Open bar tipping

Knottie13257900 · January 2015

I am probably worrying about nothing...but here goes. I'll be having an open bar where I'll be paying for all drinks at the end of the night. There is an automatic service charge of 20% added on to this (plus tax). My question is, what if my guests aren't aware of this and try to tip the bartender? Worse yet, what if the bartender has a tip jar sitting out? I guess I will just ask them to remove it if they do. The restaurant I am using does weddings often so they probably know the etiquette and I'm just worrying about nothing...

southernbelle0915 · January 2015

They will probably put out a tip jar unless you tell them not to. I would make sure you talk to them about this before hand because it's super tacky to have that sitting out.

If you're already tipping 20%, that IS the tip and you don't need to tip anymore unless you feel that they went way above and beyond the call of duty.

Knottie13257900 · January 2015

Uh oh, I will mention it to the coordinator at the restaurant. I was worried about how to say it without sounding rude, but I think I'll just say "I want to make sure my guests don't feel like they need to tip since that's already included."

BlueBirdMB · January 2015

Tell them not to. We told them not to. Although there was a gratuity charge included, often these go to the venue, not the bartenders, so we also tipped the bartenders separately, at the beginning of the night, so they wouldn't be temped to put out a jar anyway.

lyndausvi · January 2015

We didn't have a auto-grat. We tipped them ourselves. We told them under no circumstances was there to be a tip jar out and there wasn't.

A lot of our friends are in the industry and still tipped, which was fine, their choice. A tip jar to me says it's expected and we didn't want our guests to tip out of obligation, that was our job. I

MobKaz · January 2015

DD's venue offered a choice. We either pay a percentage upfront, or allow a tip jar. The percentage would go directly to the bartenders. We obviously paid the percentage. I know that some guests still chose to tip, even after the bartenders tried to wave it off. That is their way and their choice. Ask what the automatic service charge is specifically for, and how it is allocated. You can absolutely find ways to make sure a tip jar is not placed on the bar.

tammym1001 · January 2015

We tipped the bartender ourselves and specifically told the venue we didn't want a tip jar out. They assured me that they don't even allow that. I got my pictures back and in one of the pictures I saw a tip jar on the bar. I mentioned to my sister and she said that one of the guests told the bartender he wasn't going to get any tips if he didn't have a jar out so he put one out. I had no idea at the wedding, but I was pretty irritated when I saw the pictures.

Knottie13257900 · January 2015

Ahh guess this is a real problem, not just something I was dreaming up after all!

flbride2015 · February 2015

I second and third clarifying what the charge is for. Some venues don't pass that charge along to the bartenders or servers. It's just a charge for the venue. So you think they're being tipped, but in reality they aren't.

TrixieJess · March 2015

I bartended at a wedding once and didn't put out a tip jar because I knew I was getting paid at the end of the shift. I had people put out glasses with tips in it for me. I would take them down and another one would go up. Unfortunately, if it gets busy and the bartenders don't notice the glass, you may end up with a tip jar on the bar for a bit if a guest puts one out.

Open bar tipping

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