Gratuities

I only hang in dive bars. Fern bars make me itchy

 

It’s funny though, when around 10pm you realize the bartender is more drunk than most patrons, and you can go home but he has another hour or two to go.

Worst I ever saw was in Edinburgh, in a local pub I visited with a Scottish colleague. That notice post in the Oddball pictures thread about being closed for the day due to being „in bits“ from the previous night could have come from there. The staff were absolutely hammered.

 

No, the opposite. They make me feel like a minor league social drinker.

Lots of fern bars in the bigger cities. Switzerland is nothing but fern bars.

 

WTH is a "fern" bar?

 

It’s a bar where plastic people go to drink fruity cocktails with fanciful names, have artificial conversations, and pay with plastic cards. The only thing real in the bar are the ferns used for decoration.

 

In other words a bar with hookers.

 

At the Pizza Hut "wing street" place that's only delivery or carry out, I don't tip if I go in to get it, kinda like any fast food place. Sometimes the bagging folks at grocery store get a tip when helping out people loading groceries into their vehicle. Generally older folks handing out a buck or two. Teenager down the street mentioned he made decent tips at the Kroger, especially around the holidays.

 

Thanks.
That confirms it.. Not going there.

 

I've never worked in a place slow enough where bartenders could put together a to go order, it's usually the expo or chef on the line doing it and those things suck during busy times. Usually the person handing you the bag didn't do the work.

How about this issue that drives me crazy? You're waiting for your table and you order drinks from the bar and then ask for your tab to be transferred. If anyone here does this, can you explain the reasoning? Sometimes people won't even say anything, they just take their drinks and expect their tab to find them in a crowded restaurant. To me, if I order something, I pay for it then.

 

Me either. And I'll bet very few, if any of the waitresses/waiters in this country have heard of it either.

 

Some people don't have your options and you don't have some peoples problems.

My poor example? lol, I can't actually remember the last time I got shitty service. Most of the places I go I frequent pretty often, I tip well and get great service. What keeps you from kicking in the extra money in cash to get to the 20% if you feel that strongly about it?

How often are you guys getting shitty service and were the fuck are you eating, This seems like major issue for a ton of people.

 

A good rule for everyone is just pay the person who hands you the drink. Server tip outs are about 1/4 of what the actual tip is so while a few bucks isn't a big deal, it's a big difference when you add it up and it happens every day all year. And also many times people will sit at the bar and rack up a tab and still ask to transfer so they can move to a table. The word transfer is universally hated by all bartenders.

 

That's why I always cash out at the bar and if I'm sitting there during shift change, I'll cash out and start a new tab with the next bartender.

 

Sometimes I will transfer because I don't want to mess with having them running the credit card twice. I usually leave a cash tip at the bar when doing this, so the bartender gets covered. Sometimes it is a timing thing as you get handed your drink and at that same second the hostess tells you your table is ready. If vultures are circling the bar stool you are sitting on, it even may help the bartender if you just move on.

 

If the service was really bad, I leave 3 cents and/or put comments on the bill.
If the service is just barely adequate, I leave 15%.
If the service was good, I normally leave 20%.
If the service was Very Good, I have given higher amounts.

About take-out/togo orders, I don't usually get take-out. I use drive-thru if available, or give a small tip.

 

Keith Buras.

 

I have seen tip jars in all kinds of places. Like smoothie places where you go to the counter, order it, stand and wait, then take it away.

WTF?

I’ve never understood someone expecting a tip for simply doing their job. If you do the minimum job requirements for your position, I ain’t giving you shit.

On the flip side, I have tipped people/jobs that have no tip jar, and tips aren’t customary.

The way I see it, if someone goes above and beyond to provide good service or take much better care of me than what their job entails, I will tip them.

For example, I blew a tire on my way to the airport a few months ago. I was running late and barely going to make my flight as is. I heard the boom and immediately got the TP Monitoring System warning, and the psi was steadily dropping.

I started haulassing to Tire Barn (where I always go) and whipped in there. They could tell I was in a rush, and then I told them what was going on.

They were all over my car like a swarm of bees. They didn’t have my tires in stock, so one guy grabbed the jack while another guy grabbed the spare wheel from the trunk and started airing it up.

I was back on the road in exactly 7 minutes (I just left them the OEM off Bacon and hauled ass) and made my flight.

While I was on the road I called and had 2 large pizzas delivered there with some drinks, and then when I got back in town and went to get the wheel/tire, I picked up 2 more pizzas on the way, then gave all 3 guys $20.