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I think announcing "to tip" your bar staff etc etc is all part of being a KJ in a bar atmosphere, sure unless you live under a rock you know it's customary to TIP bartenders waiters and waitresses ...but you still should make a "few " annnouncements ..not every other song ..

Jam,

Nothing personal, but I feel to compelled to respond to your post with a simple "why".

I know Diafel was looking for advice on mixing up verbage for what she feels sometimes starts to sound "lame". I pretty much feel that no matter what you say such announcements ARE lame!

I also stated that I don't understand how KJ's across the country have decided that it's their responsibility to make any such announcement and what end result do they believe is being met by doing so?

My shot on this - I do announce, only at end of the night. Happy bartender = good drinks = happy patrons = greater attendance = happy owner = longevity. My 0.02.

That is the British way. It doesn't fly in the US. You would not receive any service worth calling service after a while.

You can do what you want to -- I tip well, and I get great service!

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

It is ridiculous to say "you shouldn't have to pay the wait staff". You are going to anyway, in the price of the fare or the tip.


They are entitled, in my mind -- to 10%. If they give indifferent service to me, they might get 15%. But for anything approaching good service, I tip 20%. I sometimes tip 30%, particularly at one of my regular places. I want them *jumping* when I walk in!

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

not as easily confused as you might think I prefer to act that way so as you dont feel too special with that foot in your mouth

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

couldnt agree more Nick

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

NIck I am with you...sorry but its a cop out for any employer anywhere to pay peanuts and expect their customers to make up the difference.

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Again, I am NOT posting about tipping the KJ, for those of you who seem to think so.

And I will restate: where I am, tipping is customary, but NOT mandatory. Please remember that when you are responding to this post from another country / culture.
Just because it doesn't "fly" in your area doesn't mean it doesn't "fly" in the rest of the world.
It is understood here that wait staff work for the tips, NOT the wage. No one here can survive on minimum wage. And please don't tell me that tough, the government should raise the rates or that perhaps they shouldn't work in the industry. Those types of comments are not only unhelpful but actually mean nothing in the end result. It's just not practical.
We can either tip the staff and keep it an option for good service, or we can have the price of our drinks, food, etc go WAYYY up in order to pay the wait staff the rise in their wage.
I also do not agree with staff who give less than good service for someone they perceive as not tipping. It's both unprofessional and stupid on the part of the server to do so. How do they know that you won't tip at the end of the night, or as I sometimes do at my regular twice weekly gig?
I tip extra on one night and not at all the other. It's the way it works with my finances as there are bills to pay on some days and not on others.
To give poor service just cuts their own throat in the end.
But to get back to the OP:
This thread is NOT about debating whether we should tip or not.
Nor is it about whether we should announce reminders to tip or not.
I announce it.
If it doesn't work for you, then fine.
It works for me and our venues and I think that's all anyone really needs to know.
It was a simple question as to the verbage I should use when making such anouncements to avoid sounding repetitive night after night.
Humour would go over well...
Any REAL answers to my question out there?

Murray I can see why my husband (the next best thing to a Scot) hates to travel the USA...he just hates putting his hand in his pockets as simply a matter of course.
Murray when you first travelled did you not believe that tipping was actually built into the charges in the US...thats what I had been taught...therefore anything over that amount was purely discretionary and Could be done if you were SATISFIED

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

No worry about a foot in MY mouth.
Perhaps you should crawl out from whatever fantasy land you are in and enter the REAL world.
It's not all about YOU, you know!
There are others who have equally valid differing opinions and just because YOU don't agree doesn't make it so.
Get real.

For the record, I am in CANADA, not the US.
Last I checked, we were still our own country and not a state.

OK back to OT here's one way that I do it, although infrequently.

I sing "Bartender" and insert the line "Tip The Bartender!" instead of the usual line at the chorus. It's so jolting and out of place in the song that it gets a laugh.

>>> heading that way to look up the meaning of a word that starts with B and ends with O and applies to whatever Nationality

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Bill what a cool idea !

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Actually this is not true in most places. There are some restaurants that will automatically add the tip, these are typically more upper class establishments - or places that can charge you more just because (airports), not your typical restaurant or bar/lounge.

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Tipping is probably the only area in which I've become a "sheeple" - follow the masses without thinking

I guess I'm that way because I so often worked for and relied upon tips. And good tips were forthcoming for good service. I worked, for example, as a waiter in hotels in the Catskill Mtns (think "Dirty Dancing") and made $300-$400 a week when I was eighteen. When I was eighteen that amount of money was earned by only the top 5% of the population. But in the "Catskills" we worked our butts off from 6am through till 9PM with some small breaks in between. So.... I learned to tip.

At the same time the expected tip in a restaurant was 10%. Somehow, it's crept up since; first to 15 and now to 20%. IMHO, few servers today deserve much of anything in the way of tips, compared to what I used to have to do to get a good tip. But since I know all to well that servers only get a couple dollars an hour from the restaurant, I feel that if I don't want to tip I need to stay home.

Meanwhile, most places now automatically add 18% to the bill of any party of seven or more. One place added 15% for me and my wife without even informing us they would do so.

As to the OP, IMHO, I think that between Ollie, Pirate, Bill and a few others, the best suggestions have been shared for trying to make a "lame" situation "lameless"!

As has been noted, in the US employers in the bar/restaurant industry are legally allowed to pay LESS than the minimum wage to servers because a portion of their wages is expected to be made up in gratuities.

Regarding announcing reminders to tip, I don't do it for 2 reasons. One, because I personally think it's cliche and generally ignored. I agree that those who are inclined to tip will do so without a cheesy reminder from the KJ.

Second is that I've never thought one should automatically tip anyone, or be exhorted to do so. You either tip to show your appreciation for prompt and friendly service, or because you want your server to remember you the rest of the night in a favorable manner. Whenever I've given a bartender a healthy tip with my first round, the next time I come to the bar I invariably get recognized in the crowd before others who are waiting.

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I liked to make a suggestion for those of you who feel that you must make "tip" announcements at some point during your show.


I dare you to go through the next three shows without making a single tip announcement and see:

1) if anyone actually notices
2) if you don't actually suffer from withdrawal or anxiety symptoms from not having indulged yourself

I just feel it's common courtousy for the places that I work to support the staff - even if it's by reminding people of their names at minimum every so often. I know the staff appreciate it because they HAVE told me their tips do improve after the announcements so there is no question there. No one says anyone HAS to tip anyone, but there is absolutely no reason why the entertainment can't announce the staff every so often. I've seen several bands make this announcement, i've been to shows with dj's that will as well.
I never say the word 'tip' when making the bar staff announcements, just remind all of their names - many know the staff, but many do not. Then just make the blurb that they are working hard to make sure you are having a good time, show some love - or something to that effect.

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