Airline Club tipping etiquette
#31
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SFO
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I'll tip on alcohol, but I avoid getting non-alcoholic beverages because of the whole awkwardness of tip/no-tip thing. Tipping $1 for a small cup of soda seems crazy, but I also feel bad not leaving anything at all, so I just stick with the water that they have out or tea/hot chocolate if I'm not getting alcohol.
#32
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I'll tip on alcohol, but I avoid getting non-alcoholic beverages because of the whole awkwardness of tip/no-tip thing. Tipping $1 for a small cup of soda seems crazy, but I also feel bad not leaving anything at all, so I just stick with the water that they have out or tea/hot chocolate if I'm not getting alcohol.
#33
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SFO
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#34
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I see things differently in a bar, where tipping a busy bartender for water (zero value in your estimation) is just the right thing to do.
#35
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: DEN/OGG
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 1,471
If they'd serve real size drinks in real glasses, they'd get real tip. That's why it is $1 for wine for me and nothing for soda. In my opinion the clubs should all have a setup like SFO for soda and juice.
#36
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On what planet does one glass of junky house wine, or a mixed drink made with cheap well booze, retail for $18 to $25?
#37
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: AA Plat, IHG Plat, HH Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,933
Hence why I use the water dispensers instead of getting anything from the bar. I don't get your point.
#38
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
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Posts: 5,821
#39
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 4,657
#40
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 8,626
My basic understanding is that I'm expected to tip $1-$2 for an alcoholic drink at a bar, regardless of what the drink is, unless I'm ordering a ton (or charging it to a credit card), in which case the tip is a percentage of the purchase. For whatever reason, I don't understand the same obligation to exist for non-alcoholic drinks. It looks like there some ambiguity on that point, but at least some others agree with me.
There are other service professionals who do a lot of work but almost never get tipped. For example, what about the omelette or meat-carving dude at a buffet? These things are just not very constrained by traditional ideas of logic.
#42
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Join Date: Apr 2002
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After a recent experience at the SFO UC, no matter how many $ were tipped would'nt get anything close to "service". The guy was too busy laying out dollar notes on the bar than catching anyone's eye who wanted a drink, he killed any desire to leave any gratuity.
#43
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: AKC
Posts: 9,033
