as i'd be getting tipped anyway. I find the idea that you have to give them a chunk of money first just to ensure you get good service ridiculous, they should be giving me good service anyway (it's their job), then i'll tip on their performance.

Same goes with anything else, I had a major ******* cab driver in Van BC, was rude the whole way, drove like crap, didn't want to make conversation, purposely got lost to rack up my charge, then when I got there, didn't get my bags out for me, and when I paid/tipped he complained i didn't tip enough (would have been 10-15%)! Why the hell should I be tipping that??

I'm not saying bartenders don't deserve more than their usual wage, but just raise minimum wage and get over the whole tipping thing unless they actually deserve it IMO.

My girlfriend doesn't work in a high class or majorly busy pub, but on a good night can still make $300. At most she's working 10 hours, that's at least $30/hr!

Here, it's considered VERY rude to ask for a tip. I'm wondering if that (and their overall attitude towards you) is a general function of the fact that they already make a living wage as described by someone earlier. They don't need the money, so asking for it won't hurt.

Here in the states waiters and bartenders are paid about half of the minimum wage, with the rest coming from tips. I imagine that goes a long way towards their overall attitude and service. I am very rarely treated poorly or given attitude and can count on one hand the number of times IN MY LIFE a person has asked for a tip. That's just unheard of.

Mike

 

[popinfresh]

Ten hours is a rather long time to work....

Tipping is part of our culture. That's just how things work here. If the service is good, you tip. It encourages good service. When the service is bad, I don't tip. That's what it's for.

You can't go into a foreign country and expect everything to be the same as whatever you're used to.

Also, (something you won't get if you haven't seen Reservoir Dogs) "F*ck you, Mr. Pink!"

She starts at 5pm usually, 2am is last call, by the time everyone leaves it's usually around 3.

I know it's a part of the culture, but from being here as a tourist/now resident, it's the fact that pepple still tip when the service is poor that annoys me. Wages are obviously different then between Canada and the US, so I can see it being different down there.
I just think it should be an incentive to work as best you can, not expected so you can get some extra dough.

 

[popinfresh]

Here, it's considered VERY rude to ask for a tip. I'm wondering if that (and their overall attitude towards you) is a general function of the fact that they already make a living wage as described by someone earlier. They don't need the money, so asking for it won't hurt.

And I think that's just it. A few friends I have here are servers, wage ranges from 8-10 an hour, which while isn't great, it's quite easy to make some real good money from.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

And I think that's just it. A few friends I have here are servers, wage ranges from 8-10 an hour, which while isn't great, it's quite easy to make some real good money from.

That's in the same range that people are making working at bar's over here (once exchange rate is factored in, and take into account things are generally more expensive over here).

Min. wage (typical or there abouts for bar work) is £5.73. Going by XE.com that's $8.75 (US). And if they are getting about $1 a drink tip? Christ! If that's the case I could have easily been making the equivilant of $75+ an hour on some nights

 

[nathan]

I had no idea how expensive the bars are, haha. I've gotta agree with what's been said already. I find it ridiculous that you have to tip a bartender to ensure good service. They should be doing there best all the time, then I'll tip very well.

I guess I'll start opening a tab and tipping at the end, that seems like a good way to beat the system, haha.

 

[GeneralElectric]

You waited till you were 21 to go to bars?

It depends on how I'm drinking. If its just individual drinks, I tip a dollar per beer. If I'm with a group of 4 or more, we're usually buying rounds. In which case I tell everyone to give me their money and I'll go up. I tip the bartender whatever dollar amount to the nearest ten, and then add 5. (Say the bill is $17, he gets an $8 tip) I find that I get great service, top shelf liquor for well prices, and lots of comped drinks. Comped rounds are a minimum $10 tip for me.

 

[Korladis]

She starts at 5pm usually, 2am is last call, by the time everyone leaves it's usually around 3.

I know it's a part of the culture, but from being here as a tourist/now resident, it's the fact that pepple still tip when the service is poor that annoys me. Wages are obviously different then between Canada and the US, so I can see it being different down there.
I just think it should be an incentive to work as best you can, not expected so you can get some extra dough.

I see. If people tip when the service is bad, they're idiots.

Still, one of my friends is a waitress. She makes half of minimum wage. In this area, even minimum wage is not truly a living wage. She survives on those tips.

As for bartenders, not everyone tips. I always do. Therefore, at the ones I go to, I am a favored customer. The bartender will usually come over and take my order as soon as I get up to the bar.

On busy nights, sure, they're getting lots of money on tips. But on mondays? Not really. And the cost of living is very expensive here.

 

[jruberto]

Comped rounds are a minimum $10 tip for me.

i definitely spend more money on free drinks than if i'm actually paying for the drinks. i'm just happy to know that the money is going straight to the hard-workin' staff rather than paying the ridiculous margins on the drink. a bar's cost on a glass of cheap domestic beer is measured in pennies....

 

[funkalicious101]

I've noticed that I've been tipping worse since I got back from traveling.