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How much do you tip at the bar?

warmpi

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How much do you tip for drinks at the bars/clubs?

It'll of course vary by region and incomes.. but was just wondering.
 

Eason

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you don't tip here. in america, I tipped $1 per drink.
 

tiecollector

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In the US, $1 a drink up to $4 or so per round. Pretty insane that a bartender makes $1 for 30 seconds of pouring.
 

whodini

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Originally Posted by tiecollector
In the US, $1 a drink up to $4 or so per round. Pretty insane that a bartender makes $1 for 30 seconds of pouring.
That's usually my MO if I'm only going to be at a bar for a beer or two. If I'm getting down in the trenches I'll hit them with $5. When I tended this definitely got my attention over the usual buck so the idea is partly to get the tender's attention thereafter and partly to not have to worry if I forget to tip a around or two later. Edit: Here in Latin America tipping is seen as unnecessary, especially in Costa Rica where we have something similar to the VAT (Tax+Tip included with every meal automatically.) Bartenders are seen the same as waiters in this respect so it is really only at tourist locations that you see tipping practiced by foreigners. In recent years it has actually come to be expected in tours of all things.
 

tiecollector

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I don't really drink anymore and I hate crowded bars. But leaving a big tip the first few times will definitely keep you from waiting the next time around. There are some old school dive bars around here where the bartenders don't expect a tip. They are mainly overrun by hipsters and the like.
 

Schnurretiger

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I've always lived in or near university towns, so the chance that your waiter or bartender is a student has always been pretty good. It's no use leaving a generous tip, when the staff changes every other week because you will hardly ever meet the same waiter or bartender twice. It's a real shame that a professional service staff has become almost extinct. At least in my area of Germany. So when I'm satisfied with the service, I will give a good tip, if I'm not satisfied, nothing (We once spent three hours having breakfast in a cafe and the waiter only came to our table twice).
 

Milhouse

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It depends. Also, do you consider buying the bartender a drink to be a tip?

For a general rule of thumb, I tip a buck a drink. This changes considerably if I'm at a preferred location where I know and have known the staff for quite a while. I then tip them more, and in return, they often disappear a few drinks from my bill, prepare a drink for me the moment they see me (even when there is a crowd), etc. I'm not a "regular drink" kind of guy, but they remember the range of drinks I enjoy and will make one quickly when they see me waiting at the bar if it is a crowded night. Service like that deserves to be rewarded.
 

VKK3450

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When I was in the US it was 1-2 per drink (depending on the drink and the bar), up to around 20 bucks where it would switch to a ~20% tip. Common sense dictates though. If I go to the bar and get 8 * $2 bottled beers, I'm not tipping the guy $8 on the $16 round.

Here in the UK, I rarely tip at the bar, its not expected. Sometimes I just buy the bartender a drink. There was a wanky pub in Notting Hill that tried to charge me 12.5% service on a bill when I went up to the bar to order and carried my own drinks back to the table. Thats why I hate drinking in Notting Hill.

K
 

Flambeur

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Well, it depends.

Usually a buck a drink, unless there is more of a process involved, also depends on whether I know a bartender or how nice he/she is.

So basically for a pint at a bar, i'd tip a buck, for a badass cocktail from a bartender I know, someone I like or someone who hooks me up, I'll go as far as five bucks (lets say for a best cocktail that takes time and patience from a nice bartender at a place i frequent)

Also always tip on a free drink. Friend of a friend comped our four glasses of very nice wine at a fancy restaurant, tipped $20.

edit: and yeah, usually go to 15-25% when it's a tab/long bill/etc
 

Piobaire

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Originally Posted by tiecollector
But leaving a big tip the first few times will definitely keep you from waiting the next time around.

If I am at a place where I am not known, this is what I do too. Toss the barkeep a $20 on the first drink, and you get the best service you'll ever see. At places that I frequent, I run a tab and usually go about 25% at the end of the night.
 

visionology

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I ran into this issue the other day at the casino. I got a round of 7 shots of tequila for our group and it came out to around $65. Since it took the guy about 1 minute to pour the drinks and pull 7 limes out of the container I couldn't justify 20% on $65.

I normally do $1 tip on 1-2 beers/mixed drinks, $2 on 2-4 beers/mixed drinks, and vary above that based on service.


A couple years back for New Years we had reservations at a large placed called the Aqua Turf with a group of around 30 people. There were 4 of us who planned on doing some drinking that night so right off the start with our first round handed the bartender a $100 bill as a tip to start, introduced ourselves, and expected he would be kind in return in regards to wait time. It worked out well.
 

Johnny_5

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I always take care of the bartender so I can develop a relationship at the bars that I frequent. These bars are usually very crowded and as soon as I walk in even if I'm not even close to the bar and the bartender sees me they get my drinks. Really pays off.
 

onion

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99% of the time, $1 per drink.
 

Mauby

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Originally Posted by Piobaire
If I am at a place where I am not known, this is what I do too. Toss the barkeep a $20 on the first drink, and you get the best service you'll ever see. At places that I frequent, I run a tab and usually go about 25% at the end of the night.

Yeah, if I'm gonna be at the bar for a few drinks I tip more on the first one. When he/she slides my Jack on the rocks to me and says "that'll be $5," I give him a $10 and say keep the change. It's not unusual for him to ask me if to start a tab at that point.

If I'm just there for one drink, I'll probably tip $1-2, depending upon service.
 

brianja

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At a regular bar or somewhere where there isn't much to the drinks I stick to the $1 per drink guideline.

If I am somewhere where the drinks are special and take a fair amount of work on the bartender's part I will def. increase that. If the bar is small enough that I can actually interact with the bartender while they are making the drinks I will be sure to tip generously ($5-10/drink) on the first round. This usually ensures that you get good service for the rest of the night.
 

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