Rant: Tip Culture

[Diddy]

no one pays in cash that's whats wrong

[JackofDiamonds]

What's wrong with paying in cash at a restaurant/bar?

A) Nothing is wrong with paying in cash.
B) The setup at my bar means everyone is sitting at the bar or standing at a rail with a bartender on the floor. No one needs to reach over the people sitting to pay for one round, and we encourage everyone to open a tab.

[Maclowery]

I mechanically give every single customer their change with some ones, even if they have a big pile of crap in front of their group. It's not even a decision, just part of my shift. The only caveat to this rule exists with my massive amount of European tourist customers, mostly crappy Scottish and English. I can absolutely see the quarter-a-full-round tippers, and if their tap for their mate and the two wives on the table is 24.75, I will give them their 5 back, with a rude grunt, then go back to friendly service to the rest of my customer base. Carry on, no blinks, who's next?

[haltz]

What's wrong with paying in cash at a restaurant/bar?

Nothing. For the most part it's preferable. Most people that sit at my bar have dinner and I'm making money off large tabs that are rarely paid in cash. The guy walking up to grab a couple of drinks and close out with cash is keeping me from the whales and the service bar, which are the only two things I care about.

[33anda3rd]

From an ownership perspective, the more credit card transactions happen at the bar the less chance someone on staff pockets money. Someone gets a $6 beer while they're waiting for their table, hands the bartender $10 and says "two back." If the bartender is weeded and dishonest, or just dishonest, he can stick that $10 in his apron pocket, give the guy back two bucks, and he just made an $8 tip to my $0 sale.

[haltz]

You even hear stories of bartenders bringing in and selling their own booze off-register to get around the liquor cost issue of pocketing money.

[jim]

You even hear stories of bartenders bringing in and selling their own booze off-register to get around the liquor cost issue of pocketing money.

That's a good idea.

[33anda3rd]

Fantastic idea if you're a thief and want to risk being unemployable, sacrificing long-term earnings, the trust of your peers and bosses, future opportunities as a partner or a lucrative side gig as a brand ambassador, and more for a short-term grab of $10 here and $9 there.

[Arthur Dent]

I've always wanted to be a brand ambassador.

[33anda3rd]

It's kind of a carrot for good bartenders. You draw a good salary, you travel all over in the company's dime, and you have a practically limitless budget to go out and eat and drink at places that support your brand. If you can do that and run a bar program/work a bar gig making $400/night, that's how a lot of folks build the capital and the industry support to launch a place of their own.