everyone at bowery apparently loved priestess...they put on an amazing show and are nice guys.

the chromeo crowd are probably just used to getting drinks for at all the vice parties.

i'm sure bartenders make a killing whenever the hold steady come to town

^^You should still tip when the drinks are free.

I'm certainly not advicating not tipping (I always do) and it's not the bartender's fault per se, but if profit-hungry bars, clubs and venues didn't charge $6 and up for basic beer and mixed drinks, this probably wouldn't even be an issue. A bar owner friend of mine once candidly told me he makes over 20 to 30 times the cost of what he pays for a "house" bottle of hooch by the time bartenders do their usual tiny pours. Similar huge profits are made on tap and bottled beers. Maybe those profits should also be shared with the bartenders.

I tipped... Must be cus I drank bourbon.

I am sure Bowery Presents is making $$$. They are opening new venues everyday. Why don't they pay the bartenders more, rather than make them depend on customers.

@Anon. 12:31:
So a business is entitled to only enough revenue to just break even? How about you get paid for your labor just enough to get by.

i always tip, but often bartenders give major tude and aren't friendly. Especially if I'm buying a can of beer that they crack open, sometimes I just feel like a bartender with shitty attitude definitely doesn't deserve my buck.

if they make me an amazing mixed drink I always tip 2 bucks for the effort.

if I tip a buck per a drink and buy a shit ton of drinks after 4-6 I really do expect a buyback
when they don't

I stop tipping

show me where it says thou shalt tip in the constitution, and then i'll tip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6pi-9LBtxs&feature=related

I dont tip at coffee shops. funk dat.
I don't tip at San Loco either. funk dat.
Taxis? I will tip. But 20%? funk dat.

"show me where it says thou shalt tip in the constitution, and then i'll tip"

I guess you don't wipe you ass either.

If I dont get a buy buck on the 3rd drink, I ask why I didn't get a buy back. More people should do that. If you're not getting a 3rd drink buy back you should really think about changing your bar.

actually i tip most at coffee shops
to make a good coffee that isn't just drip takes way more time than opening a beer

how can i tip when i have to clear the bank to buy one beer?

coffee that is good and affordable deserves a tip, but any jackass can make a vodka cranberry or open a heineken, and then to charge so much money? i dont get the bartender tipping law...

whaaa... servers want to get rich off my generosity... whaaaa...

why don't you tight-wads save your precious dollar tips and NOT DRINK? because it's an OPTION you DON'T HAVE TO take part in...

and since it's so expensive to buy drinks at shows you can also: 1. drink before the show (alone with the lights out), 2. not go to shows altogether (let's face it, if you're arguing about how you think you can tip 'just enough' you might as well be 'fighting for peace'), 3. not talk through the goddamn openers... I really don't care about your analysis of how hard the lead guitarist is trying to 'sell it'... srsly, if that's you, there's a stomach-punch in your future...

The person being interviewed is a bartender, not the owner of Bowery Ballroom. You can't hold the bartender accountable for "high" drink prices.

You're not sticking it to the man when you stiff a bartender or waitress; you're just being a dick.

great youtube video! You so right, Sharece!

@Adam Smith12:49: Or how about I make 20 to 30 times profit on everything I do at work. Then, after a short time, I wouldn't have to work in the first place.

Screw the tipping issue. Did anyone getta load of Sharece's fine ass she flashes at the end of Anon12:56's YouTube video?!? Bubbleiscious!

It's simple economics for me. Drinks at the Bowery Ballroom are more expensive than the average bar. I always tip when I buy drinks there, but probably only a dollar per two beers. At a bar with reasonable prices I tip a dollar per drink. I can't afford to pay $7 per beer (ie. $6 + $1 tip) at the Bowery Ballroom. That's the simple facts. If the bar staff has a problem with this they should raise it with the management at the venue.

Also, bear in mind that most ticket-buyers have already been ripped off by Ticketmaster (or whoever) and their bullshit service charges before they've even got to the venue. Being presented with over-priced drinks on arrival is just another kick in the teeth. In short, treat your customers with more respect and they'll treat your bar staff with more respect.

really not surprising since the band sucks.

you youngsters complain too much.

when i was your age we just did LSD and skipped the drinks altogether!

"@Adam Smith12:49: Or how about I make 20 to 30 times profit on everything I do at work. Then, after a short time, I wouldn't have to work in the first place."

Define 'profit' as it pertains to a worker and his wages or salary. You can't. Ergo, that's an empty argument.

Anon. 3:01, you're strongly hinting that you can't enjoy a concert without having drinks. That's downright pathetic.

bartenders have too much attitude

if you are nice, people tip
smile, be friendly people tip

be a surly bitch who expects it
people don't tip simple as that

the bogmen rock. all their fans are alcoholics.

I agree with you anon 3:42, but the article says that this bartender gets tips at some shows, but not on others. Either she does smile and Chromeo fans are cheap, or she doesn't smile and Priestess fans have lower standards.

I always tip, but really come on, do you really think it's fair on the consumer to tip a dollar for you to pull off a bottle cap when they are already paying $5/6 a beer? Also if the bartender is acting like an asshole or ignoring yout then sorry, I don't want to have to wait 20mins to get a tiny overpriced drink and then get bitched about because I "didn't tip as much as i should have"

Yeah it sucks to get stiffed but really take that up with the owners/management to make drinks at least SOMEWHAT close to normal.

You should always tip when buying a drink no matter what the price. If you can't afford to tip sneak in your own flask. Until you've worked as a bartender or waiter you don't really know what it's like on the other side. This town is full of tourists and foreigners that don't tip, so if you a NY'er doesn't tip the bartender is getting fucked even more. A good bartender will reciprocate love when love is shown. Remember when you stiff the bartender you're also stiffing anyone else that they are working with, 2nd bartender, bar backs, busboys. If a barkeep is a jerk or is giving you attitude that bothers you, speak with a manager. That will go much further than holding back tips. Bartenders have ways to get revenge on stiffing customers, and you won't want any of that. Trust me.

@Adam Smith: The absurdity of charging customers a 20 to 30 times markup on the product or service being offered does not require much of an argument.

The bartenders at both the floor and balcony of Bowery Ballroom are excellent. Its actually one of the few places where you don't get 'tude. Its a $6 price for Sierra on tap, which is standard for any bar in NYC. And so should the $1 you leave with your beer. What's the issue, really.

You order with a smile, leave an appropriate tip, and odds are the next time you approach the bar, you won't wait very long.

sorry, "taking it up with the management" if a bartender is a rude cunt, doesn't work.

You really think the bartender is going to like you more if you complain to the manager that they suck, vs. not giving them a dollar tip?

please

what happened to the concept of a "tip" being given to people who provide outstanding service???

if you suck, why do you deserve a tip?

doesn't make sense

This is why I drink before shows, if at all.

However, when I go to BARS, I always tip.

@Anon. 3:50:
If a bar finds satisfactory the level of demand for booze when it is priced at 20 to 30 times what the bar pays for it, what's so absurd about that?

@all the whiners:
What's with the sense of entitlement? Alcohol is not something you need to survive, nor something you need to listen to music.

I agree with Anon@4:05. Last I checked you're supposed to tip for outstanding service. I hate the fact that I'm supposed to show my gratitude to an aloof bartender who just pops the cap off of my beer bottle. And then they have the nerve to whine when they don't get their tips.

Oh well. I still tip. Always. But it's less about me showing my gratitude than it is fear of asshole bartenders putting dishsoap in my drink, thereby giving me the shits.

i have to agree, the barkeeps at bowery are far friendlier than at say, webster hall, where the drinks are even more absurdly priced for a concert.

@Adam Smith: OK bro...which bar do you own?

At least tell me that it is fine not to tip bathroom attendants who hand me towels before I can grap them myself.

Small fact....The Bogmen own the record for MOST alcohol sold in one evening at Irving, Bowery, Webster and Nokia. yes, plenty of alcoholics. AND great fucking band.

You gotta tip, no doubt. But the bartneder loses me on this one (from Daily News linked from New Yorker). Get over yourself honey:

Remember "Yo" does not equal "Please."

"People forget they are interacting with a bartender and yell, 'Yo, two Buds!'" says Korb. "'Yo, two Buds!' is not the proper way to ask for anything. How about 'Please?'"

at the WAMU show the Chromeo crowd was 12-18 years
old so tipping was out of the question anyway...

Just tip you cheap bastards. Waiters and bartenders have tips factored into their low wages. They are also supposed to get taxed on all their tips. Some places take their tips and split them among the staff. If you don't want to tip, drink in Europe.

I don't mind tipping, but I don't think bartenders are always tip worthy. Usually full of piss and vinegar. They make more than $40k a year easily with the ups and downs of good crowds and bad crowds, so don't be too sympathetic. Teachers and garbage men should be the ones getting tips, dealing with way more of our bullshit than bartenders ever do.

i used to get more buybacks than paid drinks at bowery. but the cool bartender left.

teachers and garbage men have health insurance so they don't need tips.

hey, i was at bowery for a priestess show and in fact did drink quite a lot of jameson. just youtubed priestess and bowery and found this flashback. http://youtube.com/watch?v=7_AT0uVkeSA. i can almost smell the whiskey fumes.

What are buybacks? Maybe I'm not tipping enough? I sure as hell am buying enough drinks. And I do tip $1-2 minimum no matter what. I worked in coffee, pizza, and juice bar joints over the years. So I know it's important and kind even.

So what gives? I guess I'm not cute enough for buybacks.

I do hate asshole bar tenders/servers, and I will NOT tip somebody who acts like a total fuckface. Lit Lounge downstairs? I'm looking at you

You do have to give the customer the benefit of the doubt to start, and treat them like gold. If they give you shit or don't tip after that then you have reason to give them bad service.

i always tip, coz i've worked a day in my life, unlike most people who don't tip.

hahahah

@9:53

oh POOR you, you are the only person who tips
people who are born rich don't tip!

yes that's it!

what a fucking idiot

i only tip for loud guitars

this reminds me why I dont drink in bars anymore.

i also think that you guys are leaving out the fact that BARTENDING IS HARD WORK! some people are better at it than others and some jobs are easier than others, but working a high-traffic venue like bowery ballroom, dishing out a few drinks every minute for hours on end, and dealing with loud bands, rude customers, and drunk leering men, its no wonder a lot of bartenders can be pissy. especially when you're not tipping.

I'll agree bartending can be HARD WORK depending on the place, but I think any bartender who feels as if they're being crucified on the job should switch it up and make sandwiches at Subway for a while, or try selling cell phones at a cingular store. Maybe work a check out at a grocery store? Then see which spot they'd rather be working at.

Is it a wonder most people working in the service industry would probably kill for a job bartending at a busy bar? No, because it pays better money than many other service industry jobs/hourly jobs in general, and a lot of the time it can be easier work. Especially if you have bar backs to do the grunt labor.

I see a lot of folks here talking about "You have a choice whether you drink at a show or not." Same could be applied to working at a bar. If you don't like the idea of depending on tips for a living, don't like drunk people, not having health insurance, and can't find it in yourself to be nice to folks you have no reason to think are looking to be bad customers to you, then maybe you should excercize your choice to NOT WORK as a bartender, and find a desk job.

The New Yorker is degrading itself....

Well said Anonymous 3:21. I've been trying to get a bartending job for a couple of years. If anybody wants to trade with me and get a break from all that hard work, I've got a sweet dishwashing position that pays $7.50/hour. Unfortunately there are no tips even for extraordinary service.

the moral of this story is:

Go to school, kids.

^^^Somehow I think that even if everybody had post graduate degrees, there would still be a service sector in the economy. So I guess there are three options in the utopian meritocritous future. Robot bartenders, illegal immigrants doing all the hard work-- just so long as they don't get all uppity about it, or respecting the fact that washing dishes and flipping burgers-- as well as babysitting drunks is as dignified and worthy of a living wage as copy writing, making web pages, day trading or being born with the good fortune to have a couple hundred grand sitting in a trust fund (for example).

"
teachers and garbage men have health insurance so they don't need tips.
"
Posted by Anonymous | March 30, 2008 8:17 PM

You can get a pretty good health plan, last time I checked, for about 200/month. Teachers make in the low 40's. That's NET about 600/week. Of course, many bartenders that I know don't claim all their tips on their income taxes, and I've known many who make 60-100K. So if you work at a busy bar and can make over $100/night, don't bitch about health insurance. If you want it, buy it. It's rough all over.

$100 a night bartending means that if you work 5 nights a week and never take a vacation you make $26,000 a year before you pay taxes.

And it is super hard work. Hardest job, by far, that I ever had.

My current bartending gig makes me about 250/night on average. Better than some, not as good as others. I've also worked in warehouses and offices for way less money. Slinging drinks is by far the easiest job I've ever had. I think the problem is a lot of bartenders, especially younger ones, have a false sense of entitlement. It's pretty annoying hearing these slackers complain when they're making more money than firefighters, cops teachers, etc. If you don't like bartending and you're gonna have a hissy fit when you get stiffed, do something else. Most people tip and tip well, regardless of there music tastes.

You're estimation of what teachers make to what bartenders make is highly flawed, as it leaves out many factors (let alone the fact that I've never met a bartender who makes 60k a year on bartending alone... and I know a hell of a lot of bartenders who work in some of the hottest spots in the city).

Hell, if a bartender made $200 a night for 5 days a week on a steady basis (which you would have to have some pretty great shifts to make, and there just aren't enough 'great shifts' to go around for this to be any where near the majority of bartenders), that would still only be $52,000 a year, before taxes (and while bartenders don't claim all tips, they declare enough to be hit by taxes).

Now, mind you, that's not factoring in the fact the bartenders don't recieve benefits, nor do they get vacation days or sick days. If you fall ill for a few days, you take a financial hit. If you want to go away, you take a financial hit.

I'm not trying to make anyone shed a tear for bartenders (or barstaff... as others in a bar often make their livings off of what they are tipped out on from bartenders), but perhaps some of you should put the situation into context before just throwing out random bloated numbers and using them as a thin argument as to why you're cheep at bars.

Back to the subject of teachers... it is another perpetuated myth that is usually fostered by half-truths that teachers are poorly paid. Here is one of many articles with the actual facts:
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_nypost_teacher_pay_myth.htm

If you don't tip, prepare to wait.

Pretty simple.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwqtaKRS3IE

What time does Daft Punk tip?

fired.

The NYPost article is neat! I like how it never mentions that school teachers are also babysitters for shitty parents. Yay for rich-folk owned media!

AND it was written by this guy, who surely has never earned drunken sex with a bartender after overtipping all night.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/greene.htm

anon 12:10 - I was talking about New York City teachers (and New York City bartenders... many of whom choose to bartend so that they can pursue other interest) The NYC teacher pay schedule is here:

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/15074C44-E87D-4A0A-982C-72DBAD1EAC8E/25312/SALARYSCHEDULESOCTOBER2007_Teacher.pdf

The best line from that study: "As of 2002, the average salary for teachers nationwide was about $44,600. That does seem modest. But we need account for the relatively few hours that teachers actually spend working compared to other professionals."

Most teachers I know put in at least a good 60 hours a week with lesson planning, grading, counseling, etc.

Nice straw-man argument you go t there. "Hey, I bet this guy has had drunken sex with a bartender after overtipping all night, because I don't like the conclusions of his research!"

...add that with your standard ad hominem attack: "Yay for rich-folk owned media" ...

...and you got your standard "I don't have any valid adult argument to counter the facts you've presented, so I'll just play the 'people with money are automatically bad' card and hope no one notices my actual ignorance on the subject.

And while teachers may sometimes be "babysitters for shitty parent", bartenders are very often the babysitters of the result.

I had an awesome idea for an automated bar. Slide your id in one slot, your credit card in the next, pick a cocktail - PRESTO! Any financiers want to get in on this hot action? We can call it Post-Human. I'm thinking Soho? Just hire a security guard to kick out drunks and keep an eye on things. Only Krautrock and ambient electronica on the jukebox. To sex it up a bit, the money taking, drink vending machine could have monitors displaying hardcore Japanese porn.

"anon 12:10 - I was talking about New York City teachers (and New York City bartenders... many of whom choose to bartend so that they can pursue other interest) The NYC teacher pay schedule is here:"

But what does choosing to do something so that you can pursue other interests have to do with anything? Are we now supposed to decide on what someone should or shouldn't get based on what their intentions on doing the job are? Let alone the fact that just because you're are doing something to pursue other interests doesn't mean you are ever going to achieve those interests, and therefore, may be doing the job long then originally intended. A harsh reality of life, for sure, but not something to judge someones worth on.

As far as the pay schedule goes... I was talking about New York teachers as well... as the artcle states (you have to read further down): "According to the state's school district profile, the median teacher in the city earns $53,017 a year. Unfortunately, information on the number of hours worked by the average teacher in the City is not readily available. But, if we make the generous assumption that the average teacher in New York works the maximum 6.6 hours a day allowed by the union contract for the full 181 school days, that works out to $44.38 an hour."

The PDF you provided shows a pay schedule... but not the ammount of teachers making the various incomes, therefore, there can be no average drawn from it. And again, this doesn't factor in benefits, sick days, and personal days, which should absolutely be taken into account.

Let's be clear I am not in the slightest disparaging teachers or the jobs they do (though the teachers union is another subject altogether) but rather trying to show that it's really a matter of comparing apples to oranges.

What about all the teachers moonlighting as bartenders?

12:47, just to clarify: I make a very nice living, think teachers are still by and large under payed, and do not respect a word I read in the NYPost, especially one written by some 'expert' in Arkansas. Yay for rich-folk media lovers!

Fuck teachers. Parents can teach kids just as well as teachers can, but it takes a special skill set to get that beer in the glass.

"But, if we make the generous assumption that the average teacher in New York works the maximum 6.6 hours a day allowed by the union contract for the full 181 school days, that works out to $44.38 an hour."

That would be a generous assumption if one was trying to argue that teachers are overpaid. There is no way a teacher could do their job just putting in 6.6 hours a day. 10 is more the average. 6 hour shifts are pretty common for bartenders, though. Not much take home work.

Let's not forget that NYC teachers have a HUGE pension. Teachers pay/pension is the biggest expense in the NYC budget.

So that explains all those retired teachers with their mink coats and private yachts. No-good welfare scum! Get a job!

no soup for you.

"What time does Daft Punk tip?"

Daft Punk are French, so maybe never.

Mr. Pink has the post of the day. That asshole's right!

Sorry if someone's mentioned this before, but, directed mainly at Anon. 12:47, but also at anyone who cares to know, I say this purely for informative purpose - not to pass judgement or defend anyone - Bowery Presents subcontracts the bars at some of their venues out - don't ask me why they do it, I just know they do. I can't speak specifically about the Ballroom, but I know that at Webster, a separate company runs the bars. I know no details of their particular deal, I just know that this is the way it runs at Webster and in a lot of clubs that size. I'm not sure Bowery Presents has anything to say about the price of drinks.

^^^Whoops - I meant Anon. 12:41.

Daft Punk are eating LSD at San Loco right now!!! Hurry!

Which San Loco?!?!

"Bowery Presents subcontracts the bars at some of their venues out - don't ask me why they do it, I just know they do."

This is true for Webster, but not for Bowery Ballroon, Mercury Lounge, Music Hall of Williamsburg, or Terminal 5.

My old hs history teacher kept a bottle JD in the classroom closet. Lesson planning was "open your book and reach chapter whatever" and then occasionally we got a quiz. Sometimes we watched a history show taped off history channel the teacher went for smokes or whatever teachers do when they go out. Good times.