The Accordionist

[aadroma]

So, last Friday slavetoreznor and her beau joined nytemarewulf and I to dinner at a new German restaurant called Kaiserhof. The food was pretty good, though it was too damned expensive. But hey, the eye candy was nice. Mmm, big German bears. One of the servers was in liederhosen and I asked Carl, "... so what do you think if I got that outfit?" He responded, "... does

Comments

[furrylilfucker]

Did he come around the tables asking you for tips? Is he employed by the restaurant or tip-driven and independent?

I enjoy live music with my dining experiences. I tip if they were AMAZING, and that's about it. I do not tip when I am asked for a tip, ever.

[aadroma]

He didn't ask for any tip, and I GUESS he's with the restaurant? The staff seemed to know him. Hence my question!

He wasn't exactly amazing, and half of the dinner party HATES oom-pah music, so ... -_-

[furrylilfucker]

So no tip.

There is no middle ground, at least that I've found, when it comes to tipping a musician in a restaurant. They are either:

-A very good musician (usually piainst/violinist/cellist/any combination therein) at a higher-end restaurant, segregated far away so there is not a huge amount of music drowning you out;
-A mediocre musician in a crappy walk-in restaurant who demands tips by thrusting a cup or jar in front of your already-consumed-with-food face.

If it is the former, you tip them if you request a song or if they were exceptionally good, and you do so in person, after a song, etc.

If it is the latter? Who cares.

[muckefuck]

liederhosen

SINGING PANTS! That's GENIUS!!!

[aadroma]

:: laugh :: Just unzip and hear them belt out a jazzy tune! Confuse the next gent ready to fellate you ^_-

You know, I would fix this typo (I'm trying to be all covert so my boss doesn't notice me putzing around on the net; hence, I'm not actually looking over what I'm typing), but that one's so funny I'm just leaving it. ^o^

So? Do you tip the accordionist?

[muckefuck]

The last time I was at a restaurant with one was in Budapest over a decade ago. He was really insistent, and we felt shamed into giving something (rich foreign bastards that we were), but were resentful about it later. It kind of gets rolled together with the experience immediately afterwards, when a cabbie tried to rip us off.

In general, I don't give money to buskers unless they've played me a request.

[bluebear2]

Lederhosen are hot! I remember going to a bar in Koln and seeing all these sexy furry guys in lederhosen arrive. I liked it. None of them wore the suspenders though which is good.

For good accordion music check out this site:

http://accordionnoir.org

[caughtshort]

I hate that Miss Manners' columns aren't quite as searchable as I'd like them to be. I'm sure she's said something on the subject, but even with my Google skills there still too much shit in the results to find what I want.

In any case:

Tipping is never mandatory. If it were, it wouldn't be a tip.

Do you tip belly-dancers in hookah lounges? Strippers at bars? Drag queens at clubs? I do. But I don't tip them all, and not all the time. I tip when I enjoy a performance. I don't go around tipping every single belly dancer, stripper, and drag queen I can find. If what they do is entertaining to me and I enjoyed it, then I tip. But if it's happening in the background and I'm not actively involved in appreciating it, I don't tip. (Wait staff is always tipped, that goes without saying, because whether I enjoy their performance or not they are providing me with a service that I'm taking advantage of.)

[caughtshort]

Actually, I'm pleased to say I spoke too soon!

From Miss Manners' Guide for the Turn of the Millennium, the chapter titled "Tipping":

In a bar or restaurant, it is appropriate to offer a musician a tip and, if it is unwelcome, the musician may graciously say that it is his or her pleasure to play for you. One need not tip strolling musicians if one would rather they stroll elsewhere, but if one makes requests, one offers one, three, or five dollars, depending on the expense of the establishment.