In Portland, we tip. We tip a dollar on a coffee. We tip a dollar on drinks (more if it’s a cocktail!). I tip a dollar when a barista hands me an untoasted bagel, no joke. Every Portlander holds a healthy, respectful fear of service staff—after all, most of us have been there. A good rule of thumb is always tip 20 percent, but here’s a guide to some unconventional tipping situations you may have not considered.
Drag Performers
My wide-eyed ignorance on how much to tip drag performers is the whole reason I started researching tipping. Did I not see those crumpled up $1 bills soaring over my head? A dollar a song is the norm, but if you’re up front you should tip more. Local DJ and drag night organizer Buckmaster puts it this way: “Tip if you see something you like. Tip if you see something you’ve never seen before. Tip if you see something you could never do.”
Strip Club Dancers
It always seems like people who need to learn the most about strip club etiquette are never the ones reading etiquette books in Powell’s. There’s a lot of nuance to each individual club, but the hard and fast rule of strippers and tipping is: Don’t sit by the stage if you aren’t going to tip. Also, if your friend is sitting at the stage and you’re there too, you should be tipping. People always say a dollar a dance, but those sound like ’80s punk show prices to me. It’s 2018 and you should be tipping more. Try not to leave the stage during a performance (rude!) and if you have to leave, leave a few bucks on the stage.
