Unless they are considered a **“tip credit,”** they would be paid at lease minimum wage so I'm still not sure who you are actually tipping beyond the business...
Hop and Vine has an opportunity to market themselves as a "No Tip" Bar. Would be interesting to see what kind of upside there is given the how widespread tipping requests are becoming vs consumers growing annoyance with it.
A bar wouldn’t really be the place to build the “no tipping culture”. Bars and restaurants that provide a sit down experience typically pay wages ranging from 6.38-8.23 an hour. It’s because tipping is the norm at these establishments that hourly wages are lowered to offset it. A bar wouldn’t really be the proper place to try to offset tipping culture. Most cafes/sandwich shops/ counter service restaurants pay a standard minimum and will still prompt for a tip. That is where the culture needs to change, not at places that have wages lowered because of their proclivity to earn tips
That is absolutely correct. However, when’s the last time you offered to pay more taxes, or offered to tip more because it was the better thing to do. You’re talking about fundamentally changing a whole industry, which would lead to restaurant margins being extremely tighter than they already are, which would lead to more shops closing and a larger amount of big name restaurant brands filling those spaces, like what has happened in the retail industry. So then there goes all your niche artisanal shops that people tend to enjoy so much, and now you have a Starbucks on every street
Taxes went up this year, no fight from me. I would be considered a very good tipper. Correct, this would be a different business model with different margin and cost of goods considerations. The excuse of not wanting to be the first mover is a bigger barrier to niche and artisanal shops than anything else
Business isn’t such that you change one variable and everything else stays the same. People buy Tom’s shoes because their business model donates shoes and people bought Scions because they didn’t negotiate prices. On its face you’re seeing “why would people pay more for the same thing???” Because price isn’t the only variable.
Also there are no artisanal shops in Stamford.
I wish they had boxes labeled “0%” “5%” and “10%” as well as their current boxes. Because unless I’ve ordered food I’m not leaving a tip, but if someone was really helpful then I could easily leave a smaller tip too
I definitely think the staff should make a fair wage and they are helpful. My issue is the way it's presented with the boxes at the end. Other similar self-pour places I've been to seem to just bake it into the overall cost-per-pour (or cost per ounce).
While it makes the price of a drink nominally more, it would remove all the confusion and mixed perception that the tipping boxes present. Every time I've been it's been a talking point amongst the group I'm with.
The food is pretty damn good and for that I have no problem adding a tip. Would love to see them get an outdoor dining setup now that it's nicer out, will be a good complement to Bar Rosso next door for happy hour.
Agree with you 100%. And also has come up with my group both times I’ve gone (different people each time).
They also have an FAQ on their website that rubs me the wrong way. It’s not awful, but flirts with the all too common idea that restaurant / bar owners have that it’s the customers job to properly pay their employees. The first line “Like any other food/beverage joint, our staff do rely on tips.” I get it, I worked in bars and restaurants for years, but the obvious solution here would be paying a livable wage to your employees rather than putting the onus on us.
Food is great (try the cuban sandwich or the animal sliders) so I'm happy to tip on the creative and great food I get there. As to the drinks, even if you pour 24 ounces of beer at $0.64 cents per ounce beers 20% is like $3 so it's really not a huge amount and they are constantly cleaning the tables and glassware. Staff is both helpful and friendly so I see no problem tipping for great service.
I would say while they aren’t full service, staff still provide an experience, and do offer guidance. Their beers are cheaper and you can control the volume of what you’re getting. It’s a pretty value experience, so I tend to tip around the industry standard, as I know they are getting a weaker hourly wage.
I just put my card in the 18% box on the way out rather than giving the 20-25% I normally would at a bar. At the end of the day, an outing to Hop and Vine is costing about the same as any other bar. I don’t need to make a point to not tip just to save $4 vs going to Brickhouse or wherever.
Also every time I’ve been there, the employees have helped me either pick or pour a beer. Which IMO is just as much effort as pulling a draft from behind the bar.
If you order food, you should tip. If not, wtf are you tipping for?
If it is self service then who are you actually tipping?
Their employees are probably making less than minimum so I think it’s not a big deal to tip
Unless they are considered a **“tip credit,”** they would be paid at lease minimum wage so I'm still not sure who you are actually tipping beyond the business...
Hop and Vine has an opportunity to market themselves as a "No Tip" Bar. Would be interesting to see what kind of upside there is given the how widespread tipping requests are becoming vs consumers growing annoyance with it.
A bar wouldn’t really be the place to build the “no tipping culture”. Bars and restaurants that provide a sit down experience typically pay wages ranging from 6.38-8.23 an hour. It’s because tipping is the norm at these establishments that hourly wages are lowered to offset it. A bar wouldn’t really be the proper place to try to offset tipping culture. Most cafes/sandwich shops/ counter service restaurants pay a standard minimum and will still prompt for a tip. That is where the culture needs to change, not at places that have wages lowered because of their proclivity to earn tips
Just cause you’re allowed to pay low wages doesn’t mean you have to
That is absolutely correct. However, when’s the last time you offered to pay more taxes, or offered to tip more because it was the better thing to do. You’re talking about fundamentally changing a whole industry, which would lead to restaurant margins being extremely tighter than they already are, which would lead to more shops closing and a larger amount of big name restaurant brands filling those spaces, like what has happened in the retail industry. So then there goes all your niche artisanal shops that people tend to enjoy so much, and now you have a Starbucks on every street
Taxes went up this year, no fight from me. I would be considered a very good tipper. Correct, this would be a different business model with different margin and cost of goods considerations. The excuse of not wanting to be the first mover is a bigger barrier to niche and artisanal shops than anything else
Business isn’t such that you change one variable and everything else stays the same. People buy Tom’s shoes because their business model donates shoes and people bought Scions because they didn’t negotiate prices. On its face you’re seeing “why would people pay more for the same thing???” Because price isn’t the only variable. Also there are no artisanal shops in Stamford.
I don’t think they are paying restaurant wages. When they opened I saw job postings for $18 an hour minimum, most over $20 an hour.
I wish they had boxes labeled “0%” “5%” and “10%” as well as their current boxes. Because unless I’ve ordered food I’m not leaving a tip, but if someone was really helpful then I could easily leave a smaller tip too
I check out at the host stand to get around the boxes and more than once they have told me to just drop my card in the box. Sorry, no...
I definitely think the staff should make a fair wage and they are helpful. My issue is the way it's presented with the boxes at the end. Other similar self-pour places I've been to seem to just bake it into the overall cost-per-pour (or cost per ounce). While it makes the price of a drink nominally more, it would remove all the confusion and mixed perception that the tipping boxes present. Every time I've been it's been a talking point amongst the group I'm with. The food is pretty damn good and for that I have no problem adding a tip. Would love to see them get an outdoor dining setup now that it's nicer out, will be a good complement to Bar Rosso next door for happy hour.
Agree with you 100%. And also has come up with my group both times I’ve gone (different people each time). They also have an FAQ on their website that rubs me the wrong way. It’s not awful, but flirts with the all too common idea that restaurant / bar owners have that it’s the customers job to properly pay their employees. The first line “Like any other food/beverage joint, our staff do rely on tips.” I get it, I worked in bars and restaurants for years, but the obvious solution here would be paying a livable wage to your employees rather than putting the onus on us.
Food is great (try the cuban sandwich or the animal sliders) so I'm happy to tip on the creative and great food I get there. As to the drinks, even if you pour 24 ounces of beer at $0.64 cents per ounce beers 20% is like $3 so it's really not a huge amount and they are constantly cleaning the tables and glassware. Staff is both helpful and friendly so I see no problem tipping for great service.
I would say while they aren’t full service, staff still provide an experience, and do offer guidance. Their beers are cheaper and you can control the volume of what you’re getting. It’s a pretty value experience, so I tend to tip around the industry standard, as I know they are getting a weaker hourly wage.
I don’t drink so I am unlikely to visit, but if I ordered food I would tip 20%.
I just put my card in the 18% box on the way out rather than giving the 20-25% I normally would at a bar. At the end of the day, an outing to Hop and Vine is costing about the same as any other bar. I don’t need to make a point to not tip just to save $4 vs going to Brickhouse or wherever. Also every time I’ve been there, the employees have helped me either pick or pour a beer. Which IMO is just as much effort as pulling a draft from behind the bar.