I don't know about you all, but figuring out an appropriate tip at my local beer bar is something I frequently mull over. It's only gotten more complicated over time, as beer prices have gone up and up, "tippable" activities have increased, and then there's the increasing use of default tip percentage apps. Recently, I went to a brewery anniversary event, where they had bottle pours of some rare, limited release ba stuff (from out of state breweries). Those beers were the primary reason I drove over, but the price tag was considerably more than I had expected. I think they had around 20 or so rotating bottles, priced at $10, $11 and $12 for a 3 ounce pour. I considered just leaving (as I thought the pour cost was excessive), but as I'd driven all that way to attend the event, I decided to get 4 of the $10 pours. These were served in small wine glasses, presented to me on the counter. I took them back to my table and later returned the empties to the busing tray. When it came time to pay with my credit card, as usual (in PDX) I was presented with 20%, 22%, 25% and custom default tip options. Frankly, even $8 seemed excessive for the limited service I received, and I ended up just leaving $4 (a buck a pour). Since then I've given more and more thought to the amount of tip I leave. In restaurants I typically still leave a 20% tip (unless I receive exceptionally good or bad service), but increasingly I've started to feel like an 18% tip for someone to pour me a glass of beer and walk away is sufficient. That still amounts to at least a $1.50 per pour tip where I live. I'll finish this overlong post by noting that both Oregon and Washington have passed livable wage acts, so minimum wage here is far above the federal mandate (I think it's $16.30 an hour in PDX and $17.13 in Vancouver). I know many wait staff still count on their tips to help make ends meet in a very expensive part of the country, but it's not as if they're getting paid starving student wages either. I don't know... it's still something I think about all the time when I'm out and about. I'm still not sure what the best solution is.
I like to pay cash at restaurants and breweries. It’s an easy way to avoid the tip prompt issues caused by the new card machines. I find it exceptionally irritating when a machine tries to steer me into giving a 20% tip when getting takeout. Besides, a lot of family run restaurants offer cash discounts and I don’t really like handing my card out at fast food joints. Cheers
For some reason that's not very common up this way. I also used to pay cash at my local beer bar (or at least pay my tip in cash), but our credit cards are tied into various reward programs. So I use my card for pretty much everything now.
Yes, the lost cash back is a definite downside. I don’t dine/drink out often enough to worry about that aspect, but I do have to say it’s growing increasingly difficult to pay cash. Some places have started refusing larger bills. Such is life.
I typically give a minimum of a 20% tip, and round up to the next dollar. The exceptions would be if they were dickish, if the wait staff solicits tips, or if a high percentage tip is automatically added. I'll cross out automatic tips and write in what I usually would. I don't hold it against the workerbees if the electronics they don't control suggests higher tips. That's just management looking out for the staff. I hate that some businesses pool and split tips evenly, rewarding slackers and penalizing top performers.
I always shoot for 20% minimum as a courtesy at the beer bars. For our local brewery one mile up the road from us (Rising River), I usually tip them 40-50% or more because they're always attentive plus it's supporting our local economy. (I know, not the norm, I'm also a Mug Club member there as well for the past four years.) When it comes to cans or bottles to go, that's a totally different story (and way less). I've also run into some pretty bad personalities and bad service before and tipped less than 20%. I get it with the tipping culture, it's been controversial - I just go with my gut and tend to be more generous I guess.
I think 16 and 17$ are pretty much starving wages right now in this economy. How can someone pay rent, car, groceries for that? That being said I understand the dilemma. I've been in the restaurant industry for almost 40 years. I never leave a tip below 20%. Usually more. That being said tipping just to get growlers or beer to go is different.I think like @jzeilinger said I will leave more to support the locals. This tipping issue is a fire source right now on SM. It's crazy.
What I find fascinating, is the perception other countries seem to have of Americans because of the tipping culture here. I always check online what the local customs are when we travel, including tipping expectations (the wife and I are retired and we travel a lot now). On several occasions I've provided the customary local tip, only to have the recipient point out that I'm an American, and so should be providing a larger tip.
That's something because the banter going on in this country is why can't restaurant owners provide a livable wage. I'm so sick of entitled people saying they don't need to tip. Ever since covid ended the vibe has been no tipping. The problem is, and I speak from experience, margins are so low in this business. There's this false belief that restaurants are taking in lots of cash but reality is we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Prices are up- people see it when they buy groceries yet if a place raises their prices they're screwing people. It's bad in the restaurant biz right now in the US
One thing I find odd, having been involved with a brewery, is how different the pay is for a cellarman (regular pay) and the bar folks. The latter make WAY more, mostly because of tips. There was chatter about splitting the tips with the cellarman, but that was shot down. If you have worked in the beer industry, this might sound familiar. Now back to the question - I don't tip 20% for a beer that is poured in a couple of seconds. $1 per pour is my typical tip. They take almost no time per customer. At a restaurant, the servers are walking to get your food and drinks, asking how you are doing, re-filling the water, etc. They get 20% if the job is well done.
That's outrageous. The culture in this country is that if you're going to eat out, you leave a tip. Most restaurant workers rely on tips to get by... I thought that was well known to everyone. That being said... I understand some of the animosity. Automatic tip add on for take out orders; "discretionary" tip requests after already assessing a preliminary tip; surprise service charges for credit card usage, and so on. I think customers start to feel like they're there to be fleeced after a while. However, I don't think this sort of thing is very prevalent in the beer industry. I can't think of a time I didn't feel leaving a tip was justified. The example I provided in my OP is where I'm not entirely sure what to do. I purchase beer flights all the time in pdx, which typically run between $16 and $20 for four 5 ounce pours. In that situation I typically will leave a 20% tip. However, in the situation I referenced above, I purchased 4 three ounce pours of expensive beer. A normal 20% tip would have been $8, just because of the beer pricing. Yet the amount of employee work and resources used were nearly identical to the beer flight I mentioned above. Some variation is understandable and expected, but paying more than double what I normally would pay just because of the beer pricing... that's a tough one for me.
I definitely agree on those bullshit fees. There still are some that either can't run a business or just flat out want to make up dollars. Can't stand it and most of the time it's seems obvious. Gratuity for large parties I absolutely agree with. They're taking up tables that you could have turned. From what you describe seems like not much of a tip was necessary but there's no right or wrong on this man. Hey where do you and the wife like to travel to?
It's a mess. In NY, Long Island region, a food service worker getting tips minimum wage is $17.00 but an employer can take credit up to almost $6.00 for tips actually received. And our cost is living is about 10% higher than Metro Portland. Long Island protection for tipped workers is significantly worse than the northwest. The Fed minimum is only $7.25, with an employer able to take credit for up to about $5.00. That sounds like it could be grim for a lot of tipped workers. No suggestions from me for fair customer tipping. But a better Federal wage law would be useful.
Everywhere. We just got back from a British Isles cruise, and will be visiting Paso Robles and Napa next month. This fall we plan to do a Bordeaux and Loire riverboat cruise, followed by a Germany, Alsace and Switzerland trip in December. After that we're doing a Brazil coastline cruise for my wife's birthday in January. That's followed by a wine and national park trip to S. Africa in March, followed by a Barcelona to London cruise in April. In September 2027 we're doing my wife's favorites... Paris, Colmar and Reims (my wife loves champagne). We're retired and in reasonably good health. So for now, we're trying to schedule 4 big trips a year.
Holy smokes man that's beyond amazing. Enjoy the heck out of that. We will never get to that point but hope to travel more. Cheers!
Happy travels! And on the cruise ships they add 15 or 18 percent to every drink, even if it's as much work as popping the top on a can of Old Speckled Hen. Meanwhile, back at the bar, I leave a buck for a beer poured for me, and a buck for a growler filled. Special help gets another buck. A flight of tasters gets as much as 50 percent if it's a lot of work. And when the guy (or gal) offers to carry my box of beer out to the car, they get a couple bucks. Reminds me, was it a Donald Westlake novel where the tough guy always tipped the people who made change at the toll booth?
A good tip wouldn't leave such a dent if beer prices weren't so outrageous. I'm kinda with @Beersnake on this. I'll tip a dollar per pour at a bar but wait staff that bring things to my table and pamper me (hopefully) get 15-20% tip. As you know, some people really don't deserve a tip but rather need some friendly advice (consider no tip as advice) and then others go above & beyond to make sure you, as a customer, are happy. My wyfe is a good, generous tipper. Better than me. I don't tip at airport bars or ball parks because of the heavy-handed oppressive beer prices. I can safely say from my experiences that with a group of people, service tips usually get larger.
At a brewery, I tip a dollar or two on beers that a bartender poured. If I happen to buy "to go" beers out of the cooler, I don’t add anything to the tip for that. Makes the tip look cheap on paper in regards to the total bill...but I'm not adding more of a tip because I walked over to a cooler and grabbed a few six packs to go.
Playing devils advocate for ppl who consistently tip 20% at the bar vs the ppl who tip a dollar per beer - ordering a bud light vs an expensive BA’d stout = same effort by the bartender so are you tipping based on the actual effort of the service or the price of the beer (which makes the effort moot, right?)? I liken it to tipping at a diner where your avg greasy spoon meal might cost 10-15 bux vs a nicer restaurant where your meal may cost 25-40. No way am I leaving that server at the diner just 2-3 dollars when their effort was similar in nature to the effort by the server in the nicer restaurant. I get that the server in the diner is turning tables faster but servers are busting ass on a busy Saturday or Sunday morning and with all the coffee being refilled, I’d be willing to bet most are visiting tables more often.
My tipping protocol when ordering at a bar has remained steady over the years: $2 for the first beer. $1 for every subsequent beer. $3 for a flight. I don't really change up those tipping habits when in VHCOL areas, mostly because I try to order efficiently, close out, and step out of the way. That keeps the lines open for others. On the occasion the service was exceptional, which is quite rare when ordering at a counter, I may tip more. A lot of this goes out the window if I'm ordering through table service.
