The Ultimate Guide To Tipping In A Bar Or Nightclub
Figuring how to tip a bartender can be as difficult as getting a drink in a crowded bar.
There’s no guidebook and often you’re left standing there wondering what’s good balance between leaving a good tip and overtipping.
Like anything in the service industry, a lot of it depends on the service. If the bartender was helpful and friendly, then you should leave a substantial tip of 15-20% of the total bill. If the person was apathetic, took a while to get to you (or worse yet, ignored you while he chatted with girls at the end of the bar), then you should just leave some change or a dollar or two.
Never don’t leave a tip if you expect to go back to that same bartender for a follow-up drink.
It’s always good to be prepared and have a plan in mind when you go into a bar and here are the parameters that will have you concentrating more on having a good time instead of sweating out your tip.
The General Rules Of Bartender Tipping
Generally speaking, tip a buck a beer. If he or she helps you to select a craft beer from dozens of confusing taps – or provides you with a few recommended samples so you can identify your favorite – then make is a buck-and-a-half to two dollars.
The same applies to wine, hard ciders and canned cocktails.
Poured cocktails command more of a tip: $1.50. Or, if it’s a time-consuming drink with multiple ingredients, $2-2.50.
Shots vary by quality of the shot, whether its straight alcohol or one that requires mixing (such as a Sex on the Beach) and the quality of alcohol. Here’s a good guide: for a single straight-alcohol shot, $1; for a group of a straight-alcohol shot, $1 per person; for a mixed shot, $2 and $1.50 per person.
Key Factors That Can Affect How You Tip A Bartender
Are you a one-time visitor or will you be going there a lot? Are you at the bar for some type of special event (watch a sporting event, on a pub crawl, etc.) and you be there a while? Is the bar busy? Is the bartender exceptionally good-looking or sexy?
These factors all affect the tip you leave the bartender.
For instance, if you are only going into a place for one beer – say you’re meeting a friend there – then you should leave 10-15%, depending on the service provided by the bartender.
If you are getting your first drink at a place where you will be for a while, the start out leaving a big tip. Say $5 on a beer. Even if you run a tab starting with your second round, pay cash for the first one and leave an attention-getting tip. The bartender will likely remember you as a good tipper and, well, that’s like a moth being attracted to a light.
The same principal applies if the bar is very crowded and getting a drink is difficult.
Regarding hot bartenders, well, that can definitely affect what you leave for a tip. Good-looking and sexy bartenders always get more tips than plain-looking ones.
Strong Pours Should Be Rewarded
If a bartender pours you a strong drink, then he or she should be rewarded for their generosity by adding at least an additional $1 to the above tipping recommendations.
Tipping In A Restaurant When You’re Ordering Food
When you are eating and drinking, you tip on the overall bill. A low tip is $10%, a medium tip is 15% and a good tip is 20% or higher. Generally, you tip more in a nice restaurant than a bar/restaurant.
A Trick To Tipping That Can Save You Money
One trick of tipping in a bar is to run a tab. That way, you are tipping on the total amount of your bill and not on each individual drink.
So that’s it and now you know – the ultimate guide on bartender tipping.
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