Message 8649 of 39188 in General Discussion

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> Hey, I have never been a bartender, but I have been a waiter.  
> Anyway, when I tip bartenders, it is soley based on the following:
> 
> 1. If they got me a drink when I needed one?
> 2. Did they mix the drink the way I like it?
> 3. Did they give me any free drinks?
> 
> #3 is the most important.  If the bartender is "hooking me up" then I 
> actually will tip him double the amount of what the combined drinks 
> would have cost me.  If the other loser at the other side of the bar 
> were to get half of that tip (sometimes $60-100) I would be pissed.  
> So if somebody is hooking you up with a big tip, then keep it for 
> yourself.  As a customer, we aren't tipping the bar, we are tipping 
> the bartender.
Splitting tips is a very touchy subject with many bartenders. Anywhere you go, 
the majority of places will have one or two bartenders that says they make all 
the money for the other bartenders. I work at a very high volume place that 
has up to six bartenders any given night. It is impossible to keep track of 
who gets what. Sometimes we'll put two bartenders to the task of making sure 
the good tippers are getting the stellar service, while the rest of us pick up 
the stragglers or non tippers. By me taking care of the people who don't tip 
well, frees up the other bartender to give the good tippers the attention they 
need.So in other words, I may be the loser across the bar, but that enables 
the other bartender to "hook you up". It all evens out in the end, and if I 
were to find out that even though I'm putting my sidetips into the tip jar, 
and my fellow bartenders weren't, I wouldn't be to happy about that.....