How much do you tip on a 99-cent drink?
I stopped by Singer's last night for a cold one on my way home from work, and ordered one of the bar's 99-cent Natty Bohs.
Since Singer's doesn't include tax in their drink prices (grrr), the total came to $1.05. I paused for a second.
How much should I tip on a beer that cost a buck? Another dollar? That's a lot of money, proportionately -- a 100 percent tip.
On the other hand, it's customary to tip at least a buck for any drink, regardless of the price, and I didn't want to come across as a prude.
What would you do? ...
In the end, I forked over another buck, which ended up being a stack of coins -- 95 cents, to be precise. The server tried to give it back to me, and I told her to keep it.
Even that choice left me feeling sleazy. Change? The best I could do was tell her to keep the change? Was I not man enough to give her a dollar bill?
I looked in my wallet, and only had a 10-spot. Making her break it for a tip would have been too much. So I sat there, sipping my Natty and watching poets recite their work at the far end of the bar.
I saw the Natty Boh Tower, which wasn't that impressive -- just a pyramid-shaped stack o' cans. But a buck for a Boh any time is a deal. Now if I could only figure out the best way to tip on it.
(Baltimore Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr.)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
Not every purchase from a bartender deserves a tip. be it $0.95, $1, or more. The job description of a bartender includes recognizing the customer and providing the requested beverage. So a tip should not always be required. But good service should be rewarded! $1 or more. Sometimes $5.
Posted by: tcap79 | April 29, 2010 2:09 PM
uh oh. here comes the resurrection of the never-ending tip debate.
i would tip a buck. personally. but opinions on tips are like....
Posted by: ryan97ou | April 29, 2010 2:27 PM
$1 every other Boh
Posted by: Dollar Store | April 29, 2010 2:40 PM
I'd say tip a buck on the first one, and maybe nothing on the second if you don't know the bartender from Adam. Or $1 for a round of 2 beers.
When I tended bar, I never minded tips in change. It just goes from the jar to the register and gets put in my pocket in bill form at the end of the night.
Posted by: The Baltimore Chop | April 29, 2010 2:44 PM
I tip a buck a drink no matter what.
Posted by: Josh | April 29, 2010 3:36 PM
Run a tab - figure it out later
Posted by: drunkrichard | April 29, 2010 3:37 PM
I agree with Josh. you order a Boh, just plunk down $2 and be done with it. However drunkrichard brings up a good point. What if you're running a tab and go through 11 beers. You going to leave an $11 tip?
Posted by: Gary | April 29, 2010 3:53 PM
If you're paying as you go, I agree to just give $2 and be done with it. If you just say something like "there you go" when the server collects I doubt they will bring change.
If you are running a tab, I have no problem tipping $11 for 11 beers. You look at the big picture and you are still paying a total of $22 for those 11 beers. Still a great deal.
I had a similar case the other night at a happy hour in DC. It was $3 Guinness night. I ordered 4, but the bartender gave me one for free. I had no problem tipping $6 on a $9 tab.
Which leads me to a post idea. Sam you should do something on how to tip when you get drinks on the house. It's hard to know sometimes how to take those freebees into account.
Posted by: Mikepcfl | April 29, 2010 4:07 PM
@Mikepcfl -- Done it already:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/midnight_sun/blog/2007/09/free_drinks.html
Posted by: Sam Sessa | April 29, 2010 4:12 PM
My strategy would be to order two at a time and tip a dollar.
Posted by: kateebee | April 29, 2010 4:37 PM
kateebee -- Brilliant! Or you could just order five beers, whip out your keys, jab each beer can, shotgun them one by one, scream EEEYAAAAHHH!!!!! and run out of the place as fast as you can without paying for anything. I call that "Tuesday night."
Posted by: Sam Sessa | April 29, 2010 4:43 PM
I tip $1 per beer, and $1-1.50 for a mixed drink (since that requires more work than taking a cap off of a beer, or pouring one). This works out better in the bartender's favor to pay drink-by-drink. If I was to have a tab, then I typically tip 20% off the total.
Posted by: Stefanie | April 29, 2010 4:52 PM
If you pay as you go, a buck a drink is about right, 99 cents or 10 bucks, dollar tip. It takes time to go back and get change.
If you have a tab, I would generally tip 30-35% for boozes. Food gets the 20-30% tips...
Posted by: bob123542 | April 29, 2010 4:54 PM
Sam, sounds like a good Tuesday night to me. I prefer flabongos to shotguns though. (www.flabongo.com--you're welcome).
Posted by: kateebee | April 29, 2010 5:53 PM
It's always a good common practice to tip on what the bill would have been. When a bar has a special or happy hour and the bill is half of what it usually would be, a 20% tip turns into a 10% tip.
Posted by: Tony Ravioli | April 30, 2010 7:40 AM
I'd give her $2 and say, "there ya go...." If she put .95 in coin on the bar I would leave it there.
Posted by: CalicoGal | April 30, 2010 10:06 AM
Here's a tip for ya:
Never try to fill a cat with helium!
Posted by: RayRay | April 30, 2010 10:35 AM
Your first problem is "why am I drinking Natty Boh?" I mean, it's only April. Later in the year, yes, any liquid will be welcome, but now?
Posted by: Mr Noh | April 30, 2010 1:20 PM
@Katebee -- Oh snap the flabongo just rocked my world! Hee hee!
@Mr Noh -- are you accusing me of ... drinking out of season?!?!?!
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/midnight_sun/blog/2009/02/drinking_out_of_season.html
Posted by: Sam Sessa | April 30, 2010 1:23 PM