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Topic: Do you tip at a gig? |
Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 12:43 pm |
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I have a very general question. When you play a gig where there are servers or bartenders and you get free drinks and/or food, do you leave a tip ? I was taught that for comped food or drink, it is customary to tip on the full retail amount at 15 to 20%. Especially if you like the gig and want to be rehired. Thoughts? Am I over-doing it?
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To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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john widgren
From:
Wilton CT
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 1:17 pm tipping
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Good question, and the answer is no you are not over doing it. Most servers rely on tips to survive. It's not at all like the European model, so tipping is essential for non or low salaried service workers the way our system is set up. Anyone who has ever worked that type of job knows what a raw deal it can be. Of course bad service should never be rewarded. I know people who tip poorly or grudgingly, and I find it an embarrassment to dine with them. I don't much respect that form of frugality. (And especially from those who to whom it matters least). I respect good service, and don't mind tipping to support it.
FWIW most night club musicians make less than the waiters and waitresses who work the same venues...and it's not an issue that the service people are making too much. The musicians are the lowest of the low... I still tip on comped food and drinks.
_________________
Steel Guitar Services:
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 1:18 pm
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I always tip at a gig, even if my beer is on the house. We also call out to the crowd to tip their servers. It's amazing how much good will and respect you can get by following this.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Rick Schmidt
From:
Prescott AZ, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 1:21 pm
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| Always! No you're not overdoing it. I yell at our lead singer all the time for his entitled attitude about tipping.... but then again, I've been a food server and bar tender in a past lifetime. Good Karma is a real thing! |
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Walter Killam
From:
Nebraska, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 2:16 pm
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I always tip for good service comped drink\meal or not. If I want to get something during a break, I find that if they know I tip, I get faster service.
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Mostly junque with a few knick-knacks that I really can't do without! |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 2:24 pm
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| I'm 100% with everybody here. |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 2:49 pm
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What everybody else already said and I'll add that I find that I tend to tip more generously if I'm not paying the tab. After all, it is still a lot less money.
"Be sure to tip your waitresses! Everybody likes a waitress with big tips!"
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Richard Tague
From:
Cowden, Illinois, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 2:58 pm
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| In a bar, and drinks are on the house, I give the bartender or waitress $10 at the end of the night. When I'm at another type venue, I play it by ear. But, they always get at least $10. |
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Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 3:11 pm
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| I do. And I think even if drinks and food are free or discounted one should tip on the full price. The server does no less work. |
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 3:49 pm
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Not pertaining to a gig, but since we're talking about taking care of the servers in general let me share a change I made in my practice.
A few years back we had excellent service from a server (college student) at a small family-run restaurant. She was in the back when we left but we left a generous tip. Walking out the door, I heard the owner call quietly but urgently to his son who was the bus boy to get over to the table we had just left. Maybe I am totally wrong, but the guy looked a bit shifty and I'd be willing to bet the server got less than our whole tip, if anything.
I know some places require the waitresses to split or pool tips with busboys etc, some don't. Regardless, since that day we make a point of handing the tip directly to our server in cash. What he/she does from there is up to them, but if they are they one we are rewarding, I want to make sure they know their effort was appreciated.
It's a tough job and they put up with a lot, The good ones should know it is noticed. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 6:16 pm
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always, if possible. variations depended on condition of my wallet. it never hurts the situation and can really break the ice at the beginning of the night.
however...maybe not if it's a bigwig affair where the lowest worker on the corporate scale was making more than i. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 7:09 pm
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Yes.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Jim Smerk
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 7:19 pm
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| Brad Bechtel wrote: |
| I always tip at a gig, even if my beer is on the house. We also call out to the crowd to tip their servers. It's amazing how much good will and respect you can get by following this. |
100% agree. Some bands I worked with also made it a point to by "regulars" a drink every now & then, and if we knew their B-Day or Anniversary we at least bought a round & got a card....
The came out & spent there money every time we played, they were the crowed that paid our wages...no crowed, no hire.. |
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Craig Baker
From:
Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 27 Feb 2014 11:47 pm Tip
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Here's a little tip I learned along the way, and it works incredibly well. Next time, don't wait until you're finished dining. You have the prices right in front of you. Figure out what you're going to spend and tip the server up front. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how well your party is served. "TIP" means To Insure Promptness.
How do you make that happen when the meal's finished?
Bon Appetit,
Craig Baker 706-485-8792
cmbakerelectronics@gmail.com
C.M. Baker Electronics
P.O. Box 3965
Eatonton, GA 31024 |
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Dustin Rigsby
From:
Parts Unknown, Ohio
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 12:20 am
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You have no idea what overworked and underpaid means until you've worked for tips in a bar or restaurant ! It amazes me the amount if cheapskates who'll order a $20 meal and leave a one or two dollar tip. It's just wrong. If you have the money to eat at a restaurant, you've got the money to tip that server! These folks are usually "the working poor" and a lot if times struggle to make ends meet. I know because I used to be one.
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D.S. Rigsby |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 4:39 am
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| I usually tipped a buck for each drink I had to buy, and drinks (except a Coke) were rarely free. But when I do get free drinks, such as at a wedding, party, or political affair, a five or a ten to the bartender "up front" gets me good drinks...and better service than anyone else. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 10:42 am
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I find that if I tip too much, I fall over. Very unpleasant. 
But in answer to the question, yes I do.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Dean Rimmer
From:
texas
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 11:20 am
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| nobody can get you fired quicker than the wait staff .....so......ya better take care of em......just sayin |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 11:35 am
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Dean, so true. Leaving a mess when you leave is another one. They'll remember your band for the wrong reasons.
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 12:03 pm NEVER, Never..........
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In all of the bands I've played in and in all of the different venues, never has anyone tipped anyone, to the best of my knowledge.
The manager typically handed cash to the band leader just prior to us leaving and after the tills had been balanced and we in turn got paid outside.. |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 2:33 pm
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Ray, we're not talking basic pay. But if you get comped. I.e. served free or discounted food or drink. Normal custom in the US is to tip on the value of the comp. I think it's just good business.
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 3:35 pm
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| Tom Wolverton wrote: |
| Ray, we're not talking basic pay. But if you get comped. I.e. served free or discounted food or drink. Normal custom in the US is to tip on the value of the comp. I think it's just good business. |
At what some of these places charge for drinks and food, you could end up playing for free.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Craig Baker
From:
Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 6:17 pm
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"I'll drink all night for twenty dollars and all I can play".
. . . Thumbs Carllile 1972
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"Make America Great Again". . . The Only Country With Dream After Its Name. |
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Bob Russell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2014 6:51 am
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I tip the servers 20%, even if the food/drinks/whatever are comped to the band. Most servers get a terrible hourly wage and they need tips to make enough to live. They work just as hard bringing free stuff as they do bringing stuff to paying customers.
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Lots of stringy things, many of them slidey. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 1 Mar 2014 7:09 am
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The waitstaff/bartenders are some of the best allies you will ever have in this business.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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