Maverick
11-18-2007, 04:40 AM
I have been bartending now for long enough that I "feel" the need to pass on a few tips to anybody who goes to the bar. Some of these are personal pet peeves and some of them are ethics.
1. The average of what most tips should be is 20% plain and simple...this is also dependent upon service. If your waitress or tender has made frequent mistakes without sincere apology or has completely forgotten about you by all means tip less...however do not go below 10%. That is the bare minimum that you should tip for any service.
2. Always round your tip up to the nearest dollar. As a bar, the tax is built into the price of the drink to limit the amount of coin being exchanged. Bigger corporate bars (i.e. Old Chicago don't give a fuck and will chase you down to the last penny) operate differently. Getting a tip in change is just as discouraging as getting no tip at all.
3. Tip on everything you get including water. Just like your utilities bill at home the bar has to pay for water as well....also the glass that it is served in, paying for the waitstaff to take it to you, refill it, clean up the table then finally to clean that glass and restock it.
4. If you don't have enough money to go out then by all means stay home. Once I realize that you ask for the cheapest drink then ask if it is on happy hour pricing I realize the more you drink the less will be left in the tip. I am not going to work more for you to pay me less.
5. Happy hour is set up to create money for the person who has to work a usually slow shift. If your bar does happy hour 2 for 1 and your tab would normally be $50 but is reduced to $25 then by all means leave more than 20%..in fact leave a $10 tip instead of $5 tip. You would have spent $60 on non happy hour pricing which would have included a 20% tip. Also your bartender is doing twice the work for about 1/2 the money.
6. Do not whistle or snap your fingers at me. My job is to make drinks and when I am not doing that I am looking for people who need drinks. Calling me in this way will not get you faster service...I will without the blink of an eye ignore you and take even longer to make your drink...if I even choose to do so that is. We are here to serve you, not become personal servants. In fact you probably are a good person but you have had too many vodka redbulls and think that you are the king of the bar.
7. When ordering drinks there is a difference between a vodka cranberry and a cranberry vodka. The first one is vodka w/ cranberrry juice mixed together. The second one is a flavored vodka. The slight difference in ordering lets me as a bartender know that you know what you want and actually know what you are talking about. Same thing in a different way, rebull vodka does not exist. Redbull only produces energy drinks, not alcohol.
8. I get this one a lot and I am giving you this advice to save money. The bar I work at uses Smirnoff vodka for the well, which in all honesty is a respectable vodka. It is also $3 cheaper per drink than Grey Goose, chopin, belvedere, hangar one, etc. if you order a screwdriver, vodka/cran, vodka/Redbull the cheaper vodka will taste exactly the same as the higher priced vodka. The mixer will negate all purity, smoothness, and taste of the alcohol. So save yourself some money in the long run and also keep from being laughed at by the bar staff.
9. If you don't like a drink because it is too strong for you then it is your fault for not being educated enough about the ingredients or even asking about it before hand. Most drinks can be consumed with a straw in less than 10 seconds. Suck it up literally and move onto the next drink. We as a bar don't want drinks sent back because you couldn't handle it and now want the next one on the house...I personally will do what I can within my power to remix your drink with another mixer to change the overall taste of your drink. If the drink was made incorrectly by the bar staff then send it back accordingly.
10. If the bar is busy and you can see that the tenders have a number of orders in front of them then don't order time consuming drinks (i.e. mongolian mothers, mojito's, etc.) At the bar that I work at we specialize in martinis. Lime, orange, and lemon juice are all fresh squeezed as soon as you order the drink...that involves cutting the fruit, extracting the juice in the juicer and discarding of the rind. We also don't have sour mix as that is made to order as well. The amount of time it takes to make a single fresh mint mojito I could have made 3-4 rum/coke, or vodka/tonics, etc. and had you cashed out. It is simply to speed up the service to you as well as the customers behind you. If it is slow then by all means order whatever you like.
11. If your waitress or bartender asks if you are ready to order and you are not, don't tell them yes then have no clue what you want to order. Wasting time while ordering easily takes up half an hour a night for me while people look through the menu and stumble across different options. Go to any bar with a fallback option...if you feel like you are in a pickle and can't think of anything to drink then just order your fallback and think of something new for the next round.
12. Buybacks don't happen for everybody. Don't ask for a buyback. If you are a regular or even semi-regular customer I will, at my digression, and based upon your attitude give you a buyback, free shot, or discount. It is not an inherent right of everybody who walks through the doors.
13. If you don't know what to drink and ask me or any other bartender where I work what you should drink then 9 times out of 10 that will be whiskey. It is good, cheap, and gets the job done.
14. Shots are probably the cheapest and fastest way to get buzzed or drunk if that is your goal. However if you look close enough at our menu you will realize that even though martinis are usually twice the price or more of a single shot that will generally have about 3-4 shots worth of alcohol in them. For instance, a shot \of goose will set you back $8 however and goose martini straight up will cost you $11 and consists of 4 shots worth of alcohol.
15. Martini etiquette; a traditional martini is gin with a splash of dry vermouth...this is also a clean martini, all of the next martinis will be a variation of a clean martini (i.e. w/ a twist, sweet, olives, etc.). Vodka is a substitute for gin but was introduced later that gin so it does not have the history to be considered traditional. You can also order your martini with sweet vermouth. With a twist is also another option, the zest of a lemon is pulled off into a little string then twisted tightly and dropped into the vodka or gin giving it a hint of citrus. A dirty martini is either vodka or gin with olive juice. If you are ordering your martini dirty then don't give too much preference to the quality of the alcohol because most of the vodka purity will be dumbed down by the olive juice. You can't order a dirty martini w/ a twist, or sweet, or dry. Shaken is the only way martini's are made in 99.99% of bars. Ordering your martini stirred will get you laughed at....if you are ordering a delicate gin then the bartender will know not to bruise it.
16. If you have had too much to drink, then ordering another drink to prove how manly you are only to puke it out all over the bar, floor, bathroom shows how stupid you really are. Be responsible and realize that if you don't want to clean up your own puke then neither does the bartender.
17. Dress code...Stu already talked about the dress code. If you can't follow simple rules then you aren't worth our time.
I will think of some more later but justed wanted to post these for now. I figured they might be a good refresher for some and at least a good read for freshman bargoer's.
{edit} there was also more that I was going to add to martini section about Rob Roy's, Manhattans, Gibson's but I will do that later.{edit}
1. The average of what most tips should be is 20% plain and simple...this is also dependent upon service. If your waitress or tender has made frequent mistakes without sincere apology or has completely forgotten about you by all means tip less...however do not go below 10%. That is the bare minimum that you should tip for any service.
2. Always round your tip up to the nearest dollar. As a bar, the tax is built into the price of the drink to limit the amount of coin being exchanged. Bigger corporate bars (i.e. Old Chicago don't give a fuck and will chase you down to the last penny) operate differently. Getting a tip in change is just as discouraging as getting no tip at all.
3. Tip on everything you get including water. Just like your utilities bill at home the bar has to pay for water as well....also the glass that it is served in, paying for the waitstaff to take it to you, refill it, clean up the table then finally to clean that glass and restock it.
4. If you don't have enough money to go out then by all means stay home. Once I realize that you ask for the cheapest drink then ask if it is on happy hour pricing I realize the more you drink the less will be left in the tip. I am not going to work more for you to pay me less.
5. Happy hour is set up to create money for the person who has to work a usually slow shift. If your bar does happy hour 2 for 1 and your tab would normally be $50 but is reduced to $25 then by all means leave more than 20%..in fact leave a $10 tip instead of $5 tip. You would have spent $60 on non happy hour pricing which would have included a 20% tip. Also your bartender is doing twice the work for about 1/2 the money.
6. Do not whistle or snap your fingers at me. My job is to make drinks and when I am not doing that I am looking for people who need drinks. Calling me in this way will not get you faster service...I will without the blink of an eye ignore you and take even longer to make your drink...if I even choose to do so that is. We are here to serve you, not become personal servants. In fact you probably are a good person but you have had too many vodka redbulls and think that you are the king of the bar.
7. When ordering drinks there is a difference between a vodka cranberry and a cranberry vodka. The first one is vodka w/ cranberrry juice mixed together. The second one is a flavored vodka. The slight difference in ordering lets me as a bartender know that you know what you want and actually know what you are talking about. Same thing in a different way, rebull vodka does not exist. Redbull only produces energy drinks, not alcohol.
8. I get this one a lot and I am giving you this advice to save money. The bar I work at uses Smirnoff vodka for the well, which in all honesty is a respectable vodka. It is also $3 cheaper per drink than Grey Goose, chopin, belvedere, hangar one, etc. if you order a screwdriver, vodka/cran, vodka/Redbull the cheaper vodka will taste exactly the same as the higher priced vodka. The mixer will negate all purity, smoothness, and taste of the alcohol. So save yourself some money in the long run and also keep from being laughed at by the bar staff.
9. If you don't like a drink because it is too strong for you then it is your fault for not being educated enough about the ingredients or even asking about it before hand. Most drinks can be consumed with a straw in less than 10 seconds. Suck it up literally and move onto the next drink. We as a bar don't want drinks sent back because you couldn't handle it and now want the next one on the house...I personally will do what I can within my power to remix your drink with another mixer to change the overall taste of your drink. If the drink was made incorrectly by the bar staff then send it back accordingly.
10. If the bar is busy and you can see that the tenders have a number of orders in front of them then don't order time consuming drinks (i.e. mongolian mothers, mojito's, etc.) At the bar that I work at we specialize in martinis. Lime, orange, and lemon juice are all fresh squeezed as soon as you order the drink...that involves cutting the fruit, extracting the juice in the juicer and discarding of the rind. We also don't have sour mix as that is made to order as well. The amount of time it takes to make a single fresh mint mojito I could have made 3-4 rum/coke, or vodka/tonics, etc. and had you cashed out. It is simply to speed up the service to you as well as the customers behind you. If it is slow then by all means order whatever you like.
11. If your waitress or bartender asks if you are ready to order and you are not, don't tell them yes then have no clue what you want to order. Wasting time while ordering easily takes up half an hour a night for me while people look through the menu and stumble across different options. Go to any bar with a fallback option...if you feel like you are in a pickle and can't think of anything to drink then just order your fallback and think of something new for the next round.
12. Buybacks don't happen for everybody. Don't ask for a buyback. If you are a regular or even semi-regular customer I will, at my digression, and based upon your attitude give you a buyback, free shot, or discount. It is not an inherent right of everybody who walks through the doors.
13. If you don't know what to drink and ask me or any other bartender where I work what you should drink then 9 times out of 10 that will be whiskey. It is good, cheap, and gets the job done.
14. Shots are probably the cheapest and fastest way to get buzzed or drunk if that is your goal. However if you look close enough at our menu you will realize that even though martinis are usually twice the price or more of a single shot that will generally have about 3-4 shots worth of alcohol in them. For instance, a shot \of goose will set you back $8 however and goose martini straight up will cost you $11 and consists of 4 shots worth of alcohol.
15. Martini etiquette; a traditional martini is gin with a splash of dry vermouth...this is also a clean martini, all of the next martinis will be a variation of a clean martini (i.e. w/ a twist, sweet, olives, etc.). Vodka is a substitute for gin but was introduced later that gin so it does not have the history to be considered traditional. You can also order your martini with sweet vermouth. With a twist is also another option, the zest of a lemon is pulled off into a little string then twisted tightly and dropped into the vodka or gin giving it a hint of citrus. A dirty martini is either vodka or gin with olive juice. If you are ordering your martini dirty then don't give too much preference to the quality of the alcohol because most of the vodka purity will be dumbed down by the olive juice. You can't order a dirty martini w/ a twist, or sweet, or dry. Shaken is the only way martini's are made in 99.99% of bars. Ordering your martini stirred will get you laughed at....if you are ordering a delicate gin then the bartender will know not to bruise it.
16. If you have had too much to drink, then ordering another drink to prove how manly you are only to puke it out all over the bar, floor, bathroom shows how stupid you really are. Be responsible and realize that if you don't want to clean up your own puke then neither does the bartender.
17. Dress code...Stu already talked about the dress code. If you can't follow simple rules then you aren't worth our time.
I will think of some more later but justed wanted to post these for now. I figured they might be a good refresher for some and at least a good read for freshman bargoer's.
{edit} there was also more that I was going to add to martini section about Rob Roy's, Manhattans, Gibson's but I will do that later.{edit}