Tips...how to handle them..

I was wondering how those of you who play out handle tips. Specifically, do you use a tip jar or other container?

I never have, and when I was playing a B-3 and a Rhodes, there was plenty of room to lay a tip on the surface of an instrument.

Now, with an arranger, there is no surface room, and I just don't feel comfortable with a tip jar.

I just think a tip jar in an upscale restaurant isn't appropriate for me.

How do you do it?


Russ

Russ, if the upscale resturant pays upscale rates...skip the tip jar...Some places[piano bars etc] expect to see tip jars..in this case put out a big fish bowl, and don't forget to bait it with a few bucks..

I felt the exact same way about tips until recently. People had been just dropping money onto my keyboard as I played, and it was getting a little ridiculous (hard to call it "rude" but I didn't like it while I was in the middle of a song). So I found a nice $3 glass carafe at WalMart and put it on the floor near my keyboard. It's surprising how much goes in it nightly.

Your patrons are trying to express their gratitude for making their evening enjoyable. This is the traditional way to do that, and who are we to argue tradition? They will do it with or without a "tip jar", so go pick out a nice one.

Tips are not a factor on 90% or more of my jobs which put me on stages out of reach of the audiences. And I never put out a tip jar as I don't feel it is appropriate at the places I play.

However...I do have a casual lounge job where I am positioned at dance floor level. When I first started doing this job, I played while standing and no tips. Then, because of a back problem, I began sitting and people started depositing tips on my powered amp which sits to my right at keyboard level as I play.

Hard to believe, but the only thing I can pin down about all of this is the fact that I am sitting...even though it is an elevated stool. Just something about the casual nature of the job, I think.
Eddie

Jim, I use to think it was kind of rude to throw money onto my keyboard, after all ,my board is my pride and joy...untill a couple years ago and again recently, patrons thru a hundred dollar bill on my G1000..I am amazed how nice my G1000 looked decorated with a hundred dollar bill..

I just bought a clamp-on cup holder and attached it to the back end of the mic boom. It faces the audience and hold a cup very securly, in plain view of the people.
I've said before that the more electronic I seem to be, the less tips I make. This is still true. There's nothing like a big brown, wooden box to attract tips. The plastic gear just doesn't seem to evoke the same emotion in the crowds.
Nevertheless ...... now they has a stash that they can contribute to !

The one I used in Baltimore was a large goblett, which filled up nightly--nice touch, looked classy and on one occasion there was more money in the jar than I was paid by the club's owner.

I never played piano, so I don't know about tips for piano players, but when I played the guitar, tips were rare. With the keyboard, the jar fills to capacity.

Keep in mind that there is only one thing money cannot buy--poverty. You can rent all the other things!

Cheers,

Gary

My band generally has a tip jar out front, conspicuosly placed, and is often full after the nights session. Often it's NOT !!

However, for most functions, public or private we check first with the patron regardless. No assumptions made.

Upscale is usually more generous than the local bar, but hey... if it's not there, customers often do not know what to do with that couple of bucks.....and will often walk up mid song which is distracting to most of the band... especially if the crowd has been drinking... we want to make sure they don't fall over monitors, spill drinks, trip over cables or mics stands... LOL !!

Bottom line.. clear it with the manangement first !!

Steve

Tip jars! I always make sure I get paid (what I'm worth) by whoever hires me. I ONLY use a tip jar for venues that can only afford to pay me what I think I'm minimumly worth (bars, restaurants, & charity benifit gigs). I prefer not to go the tip jar routine (if possible) anymore because it makes me feel like I'm some kind of performing circus monkey, even though I admit, the tips can be a BIG welcome bonus - Scott

Scott.....got to agree with you on this totally....good post!

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www.donnypesce.com

Scott,
while I agree in principle, fact is.. if we negotiated for what we believe we are worth, we'd end up playing twice a year or regularly for peanuts...

So, to keep playing, we have to take the 'good' jobs with the others.... that means we check with management on the tip jar. Maybe a 5-piece band should have different set of guidelines than the solo player. You may play quite happily for what we have split 5 ways

Steve

I've only run across a few owners that nix'd the tip cup. They seemed to think that it made them look cheap, or didn't pay a fair wage ... but that's not the truth at all. The very nature of the gesture is an "extra" bonus, or "gift" for the special treatment of a customer. Owners really have nothing to say about us accepting gifts .... just about the actual vessel, and even then - It's not a defined area of aggreement in many cases.

As for what we're worth? I feel that I almost always charge according to merit. When I do decide to give a bargain rate ... it's because of some other loyalty. It's never selling myself short just to "get a gig" (whatever THAT means).

Tips are nice, but I don't count on 'em ever. They seem to pour in at their own pace though. Some days are diamonds .......