Tipping in tasting rooms

WINE TALK
41

Then talk to the ABC, not the hired help. If you want to drink go to a bar.

Typically the TR staff makes ~$12 in CA plus some commission. The majority is P/T unbenefited.

42

I see nothing wrong with a tip jar at a tasting room, though it would turn me off if the winery also charged a high fee.

But I have to disagree with this:

Larry, maybe we define service industry differently. Tipping is not the norm for the following:
Accountant
Dentist
Physician
Allied health personnel (nurse, med tech, EMT)
Car mechanic
Lawyer
Investment advisor
Theater employees
Retail clerks in most stores (clothing, jewelry, electronics, etc)
Dry cleaners
IT services
Teachers
Police

43

Didn’t we beat this horse into the afterlife and beyond several months ago?

44

Although I don’t usually do the TR thing, it would be a turn-off to some extent. It would cause me to wonder: does the tip relate directly to the size or number of pours? Does it relate to something extra being pulled out? Does it relate to more expensive wines being poured? Does it relate to the level of attention, or speed the pourer returns to me? All of the above? Suppose I’m spitting out all of the wine(s)? I mean, what exactly am I supposed to be tipping for?

45

it is funny. Someone works on your hair, nails, or serves you food/drinks, then your expected to tip them. But if they do a good job with your car, taxes, or computer; well, they don’t usually get a tip. And let’s not forget those that help treat your body and at times save lives. The funny thing is that in a number of cases, there are hairdressers, bartenders, waiter, etc., that make more then some of those professions (and many have graduate degrees) which do not get tips. For example, I am a physical therapist and I know of a hairdresser and bartenders/servers who make more then I do. Now, I don’t think I shoulder receive tips because of the problems that could come with it. I just wonder how it was decided which professions do and don’t get tips.

46

Frank,

I’m not going to get into the politics of this. But will say that I agree. I have enough ire for BOTH. champagne.gif

And trust me, I tip just like everyone else, but sometimes, it pisses me off that it is pretty much expected.

47

Got better.

48

just mostly dead I guess

49

image.jpg

50

This is a very interesting topic that I was discussing with a colleague recently.

Some quick notes first:

  • I have been wine tasting for quite awhile, and have never tipped. It never even came to mind really.
  • I own a winery with a tasting room and have never had a tip jar… until recently. An employee asked if she could, so I said sure. When I man the tasting room, no tip jar. Owners should never be tipped anyway.
  • I tip generously at restaurants; especially since I usually bring my own wine.
  • I tip generously at bars.
  • I tip moderately for takeout, coffee, etc.

Now that I’ve stated all of that, my intrigue and my recent discussion were regarding the logic behind a tip. In my opinion, there is much more work pouring a flight of wine for guests (this includes talking about winery history, what goes into each wine, answering all questions, making small talk, etc.) than pouring a foamy Sierra Nevada into a pint glass. There is a ton of interaction, entertainment, and service for each and every customer.

Much, much more than a cashier at a takeout place.
Much more than a bartender or barista.
Even possibly more than a server (who might interact with you for 10 minutes during a 90 minute meal… a quick pouring would be 20 minutes).

If all of the above get tipped for service, why doesn’t a tasting room employee? It seems they fit the exact criteria for the act of tipping.

I still don’t expect tips, I still don’t tip (yet); but logically it seems the appropriate thing to do.

51

True… but also much LESS interaction/time than say… a nurse who’s taking care of you the two days you’re admitted in a hospital…
do you leave a tip when you are discharged?

Strange beast - this ‘tipping’ thing… [cheers.gif]

52

Good point. There are probably tons of examples going both ways that can only lead to one conclusion - it will never make complete sense.

53

They do – the tasting room employees voluntarily accepted the job, right? And you not tipping doesn’t tend to make their employer pay them more.

I’ve never tipped at a tasting room, though I’m a pretty heavy tipper in most conventional arenas. But I agree with Eric K that it seems to fall into the broad category which, however arbitrarily, is the “tipping” category in our society. I guess I don’t tip because it’s never been customary, but if it became customary, I might?

It’s actually an interesting topic. The one that’s been beaten beyond death is “how much to tip on bottles you buy off the restaurant wine list.”

P.S. Just my personal opinion, but the snide retort to the grocery store clerk about the charity seems to miss its mark. The clerk is asking you about it because it’s her job to do so, not by choice, and she probably isn’t that happy about having to do it. If you want to vent about your dislike of it, you should probably go speak to the manager or owner, not snipe at the clerk. Having said that, I’m pretty sure that’s something you think about saying and don’t actually say; “the jerk store called, and they’re all out of you.”

54

Thanks for the lecture Chris.Very well done. Do I need to tip you now? [rofl.gif]

BTW, I figured people would understand “Pay them” means pay them ENOUGH. And I hope this isn’t too snide for your sensitive soul, but I HAVE told the managers at stores.

Oh, and I do say it to them, and with a smile. Because I am making a point, and they know it. Unlike some poor souls who miss the obvious. Actually, I have never had any clerk even remotely seem to think that I was giving THEM a hard time. They actually seem to like the “humor”, because they already know it sucks to have to say it.

Sorry if this brought up some bad mammories in your grocery bagging days. champagne.gif

Now, any other whine notes you would like to pass along to me? [wink.gif]

55

Even worse at Michigan’s newest winery that just opened a couple weeks ago on Old Mission Peninsula. We tasted 5 wines at the ‘tasting bar’ and purchased 2 bottles, retail. I was presented with a “I-Pad” type device to pick the tip percentage I wanted to leave. The tab included the retail sale. This is in addition to the “Tip-Jars” on the counter. Then to irritate me even further, I was ask if I would like my credit card receipt via E-Mail or TEXT. I do use e-mail but don’t like to give it out to just anyone. And… I don’t TEXT ! They refused to give me a printed receipt. The general manager told me they won’t use receipt printer because the ink causes cancer.
Cheers, Gary

56

I was indeed a grocery bagger in high school. Well, bagging groceries was the very best of the tasks I got; most of the time, I was stuck doing things like cleaning the meat cutting machines in the meat locker room and other grim tasks like that.

“BTW, I figured people would understand “Pay them” means pay them ENOUGH.”

They are being paid enough to have gotten them to accept the job voluntarily, so that is how I think of what is “enough” to pay someone. If you mean some higher wage that someone subjectively thinks is more fair or something, you’re certainly entitled to that opinion. Though even if they got paid some amount more as to seem more subjectively proper in your mind, I assume they still would happily accept a tip, so the issue of whether to tip or not is still there.

57

Now you want to change what you lectured me on to what grocery clerks get paid? Or what someone or I might tip them? That was not what I talked about nor said. I strictly talked about the donation speech. Clearly, something I said or others said struck a raw nerve. I apologize if I hurt your feelings. Grocery clerks work hard and it has to be a boring job. Oh, and I always bag as much as I can, and I almost always take my cart back to the group of carts near or in the entrance. So, now that we established what a nice guy I am, we can get back to tipping issues. [drinkers.gif]

58

Steve, I am not lecturing you, nothing struck a raw nerve, and I don’t question that you’re a decent person. I was just trying to carry on a conversation with you.

My comments were not about the wages of grocery store clerks. You started this side discussion by saying:

Tipping in our country is WAY out of control. I have a crazy idea. How about the employer PAY their employees a decent salary.

And then you wrote:

Then their employer should PAY them.

My response was that (a) I think wineries are paying their tasting room employees a wage that they have voluntarily accepted in return for doing the work, so it seems like a mutually-acceptable transaction between employer and employee including the wage portion; and (b) I don’t think that if wineries suddenly increased tasting room employee wages 10%, 20%, 30% or whatever, that would nullify the discussion about whether tasting rooms should accept tips or visitors should tip, since even with a higher wage, I presume the employees would still gladly accept tips if they were being offered.

Feel free to disagree, and I will keep an open mind, as I don’t consider my opinions infallible in the least. And again, none of this is personal or any sort of insult to you, I’m just offering my thoughts as part of the conversation. Hopefully, there is no more need for any more hard words, and as you said, let’s just stay on the topic going forward. I think this is an interesting topic for us wine enthusiasts to consider.

59

The tip line on the credit card receipt, the forced click-through on the iPad, the tip jar explicitly pointed to at the tasting room counter…all these things render it almost certain that I will NOT leave a tip. What will most likely get a tip from me in a tasting room is telling me something I wouldn’t otherwise know about the wine, winemaker, or winery, or listening to what I tell you about my palate preferences and pulling out the wine that matches.

In short, I tip for good service, not by request.

60

Cancer causing ink aside-

Square offers business solutions customized to the type of business you are running. It seems that tasting rooms (logically) are using the food & beverage version which is going to have the tip option. You can easily do custom tip & set it to zero, especially in that type of environment.

As far as receipts go, Square encrypts all transactions on both the buyer & seller end and since you assign the e-mail address to the CC on the first swipe, you would get any notifications of fraud/error immediately on your e-mail or SMS. Unlike a traditional swipe, the merchant can only see the last 4 of your CC if they go back in to the transaction unlike a traditional POS/print transaction where any employee of the business can access your Cc info.

Seems like offering this service (which they pay almost 3% a transaction to offer) might be worth a tip.