Attempts at proper bar etiquette
Last week Nate and I met up with my brother, Alex, at a local bar. The plan was to watch the Pistons game. I do not follow sports, nor do I typically go to bars (coffee shops do the trick for me, after all) but sometimes I feel the need to force myself to do things I normally wouldn’t do. Life should never be too predictable, or repetitive. Sometimes one has to spice things up. I’m not talking about dangerous or illegal activity but more like trying a new flavor of gelato or reading a comic book (even when you secretly feel that comic books are sort of silly). So, watching a sports game in a smoky, dark setting qualifies as an out of the ordinary experience for me.
After ordering my drink I considered how I would tip the bartender. What is the right etiquette for tipping in bars? I wondered. In a coffee shop there is typically a tip jar and tipping itself is optional. Inside a bar you hand your tip to the bartender. But what do you say? And, are words needed for the exchange?
I quickly turned to Alex and shared my concerns through a series of whispers. With great patience in his voice he provided several options for tipping. One option was: The bartender returns with your change. You motion with your hand and say, “No, keep the change.”
I felt this method would work and began reciting the words in my head. Then Alex interrupted my thoughts. “No, you shouldn’t use that method. From you the words will probably come across as sounding posh.”
“What do you mean?”
“It just will… from you. Just make the hand motion but don’t say anything.”
At first, I felt mildly insulted and was ready to fire back, “I do not sound posh!” After all, does a posh person go to a bar that is so smoky lung cancer is guaranteed all in order to watch a Pistons game? I think not!
But then, I reconsidered his words. “Would I sound posh? Was he right? Is it possible my brother knows how I sound and thus, will be perceived better than I do?”
In the middle of sorting out these thoughts the bartender returned with my change. Except, she put the change on the counter before I could make a hand motion or utter a single word. And then she was gone. Probably off to serve customers who have no trouble tipping because this is what normal people do: go to the bar, drink and tip the bartender without hassle.
I left the bar early and ended up giving the tip to Alex who would then give the tip to the bartender. This seemed like a childish thing to do but at that point the smoke in the bar was so thick I didn’t care. Besides, maybe my posh self doesn’t belong at the bar scene. I went straight home to my château, only to finish the evening with caviar while contemplating my next trip to Milan… because I am so entirely posh, after all. Maybe I need to start swapping places with this girl:
Perhaps we are long lost sisters?
After ordering my drink I considered how I would tip the bartender. What is the right etiquette for tipping in bars? I wondered. In a coffee shop there is typically a tip jar and tipping itself is optional. Inside a bar you hand your tip to the bartender. But what do you say? And, are words needed for the exchange?
I quickly turned to Alex and shared my concerns through a series of whispers. With great patience in his voice he provided several options for tipping. One option was: The bartender returns with your change. You motion with your hand and say, “No, keep the change.”
I felt this method would work and began reciting the words in my head. Then Alex interrupted my thoughts. “No, you shouldn’t use that method. From you the words will probably come across as sounding posh.”
“What do you mean?”
“It just will… from you. Just make the hand motion but don’t say anything.”
At first, I felt mildly insulted and was ready to fire back, “I do not sound posh!” After all, does a posh person go to a bar that is so smoky lung cancer is guaranteed all in order to watch a Pistons game? I think not!
But then, I reconsidered his words. “Would I sound posh? Was he right? Is it possible my brother knows how I sound and thus, will be perceived better than I do?”
In the middle of sorting out these thoughts the bartender returned with my change. Except, she put the change on the counter before I could make a hand motion or utter a single word. And then she was gone. Probably off to serve customers who have no trouble tipping because this is what normal people do: go to the bar, drink and tip the bartender without hassle.
I left the bar early and ended up giving the tip to Alex who would then give the tip to the bartender. This seemed like a childish thing to do but at that point the smoke in the bar was so thick I didn’t care. Besides, maybe my posh self doesn’t belong at the bar scene. I went straight home to my château, only to finish the evening with caviar while contemplating my next trip to Milan… because I am so entirely posh, after all. Maybe I need to start swapping places with this girl:
Perhaps we are long lost sisters?
Labels: daily
posted by FM at
5/29/2007
1 Comments:
I never know how much/whether/how to tip in bars either. Usually I will give a bartender a tip when I buy my first drink in the hopes that it will butter them up for the rest of the evening.
Post a Comment
<< Home