T Cole Newton at your service
Ask the bartender: Tipping
with T Cole Newton
Hi! My name is Cole. As a bartender, people ask me things: about their relationships, what they should be drinking, pop culture picks…any and all subjects are fair game. Am I an expert on any of it? Occasionally!
Tipping can be a very harrowing experience if you don’t know the protocols. It’s also pretty problematic in its modern form, historically a loophole in post-Civil War America that allowed business owners to avoid paying wages. That said, while the origins of tipping are problematic, and we might be better off without it, it’s still deeply entrenched in bars and restaurant culture, and if you want to go out for something to eat and drink, you should know what to expect. So let’s break down this question piece by piece.
Is 20% always good?
Yeah! Pretty much. My advice for someone who isn’t themselves a tipped worker is to leave 20% rounded up to the nearest dollar, even for mediocre to bad service. (Just because someone isn’t great at their job doesn’t mean they should be doing it for free.) 20% is also a relatively easy number to calculate: just move the decimal point one number to the left and double it.
That said, I would also set the floor for tipping at $1 - that is, if you order a $2 beer and nothing else, you should still tip a dollar. Don’t leave change on the bar, unless that’s all you have. If that is the case, acknowledge it. A quick, “Hey, sorry, all I have for a tip is quarters,” will let the bartender know that you’re not rude, you’re just doing your best.
If the bartender gives me a free shot, should I tip $1 or $2 on that?
Yup! Keep the same rule of thumb as above: the floor for a tip should be $1, even if the price of the drink (for you) is $0.
This comes up a lot when you’re in the industry. Bartenders like to hook up other bartenders. Sometimes it’s more than a free drink: I’ve mentioned a menu item in passing only to have it dropped in front of me by a generous friend. In these types of situations, I try to calculate my tip based on the total value of what I got, rather than what I paid for. So if I order $50 worth of food and drinks, and I wind up getting $100 worth, I’ll use the latter amount to make my tip calculations.
Q: Is it rude to let the bartender close out your tab at the end of the night, expecting they'll just tip themselves 20%?
Ooh, this is a tricky one! The ability to pre-authorize a card so that a guest can leave with their card but without closing their tab is a relatively new phenomenon. I’m not sure that it’s been around long enough to have established customs. My instinct is that on a busy night this is fine, if anything a lesser of two evils. If I’m slammed behind the bar, I’d probably prefer a guest just ghost with an open tab than take the time to close it, at least if they aren’t also getting another round. That’s time that I could be using to serve more drinks! That said, by doing that you are asking the bartender to do the calculations for you, which is a little extra work on the back end, so [shrug emoji]? If it isn’t too busy when you open your tab, but you expect it to be busy later, maybe just ask the bartender if they have a preference. If it isn’t slammed, just close out your tab before you go please.
Are cash tips preferable?
Yes!
Thanks for the questions! Keep them coming, y’all.
Cheers!
ASK COLE ANY QUESTION YOU LIKE: [email protected]
Enjoy Cole's spaces, with great cocktails, wines and events at:
12 Mile Limit (500 S Telemachus St) and The Domino (3044 St Claude Ave).
MORE FEATURES
with T Cole Newton
Hi! My name is Cole. As a bartender, people ask me things: about their relationships, what they should be drinking, pop culture picks…any and all subjects are fair game. Am I an expert on any of it? Occasionally!
Tipping can be a very harrowing experience if you don’t know the protocols. It’s also pretty problematic in its modern form, historically a loophole in post-Civil War America that allowed business owners to avoid paying wages. That said, while the origins of tipping are problematic, and we might be better off without it, it’s still deeply entrenched in bars and restaurant culture, and if you want to go out for something to eat and drink, you should know what to expect. So let’s break down this question piece by piece.
Is 20% always good?
Yeah! Pretty much. My advice for someone who isn’t themselves a tipped worker is to leave 20% rounded up to the nearest dollar, even for mediocre to bad service. (Just because someone isn’t great at their job doesn’t mean they should be doing it for free.) 20% is also a relatively easy number to calculate: just move the decimal point one number to the left and double it.
That said, I would also set the floor for tipping at $1 - that is, if you order a $2 beer and nothing else, you should still tip a dollar. Don’t leave change on the bar, unless that’s all you have. If that is the case, acknowledge it. A quick, “Hey, sorry, all I have for a tip is quarters,” will let the bartender know that you’re not rude, you’re just doing your best.
If the bartender gives me a free shot, should I tip $1 or $2 on that?
Yup! Keep the same rule of thumb as above: the floor for a tip should be $1, even if the price of the drink (for you) is $0.
This comes up a lot when you’re in the industry. Bartenders like to hook up other bartenders. Sometimes it’s more than a free drink: I’ve mentioned a menu item in passing only to have it dropped in front of me by a generous friend. In these types of situations, I try to calculate my tip based on the total value of what I got, rather than what I paid for. So if I order $50 worth of food and drinks, and I wind up getting $100 worth, I’ll use the latter amount to make my tip calculations.
Q: Is it rude to let the bartender close out your tab at the end of the night, expecting they'll just tip themselves 20%?
Ooh, this is a tricky one! The ability to pre-authorize a card so that a guest can leave with their card but without closing their tab is a relatively new phenomenon. I’m not sure that it’s been around long enough to have established customs. My instinct is that on a busy night this is fine, if anything a lesser of two evils. If I’m slammed behind the bar, I’d probably prefer a guest just ghost with an open tab than take the time to close it, at least if they aren’t also getting another round. That’s time that I could be using to serve more drinks! That said, by doing that you are asking the bartender to do the calculations for you, which is a little extra work on the back end, so [shrug emoji]? If it isn’t too busy when you open your tab, but you expect it to be busy later, maybe just ask the bartender if they have a preference. If it isn’t slammed, just close out your tab before you go please.
Are cash tips preferable?
Yes!
Thanks for the questions! Keep them coming, y’all.
Cheers!
ASK COLE ANY QUESTION YOU LIKE: [email protected]
Enjoy Cole's spaces, with great cocktails, wines and events at:
12 Mile Limit (500 S Telemachus St) and The Domino (3044 St Claude Ave).
MORE FEATURES
