At times, it seems like American tipping culture is out of control. According to a 2023 Pew survey, people feel expected to tip in more places than they did five years ago. Consumers feel the need to tip on everything from housekeeping to Uber rides to coffee.
But when it comes to bartenders, what’s the correct tipping protocol? The survey revealed that only 53% of people always tip on drinks. (Eighteen percent said they tip “often.”) Should bargoers tip the same amount for a bottle of High Life versus a six-ingredient cocktail? We spoke with bartenders to find out how they feel about it.
‘Cash is king’
“Tipping has certainly evolved,” Nick Leighton, co-host and producer of the etiquette podcast “Were You Raised by Wolves?” told HuffPost. “Where 15% may have been the norm in the past, 20% is pretty much the standard now. With so many people using credit cards, tipping as a percentage on the final bill is more common than just tipping a dollar or two per drink in cash.”
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Sean O’Neill, a bartender at Cincinnati’s Second Place, bartended in college and said today he sees fewer people paying with cash.
“Back then, people tipped a dollar on every drink no matter what because they were paying cash,” he said. “They were leaving a dollar, maybe two, if it was a more expensive place. But now because everyone pays with a card, you mostly get 20% on the entire bill. For a big check, that’s potentially worse than before when you’d get a dollar a drink. But for more moderate checks, it kind of ends up being the same.”
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O’Neill only makes $5-$10 per hour, so most of his income comes from tips. “When it’s dead, it blows,” he said.
“Cash is king — always,” said Richie Frieman aka The Modern Manners Guy. “When a payment is digital, on many occasions the staff is paid out at a later time after all the processing has been done at close. But cash in hand is money in your pocket the moment you leave your post.”
However, cards allow people to spend more money on drinks. “Cash gives a customer a set amount to wrap up the night whereas a card or app makes people reconsider one more round with less hesitation,” Frieman said.
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Should you tip on free water?
O’Neill has noticed that the younger generation goes to bars for things like trivia night and they do not consume alcohol or any beverages except water. Some bars have water stations, including Second Place. But if customers want ice water, they have to order it from the bar.
“The water is free, but bartenders are still pouring,” O’Neill said. “They’re still taking the same time. It’s kind of like either drink something or tip a little.” He recommends people tipping a dollar for water.
“Let’s not forget that if you only got water, you likely have a dollar or two to throw their way,” Frieman said. “It’s a lot less than buying a bottle of water at a convenient store, which you could have done, too.”
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Regulars tend to tip more
“I think that as you build rapport with the regular customers, the tips go up, but that’s over multiple nights,” O’Neill said. Most of the customers at his bar are regulars, and they’ll tip up to 30%. “That gives it some consistency to what you can expect from people,” he said.
However, he has one complaint. Every Tuesday night the bar hosts an invite-only pool tournament. Players — who are regulars — pay $20 to participate and then have a chance to win the pot. The $20 also gives them access to an all-you-can drink cooler full of beers. But the players do not tip.
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“Nobody’s making tips on a Tuesday,” O’Neill lamented. “They’re 80% of the people at the bar, and they’re big drinkers.”
How much should you tip during happy hour?
The whole point of happy hour is not only to have bargoers save money but also to keep them past the discounted times and get them to spend more money.
“Tipping should always be on the full value of the goods or services,” Leighton said. “If your happy hour drink is 50% off, you’d still tip based on the full price.” He also recommended tipping on comped drinks.
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Should you tip more at a dive bar versus a luxe cocktail bar?
“The physical establishment shouldn’t cause any fluctuation in the tip — that’s not where the value of the tip is decided,” Frieman said. “A tip is based on the cost of the goods and the quality of the service. With that, if one place sells an old-fashioned for $6 and another sells it for $16, you’re obligated to pay on the final bill.”
And it doesn’t matter how experienced the bartender is. Maybe a mixologist has more knowledge than a bartender at a dive bar who cracks open PBRs all night. But Frieman said the background and training of the bartender isn’t reliant on the tip amount.
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“How are we supposed to know someone has tasted more alcohol than the top 10 frats at a college combined? And if we do learn that, even if the style of the drink is that much better, it’s still a judgment call on how you were treated,” he said.