WHAT?! No TIP! That’s BALOGNI!
August 8, 2008 · Print This Article
…haha! Yes Balogni! I said it…
What to do when you DON’T get tipped
Heaven forbid this will ever happen to us, but it DOES happen, and when it does, we HAVE to be prepared with what to do next!
I want to do something a little different here.
I want to hear YOUR response to this question, and then I will post the best answers so we can all learn from each other.
It’s a question I get all of the time from bartenders everywhere, and it’s a great one!
What do you do when you don’t get tipped by your customer?
Whether you are working at a bar or a restaurant and you serve a customer who does not tip you, or you work an entire night for a private party and you don’t get tipped (or tipped poorly)…
WHAT DO YOU DO??
As bartenders, we survive and depend on our tips, so it really hurts us financially when we don’ get that tip we worked so hard for.
Recently, one of my bartenders did an event for me. The client who hosted the party was from a different country (I will not identify due to incorrect stereotyping for bad-tippers!).
Anyway, at the end of the night, the client walked up to my bartender, said thank you, HUGGED HER and gave her a $5.00 tip.
FIVE DOLLARS?!
My bartenders are used to making $100-$300 in a tip at the end of the night (and sometimes way more!!)
Needless to say, my bartender was devastated and confused. She thought she did an outstanding job, and the host loved her!
But I gave her tons of helpful advice that I use for those rare times when my tip is below par or non-existent. Advice that she truly took to heart that she believed was very helpful.
But I ask you, in your bartending or serving position, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU DON’T GET THE TIP YOU DESERVE?
Please reply in the comments section of this BLOG. I will then compile the best answers along with what I have done in the past and will create a great article that everyone will get a FREE copy of!
So send me your answers, THANKS GUYS!
To your Bartending Success,
James Wedmore
Mobile Mixologist
Bartend4Profit.com
Great question you pose here. Unfortunately, I have no answer to offer (so why in the hell am I responding, eh!?!). But it did make me think, so I’ll share my thoughts.
Out of the 12 years I’ve been bartending, I’ve never once confronted a customer about a minuscule tip; perhaps I’m a pussy when it comes to that. While working as an employee within establishments, I generally receive above average tips from customers, so the occasional small/non-existent tip annoys me, but it won’t make or break my piggy bank. When I’m working my own gigs, my hourly rate compensates well enough that if in the event the client (or patrons) don’t tip, it’s not even near the end of the world. But if I do receive tips, then yay for me!
Playing devil’s advocate, even though gratuity has come to be expected, it’s still optional (as much as I personally disagree with this). So as much as I want to put poo in the shoe of the non-tipper, I don’t feel as if I have any “rights” to ask the non-tipper, “What’s up your ass? Why didn’t you tip me?” or something to that effect.
So in closing, I have nothing to offer as far as answers are concerned….sorry, my bad. But I’m still quite interested in what other people do, so I hope you get some great responses here!
I am truly pleased to have found this website. I don’t know where to begin…I attended bartending school and found a job in a night club. I started my first day working 9 hours straight (no break, no lunch), and at the end of the night, or shall I say the beginning of the next morning when I got off work, I was not given ANY of the tips that I made. I was informed that I was in “training” and that it was up to the training bartender to share the tips, which she did not. Please help me to understand this. This is my first experience in this industry and was not aware of how things work. That night made me realize that I do NOT want to work for an establishment per se, instead I would LOVE to do private parties/events
Despite how much it sux when you work your tail off and don’t get tipped, there’s really not much you can do about it!!! If you know that you did a great job, then be proud of your work and move on. It is one of the down sides of the business of fast money and unfortunetly it is to be expected every once in a while. Not everyone is taught correctly or shares the culture of “proper tippin.” Especially now a-days with the economy diving it is going to happen a little more often
Best advise: keep trying hard, dont take it personal (UNLESS YOU’RE JUST DOING A REALLY BAD JOB), and move on!!
If you get a crappy tip or no tip at all. offer them a free drink on the house and spit in the drink
This really makes you think.Fortunately this has not happened to me ,but if it did,I would thank the client as usual for allowing me to take care of them and their guests,and when I get to my car, I usually make notes of the event and how it went.If I felt like I did a great job (I ALWAYS DO!!!) then I would note the lack of a tip and next time this client calls,RAISE YOUR RATE TO WHAT YOU THINK SHOULD INCLUDE THE TIP! You may not get the job but you know that client won’t cheat you again if you do get the gig.This is our livelihood and I think most private party bartenders are afraid to charge what they are worth.If you take less than $30.00 an hour,you are cheating yourself and lowering the standard for other bartenders.Get what you deserve!!!
GSS, it sucks that your training bartender did not share any of her tips with you but it does happen. I worked hard my first night and walked away with about five percent of the tips that I had mostly earned. The reasoning behind it is basically a bartender’s tips is their main income and if they are training, it not only is a burden, but also when they tip out they will have to leave a shift that they are used to walking home with an average amount. It is like getting trained by an employee that makes ten dollars an hour and expecting to have them give you five of it. The only thing you can do about it is when you are experienced enough to train, tip out the newbie. I myself always end up over tipping and then have to restructure my budget. Overall bartending is not bad but when you are coming in on someone else shift you are cutting in on their money.
Tipping mean To Insure Proper Service. Most of my customers are regulars so if they don’t pick up the meaning of tipping after the first few visits I make them my very last priority. That means every dish is washed, every customer has a full glass and the trash is empty before I bother with them.
Probably the number one motivation for tipping is shame. If you are tending in a bar or club, you can easily shame non-tipping customers by going a little overboard in thanking those who do. It\’s a little passive agressive, but highly effective.