Here’s A Tip…
This nugget of information was posted on 22/06/10 at 2:07 pm by Lee and is filed under A View From The Bar.
I have this recurring dream. A customer buys a drink and because I served him quickly and politely I’m rewarded with treasures beyond my wildest dreams; spending the rest of my days sipping daiquiris on some tropical island whilst being fanned by women in hula-skirts.
Alas, as always I awake to the despair of the empty tip jar on my bedside table. My problem (besides sleeping next to pennies) is thatIi’ve been filled with false hope from too many films with American bars where the patrons tip after every beer. What is our policy on tipping in bars? In restaurants it appears obvious so why is there confusion when food isn’t involved?
British culture fails to appreciate the good bartender, we are deemed by the vast majority as part timers, working the bar as a stop gap rather than as an actual profession. That’s why a lot of my tips have come from other bartenders because they have respect for the craft (and it usually involves a cheeky tequila for myself).
Don’t worry though for I have the answer. Forced conscription into the service industry for schoolkids! Scrap work experience, imagine if every one had a taste of what it’s like to smell of stale beer and unblock a toilet with your hand!!! The tips would roll in like a golden avalanche. I might open my own school…Lee’s School of Social Interaction. Catchy.
