Tipping for Growlers

I always tip for a growler fill in a pub. Not the same as a growler fill at a bottle shop. Bartenders work for tips almost exclusively as their hourly rate barely covers their taxes. Bottle shop employees are paid a higher hourly wage and do not depend on tips.
Bagging on the job that service people do is not cool. Most of us work very hard. Some of us have families to feed just like you. If you're not down with the program then go to the bottle shop, drink your beer at home and don't waste the bartender's time. end rant.

 

I tip everybody.

To expand on this, if someone is providing you a service (unless you know they are paid a full wage for the service they are providing) then you should tip.

 

It really depends. If it's coming from a bartender who's taking time away from serving drinks, then yes. If I go to a to-go counter (like at Three Floyds or GI Clybourn), then generally no.

 

I tip them first for taking my order, then while filling it, then afterwards. I usually mail off a thank you tip the next morning.

 

Those places don't really exist here, but I would not tip in that situation unless they have a bar setup where people can hang out and drink pints or whatever. Even then, I might be more inclined to not tip depending on if it's the norm from the other customers, especially if I was just popping in for the fill.

 

I'm not really sure what you're trying to say there, duder. I guess my response is, if the bartender gets my to-go food: no tip. If I'm at a bar or restaurant (all bars here are restaurants because of stupid laws) and they fill my growler: tip. Again, if you don't want to tip in that scenario, it don't make me no never mind. I was just answering the OP's question about what I do.

Another wrinkle: Victory Brewing company has a separate section for growlers and all the do is pop them in the super cool CO2 machine. I don't feel inclined to tip for that since it's like a designated to-go thing, but if I were eating in and my waiter took care of it, I would not subtract the amount of the growler from my tip.

 

Some of you will pay for a $20+ growler fill, and not tip the bartenders a couple bucks for filling it? WTF?

 

at a store, no tip. at the brewery, i'll throw them like $2-$3 for a growler fill. just me

 

We like to wash, rinse, sanitize, rinse, and offer you a splash while you wait, or a splash of any beer you want to sample before making your choice. If you cap is bad we replace it at no cost. We will never be offended if you don't tip, but we will always be gracious when you do!



Oh by the way, Nicole, Jasmine and Chelsea all think tipping for growlers is sexy!



Goose and Maverick too.

 

A "tip" in my world view is for service above and beyond the expected. Not for simply doing your job. Now - some tasting rooms have people working for free. Those people I will tip regardless.

 

Well if you really have an urge to tip someone next time you visit HF, I'm sure the people waiting in line behind you would gladly accept your money Obviously, in the grand scheme of things, it's a pretty minor annoyance but every time I go there, I always see people stocking up huge orders of growlers that take forever to fill. When the employee pouring has to take 20-30+ minutes just to fill one persons order, it makes the line move painfully slow. Believe me, I get it, people want to get their share plus stock up for their buddies back home or have stuff to trade but I think people could me a little more considerate of those just trying to get a quick fill of a growler or two.

As for the OPs question... typically I do if it's from a bar/brewpub since I'm usually getting it with other pints or a meal.

 

These bartenders would get a very generous tip from me!!

 

The problem is this is exactly what tips have become about. A server should strive to provide quality service in all parts of their job, not just based on what is going to get them better tips. I've had servers literally stop paying attention to my table after taking our orders and seeing that we won't be racking up a huge bill that day. A tip is suppose to be a reward for good service, not a pity payment because you work a low paying job. No server is entitled to any tip... it MUST be earned.

 

I'd tip the shit out of Nicole, Jasmine, and Chelsea.

Not so much Goose and Maverick.

 

They do not earn just $4.95 an hour, or the $8/hour base in California. They usually earn in the teens per hour when tips are factored in, and many times much more than that. They do incredibly well per hour relative to the other jobs out there in this part of the labor market - and it's even better than most people think because they get a huge tax advantage from not claiming all tips, a practice that is the norm. As a server back in school I made more than double what the alternatives were, and those jobs involved just as much hard work. There should be no violins playing for servers.

 

Higher minimum wage? No way!

 

Most of the good beer stores in Washington do growler fills in addition to having a bar and a little seating so that you can have a pint or two while you chat with friends, etc. So, it's like one-stop shopping here --- bottles and cans, growler fills, and pints while you wait.

I tip when I get a pint or more to drink and I tip on growler fills at beer stores. I do not tip on bottles and cans that I purchase.

The other consideration that I've struggled with (but not really) is whether or not to tip at a brewery/taproom that has pre-filled growler in the cooler. Even if I bring in an empty growler and exchange it for a pre-filled one, I don't tip on pre-filled growlers. If I bring an empty growler (with a different brewery label on it) that someone needs to take the time to fill for me, I tip on that growler.

 

Exactly.

We've lost the meaning of the word 'gratuity'.

They might as well call it a service fee or service charge since the level of entitlement out there is so pervasive and strong. I've witnessed a server ask a neighboring table quite angrily if something was wrong... because the gratuity was "only" 18%.