OK, I get that we're in a recession, but I need a pep talk.

OK, you guys are getting dangerously close to advocating socialism here. (which I do advocate, for the record), but as a PhD who runs a coffee shop, let me run by one perplexing tip issue here:

As a barista, we make fancy foo-foo drinks. They can be kind of a pain, with pulling shots, steaming milk to create microfoam, adding just the right amount of syrups, sauces, chocolates, etc, and combining them all to make a presentable, pretty drink. We often get minimal tips, whatever the change is, etc.

However, when we pour a pint of beer, the standard is a one dollar tip. Very little skill required. Quick. Easy. Zip zip.

Funny how our low skill drinks get much better tips than our high skill drinks. Louisville is still way way behind in terms of coffee culture, is all I can say. But it is still funny.

Definitely NOT griping. As the owner, I'm thankful for each and every sale. Just trying to spread awareness I guess, for all of my coffee brothers and sisters...

Cheers!

Nimbus

Do Barista's make $2.13 an hour (server wage) or $3.50 an hour (bartender wage) and declare their tips to the IRS?
If so, I have been going about this whole coffee thing wrong and I sincerely apologize.

Do Barista's make $2.13 an hour (server wage) or $3.50 an hour (bartender wage) and declare their tips to the IRS?
If so, I have been going about this whole coffee thing wrong and I sincerely apologize.

3.50/hr is not bartender wage...

OK, you guys are getting dangerously close to advocating socialism here. (which I do advocate, for the record), but as a PhD who runs a coffee shop, let me run by one perplexing tip issue here:

As a barista, we make fancy foo-foo drinks. They can be kind of a pain, with pulling shots, steaming milk to create microfoam, adding just the right amount of syrups, sauces, chocolates, etc, and combining them all to make a presentable, pretty drink. We often get minimal tips, whatever the change is, etc.

However, when we pour a pint of beer, the standard is a one dollar tip. Very little skill required. Quick. Easy. Zip zip.

Funny how our low skill drinks get much better tips than our high skill drinks. Louisville is still way way behind in terms of coffee culture, is all I can say. But it is still funny.

Definitely NOT griping. As the owner, I'm thankful for each and every sale. Just trying to spread awareness I guess, for all of my coffee brothers and sisters...

Cheers!

Nimbus

OK, I have to head this one off at the pass. As a barista, is one required to have mastery over hundreds of ingredients and thousands of ways of compiling said ingredients? There are no single file lines behind a busy bar. We call it 'five deep.' Can you honestly equate yourself (at the top of your field) to a bar (at the top of thier field?) Apples and oranges, as far as I am concerned.