Tipping the Beer Cart girl

[Jeepthrills]

Watch a home show on HGTV: 1800 square foot homes in some areas of the country sell for $800k. They say you should buy a home that's about three times your yearly salary, so these people should be making about $250k/year to afford a smaller home than I get.

I can give you a great example of this and not go more than 15 miles from my home. My wife and I sold our first house for $55,000. It was a nice 1000 sq. foot ranch, two bedrooms with a one car attached garage. We had a nice fenced yard and a double lot that was about 120x100. It was in Pontiac, which is not the best area. It is a lower income area with a higher crime rate.

We looked at houses in Waterford, where we live now, and we were finding houses that were similar size to ours that were selling for $100-125,000. Ones that needed work were still $80-100,000 on smaller lots. Waterford is a regular, working class area that borders on Pontiac in some places. At the same time a smaller house with no garage and 1/2 the lot size was selling in Birmingham, an extremely high end zip code, for over $250,000. This was not even the exclusive part of town where 1500 sq. foot condos can easily go over 1 million. That was 12 years ago. Today the same house in Pontiac would go for $60-70,000, Waterford for $140,000 and Birmingham for $400,000. Downtown Birmingham is less than 6 miles South of Pontiac and about 10 Miles Southwest of Waterford.

[Undr Par]

wow. I am going to get on the wrong side of this argument. Why is it that so many jobs are now asking for tips (starbucks barista, dry cleaners, etc.) when they are simply doing their job.

I agree 100%, it's a choice if I want to tip or not, and when I don't, I don't allow people on message boards to tell me I should, (and I don't fell bad about not tipping either) after all she's only doing what she is getting paid for right? and to boot some young boy who also works for the course is placing the waters and beers in her cart and not herself....so even more reason for me not to tip her. Add to that I don't drink and I always bring my own water bottles, so I'm never in this situation anyways.....

[Sowbug2000]

What is the saying about everyone has an opinion....and they all stink, except yours??? :)

I guess people can't be swayed....can't believe this thread is stretched out so far!

Food for thought.....how are all Beer Girls "paid"......could be "tips" are an assumption of employers, like restaurant waiters.

Anyway, have a good weekend....I'm off to play some golf and contemplate tipping Beer Girls!! :)

And IMHO it has nothing to do with alcohol....just tipping the service....which again, apparently, is everyone's personal preference.

Get out and play golf....have fun!

[marto97]

Played with some guys from work last week. One guy, who is 35 and one of the smartest people I know, stops the beer girl. He buys two waters - one for me, one for him. Cute college girl, very pleasant, chatty, good sense of humor....the two waters come to $4.70...he hands her a $5 bill.

Well $20 for 2 water is excessive. But you are absolutely right your friend should be embarrassed. If they are out there bringing you drinks and putting up with 200 guys a day hitting on them I believe they should be tipped well, at the very minimum $1/drink. I would have chased her down and given her more, not for your friend but just to get her to come back later on.

[sonicblue]

Well $20 for 2 water is excessive. But you are absolutely right your friend should be embarrassed. If they are out there bringing you drinks and putting up with 200 guys a day hitting on them I believe they should be tipped well, at the very minimum $1/drink. I would have chased her down and given her more, not for your friend but just to get her to come back later on.

"putting up with 200 guys a day hitting on them"?? That's like saying that a caddie has to "put up with carrying a bag all day."

That's what you signed up for. Any cart girl who thinks otherwise is, well, naive doesn't even begin to reach far enough. FTR, $20 for two waters is absurd, and reeks of pomposity and arrogance. So she'd keep coming around? So, what, you could end up spending $60 for a few water bottles during the day? No offense, and I guess it's fueled from generosity, but you talk about others being "raped of common sense"....?? I tip based on the effort applied. This just in: putting on a short skirt, driving a golf cart around and picking up water bottles out of a cooler should not be a lucrative profession. It should be a crap summer job that you do because that's the kind of easy crap you should do when you're in school or whatnot, and the fact that it doesn't pay well should be your motivation to stay in school and find something better.

[dmz]

after all she's only doing what she is getting paid for right? and to boot some young boy who also works for the course is placing the waters and beers in her cart and not herself....so even more reason for me not to tip her.

I agree...through high school and college I worked at courses in a variety of capacities from caddy, bag room attendant, to a cart boy. It always pissed me off that I would do all the hard work for the beer cart girls like gassing, loading, and washing the beer cart. Taking out their trash at the end of the night. Not to mention all the other things I did for course patrons like picking up range balls, raking bunkers, cleaning nasty course restrooms, etc...etc...etc, and I rarely saw an extra dime. I know that waitresses, who completely live on tips will throw the dish washers and line cooks a cut of their tips, but the beer girls and bar girls never gave us anything, and we were always making less per hour than they were, and they still got tips. I actually quit working at a club because the pay difference was so skewed not including the tips they received. Whoever said something about night club rules ($1 per drink) is insane. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but their job is not the equivalent of a night club bartender...they don't hang out in a smoked filled room all night with people screaming at them for drinks. At worst they'll have some dirty old men staring at their chest. They sit on a cart, drive around, get in the way, and sell a beer or two. THEY DO NOT DESERVE $1 per drink per person not matter how much you make. If you think that she'll like you more because you're a big tipper, you're wrong...she's only thinking: "SUCKER!!!" My suggestion: the next time you're at a course have your group save all those dollars per drink you'd normally give to the beer girl, and slide a $20 or $50 to the manager or superintendent, and tell them to split it amongst the people who really made your course experience worthwhile, the cart boys, the range kid, the maintenance staff. These people work hard and provide a better service to us players than the beer cart girl, and I'm sure that your gesture will A) be more appreciated by them than a big tip to the beer girl and B) will make their boss appreciate the work they do too. Because if you think those folks see a deserving cut of your greens fees you're completely wrong...!!!

[putterboy]

She now is going above and beyond her

above and beyond her "assigned duties" lol....just sounds so funny and so wrong.

In terms of tips....I try to keep in mind these are kids in school ...whether it be in high school or college. Giving them a buck extra for your beer isn't gonna kill ya. If you play once a week and drink two beers in that round you are talking an extra 104 bucks out of your wallet...assuming a year round course....even less if you live where it will eventually snow

[A-la-Beer-Cart]

I'm Alexa. 22-years-old and I'm currently employed as a beer cart girl at a course in Canada. We make minimum wage and yes, tips are VERY appreciated. When I hire/train new girls I always tell them not to expect a tip but to provide service in such a way that she deserves one. I have a few things to add that should back up the "for tip" argument: 1. We stock our own cart and keep it restocked during the course of the day 2. We try our absolute hardest to see you every 3-4 holes and feel like GARBAGE if we can't due to missing a group at the turn or restocking the cart 3. We ACTUALLY have extensive knowledge about the game of golf and are golfers meaning we will not drive while you are hitting and we will help you only at tee boxes and greens so as to not slow down the rate of play 4. We do put a lot of effort into our appearance (gym, hair, etc.) because we are aware that the more attractive we are the more money we make 5. If you are a member or even a repeat green-fee player we will remember your name and/or drink order if you are friendly 6. Our mental math is awesome. Seriously. 7. Nobody could ever outshine us in the friendliness department because this job requires an outgoing server who can have a genuine conversation and hold her own while she is being verbally sexually assaulted I agree with you. Our job seems laughable. We drive around a golf cart and hand out beer. Not to mention the shorts that would make your sons blush and your wives gasp. Aside from this, there is much more that goes into being good at "beer carting" than looking pretty and taking money. The stereotypical "Quench Wench" is not what you are comic across at every course you venture to, so I challenge you to tip your next beer cart girl based on how good she is at her job. If she isn't, she doesn't deserve it. If she is, she will take it very personally if you don't tip her because she obviously works hard.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Never heard on a beer cart girl. Guess it's a US thing. :-\

[GaijinGolfer]

Bottom line, theres no excuse to not tip the beer cart girl.  Shes pretty much like a waiteress or bartender and deserves the same consideration.

[Teamanglerx]

My two cents.

I understand that prices for drinks and snacks are expensive on the golf course, however the person providing them to you is just the service provider.  They don't set the prices.  In my area most of the beer cart girls are college students.  While they are easy on the eyes they work very hard and I have never run into a unfriendly one ever.  All my friends and my wife have worked low paying jobs in the past and even though we all make good money now we remember what it was like to work your tail off for little pay so we tip generously.  We always make sure we have cash on us and if one of us is short someone in the group will always cover to make sure we can give a good tip.

I remember playing with my pals once and the beer cart girl had just got done helping the group in front of us.  When she got to us she was friendly but seemed a little upset.  Apparently the group in front of us had made several inappropaite comments to her like "can I play your hole next" and were very rude.  Plus, they tipped her a whopping $.50 cents on top of it.  We joked with her, made her smile and tipped her well to make up for the idiots in front of us because we felt no one should be treated that way.  Later on we caught up to the group due to slow play and we all let them know what jack wagons they were (they tried to be rude to us too and we weren't having it).  After our round the beer cart girl came up to us and thanked us not only for cheering her up but it seems that we had shamed the group in front of us and they tipped her $20 after their round.  Chalk one up for the good guys.

[saevel25]

Depends on what i buy, if i buy just a dollar candy bar, your getting a dollar. I don't carry change around, and i am not tipping a dollar for a candy bar. If i am buying a few bottles of water, i will probably tip 1-2 dollars depending on how much i spend.

Though i will say this, if i notice a change in attitude if i don't get a tip, like she thinks she deserves one, i will remember who she is and i will never tip her again. A tip is a luxury, extra to what i have to spend, its not part of the price. I remember a guy who delivered me a pizza, and i paid with my credit card online. He actually said did i forget something. That pissed me off, like you demand a tip. Thats not how it goes.

But yea, typically 1-2 bucks is my max.

[newtogolf]

People who work in the services arena (waiter/waitress, delivery person, beer cart girl) all likely make less than minimum wage and are expected to make up the difference on tips.  Unless a person is completely incompetent or rude I always give them a tip.  The better and friendlier the service the better the tip.  Most beer cart girls I've dealt with are pretty, friendly and do all the other things A-la-beer-cart claims while having to put up with a lot of drunken idiots on the courses daily.  IMO they deserve generous tips.

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by saevel25 Though i will say this, if i notice a change in attitude if i don't get a tip, like she thinks she deserves one, i will remember who she is and i will never tip her again. A tip is a luxury, extra to what i have to spend, its not part of the price. I remember a guy who delivered me a pizza, and i paid with my credit card online. He actually said did i forget something. That pissed me off, like you demand a tip. Thats not how it goes.

A luxury?  Seriously?

[ladders11]

I think $1 per drink is generous and that is what I do.  It is an odd job, and I don't think of it as difficult, but I know that golfers can be off-putting.  The nearest comparable job might be restaurant hostess, except it is of course outdoors.  There are many professions related or unrelated to golf where the work is much more difficult and nobody tips you, greets you or thanks you.

The only time I have an instinct to not tip someone relates to travel: I never liked the idea of tipping a skycap for checking my 1-2 bag(s).  I did tip a couple times and maybe third time, I didn't have right change to tip.  The guy basically let me know he didn't like working for free.  Well it isn't any difference to take my bag right outside the airport door, or go in and head to the airline desk, and it isn't any work to put a sticker on a bag, which the customer has put on the belt, is it?  I never used skycaps again after that jerk and I hardly see them at airports anymore.  Also, bellhops - I waive them off.

[jshots]

Originally Posted by saevel25

Though i will say this, if i notice a change in attitude if i don't get a tip, like she thinks she deserves one, i will remember who she is and i will never tip her again. A tip is a luxury, extra to what i have to spend, its not part of the price. I remember a guy who delivered me a pizza, and i paid with my credit card online. He actually said did i forget something. That pissed me off, like you demand a tip. Thats not how it goes.

A pizza delivery guy gets below minimum wage because he is supposed to be tipped. It's more than just extra (even if its just because its almost a useless tradition). I saw someone said in an earlier post (from 2007 lol) that it's based on if you are a waiter, but its actually just depends on how much you make in tips in a month to whether or not you can be paid below minimum wage. Maybe he was rude about it to you , but otherwise he is just trying to get fair pay, I don't think there is anything wrong with that. It is common for someone who pays with a card to forget the fact that they are supposed to tip. Typically a person just signs the credit card slip, when they are also supposed to put tip down and total the amount. I personally found a more polite way (in my opinion) to do it was to ask them if they could "total" the amount of the purchase since they are supposed to anyways. Generally at that point they see it says tip, and will write something down. I honestly think that you should tip someone even if they are sort of rude, though definitely not as much.

So honestly IMO you are just being an ass for doing that.

On the topic of beer cart girl though the same thing goes, they can get paid below minimum wage, but that doesn't mean they do. I typically tip them no matter what I buy, and at least from my knowledge, they have no problem making tips so if a few people give her just change it won't hurt. When I was first able really work when i turned 16, I worked as a cart boy, washing members clubs, loading up their clubs, etc. I knew one of the beer cart girls and on weekends she had no problem making over 100 bucks every day (she was very attractive), sometimes a guy would go around and do it though he made a little less he wasn't far from it on the average day (kind of sad there is even any difference). I recall a day that she made $600 and many days that she made several hundred. Usually it would be from 1 guy giving several huge tips. She was constantly dealing with old pervs hitting on her which I guess is worth a tip, even if it is imo one of the easiest jobs you can do and make a whole lot of cash.

[x129]

If you can't afford the tip, you can't afford the good. If you think it is overpriced, don't buy it. You are not buying a bottle of water or gatorade. You are buying a bottle that is being hand delivered to you on a golf course. You can decide how much that added service is worth to you and if they want more than you value it, don't buy it.

As far as 150k being a lot of money, would you say the same thing about a family making 60k? After all 150k in San Francisco is the same as 60k in towns in the midwest and the south. If you haven't lived in a high cost area (or a low cost one) it is hard to understand the difference. The couple making 150k in San Francisco pretty much can't buy a house for a family of 4. Something with 3 bedrooms and 1500 sq ft  starts in 900k+ range. And no moving the suburbs doesn't save you money.  In texas, for you 350k you are getting a 3k sq ft McMansion. On the other hand some goods are pretty much the same price. Cars and consumer electronics for example are the same price and this obviously changes buying patterns.  Obviously you can live decently on both salaries(heck even 30k is something like 2x minimum wage).  But if you are making 60k living in the  cheap states imagining how awesome life must be making 150k in the big city, you are in general mistaken. There are definitely exceptions (i.e. single people tend to do better in the high cost areas. You can live cheaper with room mates,  living in poor school districts,....) where the local cost of living doesn't correlate directly with your situation

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by soup

... Cute college girl, very pleasant, chatty, good sense of humor....the two waters come to $4.70...he hands her a $5 bill.

I nearly fainted from embarassment. She got quiet pretty fast - but not in a bad way - and politely asked if he needed change. He said, "No, that's ok" without even blinking and proceeded to carry-on. ...

I know tipping is a touchy subject with people - but the cute beer cart girls work off their tips. ...

How does a 35 year-old professional making a nice lioving blow off the beer cart girl with a $.30 tip? ...

... Maybe I'm the idiot.

Aren't you an enlightened, and condescending, young high-roller. Do you tell the young women where you work that they're cute? HR must really keep you in mind when sexual harassment training is due.

Hopefully you don't flirt with the cart girl and slow down sales when there's a line of people waiting for drinks. Golf's sugar daddies are bad about that.

You could have spared us your sanctimonious rant and just written your final line, which I boldfaced.