Tipping for Growlers

Admittedly the sample size is small, but based on the comments here, a 20% (or any?!) tip is by no means the norm. And at least, based on anecdotal evidence, tips definitely fluctuate wildly from shift to shift.

What norm's need to bear in mind is that the person serving you probably has a decent read on people and body language, and can (generally) tell when a table/patron is looking for excuses to stiff on the tip or doesnt have plans to tip at all. Given that as a server or bartender, tips make up the vast majority of your income and you have a finite amount of time/attention/charm to dispense, there is (almost) zero reason to spend your finite resources on a table/patron that doesn't plan to compensate you accordingly. There is definitely a degree of triage that occurs with most experienced servers/bartenders. This shouldn't mean that your server treats you like shit, or completely disregards you (my own professional integrity coming through), but this does mean that you get de-prioritized. At least for stable or successful business', not every patron is one that you want to retain.

Thats why, in a bar scenario, the +ev play is to tip generously on your first round and move to a more reasonable amount every time you order after that. You'll (generally) receive priority, and the person serving you is more likely to remember you if it's an establishment that you either frequent or plan to frequent.

Expecting the bar/restaurant industry to pay a competitive wage is as reasonable as expecting breweries to move away from premium priced bombers of average product, only more fanciful in that at least in the craft beer scene, the market is young enough to eventually sort itself out.

tl:dr you catch more flies with honey (and a few bucks) than you do with vinegar (and no bucks).

 

Also worth mentioning, there's a higher end restaurant/craft beer bar that clearly states on the menus that they charge a 3.5% gratuity on all checks for the back of house service staff. Were they to instead pay their employee's more, the cost of your meal would increase well above that 3.5% in order for them to maintain profit margins.

I'd rather pay 40 on a check and tip 8-10 bucks than pay 50+ on a check for the same meal.

 

Maybe you didn't tip enough!

 

What? I think you're confusing Town Hall with MN.
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I'd tip if the growler was being filled in front of me, maybe not 4 dollars (for 4 drinks in a way), but a couple at least. Sometimes I tip at Town Hall, sometimes I don't.

 

I've always tipped at the breweries' tap rooms and I haven't tipped at stores (I don't think it's even possible at a store unless you just hand the guy some cash, which would be awkward as hell). In general though, I don't support tipping on to-go stuff.

 

They give me service for about a minute so no I won't tip them. I like to draw boundaries before going tip crazy like everyone else in this country.

 

Not if they wait on me the entire time I sit at the bar. Some places I go to they just throw the growler under an open tap and come back after foam starts pouring out.

Also, I'm from MA so I don't know much about growlers in bars.

 

Goodness gracious there's nothing quixotic about it. If pay was more tied to actual performance then we would get better service. But it isn't. Too many customers just tip the perceived norm of around 20% even when things aren't so great.

It's even worse for the $1/beer rule when standing at the bar. People put up with being ignored or other bad service and tip the $1 anyway. These bartenders and servers are accustomed to this. Why go the extra mile for great service when you stand a good chance at around 20% anyway, or the $1/pour anyway? There isn't sufficient incentive now because the base pay of hourly + tipping norms produces a sum that is pretty good for what the work involves.

 

I agree with you.

But the inference should go in the other direction.

Bartending has little resemblance to what it used to involve, especially at "beer bars" where the vast majority of work is just pouring pints. No knowledge of hundreds of drinks, no knowledge & skill of how to make them carefully, etc. As I've said many times in the past they're just "pour people" now. Yet they enjoy the benefits of a distorted gratuity system. Great job at that stage in one's life, especially compared to alternatives.

 

My standard thing to do at bars is open a tab with a credit/debit card and tip at the end of the night based on the percentage, not the whole "$1/drink" way.

 

Never seen a growler being filled in MN, I've only ever exchanged empties for fulls. Who in this state actually fills growlers to order?

 

I love the amateur profiling confession. Didn't realize it was so common.

Looks like I won't be going out with those friends who bring their toddler to the brewery restaurant. Talk about pre-judgment! Wow.

 

I just go for the generic 20% tip, growlers take some time to fill (properly), and since they do, I like to enjoy of good glass of something while I wait.

 

If you think kids are a signal for bad tippers, you really are too far removed from the reality of the profession for anything anyone says to have an impact.

I also see it as a weakness of your argument that of everything expressed, you focus on "amateur profiling confession" . Because clearly nothing else was relevant or refutable?

 

You did describe, quite well, that servers are engaging in some sort of amateur profiling of who is going to be a good tipper (and worthy of better service) and who isn't. It was one of the most entertaining points I've read on this topic in all of the tipping threads in years. And I suppose all of the servers I know must be wrong when they tell me it is a general stereotype that tables with kids demand more effort and tend to tip less, especially on the nights when kids meals are free.

 

The additional(marginal) time cost for filling a growler should be burdened by the brewer in the compensation arrangement. Tips are for service, not for takeout items. The rest of the world works on this model. Only in the super business minded US and A is the burden passed on to the customer. Culturally speaking. Tips are just that... Optional.... No need to frown upon tipping practices below yours.

 

I love the cranky codger name. Happily accepted.

Actually a lot of people are sick of the entitlement mentality in the service industry. A lot of people think tipping has gotten out of hand. I'd wager I'm not in the minority on those two points. You can cast me as being out there with some obscure or "quixotic" view but it's just not the case.

I'm raising awareness and frequently people have expressed opinions similar to mine in person and from quite a few on the boards. Solidarity is often a good thing, and it does change behaviors.