8 Bar Tips From A Bartender
Jesse
Sep 7, 2009
As a bartender who makes his living solely on tips, I would like to pass on a word of advice to all the college and non college kids who frequent bars. We notice who Tips well. And The better you tip, The better and quicker service you will recieve. Below is a list of simple rules you should follow to make sure you don’t piss off your local bartender.
1. Never call the bartender by their name. We don’t know you and there is nothing more uncomfortable then having your name yelled across the bar to turn and see no one you know.
2. When we ask for your ID, Show it to us without rolling your eyes or trying to make up some excuse why you don’t have it. We’ve heard all the excuses and our jobs depend on seeing them. No ID, NO DRINKS, No EXCEPTIONS!!!
3. When it is your turn to order, KNOW what you want. We don’t have all day. There are another 100 people trying to order too. And please don’t try to take orders from the back of the line so your friends don’t have to wait either. I will personally walk away from you if you try to do this and won’t come back to you for a long time.
4. If you’re not going to TIP us, don’t give us reasons why you are not. We already know. The reason is you are an A*****E!!! Just remember you will be the last one we come too next time you are trying to get drinks. Oh, and all bartenders communicate with each other, you leave no tip with one bartender and the others will know before you have a chance to order again. Same rule applies to leaving a good tip too, but this time it will benefit you with possibly stiffer drinks and maybe the occasional free drink.
5. When ordering shooters, don’t try and get as many different kinds of shots as possible. They take three times longer to make than anything else and once again there are a 100 other people trying to order as well. 1 type X number of shots you need = a happy bartender
6. Never snap your fingers or shake your empty glass of ice at us. Its rude!!! If you do this to me you WILL get served last!!! And with 100 or so other people in the bar you better hope the other bartender don’t already hate you.
7. Never tell a bartender to make your drink stiffer or to give you a free drink. This will in fact get you a weak drink. No exceptions asked. Don’t do it you sound like a cheap ass or an alcoholic. If you want a stiffer drink refer to rule 4.
8. And finally, be patient when you are waiting to order and try to make i contact with your bartender. We are working our hardest and we will try to get to you in the order you stepped up to the bar in. Remember if you drink the same thing all the time we will start to remember and will be able to get to you a lot faster. However, don’t forget, not tipping good will help us forget you too!!!!!
Well now that you’ve learned some of the main reasons a bartender will grow to hate you on a college campus. Follow these rules and every bartender will love you, unless their just a complete ass anyways! If that’s the case, good luck!! Also remember, we have the ability to ban you from the bar for the rest of your college career, so don’t piss us off or start any fights! We can ruin your college life, especially on smaller campuses that don’t have a lot of bars. Where I work if you get banned from are bar you are also immediately banned from the 2 other hot spots on campus.
Happy Drinking To All and To All a Drunk Night!!!!!
Posted with permission by the author: “Eric” (as acquired from CollegeColosseum.com)
joe. f**k you.
The respect things goes both ways. If I’m with some older friends/relatives and we all order alcohol but you ID me and don’t ID them? You’re not getting a tip.
Also, the way you ask for the ID is important.
“I’m sorry but I do need to see your ID, sir.” will earn you a tip.
“Let me see your ID” will not earn you a tip.
Oh by the way…I am a professional bar server & I find this article outright laughable….If I ever treated my guests like this I would be out of a job; rightfully.
Is this guy honestly implying that a customer has to EARN GOOD SERVICE by paying off their barmaid?!?!?! I thought it was supposed to be the other way around?
Instead of the server EARNING their tip by providing said service in the 1st place, the author(for lack of a better term) expects a patron to kneel before them, kissing their ass, giving them money….& then they get their drink!!!
What a moronic tool.
ANONYMOUS SAYS:
December 28, 2011 at 12:49 am
“2. When we ask for your ID, Show it to us without rolling your eyes or trying to make up some excuse why you don’t have it. We’ve heard all the excuses and our jobs depend on seeing them. No ID, NO DRINKS, No EXCEPTIONS!!!”
Well the thing is if you ask for ID for someone who is in fact over 21, especially if he is way over, he will likely get pissed and would decide NOT to TIP you. (He would have otherwise tipped you 15%)
Afterall, the fact that your job depends on seeing ID is not the customers problem, it is your problem! You are just effectively transferring your risk to the customer by pissing them off, rather then using your professional judgment. Actually in my experience it is really not too difficult to tell if someone is over 21.
Amanda: You can cut people off, but they can just go elsewhere, and give their tips to someone else. Simple!
You are an idiot, it is a bartenders ass if they serve an under 21 a drink. And yes alcohol law enforcement will send out under 21 people to test this, take it as a compliment, my own grandmother won’t get a drink without her ID with her, yes it is a law in many states no matter how old you are you must have a VALID CURRENT ID to be in a bar, by the way I’m guessing you are a shitty tipper.
“2. When we ask for your ID, Show it to us without rolling your eyes or trying to make up some excuse why you don’t have it. We’ve heard all the excuses and our jobs depend on seeing them. No ID, NO DRINKS, No EXCEPTIONS!!!”
Well the thing is if you ask for ID for someone who is in fact over 21, especially if he is way over, he will likely get pissed and would decide NOT to TIP you. (He would have otherwise tipped you 15%)
Afterall, the fact that your job depends on seeing ID is not the customers problem, it is your problem! You are just effectively transferring your risk to the customer by pissing them off, rather then using your professional judgment. Actually in my experience it is really not too difficult to tell if someone is over 21.
Amanda: You can cut people off, but they can just go elsewhere, and give their tips to someone else. Simple!
an ya know what I hear? same thing I hear in politics…. everyone blames everyone else – how ’bout both sides stop being a******s and treat each OTHER with respect? The bartender deserves it – they’re working their fannies off to make sure the customer is having a good time – the customers deserve it because without them, you have no job. Get over your selves – TIP APPROPRIATELY!! and EARN THE TIP…
*I don’t *let* people like you get to me*
As a bar tender I have to say that he is telling the complete truth about how to get good service from someone who is extremely busy. I agree with the whole article. Its obvious that the people responding have never tended bar in their entire life because then they would know that all these things can and do happen nightly. @ Jordan With an attitude like that about bartenders being a nobody, its a wonder that anyone gives you service at all. In my bar, I would have you thrown out the moment you gave me lip. If you are a medical student with $200,000 in the hole, I don’t feel sorry for you. It was your decision to go to school for that, not mine. @ Anonymous As long as I obey the law you can’t do anything to get me fired. Its your word against mine. 9 times out of 10 the people on the other side of the bar are a******s on Friday and Saturday nights. I bet you didn’t realize that we only get paid $2.13 an hour and we live solely off your tips.
I would love to be on the other side of the bar every weekend living it up and having a good time like you college students who are $200,000 in the hole in student loans but I’m not. If you are that much in hole you don’t need to be out there drinking your money away. How about paying your loan off with that?
I love my job, I don’t like people like you (meaning the responders) get to me. Just remember, we can cut you off at anytime.
What a lame article from a lowly bartender. You are a bartender, IF you provide quality service THEN you get a tip, got it? Not the other way around. A bartender is no different than a server, you are all hired to serve others. If you do well, then we will let you know by giving a tip. It is actually quite comical to see how high you regard your profession.
Hahaha you have the right to ban people from a bar! Whoa! Don’t have too much power there you pathetic bartender. You’re a nobody, a nothing. No one appreciates you. All they want is their damn drink and to be honest, no one gives a s**t if you’re maming your living. Try being a medical student in the hole for $200,000 who is out for a nice night and do you think they’re going to feel sorry for you if you have bills to pay? Hahaha keep dreaming!
You sound a bit of a tit fella, I tip well if given good service.
Your’e a bar tender, not a life saving doctor, get a grip man
A bartenders job is to serve drinks and obey the law, if he fails in that all the customer has to do is complain and the bartender could end up out of a job. One more thing how are they going to know your name unless it’s shown, if it’s shown then that infers that you are to be called by that name, if you have a problem with it, take it up with your employer, they’re the ones who make those decisions, not you. To simplify it for you, if you don’ like it, quit, i’m sure there are plenty of others who would happily have the money and with a lot less whining.
extremely one sided article. It is not the customer who has to satisfy the bartender but the other way around. The bartenders must expect a certain amount of respect and should be content with that.
Excellent suggestions, but it might carry a little more weight if the spelling and grammar weren’t so atrocious! Yikes!