Melt bar and grill open

I didn't say I expected that. But I would be happy to do so if I were in that position. You act like it's some huge burden, when it really isn't.

But depending on the kids and the type of food, sometimes that can be a huge burden to move and transfer all of that stuff. Not necessarily in all cases, I'll grant you that.

(And I'm not trying to argue in favor of the hypothetical family in all situations, I just think it is cheesy to exclude them from the bar just because they are a family and someone else wants to sit there when the family was just looking for the first available open seating.)

That said - if I was taking up bar space with my family and it wasn't overly difficult for us to move to a table, I would consider it and would probably move if I was asked to. (This contradicts what I said a short while ago, I admit...) But if someone was rude about it or I could tell that they were upset with me because my children were sitting where they wanted to sit and that my family did not fit their vision of acceptable bar stool patrons, you can bet that our butts are staying planted.

It's not a whole lot different in my mind than the difference between a kind and courteous coaster enthusiast and a jerk entitlement coaster enthusiast. The kind one can take a seat ahead of me any day, but the rude/entitled one ain't getting anywhere!

I don't think it's a burden. Ask your server for help, corral your brood to the table, the end.

I personally would prefer a table when with the family, so I would actually welcome the opportunity.

Well, only if they ask to be moved to the next available.
But listen, it’s not that complicated. I only brought it up because it’s a pet peeve of mine. I don’t like kids sitting at a bar. Yes, it’s legal, and they can do what they want, and I’ll wait if I have to.
Further, it’s no secret a bartender would rather $ee me sitting there for a plate of pasta and some drinks than a bunch of kids with chicken nuggets and AYCD root beer making a mess.

I don't know about that, my average tip when the family of 7 goes out to dinner is over $40. You going to tip that much over the course of an hour?

Depending on the bar & bartender actually. I'm a big fan of 1:1 with your Bartenders in terms of drinks, especially considering most bartenders also have to split tips with either other bar staff of those that bus / serve food there. So usually if I get a beer, I try to usually tip the same amount per each beer, which in the long run will cover more than a 20-25% tip.

I mean last week I went to a brewery, had 3 beers, the bill came back to 15 bucks, total bill ended up being 30.00. Plus the other benefit there is once you've established good tipping & bar etiquette, you usually get good perks too. I can't tell you how many times I've walked up to a packed bar and my usual bartenders walk over to greet & take care of me. Plus every now and then mispours, extra drinks that aren't needed, etc. come my way. Works to your advantage. I mean basically in a nutshell, it all goes back to this old quote ;)

JTaylor said:

I don't know about that, my average tip when the family of 7 goes out to dinner is over $40. You going to tip that much over the course of an hour?

The average family is not that large, thus does not tip as much. So it's not as if the average Melt table produces a tip of $40.

In reality, assuming each patron eats ~$20, a 25% tip works out to $5 per person. I would imagine each bar patron produces around the same, and usually with less effort required from the bar staff.

True....
But once again back to my friend at Max&Ermas, families who plop themselves at the bar usually amount to about 4, maybe with a handheld as well. Dad might have a beer and that’s a maybe. Add to that it’s usually on five buck burger night or kids eat for something night. She’s lucky to get 5 outta those budget minded folks and she runs her ass off. She’d much prefer those that are serious drinkers who order a steak, and that’s a fact.
I’d consider a 40$ tip for a family of seven at a place like that generous, and far from the norm.

I guess I'm to nice... I worked in the restaurant industry for a few years I know how hard servers work and try to tip accordingly. I have seen some real cheap skates in my days.

Lost my wallet in the park a few years back and only had barely enough cash to pay the bill after realizing I had lost it. Felt like a total ass to the server, went back the next week and requested her table, gave her $100 for the trouble.

I've worked in food service, and the fact is that a $40 tip is abnormal for anything other than a party of 8+ adults where booze was flowing freely. That is in no way normal for a family of 7 out for dinner, so it doesn't make sense for your to introduce it as a counterargument in this context.

What JTaylor said is out of the norm, yes; but still relevant to the conversation on a personal level.

Let me throw in my personal experience as well. My wife briefly worked in food service in her early 20's as a second job. She busted her butt and suffered through some bad tippers. For that reason alone, when we go out to eat, we generally leave a 15% tip minimum for bad service (there have been a few exceptions) and usually 20-30% (or more) for good to exceptional service.

Our older daughter has worked in food service since she was 14 and has now been with Applebee's for about 8 years as a server and more often a bartender. (She also worked for several years at Louie's for any CP regulars or employees who frequent that establishment). I haven't discussed this with her specifically, but what RCMAC is saying about general bartender attitude toward families sitting at the bar is probably true in the grand scheme. But like everything else, you can't always apply a stereotpye across the board. When tips are already shared among different staff, does it really matter if you are at the bar vs. a table? There are horrible barstool tippers just the same as there are exceptional "sit-in-the-booth" family tippers. Not every beer drinking barstool patron tips like RCMAC and not every family of 4+ with kids tips like LeBron James.

When it is all said and done, as a family out to dinner we prefer to sit at a table and we tip well even if served poorly. But if nothing else is available, we will grab those last remaining bar stools and not feel guilty about the guy who comes in after us who wanted to sit there but cannot.

There’s no tipping in Europe and it seems to work out fine for everyone.

In those countries servers make a hourly wage about equal to the cooks and here servers make less than minimum wage and they survive on tips. No comparison at all.

Restaurants should increase the price of food, pay servers a decent wage and get rid of tipping. Tipping is nothing more than a way for customers to subsidize low wages. I'd rather pay more up front for the food and not worry about a tip

I’d rather pay more upfront to get into a properly staffed and trained Cedar Point, but I’d bet many on this site would be vocally upset if that was actually implemented.

john10693 said:
In those countries servers make...

Yeah, that was my point.

https://wonderfulwanderings.com/tipping-in-europe/

European tipping isn’t nearly as cut and dried as stated above... it varies by country and even regionally in some countries.
From No tipping (rarer nowadays), to simple rounding up to the next Euro (getting harder to do), to already added to your bill (10-12.5%), To judged by your service similar to US tipping.

The guide above is put together from CondeNast and Trip Advisor.

Also the movie Waiting is a good viewing recommendation for anyone that hasn’t seen it, then after watching it confer with friends from the service industry on its authenticity.

We ate at Chickie's and Pete's yesterday.

Terrible experience
Severely understaffed. Long wait.
Slow service. No pizza (sold out) since Friday.

Couldn’t even easily pay whe we were ready to leave.

Manager saw all the issues and didn’t seem to care.

I’ve written the the park to complain.

^I've had that happen as the end of the season is approaching.

My son had a slip and fall accident in the restroom at midway market a few years back, there was a puddle on the floor just inside the door. Wasn't injured or anything wasn't to concerned about it other than he was now soaked. Went and told the manager about it and was told they would take care of it and thanks for the head up. I went out to the car and got a change of clothes for him, 40 mins later the puddle was still there. Went and told customer relations and got about the same we'll look into it response.

What have they changed in regards to employees that makes the good workers that care leave before the season ends? Seems like years back this kind of thing didn't happen...