Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Ask George: Say a group spends more than three hours watching a World Series game at a bar or restaurant. Should they tip a higher percentage just because they “camped out”? Mike M, St. Louis
A: As Mike Shannon might say, “Now that’s a loaded question, if you get my drift. Heh, heh.”
On the one hand, servers who wait tables on game days/nights know the score…unfortunately, they’re the ones who most often lose. First off, they drew the short straw to even be working in the first place. And yes, customers do camp out, they do stop eating and drinking, and the server will most likely ose a table turn. Overtipping from one group rarely compensates for other guests eating discounted chicken wings, drinking cheap beer by the bucket, and then tipping poorly. When all the random, crumpled dollars get thrown into the middle of the table, the server is lucky to net 15% for what amounts to two table turns worth of work.
So, if you’re a believer in gentility, civility, the Golden Rule, and The American Way, the answer is yes, one should overcompensate for hanging out, for whatever reason. And if one's food and drink has been discounted, take that into consideration, too, as it’s proper to tip based on non-discounted prices, be they for Happy Hour, a daily special, a Groupon-type deal, and especially during a sporting event. And the longer you stay, the more you should tip, standard percentages be damned. No matter how your team fares, the server doesn’t deserve to come out on the short end.
