Should you tip the bartender if you order something in a can/bottle and there’s no conversation?
October 20, 2025
My rule of thumb has been $1 a beer. However, they literally say what do you want, grab it, crack it open, and hand it to me. Then i go and sit with my friends. Do you guys tip in this situation? would lower my bill by around 20%
30 comments
Will you ever go back to that location? If the answer is Yes, then tip. If you intend to be a regular, overtip. This will ease your path if something gets messed up in your order.
Yes so that you get faster service the next time you go up to the bar.
I’d never tip less than $1/drink at a bar unless they give me some reason not to
Start a tab and pay at once.
You could not tip but i hope you plan on not going back or expecting any type of good service.
I had one friend that would tip big on the first drink. This way you dont keep tipping drink after drink and you will get attention from the first tip.
I agree, tipping a little on each drink is lame. This is why i go with a tab and close at the end.
I really recommend against not tipping. It will eventually be noticed.
Pay the price of the item challenge (literally
Impossible – America edition)
Tipping culture is awful. Tips should be for great service, not a social obligation.
Sounds like you got a PBR… If it’s the only one you’ll be having you tip then; but if you’re going to be having multiple you tip at the end of the actual service!
I usually do $1 per drink if its a can or bottle. Maybe $2 if we’re staying for a while and playing pool and being mild mannered idiots. If I’m feeling fancy and have something made, it’ll be more. It just depends on the price of the drink.
Why would you tip for that
$1 a drink if it’s just one drink.
I don’t tip bartenders anymore.
I walk up to my neighborhood spot with a stack of cash in my hand ever single time. Is it Douchey; yeah, of course but my mind set is; if I’m out and about, I’m absolutely looking for a good time. To me; it worth it for the bartender to know my face for the night, I’m going to tip well cause I don’t want to wait long for drinks
Unless you’re at a really nice bar, you’re not tipping for conversation. You’re tipping for fast, friendly, accurate service. So, if they get your order right and hardly interrupt your conversation with your friends, a dollar would says, “thanks.” Besides, far too many other people under-tip or don’t tip at all.
American tipping culture is fucking absurd.
No tipping if you paid before you drank it. That’s a convenience store.
No tipping if you paid for it and left. That’s take out.
No tipping if you pay for it and have to bus your own table.
No tipping if you have to pay for it before you eat it. That’s take out.
Tip culture is a cancer. You giving him money just for handing you a can? Wtf.
Why is them doing the basic function of their job that they have an employment agreement for worth *anything* from you other than the listed price of the drink?
Tipping, or not tipping, will make or break your experience with the bartender for the evening. I have found, and believe, and practice that the benefits of generously tipping a bartender far outweigh the effects of not tipping to save a few bucks. Fast service. Good drinks. Pleasant attitude.
Looks like you’re clinging to reasons to not tip, just don’t tip.
I’ve been a bartender for a long time. Most people tip, some don’t. It’s fine. Sometimes you’ll wait longer, but you’ll still get served unless you’re a colossal asshole. But, if I know someone tips well and they walk up at the same time as someone that doesn’t, guess who wins that tie-breaker?
Its a general unwritten rule of being an adult to alway tip your bartender.
Why would I tip in general lol? I live in Australia hahaha
Wait Americans even tip just ordering a drink from the bar? $1 a drink would have a bartender in Australia on over $100/hour. This all sounds pretty stupid.
Don’t tip at all. They should unionize and demand fair compensation from their employer. If you tip, it makes it harder for them to negotiate a fair pay.
We have a club and every so many visits we get a free beer. Tonight I got my free beer and bought a second.. tipped as if I bought two beers and normal tip.
Bartender was stunned, he was new. Play your cards right and you make a friend! And like many people have said, they hook you up!
No. screw that.
in Australia, No. Never.
Just opening a can and handing it to you doesn’t seem tip worthy anywhere though.
Should you or should you have to?
Yes and no, respectively.
No. We should do away with this shit.
It’s funny how out of pocket people get about tipping. Yes “tip culture” may have gotten out of control, but don’t take it out on the workers.
There’s two theories about it the origin of tipping- and neither have to do with post civil war reconstruction, although that was a big factor in its spread and acceptance throughout America. Tipping is believed to have originated in Europe during the Middle Ages from aristocracy giving their servants (serfs) additional monetary gifts for good service, however the type of tipping we see today is more likely to be directly descended from 17th-century England, where patrons would give money to tavern and coffeehouse staff for prompt service. There’s even a myth that TIP actually stands for or is derived from “To Insure Promptitude”, although this is likely just a story.
So there you go- if you tip only as a reward for stellar service then you’re subscribing to the older version of tipping as practiced by aristocracy and masters rewarding their servants. But the other purpose of tipping is to try and garner some favor with the staff of the establishment in order to derive some type of special treatment or benefit.
The nature of that treatment or benefit? Totally varies. Could be faster service. A free drink, shot, buy back, etc. once in a while. Could be the Barista giving you a warm genuine smile when you walk in, remembering your name or your coffee order. That all starts with a tip. When I was dating my wife I took her to a number of places I went fairly regularly, and was known to be a good tipper. Even if they were busy they would welcome me like an old friend, and go out of their way to get us in, and give us prompt service, not to mention buying us a round. My wife was so impressed, and must have thought I was at least worth a couple more dates since I seemed to be so well liked at so many nice establishments around town. And to be clear, I wasn’t tipping crazy amounts, but I was tipping well, consistently, and generally being pleasant to interact with and respectful of them.
So there’s your rule of thumb. Service industry staff usually have a good sense of who wants them to bend and scrape and act like their servants in order to “earn a tip”. Some will play along with it, some won’t, and will instead just provide the same quality of service as normal. Otherwise, if it’s a place you frequent, or wouldn’t mind frequent, keep in mind- the service staff will generally forget the poor tippers or no tippers, but they will remember the people who treat them with respect and take care of them, and generally will return the favor.
So while it’s not mandatory to tip in any situation, let me ask this- Would it be worth spending an extra few bucks when you go to this place to build a good relationship and reputation with the staff, and maybe occasionally get faster service when they’re busy? Or just to get a warm greeting like “Hey u/thanos4538 good to see you, how have you been?” when you walk in the door? Or an occasional “This beer’s on the house”?
I mean, if you do it enough and stay there long enough, it can translate into free drinks.
Ask me how I know.
No fuck the tipping culture. Those bartenders gets paid like everyone else. Tipping is a thing cuz US waiters used to get paid $3 per hr compared to reg minimum wage job. I dont get why Canadians adopted the tipping culture when the pay structure is completely different. For a country that hates being compared to American culture, we sure adopt some shitty culture for no reason.
Jk I thought this was canadian sub lmao. Still fuck the tipping culture
30 comments
Will you ever go back to that location? If the answer is Yes, then tip. If you intend to be a regular, overtip. This will ease your path if something gets messed up in your order.
Yes so that you get faster service the next time you go up to the bar.
I’d never tip less than $1/drink at a bar unless they give me some reason not to
Start a tab and pay at once.
You could not tip but i hope you plan on not going back or expecting any type of good service.
I had one friend that would tip big on the first drink. This way you dont keep tipping drink after drink and you will get attention from the first tip.
I agree, tipping a little on each drink is lame. This is why i go with a tab and close at the end.
I really recommend against not tipping. It will eventually be noticed.
Pay the price of the item challenge (literally
Impossible – America edition)
Tipping culture is awful. Tips should be for great service, not a social obligation.
Sounds like you got a PBR… If it’s the only one you’ll be having you tip then; but if you’re going to be having multiple you tip at the end of the actual service!
I usually do $1 per drink if its a can or bottle. Maybe $2 if we’re staying for a while and playing pool and being mild mannered idiots. If I’m feeling fancy and have something made, it’ll be more. It just depends on the price of the drink.
Why would you tip for that
$1 a drink if it’s just one drink.
I don’t tip bartenders anymore.
I walk up to my neighborhood spot with a stack of cash in my hand ever single time. Is it Douchey; yeah, of course but my mind set is; if I’m out and about, I’m absolutely looking for a good time. To me; it worth it for the bartender to know my face for the night, I’m going to tip well cause I don’t want to wait long for drinks
Unless you’re at a really nice bar, you’re not tipping for conversation. You’re tipping for fast, friendly, accurate service. So, if they get your order right and hardly interrupt your conversation with your friends, a dollar would says, “thanks.” Besides, far too many other people under-tip or don’t tip at all.
American tipping culture is fucking absurd.
No tipping if you paid before you drank it. That’s a convenience store.
No tipping if you paid for it and left. That’s take out.
No tipping if you pay for it and have to bus your own table.
No tipping if you have to pay for it before you eat it. That’s take out.
Tip culture is a cancer. You giving him money just for handing you a can? Wtf.
Why is them doing the basic function of their job that they have an employment agreement for worth *anything* from you other than the listed price of the drink?
Tipping, or not tipping, will make or break your experience with the bartender for the evening. I have found, and believe, and practice that the benefits of generously tipping a bartender far outweigh the effects of not tipping to save a few bucks. Fast service. Good drinks. Pleasant attitude.
Looks like you’re clinging to reasons to not tip, just don’t tip.
I’ve been a bartender for a long time. Most people tip, some don’t. It’s fine. Sometimes you’ll wait longer, but you’ll still get served unless you’re a colossal asshole. But, if I know someone tips well and they walk up at the same time as someone that doesn’t, guess who wins that tie-breaker?
Its a general unwritten rule of being an adult to alway tip your bartender.
Why would I tip in general lol? I live in Australia hahaha
Wait Americans even tip just ordering a drink from the bar? $1 a drink would have a bartender in Australia on over $100/hour. This all sounds pretty stupid.
Don’t tip at all. They should unionize and demand fair compensation from their employer. If you tip, it makes it harder for them to negotiate a fair pay.
We have a club and every so many visits we get a free beer. Tonight I got my free beer and bought a second.. tipped as if I bought two beers and normal tip.
Bartender was stunned, he was new. Play your cards right and you make a friend! And like many people have said, they hook you up!
No. screw that.
in Australia, No. Never.
Just opening a can and handing it to you doesn’t seem tip worthy anywhere though.
Should you or should you have to?
Yes and no, respectively.
No. We should do away with this shit.
It’s funny how out of pocket people get about tipping. Yes “tip culture” may have gotten out of control, but don’t take it out on the workers.
There’s two theories about it the origin of tipping- and neither have to do with post civil war reconstruction, although that was a big factor in its spread and acceptance throughout America. Tipping is believed to have originated in Europe during the Middle Ages from aristocracy giving their servants (serfs) additional monetary gifts for good service, however the type of tipping we see today is more likely to be directly descended from 17th-century England, where patrons would give money to tavern and coffeehouse staff for prompt service. There’s even a myth that TIP actually stands for or is derived from “To Insure Promptitude”, although this is likely just a story.
So there you go- if you tip only as a reward for stellar service then you’re subscribing to the older version of tipping as practiced by aristocracy and masters rewarding their servants. But the other purpose of tipping is to try and garner some favor with the staff of the establishment in order to derive some type of special treatment or benefit.
The nature of that treatment or benefit? Totally varies. Could be faster service. A free drink, shot, buy back, etc. once in a while. Could be the Barista giving you a warm genuine smile when you walk in, remembering your name or your coffee order. That all starts with a tip. When I was dating my wife I took her to a number of places I went fairly regularly, and was known to be a good tipper. Even if they were busy they would welcome me like an old friend, and go out of their way to get us in, and give us prompt service, not to mention buying us a round. My wife was so impressed, and must have thought I was at least worth a couple more dates since I seemed to be so well liked at so many nice establishments around town. And to be clear, I wasn’t tipping crazy amounts, but I was tipping well, consistently, and generally being pleasant to interact with and respectful of them.
So there’s your rule of thumb. Service industry staff usually have a good sense of who wants them to bend and scrape and act like their servants in order to “earn a tip”. Some will play along with it, some won’t, and will instead just provide the same quality of service as normal. Otherwise, if it’s a place you frequent, or wouldn’t mind frequent, keep in mind- the service staff will generally forget the poor tippers or no tippers, but they will remember the people who treat them with respect and take care of them, and generally will return the favor.
So while it’s not mandatory to tip in any situation, let me ask this- Would it be worth spending an extra few bucks when you go to this place to build a good relationship and reputation with the staff, and maybe occasionally get faster service when they’re busy? Or just to get a warm greeting like “Hey u/thanos4538 good to see you, how have you been?” when you walk in the door? Or an occasional “This beer’s on the house”?
I mean, if you do it enough and stay there long enough, it can translate into free drinks.
Ask me how I know.
No fuck the tipping culture. Those bartenders gets paid like everyone else. Tipping is a thing cuz US waiters used to get paid $3 per hr compared to reg minimum wage job. I dont get why Canadians adopted the tipping culture when the pay structure is completely different. For a country that hates being compared to American culture, we sure adopt some shitty culture for no reason.
Jk I thought this was canadian sub lmao. Still fuck the tipping culture