Stiffing

[MC Chris]

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WRT bar tipping, it should be $1 per drink/beer/glass of wine/etc. You tip the same for the bartender twisting off a bottlecap as you do for the five-minutes-to-prepare flaming Dr. Pepper shot, or whatever. It all averages out in the end.

If someone leaves me $20 on an $18 three drink order, I thank them and move on, though, while internally thinking "ok, kinda cheap, whatever."

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I disagree with both of your assertions here.

1) I think tipping based off of effort makes sense. Let's say it's a crowded bar, two deep, people waiting to order. Hell even if it's not that packed a bartender's attention is probably wanted elsewhere. To go to the trouble of preparing an elaborate drink or shots is more tip-worthy than twisting the top off of three Miller Lites and should be compensated accordingly.

2) In that vein, a $2 tip for a quick $18 order seems VERY reasonable to me. I'm compensating a bartender to the tune of $2 for <1 minute of work, hell probably <30 seconds even if you consider the time he took to come over and hear my order. Multiply this by around 20-30 transactions per hour (accounting for down time and other non-compensatory job duties, this is a conservative figure that's probably higher) and this guy is making a ton of money. To feel indignant about a $2 tip in that circumstance is pretty presumptuous. Particularly in the example you gave, where it's just super easy to hand over a $20 and be done with it.

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right, especially with that last situation, the $20 for $18 tab. the guy isn't leaving you $20 instead of $21 because he's cheap, it's because we don't have $21 bills.