? Tipping on alcohol ?

[DapperJames]

I used the search to see if this was discussed before and found nothing so I apologize if Im bringing up a previous thread.

I wanted to ask your opinions on tipping on alcohol as the title says. I'll break down the topic as easy as I think it can be discussed.

Situation #1 is tipping on drinks ordered from the bar:

Give the bartender $1 for each drink ordered. This seems to be the standard, i.e. you order 1 beer and leave $1. Opinions?

Situation #2 is tipping on alcohol that’s part of the bill:

You’re sitting at a table being served by a waitress/waiter. Everyone ordered food and drinks. The bill comes to $210.00, lets say $80 dollars worth of food and $130 dollars worth of alcohol. Do you tip on the total bill of $210.00 or just the $80 dollars worth of food?

I’ve talked with a lot of different people about this and everyone seems to go one way or the other. Opinions?

 

[RichGem]

I've always gone by $1/drink (mixed drink, less for a beer or soda) or 10% of the bar bill. Whichever is greater depending on service. Maybe I'd tip a bit more if my order involved a number of complicated drinks (multi-mixes, frozen, etc.)

edit: for a bill that's combined food and bar, I'd just tip 20% on the whole thing (assuming service was good) and let them divide it up since there's no way to ensure that a particular percentage would go to the bar and another percentage go to the wait staff.

 

[texbilly]

I tip 20% on everything, more if the bill is very small. If the service is bad, I tip next to nothing.

 

[royalcrown]

If I am at the bar, I will tip per drink. If it is drinks with a meal at a restaurant tip 15% of the total. If it is the rare occasion of eating at a bar (not to include snacks, no tip there), I pay for drinks and food separately and continue to tip per drink and for food.

 

[RBE17]

Situation 1 - I generally via what change is left. If I order a beer and it comes to $2.50 I'll leave the $.50 if I give them $3.00. If I give them a $5.00 bill, I might leave a $1.00. I pace myself when doing this because it happens every time I go to the well.

There is a slight distinction on how I tip depending if I'm sitting at the bar or just walking up. If I'm sitting at the bar I just put money on the bar and start drinking. I usually tip per drink and then leave an additional tip when I'm done. I feel bartenders and barmaids deserve a little extra if I'm sitting at the bar because they are not only serving, but serving folks getting drunk.

Situation 2 - I tip on the entire bill.

 

[Pescara]

Bartender hands me a beer over the bar, he gets a buck. For a mixed drink, could be $2 or more depending the place. The "more" happens when I'm in NYC where a mixed drink can be $16.00.

For a bar/dinner bill, I tip on the total. Keep in mind waiters split tips with the bar.

 

[thecoalition]

at the bar i tip 1 dollar per drink
at the table i tip off the whole check - reasoning - 99.9% of restaurants have a deal between servers and bartenders/bus people. The servers have to tip out the other people some percentage of their money even if their tables ordered no drinks. At swmbo's establishment she has to tip bussers 2-3% bc they get paid a normal hourly and the bartender's get 5-10% of the night's tips.

 

[ouch]

There are so many factors involved in tipping that it's hard to come to a concrete conclusion. In my double fisted heyday (aka: my youth), when my friends and I would go to a bar, we would go to a place where we were "regulars", and we'd tip hard and heavy. Invariably, we'd be set up before our jackets were removed, and we'd receive buy backs every other drink. If we found ourselves in a clip joint, we would not be so charitable.

As for alcohol along with your meal, I feel you should always tip on the total bill, the overriding principle being that if you can't afford the bill plus the tip, you really can't afford the bill without the tip and you shouldn't be there in the first place. I have endless pity for folks who can't afford to eat in fancy establishments on a regular basis (beginning with me ) and even more for those who by force of circumstance struggle to eat at all, but I have none for anyone who wants to live high on the hog by denying their servers their due.

I'm much more concerned about the outrageous markup of drinks than I am about tipping for them. I can understand charging a lot for a scrawny piece of fish that has been painstakingly manipulated into a work of art, but a 500% markup for simply pulling a cork from a bottle irks me beyond words.

 

[Razdict]

More sage advice regarding alcohol.

 

[DirtyDave]

To bartender for just drinks I leave a $1.00 for each drink. For a meal if I order it from the bar, I tip 20% on the total tab, assuming the service was decent, which it usually is from the bar.

For a server, 20% on the total if the service was at least half way decent.

 

[airplanedoc]

Situation #1 At places I frequent I tip the bartender/server when I leave at the end of the night a $10 or $20 tip is more memorable than $.50 or $1.00 each time I buy a drink, so I get better service

Situation #1 Someplace I just dropped in, I generally leave the change and few bucks at the end if appropriate.

Situation #2 I tip on the total bill 15%-25%

 

[stobes21]

Situation #1: Depends on whether I am paying cash for individual drinks or I have a tab open. If I am paying cash then I generally leave a buck for each drink, but if all the bartender did was pop the top on bottle of beer I might leave a bit less. On those very rare instances when I order a drink with a lot of work to it like a mojito I'll add more. If I have a tab open then I usually just add 20% to the total. Sometimes this is more and sometimes less than $1 per drink.

Situation #2: I tip on the whole total, usually 20% if the service was good.

 

[Wilpar76]

At the bar, like others, I usually tip $1 per drink. However, when I used to be a happy hour regular, I would often tip the bartender heavy early and light late. That always went over well as we became regulars. It would get to the point where my buddy and I would eat and drink about $100. The bartender we befriended from good tips and being regulars, would just charge us $25 - $30. In turn, we would give him about $40- $50 tip. It was no loss to us as it was money we were prepared to spend anyway. It helped the bartender as he did not have to split with the others since he was the head bartender, so it went right into his pocket.

Also, if you ever go to a place that has a drink minimum, always tip the bartender. They will keep the servers or bouncers from hounding you about more drinks.

Back to your original question about a group. I would tip on the total bill as others have stated.

 

[TimmyBoston]

I always tip on the full amount including booze, but not usually tax.

 

[Gruder]

Tipping on alcohol, eh? It's actually a very common occurrence among young men in Ohio.

 

[C Reed]

Tipping works like this (for standard service):
Every day:
Beer, Slings, mixed drinks, wine by the glass, shots and liquor: $1-2 each
Cocktails: $2-3 each
Tabs: 25-30%
Table/ bottle service: 30-50% (will probably be included depends on weather a dedicated waiter is provided)
Food: 20-30% of the entire bill including all alcohol
hotel house keeping: $1-2 per night (left at end of stay)
bell hops: $1 per bag
Concierge: up to $30 depending on service provided
Cabs: $2 or 20% which ever is more.
Delivery (food): $4 or 20% which ever is more
Delivery (liquor and wine by the case): $5 per case or 25% of total order.
lawn mower/ snow sholver: $5-15 depending on amount of work.

Holidays:
House Keepers (home): 30-50% of December bill
Post Man: small gift in an envelope/ box addressed: "To the postman, Happy Holidays" (note cash tips to federal employes in the US is illegal)
Garbage Collectors: flask size liquor is traditional, left with a note near the rubbish
Doorman: $100 or more depending on service and number of doormen
Dog walker: 20% of December's bill

 

[rth97601]

$1 a drink has always been my standard at the bar, paying cash. If I open a tab, I usually top out around $5--given that I drink tap beer almost exclusively, usually drink the specials, and rarely have (too many) more than five beers at a sitting, this generally comes out pretty well as a percentage of the tab.

As for table service, I go 20% on the bill, drinks and food combined. If the service is good, I may give a bit more. If it's crap a bit less, perhaps, but I don't go below 12-15% in any case--I always tip, always thank the server, and never complain about the food ... if the food or the service is horrible, I just don't return.

I tend to get very good treatment from bartenders and servers, even in places I don't frequent, so I must be doing something right--but then again I worked in the business for years, both in the kitchen and on the floor, so I probably tend to be a little more patient and forgiving than the average customer.

 

[proxymoron]

C Reed: A very definitive list. Just curious, how'd you come by the figures?

For me, tipping on drinks depends on context. In a good bar or cocktail bar, I'd do no less than $2/drink, plus a healthy percentage of whatever the bartender shouts you (if it happens). In some of the dives I've been to, $2/drink is asking to get mugged.

According to various 'etiquette'-type guides, tipping on alcohol served with a meal isn't required (in tacit acknowledgment of the liquor markup), but is at the customer's discretion. If I'm having a couple of beers with a meal, no problem, but if it's a bottle of wine, it does depend on the venue and the markup. Popping that cork isn't worth too much extra to me.

 

[TonyH]

I tip 20% on everything, more if the bill is very small. If the service is bad, I tip next to nothing.

Agreed. And Bill, we need to have lunch soon.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I give a bartender about $1 every time I come to him/her. So, if I'm ordering three beers? $1. I'm ordering two shots? $1. Occasionally I'll give the person $2. Now, if I open up a tab? I tip 20%. I'm not sure why this is the way I do it, but it is.

Tipping is interesting. The guy who delivers my pizza... Why does he get the same amount as the bartender? Pizza guy had to drive or bike all the way to my apartment, walk up four flights of stairs and then bike all the way back. Bartender opens up a bottle or transfers contents of one bottle into a glass. He gets the same percentage? We need to create some sort of hierarchy.