re: Do you tip on meal + tax or just meal?

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Being behind the bar at a busy, late-night establishment in a college town? That shite is ball-busting.

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Fair enough, but doing so will generate much larger tickets per bartender, per hour, than table service at a casual dining restaurant.

Now, at higher end restaurants, it probably flips back and gets easier, because it is lower volume, higher individual intensity, and much higher tickets.

But, still - taking a drink order, filling it - even if it is at machine gun pace isn't the same as covering 8 to 10 tables, with up to 5 or 6 orders in, drinks to refill, checkups to be done, keeping everything organized, etc., on a busy Friday night probably edges out a college bar at it's busiest, although I'll stipulate that's pretty close.

I tip the bartender 20%, minimum $5.

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But, still - taking a drink order, filling it - even if it is at machine gun pace isn't the same as covering 8 to 10 tables, with up to 5 or 6 orders in, drinks to refill, checkups to be done, keeping everything organized, etc., on a busy Friday night probably edges out a college bar at it's busiest, although I'll stipulate that's pretty close.

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8 to 10 tables? Sure, that would be worse than being at a busy college bar. However, I've never known any restaurant to give such large sections unless it's a slow and shitty establishment.

Having worked nearly every position in the service industry at some point in my life (well, FOH), I can say with confidence that being one of two bartenders on one side of a bar with 150+ patrons is far more taxing than having a 4 or 5 table section, even at a high-end place.

hopefully no one really bases their tips on what they read here..

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Come to my bar anytime broseph

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I take care of them because they are great for referrals.

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mushroom tip

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318

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Sorry 'bout the herp you caught at Blind Tiger.

Meal, no tax.

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mandatory to tip at least 25%. 20% is for bad service.

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Then why do restaurants that put tip percentages on receipts stop at 20%?

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There will be no incentive to give good service without tipping.

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The Economics of Tipping

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The employer wants happy customers, but he has a twofold information problem. As a practical matter it is difficult for him to observe interactions between waitstaff and customers. In addition, the customers’ expectations regarding the quality of service are impossible to observe. This is further complicated by the fact that staff members are heterogeneous; they are different in terms of skill levels, personalities, and other characteristics that affect the customer’s experience of quality service. Thus the employer doesn’t have the information he needs to arrive at an appropriate wage for each member of his staff. The customer, however, is a participant in these interactions and as such has as complete information as is humanly possible. If the customer pays the server directly for that aspect of the job, the decision of the appropriate pay is made by the person with the most information about job performance.

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Employers generally want their employees to give their best, and presumably are willing to pay for that. However, the aforementioned information problem inhibits his ability to do so. Ideally, tips make the server’s compensation directly proportional and immediately responsive to the quality of service provided. This aligns the employee’s incentives with the employer’s; both now want to provide high-quality service to the customer, each for their own benefit.

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Hiring a new employee entails risk. For the new employee, there is the risk that the job may not turn out as he had hoped. It could turn out to be a dead end with no future, or unsatisfactory in innumerable other ways. The employer, however, has a financial risk. The new employee’s skill set is unknown to the employer to at least some degree, regardless of how thorough the interview process might be. There is even more uncertainty with an inexperienced new hire; there is no history for the employer to work from. The employer has to pay the agreed upon wage, and if the new employee doesn’t perform as hoped he is losing money. If the new employee accepts a lower guaranteed wage and makes part of his compensation contingent on performance — the tip — this relieves risk in two ways. First, the employer is more willing to take a chance on a young, inexperienced worker. If the wage is lower, the minimum performance level needed to make the employee worth the wage is also lower. Second, since the employee can increase his earnings directly and immediately by improving his performance the job is not so much of a dead end. The low paying job becomes a valuable stepping stone, allowing the young, inexperienced employee to learn job skills, establish a performance record, and move on to something better. (It should be obvious that minimum wage legislation short-circuits this entire arrangement, making the employer much less willing to hire someone unless he is certain they are worth the higher wage. This is how lower-skilled individuals get shut out of the job market

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I get that. I have bartended, waited, managed at bars in restaurants in New York City for the better part of the last six years. I know that if I pour six shots and the bill is 40, I'm getting left 5. If I serve ten beers and the bill is 40, I'm getting ten. If a restaurant has their servers pool tips, they all work harder.

Most people don't realize that as a waiter or bartender, your tips also turn in to tips for the bussers and/or the barbacks. We don't walk w/ everything we make. I work hard and aim for 25%, but I don't expect it. 90% of the time the customers' mind is already made up when they sit down. Wow the other 10% who just want to have a great night and don't care how much they spend.