what type of tip is normal for professionals? what would be a normal, good, and bad tip?
Best tippers of pro athletes were definitely hockey players. A good tip depends on the situation of course. Contrary to what most people who have never been bartenders think, its not a matter of percentage. Shaq gave me a hundred dollars once when I waited in him at lunch. That was a good tip. KG when he was younger would make all kinds of ridiculous demands and then always leave like 25-50 dollars on like 500$ tabs. He was nice, very friendly and grateful but didnt get it. Someone must have straightened him out. Shaq had a cheeseburger, fries, a salad and a chocolate cake appetizer. We bought his lunch for him because he came in after our manager saw him out in front of the restaurant and invited him in. He was pretty cool. Of course 100 dollars for him is a drop in the bucket. But if you got it, why not spread it around a little? Doesn't mean you always have to give 100 dollars, but always under 10% is weak. Petersen was a straight up 15% guy, which in my book is for the birds.
Would be interesting to hear who the nicest NBA players you've waited on.
I dont know if you mean to imply I am being petty, but the title of the thread was "most hated." There are plenty of nice NBA players too. Fred Hoiberg was awesome. Wayne Ellington was a great guy. Barkley is cool. Dean Garrett was a really nice guy. Trent Tucker is awesome. Not a huge tipper, but a really good guy who loved to talk about the NBA. Gugliotta. (but we grew up near each other). Those are just some of the guys I met.
One of my all time favorite athletes though was Derek Boogaard. He would come in to my bar when he was just coming up. Super modest guy. Always remembered our names. Liked to just hang out at the bar and talk to the people at the bar. He would give us tickets and even gear some times. Smart guy. Was really sad when he died. Josh Harding is another great guy. I'm not a big hockey fan. I'm definitely an NBA fan. But having worked at bars near stadiums in both cities, hockey players were the coolest. Baseball players easily the worst.