Deceptive Beer Pricing

It truly would be a great general courtesy to post all pricing and to keep postings and pricing current. For me, I go to just a few local spots and know pricing- but I can see how it might be a pia to newcomers, etc. Also, as to tipping, most restaurant and bar workers are paid pitiful wages and tips are theier sustenance- sucks, but true. I've been there.

 

Hmm. The bars I go to list the beer, price and size of glass on a chalkboard as well as providing printed tap lists. And they sell a lot of beer, so they have to change things frequently. I guess it just depends on your priorities.

Must be the places you go to. The bars & stores I visit list prices. And if I don't see a price, the staff are always glad to find out for me if I ask them.

 

Few first-world problems are more annoying than a beer list without prices. You might expect it from a small independent place, but this seems to be the norm at chain restaurants too.

"LOOK AT ALL THE BEERS WE HAVE!" Yeah, that's great TGIFriday's. Now tell me how much you're overcharging for the Sam Adams seasonal so I can shake my head and order one anyway because it's still the best option on the menu.

 

I don't complain, I just never go to that place again

 

The most attractive people

 

Really? Pretty much every bar I've been in that does chalkboard draught lists includes the price, the size of the pour if it's under a pint and, often the ABV. As a consumer, I find all of that information VERY helpful and I wouldn't find it at all unbecoming - quite the contrary.

Especially when you're serving a wide range of craft beers that your clientele may or may not be familiar with, it's nice to give them a heads up that that BA Stout they're considering runs $15 a glass.

As for printed lists, most places I've been in print a handful, often slipping them into protective plastic sleeves and either scatter them on the bar or hand them out at the tables. Again, I don't see how keeping a list up to date with current word processing technology would be that big a burden.

 

I fail to see where the deception comes in to play.

I do not make purchases without knowing the price. If the price is not marked I will ask. If it is too much to ask for an employee to check the price for me I will simply go elsewhere. These types of things are frustrating but perfectly reasonable solutions, asking or walking, seems to be readily available.

 

I don't find it hard to ask for price either. I want to know if I'm paying $5 for a 9oz glass or $7 for a pint. If I forget to ask and find I spent more than intended, shame on me.

 

It would be deception if they listed one price and charged a different amount. Not listing prices in a store would be a major annoyance. (and it's something I've never encountered.) All the bars I frequent have either a price board or a menu price. I've been to a few places that don't have prices displayed beyond specials, but those places generally aren't high on my list of places to drink.

 

All the stores I go to have clearly labeled pricing.

All the bars I go to have a clear list of what beers are available, and the price and abv (whether blackboard, printed list or both). Most of these places also list the serving size as well.

 

I find deceptive ABV information (read: flatly wrong ABV information) far more troublesome, particularly when it is substantially wrong.



And I only approve of the chalkboard method when it is possible to read the person's handwriting. If the person's handwriting is as bad as mine you might as well write it in Finnish, translate it to English through a cheap internet translator, and then write it in traditional Mandarin script. It will be about as useful.

For you Finns: I'm talking about what happens when Americans think you eat and poop metal. You know what I'm talking about.

 

I tipped a 1 pound coin without thinking about it once in a Cotswold Pub and the guy bought me the next round and thanked me, and said I did not have to tip. I knew that but its an American habit...

 

All these comment about tipping in the US are hilarious. The only people who think a $1/beer tip is excessive have clearly never worked behind a busy bar before.

 

As a store owner, I price per suggested retail. There's a small mark up on make a six but everything else is retail prices.... my store anyways =)

 

$1 isn't even a tip, it's an insult to most bartenders and servers.

 

Or the bar they have tended wasn't in the States. Which was the point of what marquis said.

 

A buck is an insult? For pouring and handing me a beer?
Entitled much?

 

The thing is your $1 per beer is just included in the price....In the US we feel that the Bartender/Server needs to earn that dollar. They don't make min. wage and thats how they can earn their money. Keep in mind they need to get in before customers to setup, work when its slow and clean up after everyone leaves.

Sorry but as someone who HAS worked as a Server and Bartender i would argue that $1 for a beer is perfectly an acceptable tip. If it was a bottle of beer it took me seconds to reach into the cooler and "open" the beer, pour a glass of wine or a Pint of Beer (on the wine and pint it might take 20-40 seconds) During that time though i also have the next 2-3 orders in my head and getting ready for them. What isn't usually acceptable is a dollar on a mixed drink as they are a pain (Want your Slammed bartender to hate you order a Mojito). At the same time i don't really expect a $40 tip for opening that $200 bottle of Wine (although that becomes a problem when you have to tip out the support staff)

 

Thanks, I realized that, which is why I prefaced that with the US statement. It's much more common for people in the US to grab one or two beers and leave, where as in the UK they typically spend longer at the bar (where the wages are much better). A dollar per beer is a very fair tip, except the problem is that almost half of customers don't tip at all. I don't think you should tip for sub par service, but if people understood the other work that went into serving a beer, they'd tip better.

 

$1 tip an insult to most? I'll start giving a dime tip if you guys wanna really feel insulted (okay I won't do that).

You're pouring me a beer and handing it to me. That gets you $1. If you're nice and personable, that beer will net you $2+. That's how I operate.

If you're rude, or "bleh" with me, or ignore me, you can make believe the reciept I left behind is $1, I guess.

Most places I drink craft at I'm paying an average of $4 a pour. I can drink four beers easy. So after four pours at $1tip per pour I've spent $20. If I only came in with $20, or planning to spend $20, I can't drink a fifth beer now because I've given that $4 to you. That's a decent sacrifice on my part, IMO.

Lastly: Would a $4 tip be considered and insult to my waiter/waitress on a $16 check for my meal? No! So don't whine about $1 tips for single beers.