If you’re at a bar, and someone else buys you a drink, do you have to tip the bartender for it?
Last night, I was at Big Foot, watching washed-up Peyton lose yet another game. While there, I had two 34 oz. Super Cold Coors Lights, bringing my tab to a whopping 4 bucks. “Why have I been going to the Saucer to watch Monday Night Football?” I wondered. “This is too good a deal to miss.”
Then it got even better. The guy next to me paid his tab and said, “Let me get these guys too,” pointing to his left and right. Suddenly my cost for spending two hours at Big Foot had dropped from $4 to $0. Woohoo! (Thank you, by the way, if you’re reading this.)
Then bartender Meghan opened her big mouth and ruined the good mood I was in. “YOU STILL HAVE TO TIP ME, PAUL,” she said. WTF? If someone else buys the beer, it makes sense that he’ll tip on the beer too (which I know for a fact he did in this case). And now Meghan wants an additional tip?
So I fished around in my pocket, hoping to find some pennies, but all I had were quarters. I usually stuff several dollars in quarters in my pocket when I go out, in case I feel like playing pool on a pay table. So I pulled out 4 of the quarters and slammed them on the bar. “THAT’S NOT ENOUGH, PAUL,” said Meghan. “I DESERVE A BIG TIP.” So, feeling generous, I took out four more quarters. Keep in mind that I was now tipping 50% on my tab. Even if the beers had been full price, it still would’ve been 25%. And yet Meghan continued to say, “THAT’S NOT ENOUGH, PAUL. COME ON, GIVE ME A GOOD TIP.” At that point I’d had enough. I downed the rest of my beer, and walked to Bardog Tavern, to remind myself what friendly, courteous bartenders are like. I tipped 100% on my tab at Bardog.
Speaking of Bardog… Aldo’s training the bartenders to smile and wave at people who walk by the front window, so they’ll realize it’s a friendly neighborhood bar and come in. Contrast that to Meghan… when she saw people walk past the front window last night, she started chanting “don’t come in here don’t come in here don’t come in here.”
Oh, there is one exception about tipping when other people buy you drinks… if the bartender buys me a drink, I will certainly tip on that drink. However, this is not an issue with Meghan, who is a cheap-ass who never does anything nice.
Meghan is the female equivalent of this guy. And that’s my final word on the matter.