Tipping for a Bartender?

[Chattyaholic]

What's the right amount/way to tip a bartender/bar maid?

Do you tip per drink? How much? Or tip at the end of the night? How much?

I know tipping for a restaurant waiter/waitress is 15-20% of the bill, but what's right for a bartender?

 

[Marseeya]

This is just the way I do it.

When I'm in a bigger nightclub type of bar, I'll tell the bartender to keep the change every time I get a drink if it's a dollar or less. If it's more than a dollar in change, I give them a $1.

If I go into a smaller local bar where there's just one bartender working, like a biker type of bar -- not that I go there very often -- but I will hand the bartender a $5 at the beginning of the night and get great service for the rest of the night!

 

[kdibattista]

DH and I both bartended (he still does part time) at our local fire company social room. The norm there is about $5 but people are mostly there all night and they are regulars. The drinks are much cheaper too

 

[mudnuri]

I dont tip at the end, unless I'm running a tab.

That said- at the pub i go to- I always run a tab and pay at the end of the night- but the bartender is my best friend LOL

if im at a bar- usually my beers are 3.50 so I'll drop the 2 quarters each beer...if its 3, i'll drop a dollar.

Brandy

 

[andromedaslove]

Whenever we go out we tip $1 per drink.

 

[krcit]

If I'm staying in one place at the bar, I just put my money up and at the end of the night leave $5-10 depending on how long I've been there If I'm buying a drink and moving on, I leave $1-$2.

 

[TexasCourt]

I usually tip 20% if I run up a tab. If I just get one drink, then I tip $1-$1.50 depending on the price of the drink.

 

[Planogirl]

A dollar a drink is the norm for us.

 

[BillSears]

I tend to tip $1.00-$2.00. Usually it's a dollar plus whatever change is there. It may be abit higher then some but I feel I get reasonable service by tipping slightly more. The places I go to usually have a beer for $3.50 and I'll toss the bartender a $5.00 per beer.

Oh and I tip per drink not at the end. How would your bartender know you're planning on tipping at the end instead of just stiffing him for the tip?

 

[CheshireVal]

If I'm walking up to the bar and buying separate drinks, I'll tip $1 per drink. If I'm running a tab, I'll tip 15-20% at the end.

 

[Nickunited]

there are many variables. How long were you there for? How many drinks did you have? Where there buy backs? How was the service? After a couple of hours at a good bar i will leave a 20 - if the service was good and I had buy backs! Thats just me though = )

 

[ducklite]

If I'm walking up to the bar and buying separate drinks, I'll tip $1 per drink. If I'm running a tab, I'll tip 15-20% at the end.

That sounds like what I do--except...

I spend a lot of time at a certain large corporate run concert club (well, that narrows it down to two, and I work both--I'm hiding the identity of the guilty) in my work as a music critic. There is one bartender who usually works the bar closest to the side of the stage that I use to get to and from the photopit. I ALWAYS tip him extra--if I buy two bottles of water at $3.00/per (and you think water's expensive in the parks!!! ) I give him a $10.

Why? Well, often I'm pressed for time, and he'll wait on me as soon as he sees me, even if others were there first. Or I can order food and he'll have one of the security guys bring them to me. (I bring them candy as a thank you for watching my back with the crowd surfers) And here's the biggie. At a lot of the shows, they take the caps off the water so people don't chuck them at the stage. At some shows they won't even serve in the plastic bottles, it's got to go into cups. He serves me my waters in the bottle, sealed, so I can store them in my gear bag until I'm ready for them.

That's the type of thing that makes it worth taking good care of him. It's a two way street.

Anne