$1 is Not Enough

Epizode

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  You Tipped Me. Then I Tipped Everyone Else. 14.09.2026 21min

  Send us Fan Mail You Tipped Me. Then I Tipped Everyone Else. You leave your server a $20 tip. You walk out feeling like you took care of them. But what about the bartender who made every drink for your table? In this episode of $1 Is Not Enough, Steve digs into one of the most complicated and controversial parts of the restaurant industry: tip-outs. In Minnesota, employees generally cannot simply be forced by their employer to hand over their tips, and there are specific rules governing tip s...
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  Special Episode: "Twenty-Five Years" | A September 11th Tribute 11.09.2026 9min

  Send us Fan Mail Twenty-five years ago, the world changed in a single morning. Not gradually, not over time. In one morning. In this special episode, Steve steps away from the bar stories to do something a little different. A tribute to the people we lost, the people who ran toward it, and the way a country full of strangers became something else, even if just for a moment. This one isn't funny. It isn't supposed to be. In this episode: What that morning felt like and why our brains never let...
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  Dad + Mini-Me 09.09.2026 20min

  Send us Fan Mail This week I brought in a very special guest -- my 11-year-old son. He asked to be on the show, so here we are. We talk about what it's actually like growing up with a bartender for a dad, what he thinks about tipping (spoiler: he gets it), and what he'd say to the customers who don't. Unfiltered, honest, and maybe the best episode yet. What We Cover What his friends think dad does for a livingHis take on tipping -- in his own wordsThe hard parts of having a dad who work...
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  The Four Most Dangerous Words at a Bar 08.09.2026 14min

  Send us Fan Mail Four words. That's all it takes to make every bartender within earshot silently lose their mind. In this episode, Steve breaks down the phrase no bartender wants to hear, who's actually saying it, why it sets off every alarm in our heads, and what it really costs the people on the other side of the bar. In this episode: The tell-tale signs that give you away immediatelyA full taxonomy of the types (college summer guy, we see you)Why this phrase is never just information, it's...
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  The Weekend, Double J & Dave 31.08.2026 31min

  Send us Fan Mail Some weekends are memorable for all the right reasons. This was not one of them. In Episode 9, I take you back to a weekend shift featuring Double J and their husbands, where the drinks were flowing and things got progressively stranger as the night went on. Double J got a little too comfortable with the alcohol, while Dave decided the best way to spend the evening was apparently hitting on other women right in front of their husbands. Because apparently reading the room is n...
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  Broke in Theory 26.08.2026 21min

  Send us Fan Mail You know the coworker. They spend every shift telling anyone who will listen how broke they are. Bills. Rent. Gas. The whole thing. But the second an actual shift opens up and you offer it to them? Gone. Silent. Left on read. In Episode 8, Steve breaks down one of the most universal phenomena in the service industry: the coworker who is broke in theory but mysteriously unavailable in practice. Twenty-plus years behind the bar means twenty-plus years of watching this play out,...
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  Things You Learn That Nobody Teaches You 15.08.2026 16min

  Send us Fan Mail Twenty years behind the bar teaches you things no training covers. In Episode 7 of $1 is Not Enough, Steve breaks down the unwritten rules of bartending: how to read a room before something goes wrong, the right way to cut someone off (and why "I can't serve you anymore" is the wrong phrase), how to handle the friends who push back harder than the drunk person does, and the quiet social contract that regulars and bartenders share without ever talking about it. Rea...
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  Long Weekend, Weak Paycheck 14.08.2026 16min

  Send us Fan Mail A long weekend behind the bar sounds like a recipe for good business and good money. Not this time. In this episode of $1 Is Not Enough, Steve breaks down a frustrating weekend behind the bar. Friday night looked packed, but the entire bar was essentially filled by one family. Saturday was steady, but the real fun started when the bartenders weren't getting tipped out by servers, while still being expected to help with their tables and clean up after customers in the billiard...
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  I Don't Care If You Were Born Before 9/11, I Still Need Your ID 14.08.2026 13min

  Send us Fan Mail "I was born before 9/11." That's nice. I still need your ID. In this episode of $1 Is Not Enough, we're talking about one of the most common arguments bartenders hear: customers who get offended about being carded, and people who think a picture of their driver's license on their phone is somehow the same as carrying the real thing. I'll explain why bartenders ask for ID, why the rules exist, and why your convenience isn't worth someone else's job. If you've worked in bars or...
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  A Dollar a Drink 14.08.2026 12min

  Send us Fan Mail I posted a TikTok about tipping and the Internet had opinions. Let's talk about the dollar-a-drink myth, the comments that proved my point, and the time someone left me thirty-seven cents on a hundred dollar tab. 🌐 onedollarisnotenough.com 📩 Got a story? [email protected] Support the show 📲 Follow the Show Instagram: @1dollarisnotenoughFacebook: 1dollarisnotenough🛒 Merch merch.onedollarisnotenough.com Send Your Stories: Got a coworker who pulled this? We want ...
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  Welcome to $1 is Not Enough 14.08.2026 3min

  Send us Fan Mail Meet your host, Steve Lunden. 20-plus years behind the bar, thousands of stories, and zero filter left. In this first episode, Steve breaks down what this show is, why it exists, and what you're in for. If you've ever worked in the service industry, welcome home. If you haven't, buckle up. 🌐 onedollarisnotenough.com 📩 Got a story? [email protected] Support the show 📲 Follow the Show Instagram: @1dollarisnotenoughFacebook: 1dollarisnotenough🛒 Merch merch.onedoll...
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  Three Free Drinks 01.08.2026 13min

  Send us Fan Mail What happens when 700 guests show up, everyone gets three free drink coupons, two bartenders call out, and nobody tells the bar staff until an hour before the doors open? Chaos. In this episode of $1 Is Not Enough, Steve takes you behind the bar for one of the most exhausting shifts of his career. Nearly $5,000 in complimentary drinks were poured during a VIP grand opening event, leaving six bartenders scrambling to keep up with nonstop orders. After hours of shaking cocktail...
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  Make it Strong 29.07.2026 22min

  Send us Fan Mail "Make it strong." Three words every bartender has heard a thousand times. Steve breaks down what it actually means, the types of people who say it, and why it tells your bartender everything they need to know about you before the drink even hits the glass. Plus, the "I'll take care of you" bribe, the send-back, the pour watchers, and the right way to actually get a stronger drink without making your bartender's eye twitch. This show isn't just about bad tippers. It's about ev...