u/LadyGlitch

I’m newer to bartending and we had a busy night where all bartenders were to pool tips recently.

A client I was taking care of all night pulled me aside asking for her bill, and ended up paying another bartender. She sought me out after specifically and said “I already left a tip on the bill, but I want to give you something if only you can keep it.” I said okay, and she handed me $10.

BARTENDERS

In a situation like this, what do you do? Pocket it? Split it? Ask your colleagues for their input?

Alright, bartenders, I need some advice.

I have a group of regulars who come in once a week around 10 PM, and every visit is the same headache.

They’re demanding (wanting extra glasses, limes, special requests, etc.), constantly calling my name, asking to change the music, have no respect for last call, try to hug me, vape in the bar, bring in their own speaker, leave a mess, and generally require way more attention than any other group I serve.

Last night was the breaking point.

They ran up about a $160 tab. Because they always argue over who’s paying and have tried to dispute bills before, I cashed them out before letting them keep ordering. As expected, they spent forever arguing about the bill and left no tip, saying they’d “tip me in cash later.”

They then proceeded to rack up another $150 or so in drinks.

By 2 AM they were the only customers left in the building, meaning I couldn’t close (that’s fine, I don’t mind staying late if they aren’t fucking annoying). I ended up staying until almost 3 AM because of them. After over $300 in sales and keeping me there well past closing, I got a $5 tip. Between tip-out and the extra hour or two of work, I basically lost money serving them.

What really pushed me over the edge, though, was one guy who regularly sits at the bar while everyone else is outside smoking and watches me count cash. He makes weird comments like, “That’s a lot of money,” or “I can be a better man than your man.” Last night I finally told him to get the fuck out.

When the rest of the group came back in around 2:40 AM, I told them they needed to leave too. The constant disrespectful comments about my partner sent me over the edge. Fucking talking to himself while I’m trying to cash out/count the till saying shit like “don’t bend over like that in front of me”, “I can be a better husband”, “you don’t need any money look at all that money”, and a bunch more I can’t remember because I slept like shit.

At this point, I genuinely dread seeing them walk through the door because I know exactly how the night is going to go.

Would you keep serving them? Have a conversation with management? Set firmer boundaries? Ban them?

I’m looking for advice because the issue isn’t really the tip, it’s the constant disrespect, the extra labor, and the fact that they consistently keep me from going home.

Update: went in and spoke to the manager, she’s happy to lay down the ban hammer and told me they want to weed out that kind of clientele. Thanks for the reality check folks.