“Don’t worry, already added tip” at cash bar for a work event
I attended an award dinner/fundraiser for a fellow nonprofit agency recently. It was hosted at a country club. Tickets were $125/pp.
The invite specified cash bar; no problem at all, from one NPO to another, I get it.
But the actual bar experience was odd. I ordered myself and my boss a drink, she told me the total ($19) and I handed her my card. She handed me the receipt to sign and said, “don’t worry, the gratuity is already included”, and the total bill was for about $23. The subtotal amount was listed, then a line for “tip” was printed with the tip amount already printed in.
There was a tip jar on the bar, which also was filled.
I have been to literally dozens of events similar to this and never seen tips at a cash bar handled this way.
I mentioned it to a colleague on the way out and he said, “Huh that’s weird. They don’t do that to me but I opened a tab so maybe it was different since I left cash tips for each drink.”
I half jokingly said, “are you sure?” So he pulled out his receipt and sure enough: his tab had gratuity added, AND he had been cash tipping all night. He was not happy.
Sucks that that experience might reflect poorly on the org hosting, not just the venue.