The Guy From Belgium

I had a guy come into the bar recently. Each round of drinks that he ordered, he paid the exact amount for the drinks, stiffing me on the tip each time. On the second round, he even paid me using real change, I'm talking about quarters here folks. After I noticed the constant absence of a tip on each of the rounds of drinks this fella ordered and remembering that he had a slight accent in his tone, I asked him which country he was from. He said Belgium. Hmmmm....

So I did a little research of my own on the tipping practices in Belgium. Turns out:

Tipping in Belgium is not obligatory as service charge is always included. However, people often give tips as a sign of appreciation. Usually, this is done by paying in bank notes with a total value slightly higher than the price of the meal and telling the waiter/waitress that they can keep the change.

So either he thought that my tip was included in the price of his drink or he knew better and just was being a douche. I would like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but he did it all night long, paid with change and was only ordering our drink special, minus the ice. Trust me, he got more mixer than alcohol.

Red flags all around.

Ask the Bartender: Tipping at an Event

Maggie Savarino of the Seattle Weekly writes an excellent column called "Voracious: Eating In, Out and Around Seattle." In her column, she writes a weekly feature called, "Ask the Bartender" where readers will write in their questions about bartenders, bar etiquette and bartending in general. This week's "Ask the Bartender" question was:

Who do I tip when I'm going to a wedding? We got in an argument at a wedding last week that I tipped too much. It was a downtown hotel, and I was raised to tip for service. I know I tip the valet, coat check and the bartender, but what about the waiter? I have three more to go to this summer, and I'm tired of not knowing and feeling awkward or wrong!

Be sure to read the rest of this week's "Ask the Bartender."

Every bartender who has ever worked an open bar or hosted party knows and dreads this situation all too well. I agreed and loved Maggie's answer such as, "Tipping is just what you do, people. If you don't like it, move to Germany." and "YOU ALWAYS TIP THE BARTENDER." All hail Maggie Savarino and her awesome column!!!

Major Bar Faux Pas

Most of the time, I really enjoy my customers at the bar. Honestly. No joke. I am very fortunate to work in an environment where my customers are respectful towards our staff and are a genuine pleasure to serve. The smile on my face is for real because I truly am happy to be working behind the bar I am at now.

Over the years, I have come across customers who want to make my night a painful one, whether it be intentional or not. There are a few things a customer can do that can really annoy or piss a bartender off. If you fear you might be getting ignored by the bartender or receiving exceptionally weak drinks, check to see if you are committing any one of the following major bar faux pas:

1. Placing the same drink order with multiple bartenders.
When a customer places an order with one bartender, that customer needs to stay with that bartender throughout the whole transaction. Otherwise, if the customer places the same drink order with more than one bartender, that customer is going to receive more drinks than they bargained for. Not only does this eat up valuable drink making time, but it costs money and wastes product. The bartender has to try and sell those extra drinks or throw them out. Either way, the bartender will remember that customer on their next round and make the customer pay in the form of an extra wait or an extra weak drink.

2. Picking up the napkin a bartender places in front of the customer.
When a bartender places a napkin or coaster in front of a customer, they are communicating to the rest of the bartenders behind the bar that the customer has been acknowledged, approached and had their order taken. If a customer picks up the napkin and uses it to blow their nose or clean off the bar, the other bartenders behind the bar have no way of knowing whether or not that customer has been helped without having to ask them. The marking with the napkin or coaster prevents the customer from being bombarded by multiple bartenders for their drink order. Customers should relax. It's their night off. Leave the cleaning of the bar top to the bartender.

3. Snapping fingers to get the bartenders attention.
Bartenders are humans, not dogs. There is no reason to treat a bartender like a dog. It's disrespectful and rude.

4. Telling the bartender to "Make it strong!"
If a customer places their drink order and follows the order with the instructions to "Make it strong!", that customer is assuming that the bartender would have made them a weak drink. Customers should give bartenders a chance. If a customer orders their first round and finds that the drinks were on the weak side, they should mention it to the bartender on the second round or ask for a double. A customer should never assume that the bartender is going to make a weak drink or else that is exactly what the customer will get.

5. Not leaving a tip.
This goes without saying. Bartenders provide a service for their customers in hopes of being rewarded by their customers in the form of a tip. If a customer stiffs a bartender, that bartender NEVER forgets. EVER.

Getting Stiffed

I got stiffed on Monday night by a group of four people. I had two couples who were both together, come in on Monday night. None of them spoke a word of English. Luckily my food runner was able to translate so I could figure out how I could help them and what they wanted to be served at the bar. For the most part, they were pretty painless, except for the one lady who spilled her beer on the bar. They were all drinking Coronas. Easy enough.

They seemed to really appreciate my hard work. They were watching me break a sweat behind the bar, helping both the servers and the other people who sat at my bar. Anytime they were ready for their next round, I was refilling their glasses. They told my food runner that in their country, women don't work as hard as me. The men do all the work. The group even asked me to sit down at one point. Hahahahaha! Sit down during a bartending shift? Totally impossible!

When the group settled up their tab and got up to leave, I noticed that they hadn't left a tip. I decided to give them a chance before freaking out. Their bill had been around $65 or so and they had been sitting at my bar, watching me for a good hour. I was confident that they were going to leave something. After all, they had even commented on and commended me for all of the hard work I had been doing.

In the end, I got stiffed by all four of them. Not a dollar. Nothing. I was so irritated.

It's hard to not take getting stiffed personal. I understand that in some countries, tipping is not a customary practice because the bartender actually makes a living wage. But here in San Francisco, bartenders don't make a living wage. We live off of our tips. So when we get stiffed, it feels like a personal insult.

I couldn't exactly run after the group and ask them where my tip was or why they didn't tip. That would have been unprofessional. I just had to shrugged it off and move my smile onto my next customer. In the end, the tipping usually all evens out. There are some people who don't tip and then there are people who over-tip.

It's just the nature of the beast. One of those things, as a bartender, you just have to learn to roll with and hope for the best.

I Don't Think So

I had a rather needy customer all night. Every time he approached the bar, he would shout out his drink order while I was helping other customers and expect me to drop whatever I was doing to help him. I did my best, considering we weren't all that busy and I was able to accomodate most of his requests in a timely fashion.

At the end of the night, his tab came out to be $111.00. He didn't leave me a single dollar for a tip. Zero, zlitch, nothing! I was not only shocked, but appalled.

Before he left the bar for the evening, he asked me if I could get him a glass of water. I asked him if he had a tab for $111.00. He said yes, but that he had closed it out already. I reminded him that he left me a zero tip on the rather large tab. No glass of water for you buddy!!

Did he really think it was kosher to stiff me on such a large tab? Especially after having to deal with his needy ass all night and fulfilling all his requests. Sometimes people really blow my mind. The nerve.

Tips

According to Wikipedia,

"The word "tip" is often inaccurately claimed to be an acronym for terms such as "to insure prompt service", "to insure proper service", "to improve performance", and "to insure promptness". However, this etymology contradicts the Oxford English Dictionary[4] and is probably an example of a backronym. Moreover, most of these backronyms incorrectly require the word "insure" instead of the correct "ensure"."

The site also goes on to explaining in great detail:

"Bars

When purchasing alcoholic beverages at a bar it is customary to tip. One dollar per drink is common, mostly due to complications that come from using/making change and calculating percentages. If a bartender is taking special care to take and fill your drink orders quickly at a busy bar where others may be waiting for service, a tip in the higher range is appropriate. Drinks which are more complex than a draught beer or simple mixed cocktail may also warrant a greater tip."

Ever wonder why some European tourists DON'T tip? The Wikipedia entry explains it all, in great detail, country by country. Awesome!!

Read the rest of the Wikipedia entry on TIPS.

Now show me the money bitches!

Tap Water

Do people who order tap water tip?

NO

I just wanted to make that perfectly clear. People who order tap water at the bar are not a huge priority to me in the whole scheme of things. That's why you will see me use the sink to pour glasses of water instead of using my soda gun. The facet runs a lot faster than the tap water on my gun does. The faster I can get the cheap asses out of my face, the better.

One time long ago, a guy got in my face about not wanting to pay five bucks for a bottled water (People always think I have something to do with the way drink prices are set at the bar). I told him he could go to the bathroom and get water from the sink. As you could imagine, he didn't like my comment very much.

The Business of Comped Drinks, Drink Tickets and Other Free Drinks

If you ever find yourself being given a comped drink of any sort whether it be the bartender buying you a drink or a promoter or bar manager giving you a drink ticket, consider yourself lucky. Free drinks are always an awesome thing. Keep in mind that free drinks are a gift, not a privilege. Obviously someone, somewhere on down the line thought you should be entitled to a free cocktail. Lucky you.

Comped drinks. Drink tickets. Free drinks. You may not have to pay for that round, but we (the bartenders) still have to make the drinks so please tip accordingly. In fact, since you aren't fronting the cash for the cocktail in the first place, show the bartender a little "extra" love and appreciation. Otherwise we are going to think you are bottom feeding pond scum, you will get served last and your drinks will only get weaker and weaker over the course of the night.

My rule of thumb and reasoning is if you can't afford to tip properly, you can't afford to go out so you might as well stay at home.

Fair?

Big Tippers Make My World Go Round

I noticed today going back in my blog that there haven't been a whole lot of positive entries lately. I don't want my dear readers to think I am one of those bitter bartenders who hates my time behind the bar. In fact, I have never been happier in my life, Bartending for a living is just icing on the cake for me at this point. I am really thankful that I work at such a fun place with such cool people. The customers aren't bad either. ;)

Tonight, I had an exceptional night, especially for it only being a Wednesday. Tonight was technically my Monday. I strongly feel that if your work week starts on a good foot, the whole week can only get better.

Let's face it. Big tippers make every bartender's world go round. Bartenders here in the U.S. make most of their money through the tips they earn because the hourly minimum wage we get sure doesn't pay the rent. So when someone comes in, is pleasant and fun to deal with all night long and leaves me a big tip at the end of my night, I am more than grateful. I am overjoyed and sometimes overcome with emotion. It doesn't happen very often when someone will tip higher than 20%. When it does happen, I remember their name, face and type of cocktail they drink because the next time they come into my bar, their first drink will be on me.

I had a couple different people tip me over 50% of their total bill tonight. 50%!! I haven't had that happen to me in a long time. One of the tips left me so confused, I approached the customer and verified that he left the right tip amount. He just hugged me and told me he loved me. I love you too Buddy!

For all of the crap I do put up with on a nightly basis, it sure does feel good to be handsomely rewarded once in awhile.